A College of Magics

Rating:
Summary: Miss Manners goes to Hogwarts
Review: "A College of Magics" is for Jane Austin fans who are also fond of fantasy. The magic is not the Harry Potter 'swish and flick' variety, but something altogether strange and beautiful. Most of the time the heroine, Faris Nallaneen does not even realize she has done anything magical.

The setting is an early 20th-century alternate world, where young ladies are sent to Greenlaw College (in 'real' life, the Benedictine Abbey of Mont St. Michael!) to learn Greek, Latin, Deportment, and Magic. Faris Nallaneen is heir to the small Middle European dukedom of Galazon. Her uncle, who rules Galazon until Faris's majority sends her kicking and screaming off to Greenlaw until his other secret plan for her future matures. Naturally Faris resents this, but she slowly begins to make friends at school and also acquires one mortal enemy, a distant relative named Menary.

Menary is one of the more interesting students at Greenlaw College. She possesses a wild magic, whose source is unknown to her teachers. She is also fond of anything in trousers, but very unfortunate things happen to her lovers. She is finally expelled on the morning after Faris's magical vigil, after turning Faris's friend, Tyrian into a tomcat. Our heroine loses her temper and sets Menary's hair on fire:

"It was not natural fire, Faris realized...It blazed pale gold and green, Menary's wild halo. In its own way, it was beautiful, as cold and strange as the northern lights."

Naturally, after this breach of etiquette, Faris is also asked to leave Greenlaw College. She sets out on a mission to Paris with her friends Jane, a professor at Greenlaw, and Tyrian, who has been restored to his former shape.

This would turn out to be a very proper, Edwardian excursion to the City of Lights if it were not for repeated attempts on Faris's life. She and Jane still manage to get in a bit of clothes shopping, and then Faris meets the man (or ghost) who interprets the results of her all-night vigil of magic, and points her toward her true destiny.

Meanwhile, there is a tangled web of Middle European politics to be gotten through, including the discovery of Faris's uncle's plot, more unexpected magic--Jane transforms a bomb into a hat and proceeds to wear it, thrones to be won and lost, and a love story.

"College of Magics" (1994) is a very unexpected and satisfying fantasy for fans of magical alternate history novels, and for those of us who also love a good comedy of manners. The sequel to this book, "A Scholar of Magics" was published in 2004, and I will definitely be reading it.


Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: After picking this novel up at the library several years ago, I read it and immediately ordered my own copy. A fantasy of manners--sometimes reminiscent of Jane Austen, and a deeply detailed work. I've read the book over 4 times by now and each time I find another scene or dialogue exchange to enthrall me. Good job, Caroline Stevermer!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: After picking this novel up at the library several years ago, I read it and immediately ordered my own copy. A fantasy of manners--sometimes reminiscent of Jane Austen, and a deeply detailed work. I've read the book over 4 times by now and each time I find another scene or dialogue exchange to enthrall me. Good job, Caroline Stevermer!

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining, Fast Read
Review: Caroline Stevermer's A College of Magics starts out with a typical fantasy plot: A young duchess (Faris) with an evil, despotic uncle goes to a school for witches to get an education. However, the plot does not follow the typical progression for such a story. At first Faris does not believe in magic, though she performs it herself. Then, she begins to wonder if she is meant to overthrow her uncle and rule her duchy after all.
This book is extremely engrossing. I bought it in the afternoon and did not go to bed until I finished it. I believe this was partly due to the author's lovely writing style, and partly because her main character has more depth than is typical of children's books.
There are some major flaws in the book, but it should be noted that I did not stop to notice them until several hours after I finished it. The largest is that the plot jumps around a bit too quickly. The story Stevermer tells really deserves two volumes to be explained fully. The second is that many of the characters- in fact, nearly all of the characters except the protagonist- have no depth, but are one-sided.
Overall, this book is a very enjoyable read for both adults and children, but its technical execution could have been improved.

Rating:
Summary: A very different sort of fantasy
Review: Faris Nallaneen is a diamond in the rough so to speak, in the unenviable position of saving the world. She has however more capable than she realizes, and even when her gift of erratic magic manifests itself, she does not comprehend it. It is a sort of coming of age story of a girl who is almost accidentally pushed into the position of the warden of the north, and is entrusted to mend a rift in the balance of the worlds created by her grandmother. Faris is endeared to readers when as she struggles to do her duty, she is still heart-breakingly human.

I bought this book solely by chance because the plot at the back of the novel seemed interesting. The first time I read it, I did not finish it. The plot is too amorphous, too out of touch with reality. This book introduced me to the world of a world that is an amalgamation of fantasy and real world, something I was not used to. I was disappointed in the book for not being a pure fantasy novel. That is what makes this book so special. I only found what a rare treasure this book is when I read it for the fourth, or even sixth time. It has everything, from mystery to school-girlish adventures, to romance and magic. Even some of the "academic" side of magic begins to make sense after a couple of reads.

