Pantomime by Laura Lam
Aug. 19th, 2013 11:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
R. H. Ragona’s CIRCUS OF MAGIC is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a vanished civilisation – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where ANYTHING SEEMS POSSIBLE … a place where anyone can hide.
Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the DAUGHTER OF A NOBLE FAMILY, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, A RUNAWAY living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the act’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES of Ellada.
Iphigenia ‘Gene’ Laurus has lived a privileged life and her parents expect her to make a good marriage to secure the family’s fortunes. But Iphigenia has a secret. She was born with both male and female genitalia and as she approaches her 16th birthday, she’s developing more male traits - preferring to climb trees with her brother Cyril than practice embroidery. Her anxious parents have consulted with every physician in the country. Many medical papers have been written about her.
When a physician finally proposes a radical cure, Gene decides to run away rather than undergo the drastic surgery. Disguising herself as a boy called Micah Grey, she finds sanctuary at R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic and trains as an aerialist with the beautiful Aenea. But as Micah struggles to work out who she is, she discovers secrets about her identity that tie her to a long-disappeared civilisation …
Laura Lam’s debut YA fantasy is an interesting character study about identity and finding your place in the world. Gene’s a well-drawn and sympathetic character who’s struggling to work out who she is and I enjoyed following her on her journey. The fantasy world of Ellada is well realised with an enjoyable pseudo-Victorian feel and the circus is well depicted, albeit there are a lot of characters to keep track of and I would have liked a map to give me a sense of what the world looks like. However, there’s a lot of backstory and world building going on here and while that did keep me engaged, I didn’t really get a sense of where the plot was going until the end, while the cliffhanger ending left me irritated. Nevertheless, I’ll definitely be reading on and look forward to finding out what happens to Micah next.
The hermaphrodite elements never felt exploitative or cheap. I believed in Gene’s confusion as to her identity and the scenes with the physicians are excruciating to read. Lam weaves this in with the mythology of her world, although I’m a little concerned that it’s heading down the magical hermaphrodite route.
It’s refreshing to see secondary world fantasy based on Victorian era technology and I enjoyed the magical and mysterious Penglass but at times the descriptions feel overwritten and there’s too much information to take in.
All in all, it’s a solid debut that left me interested in finding out what happens next.
The Verdict:
Laura Lam’s debut YA fantasy is an interesting character study about identity and finding your place in the world. Gene’s a well-drawn and sympathetic character who’s struggling to work out who she is and I enjoyed following her on her journey. The fantasy world of Ellada is well realised with an enjoyable pseudo-Victorian feel and the circus is well depicted, albeit there are a lot of characters to keep track of and I would have liked a map to give me a sense of what the world looks like. However, there’s a lot of backstory and world building going on here and while that did keep me engaged, I didn’t really get a sense of where the plot was going until the end, while the cliffhanger ending left me irritated. Nevertheless, I’ll definitely be reading on and look forward to finding out what happens to Micah next.
R. H. Ragona’s CIRCUS OF MAGIC is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a vanished civilisation – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where ANYTHING SEEMS POSSIBLE … a place where anyone can hide.
Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the DAUGHTER OF A NOBLE FAMILY, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, A RUNAWAY living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the act’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES of Ellada.
Iphigenia ‘Gene’ Laurus has lived a privileged life and her parents expect her to make a good marriage to secure the family’s fortunes. But Iphigenia has a secret. She was born with both male and female genitalia and as she approaches her 16th birthday, she’s developing more male traits - preferring to climb trees with her brother Cyril than practice embroidery. Her anxious parents have consulted with every physician in the country. Many medical papers have been written about her.
When a physician finally proposes a radical cure, Gene decides to run away rather than undergo the drastic surgery. Disguising herself as a boy called Micah Grey, she finds sanctuary at R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic and trains as an aerialist with the beautiful Aenea. But as Micah struggles to work out who she is, she discovers secrets about her identity that tie her to a long-disappeared civilisation …
Laura Lam’s debut YA fantasy is an interesting character study about identity and finding your place in the world. Gene’s a well-drawn and sympathetic character who’s struggling to work out who she is and I enjoyed following her on her journey. The fantasy world of Ellada is well realised with an enjoyable pseudo-Victorian feel and the circus is well depicted, albeit there are a lot of characters to keep track of and I would have liked a map to give me a sense of what the world looks like. However, there’s a lot of backstory and world building going on here and while that did keep me engaged, I didn’t really get a sense of where the plot was going until the end, while the cliffhanger ending left me irritated. Nevertheless, I’ll definitely be reading on and look forward to finding out what happens to Micah next.
The hermaphrodite elements never felt exploitative or cheap. I believed in Gene’s confusion as to her identity and the scenes with the physicians are excruciating to read. Lam weaves this in with the mythology of her world, although I’m a little concerned that it’s heading down the magical hermaphrodite route.
It’s refreshing to see secondary world fantasy based on Victorian era technology and I enjoyed the magical and mysterious Penglass but at times the descriptions feel overwritten and there’s too much information to take in.
All in all, it’s a solid debut that left me interested in finding out what happens next.
The Verdict:
Laura Lam’s debut YA fantasy is an interesting character study about identity and finding your place in the world. Gene’s a well-drawn and sympathetic character who’s struggling to work out who she is and I enjoyed following her on her journey. The fantasy world of Ellada is well realised with an enjoyable pseudo-Victorian feel and the circus is well depicted, albeit there are a lot of characters to keep track of and I would have liked a map to give me a sense of what the world looks like. However, there’s a lot of backstory and world building going on here and while that did keep me engaged, I didn’t really get a sense of where the plot was going until the end, while the cliffhanger ending left me irritated. Nevertheless, I’ll definitely be reading on and look forward to finding out what happens to Micah next.
