Angel Mage

A fun fantasy spin on court and religious politics and adventure novels. The plot is compelling and intricate, the setting interesting and suggestive of a depth that is often missed in fantasy books, and the magic left me wondering if there were going to be some grand revelation concerning the sources of power. My only complaint is that, having finished the novel, I'm still not entirely sure there was a protagonist in it. Things happen - the plot is engaging and keeps you wondering what will happen next - but any dilemmas or moral decisions seem to be out of the hands of any of the various main characters. The villain is also a focus of some sections of the narrative, and while her actions are exciting, interesting, and even at times thought-provoking, her motivation is not made clear until the end of the book, making her sections of the novel difficult to understand because of the lack of intelligible motivation. Similarly, the other main characters frequently take actions, but often they seem to be forced by circumstances or merely reactions without will or desire. In the end, the novel feels like a beautiful and intricate piece of clockwork that has been wound up and you can watch it proceed through its movements and complications in whirling, ticking, wonder - but whatever happens is at a distance from the emotions of the various springs and gears that drive the machinery of plot forwards.