This book requires patience and a few more reads than one. It is one of my favourite books now.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, occasionally sparse
Review: First of all, I enjoyed this book. It should offer an enjoyable "read" for those who like historical fantasy. (Although reviews refer to it as Victorian or Regency, it is actually Edwardian: the novel itself refers to the reign of King Edward.) I found myself wishing I knew more about Edwardian Europe--I'm more at home with the nineteenth century, so I couldn't place all of the cultural references. True history buffs may fair better, and may enjoy picking up references to poetry and novels.

However, as reviews have mentioned, the work has flaws. I didn't feel that the use of magic was explained very well, particularly with regard to the education offered at Greenlaw. Exactly what does having a vigil do: it gives students power, but how? How is it that students can go without being taught any magic at all until their third year of Greenlaw, then pass their vigil and suddenly be capable witches? Faris is halfway through her third year, but leaves without knowing much of how magic works, while Jane, only a year ahead of her, is a capable witch. How exactly are students like Eve-Marie, Odile, and Jane supposed to learn so much, so quickly? Stevermer may have an intriguing take on magical education in mind (magic as taught at Greenlaw is quite different from the usual school of magic or apprentice system, and she deserves credit for that), but it's just not clear _how_ witches of Greenlaw are produced, nor is it clear how magic works outside Greenlaw, except that it's harder to work. Perhaps some of this is cleared up in _A Scholar of Magics_, but it seems to be a flaw in this work. Likewise, as others have mentioned, it isn't clear what Faris's responsibilities as Warden of the North will consist of now that her initial task is done. If the Wardens are there to keep balance, how exactly do they do this? Why is it necessary?

The ending seems to offer possibilities which aren't pursued (perhaps, as one previous review suggests, Stevemer intended a sequa about Faris that she never got around to writing). The result is unsatisfying. I don't want to reveal any details, but it's unclear where the relationship between Faris and her beloved will go-- if she's not going to marry him, will they be lovers on the sly (hardly socially acceptable in that time period) or will they just be "friends" and co-workers? It's as if the author grasped at a solution to Faris's romantic dilemma, but then let it go.

Overall, I do recommend this for fans of historical fantasy, particularly those who like less flashy magic and witty dialogue. I do NOT recommend it for those who are looking for a Harry Potter substitute: Greenlaw is nothing like Hogwarts, and the magic here is nothing like the magic in the HP books, or even in most Diana Wynne Jones novels. A better comparison might be the more recent and more successful _Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell_.

Rating:
Summary: Original yet Odd
Review: Having just read the delightful but incredibly difficult to find "Sorcery and Cecelia," which Caroline Stevermer co-wrote with Patricia Wrede ("Mairelon the Magician;" "Magician's Ward"), I was eager to read more by this author. Imagine my joy, then, when I learnt that Ms. Stevermer had written another book in the fascinating sub-genre of Historical Fantasy.

While "Sorcery and Cecelia" is set in 1817 Regency England, "A College of Magics" catapults us a hundred years further, to approximately 1908 in Edwardian Europe. The story follows Faris, the young Dutchess of Galazon (which, one presumes, is supposed to be located somewhere east of Austria and west of Romania) as she spends three years at Greenlaw University before returning to reclaim her place in politics. The catch? She's just found out that she's the Warden of the North - and that she must mend the rift her grandmother made in the fabric of this reality.

Ms. Stevermer writes in a language much akin to the literature of the time (cf. E. M. Forster, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, etc.) - complete with random moments of insight, liberally strewn metaphysical poetry, snips and snatches of song and culture, and occasional forays into the world of subconscious or "sensation" writing. However, perhaps because of this attention to the time period, perhaps for some other reason, the story suffers several major flaws:

The plot is rather dreamlike and...strange. Often new plot lines will be introduced without explanation or reason - and then just as quickly dropped. The Wardens of the World are explained only in their existence but never fully in their capacity. Characters are introduced, given a place of prominence, and dropped after a few chapters. Places are never given an exact location except by general reference (with the exception of their time in Paris). And the ending debacle is so surrealistic that one can hardly make hide nor hair of how Faris ascended the stair, or how she closed the rift, or very much of anything. The closing is also unsatisfactory, with no "happily ever after" but a sort of vague continuing that feels as though it ought to be significant.

Again, one must commend Ms. Stevermer in her ability to so replicate the disjointedness of Eduardian literature - the attempt to show life as it is and not as it ought to be - however the result is a strangely concocted novel that never quite comes together as a whole.

