Paper Mage

Rating:
Summary: Tea and cookies
Review: A good read for people who enjoy an eastern theme to their fantasy -- A pleasant, mild flavored story, quiet and a pleasant diversion but not intensely gripping.

The main character grows through the book, in slow measured steps as the reader is treated to alternating chapters of her current adventure and a retcon of her training to become a Paper Mage. The use of paper magic is delightful, and the world building is interesting and full of well molded characters, but without great depth to any character outside Xiao Yen, who's POV most of the story is seen from.

Warning, one scene of gang rape. Dispassionately described, mostly "off screen". Otherwise it's a nice read to pass the hours on a quiet afternoon, with a hot beverage and a sweet. Would make a good intro for futher adventures of Xiao Yen.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth reading
Review: A real character with a real character arc (something oft-forgotten in the SF/fantasy genre), set against the backdrop of a world so well-relaized that I kept forgetting to be impressed by all the small authentic details that were everywhere. A book to read and a writer to watch!

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, convincing fantasy
Review: Cutter's fresh take on magic and skill at immersing the reader in Chinese customs and values, combined with a deeply appealing heroine, make this a must-read for fantasy fans tired of Tolkien knock-offs. Buy this book, sit down with a cup of green tea, and let your imagination be folded into new shapes by this delicate and surprising tale.

Rating:
Summary: cutting edge historical fantasy
Review: During the Tang Dynasty in the city of Bao Fang, a young girl loses her father and brothers in an accident at sea forcing the female survivors (she, her sisters and her mother), to live with their Aunt Wang Tie Tie. In an age when women are subordinate to men, Wang Tie Tie is an independent person who runs her own household and businesses. She sends her niece Xiao Yen to school to learn to be a PAPER MAGE, one who folds paper into shapes and bring them to life.

Xiao Yen promises her aunt that she will do daring deeds to attract the attention of the god Zhang so he will give her a peach to give to her an aunt so she too will become immortal. On her very first job, guiding two men to a predetermined destination, she slays a dragon, frees a goddess from a tyrant's spell, and kills an evil dictator. Slaying someone forces Xiao Yen to decide whether she wants to be a traditional Middle Kingdom woman or an independent person.

It is very obvious that the author researched Ancient Chinese culture and history during the time of Charlemagne in Europe so that readers obtain a very visual picture of the country. The heroine is an interesting mix of independence and dependency on her family. When she grows into being a mage, she does so knowing what many of the ramifications will be. Leah R. Cutter has written a cutting edge historical fantasy balanced between plenty of action, strong visualization of Ancient China, and deep introspective pondering on the part of a delightful protagonist.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Looking forward to the next book.
Review: I am glad I picked this book out of the store shelf. It was a fabulous read and I thoroughly enjoyed the Eastern Fantasy theme. The main character's motivations was true to her background, and her reactions to every given situation were real and relevant. At every stage of the story, the main character grows accordingly, but the fact that the author leaves much room for more development is a brilliant stroke of human nature in fiction. The concept of paper and magic is novel to me, and I thought this terribly refreshing; the way its power is so dependent on the skill of the weilder. The personal relationships presented in this story drives the plot, simple, but makes perfect sense. I did, however, find a weak point which was the motivation of the main character concerning her obligation to the story's divinities. Though *that* storyline is necessarily intertwined with her personal quest, it was greatly overpowered by the other aspects contained in the plot. With that said, indeed the good qualities of this story far outweighs its flaws.

A good read! I'm looking forward to more from Ms. Cutter.

Rating:
Summary: Looking forward to the next book.
Review: I am glad I picked this book out of the store shelf. It was a fabulous read and I thoroughly enjoyed the Eastern Fantasy theme. The main character's motivations was true to her background, and her reactions to every given situation were real and relevant. At every stage of the story, the main character grows accordingly, but the fact that the author leaves much room for more development is a brilliant stroke of human nature in fiction. The concept of paper and magic is novel to me, and I thought this terribly refreshing; the way its power is so dependent on the skill of the weilder. The personal relationships presented in this story drives the plot, simple, but makes perfect sense. I did, however, find a weak point which was the motivation of the main character concerning her obligation to the story's divinities. Though *that* storyline is necessarily intertwined with her personal quest, it was greatly overpowered by the other aspects contained in the plot. With that said, indeed the good qualities of this story far outweighs its flaws.

