Blind_Mapmaker reviewed Shadow Magic by Patricia C. Wrede
Review of 'Shadow Magic' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
3.25 It was probably a mistake to read a forty-year old progressvive fantasy novel right after a current-day one that blew my mind away. This is not a bad book by any reckoning, but feels dated. There is a female protagonist and she's the only character who comes slightly alive during the reading, the others feel mostly empty apart from two or three (or in some cases one) traits. The worldbuilding is a bit more interesting than usual for its day and age with the non-humans diverging from the standard setup, but the novel breaks down when it comes to the same-old ancient evil versus chosen one plot.
All in all still impressive for a first novel, but I kind of regret having sought out the somewhat hard to get later volumes in the series after reading the first Enchanted Forest novel. If you want to try Patricia C. Wrede's …
3.25 It was probably a mistake to read a forty-year old progressvive fantasy novel right after a current-day one that blew my mind away. This is not a bad book by any reckoning, but feels dated. There is a female protagonist and she's the only character who comes slightly alive during the reading, the others feel mostly empty apart from two or three (or in some cases one) traits. The worldbuilding is a bit more interesting than usual for its day and age with the non-humans diverging from the standard setup, but the novel breaks down when it comes to the same-old ancient evil versus chosen one plot.
All in all still impressive for a first novel, but I kind of regret having sought out the somewhat hard to get later volumes in the series after reading the first Enchanted Forest novel. If you want to try Patricia C. Wrede's bools I suggest either Dealing with Dragons (middle-school fantasy) or Sorcery and Cecilia (Regency Fantasy). This is not a good starting point.
Bonus points for female agency and interesting non-humans, penalty for the obsession of ending each book with a marriage, though at least the romance takes third rank this time.