Those interested in Eduardian Literature, or Historical Fantasy will find "A College of Magics" interesting. Those searching for an encore to "Sorcery and Cecelia" would do better investing in Patricia Wrede's Regency Fantasies.

Rating:
Summary: Original yet Odd
Review: Having just read the delightful but incredibly difficult to find "Sorcery and Cecelia," which Caroline Stevermer co-wrote with Patricia Wrede ("Mairelon the Magician;" "Magician's Ward"), I was eager to read more by this author. Imagine my joy, then, when I learnt that Ms. Stevermer had written another book in the fascinating sub-genre of Historical Fantasy.

While "Sorcery and Cecelia" is set in 1817 Regency England, "A College of Magics" catapults us a hundred years further, to approximately 1908 in Edwardian Europe. The story follows Faris, the young Dutchess of Galazon (which, one presumes, is supposed to be located somewhere east of Austria and west of Romania) as she spends three years at Greenlaw University before returning to reclaim her place in politics. The catch? She's just found out that she's the Warden of the North - and that she must mend the rift her grandmother made in the fabric of this reality.

Ms. Stevermer writes in a language much akin to the literature of the time (cf. E. M. Forster, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, etc.) - complete with random moments of insight, liberally strewn metaphysical poetry, snips and snatches of song and culture, and occasional forays into the world of subconscious or "sensation" writing. However, perhaps because of this attention to the time period, perhaps for some other reason, the story suffers several major flaws:

The plot is rather dreamlike and...strange. Often new plot lines will be introduced without explanation or reason - and then just as quickly dropped. The Wardens of the World are explained only in their existence but never fully in their capacity. Characters are introduced, given a place of prominence, and dropped after a few chapters. Places are never given an exact location except by general reference (with the exception of their time in Paris). And the ending debacle is so surrealistic that one can hardly make hide nor hair of how Faris ascended the stair, or how she closed the rift, or very much of anything. The closing is also unsatisfactory, with no "happily ever after" but a sort of vague continuing that feels as though it ought to be significant.

Again, one must commend Ms. Stevermer in her ability to so replicate the disjointedness of Eduardian literature - the attempt to show life as it is and not as it ought to be - however the result is a strangely concocted novel that never quite comes together as a whole.

Those interested in Eduardian Literature, or Historical Fantasy will find "A College of Magics" interesting. Those searching for an encore to "Sorcery and Cecelia" would do better investing in Patricia Wrede's Regency Fantasies.

Rating:
Summary: fun fantasy that adults and teens will relish
Review: Her Uncle Brinker rules Galazon as regent since he asserted that his niece Faris Nallaneen is too young to reign. As Faris gets closer to leading her duchy, Brinker sends her to Greenlaw College. Her aptitude seems poor as she is not much of a student especially of magic, but the dean claims that Faris is one of the four guardians being the warden of the north. Faris believes no one is less magical than she is, as she displays no talent until she confronts and defeats fellow student Prince Menary in a "war" of magic.

Brinker dispatches Faris to Aravill as an ambassador, but his plan is to have his niece wed King Julian, Menary's dad. Menary tries to kill Faris but fails, ending up in the rift. Still with her uncle and her enemy Julian plotting, Faris' future as the ruler of Galazon looks bleak.

This Harry Potter like tale, but initially published before J.K. Rowling's Potter mania, stars an engaging heroine who has more than just the weight of adult responsibility on her shoulders as she must also protect the world and defeat her Machiavellian uncle and a deadly rival. The story line is loaded with action and a feel that early twentieth century Europe is in deed a hot bed for magic. However, the tale also contains several subplots that seem critical to the basic theme, but vanish without resolution as if a magician performed a stunt. Still, this is a fun fantasy that adults and teens will relish while also seeking other works from master mage Caroline Stevermer.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: I adore this book! It's an excellent, really well-written fantasy novel about a young woman who goes off to college. It features witty dialogue, wonderfully drawn characters, political intrigue, and a clever plot. I was drawn in right away and I couldn't put it down until it was finished. Great story.

This book was set in an alternate universe -- some bits are clearly set in real places, like Paris, and other bits are set in imaginary places, like Galazon and Greenlaw. It's set in the late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century, and it feels authentically Edwardian. Stevermer's writing style convincingly mimics the literary style of that time period. In other words, don't jump into this book expecting fast-paced explosions of action. While there is plenty of action and adventure and daring escapades, the novel takes its time getting there. This is a subtle book. A slow book. A book to savor.

Also, don't be misled by the title into expecting Harry Potter-style antics. The magic taught at Greenlaw -- all the magic in this book, really -- is not showy. This magic is the stuff of metaphysics; it deals in intangibles.

All caveats aside, this book is absolutely wonderful. I love it to death, and I will undoubtedly re-read it many times in the future!