A good read! I'm looking forward to more from Ms. Cutter.

Rating:
Summary: Goes nowhere
Review: I was quite disappointed in this book. One of the main conflicts is that the main character has no belief in herself or her abilities and spends the entire book bemoaning the loss of her luck. Anything goes wrong -- it's because she lost her luck. Things go right -- must be because she is lucky. I spent the whole book hoping she would come to have faith in herself... but she doesn't! She just "gets" some different luck.

The magic system, while fascinating, is given somewhat short shrift. The chapters alternate between the past (her studies) and the present (her journey) but it's often hard to remember what happened when. The writing itself is quite good, and sections of the plot are absolutely gripping. I give this book 3 stars because I feel it's just a bit better than mediocre.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth reading
Review: I'm surprised to hear others complaining that the characters of PAPER MAGE came off flat for them. I didn't find that to be true at all. I wonder people's reactions have more to do with how the society, community-oriented Chinese culture translates on to the written page. Modern American readers are, I would guess, used to very bold, individualistic people, which PAPER MAGE's characters are not... nor should they be.

If I had any problem with the book, it's that Leah Cutter did her job transporting us back to another time and to an "alien" (to me, anyway,) culture *too* well. This feeds into the issue of her characters _seeming_ flat. As a modern, feminist reader, I had a hard time relating to Xiao Yen's main conflict... whether 'tis nobler to embrace the life as a mage (which so clearly suits her), or to settle down and do the things a girl is "supposed" to do, ala have children via an arranged marriage.

Obviously, for this time and place, that's absolutely the kind of conflict Xiao Yen should be having. Her homesickness is also perfectly in keeping with the society she was raised in. BUT, as an American living in the 21st century, I spent a lot of my time scratching my head, and thinking, "Get over it, already!"

Despite my culture-clash, I found the character of Xiao Yen and her supporting cast to be compelling. I just had to keep reminding myself that what Leah Cutter was writing, and writing so frustratingly well, was a period piece. I had to continually remind myself that these people were different from me, had different values. They weren't going to behave in the ways I expected (or wanted) them to.

To me, that ability to so completely give me a window into another culture and another time, is what science fiction/fantasy is all about. It's why I read.

Bravo, Leah!

Rating:
Summary: What SF/F is really about
Review: I'm surprised to hear others complaining that the characters of PAPER MAGE came off flat for them. I didn't find that to be true at all. I wonder people's reactions have more to do with how the society, community-oriented Chinese culture translates on to the written page. Modern American readers are, I would guess, used to very bold, individualistic people, which PAPER MAGE's characters are not... nor should they be.

If I had any problem with the book, it's that Leah Cutter did her job transporting us back to another time and to an "alien" (to me, anyway,) culture *too* well. This feeds into the issue of her characters _seeming_ flat. As a modern, feminist reader, I had a hard time relating to Xiao Yen's main conflict... whether 'tis nobler to embrace the life as a mage (which so clearly suits her), or to settle down and do the things a girl is "supposed" to do, ala have children via an arranged marriage.

Obviously, for this time and place, that's absolutely the kind of conflict Xiao Yen should be having. Her homesickness is also perfectly in keeping with the society she was raised in. BUT, as an American living in the 21st century, I spent a lot of my time scratching my head, and thinking, "Get over it, already!"

Despite my culture-clash, I found the character of Xiao Yen and her supporting cast to be compelling. I just had to keep reminding myself that what Leah Cutter was writing, and writing so frustratingly well, was a period piece. I had to continually remind myself that these people were different from me, had different values. They weren't going to behave in the ways I expected (or wanted) them to.

To me, that ability to so completely give me a window into another culture and another time, is what science fiction/fantasy is all about. It's why I read.

Bravo, Leah!

Rating:
Summary: Paper is appropriate
Review: Paper is appropriate in the title, the characters are utterly 2 dimensional as is the story. Painfully dull with nothing to interest you in any further interaction with the characters. I kept waiting for the good part and it never got there. While parts of the book seemed to foreshadow greatness, it simply never developed. The heroine is an utter turn off, by stages either seeming oblivious or dense. The writing leaned toward poetic and could have set off a better story well.