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Book Review
Feb. 21st, 2013 10:01 amCity of Dark Magic
by Magnus Flyte
This short, breezy novel is about Sarah Weston, a doctoral candidate in musicology who is hired, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, to spend a summer in Prague cataloging and organizing a collection of musical manuscripts at the Lobkowicz Palace. Once she is there, things become even more complicated and mysterious as Sarah gets involved with the current Lobkowicz prince, a drug that lets you see the past, and a grand mystery involving various artifacts. Repercussions of the Cold War, a series of dead bodies, and Beethoven come into play, too.
This novel is quite a mixed bag. On the one hand, the characterization is a little weak at times and there are some all too convenient coincidences and convergences. I'm also a little annoyed at the way Beethoven's Immortal Beloved is woven in. Look world, I'm sorry the real story is not romantic or fantastic or even titillating enough for you. I'm sorry that Antonie Brentano may not seem special enough to you to merit the deep love of Beethoven. But she did. I guess he saw something that history just can't convey to us. Let's all just accept that and move on. There are so many other things about Beethoven to explore, why get hung up on this? On the other hand, City of Dark Magic was undeniably fun and diverting. The story and some of the ideas are exciting and compelling, and while the characters are not necessarily all that complex or deeply drawn, the heroes are worth rooting for and the villains are properly villainous. The plot moves along nicely, particularly in the last half, and Prague is portrayed as a fascinating place, alternating between charming and enigmatic.
by Magnus Flyte
This short, breezy novel is about Sarah Weston, a doctoral candidate in musicology who is hired, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, to spend a summer in Prague cataloging and organizing a collection of musical manuscripts at the Lobkowicz Palace. Once she is there, things become even more complicated and mysterious as Sarah gets involved with the current Lobkowicz prince, a drug that lets you see the past, and a grand mystery involving various artifacts. Repercussions of the Cold War, a series of dead bodies, and Beethoven come into play, too.
This novel is quite a mixed bag. On the one hand, the characterization is a little weak at times and there are some all too convenient coincidences and convergences. I'm also a little annoyed at the way Beethoven's Immortal Beloved is woven in. Look world, I'm sorry the real story is not romantic or fantastic or even titillating enough for you. I'm sorry that Antonie Brentano may not seem special enough to you to merit the deep love of Beethoven. But she did. I guess he saw something that history just can't convey to us. Let's all just accept that and move on. There are so many other things about Beethoven to explore, why get hung up on this? On the other hand, City of Dark Magic was undeniably fun and diverting. The story and some of the ideas are exciting and compelling, and while the characters are not necessarily all that complex or deeply drawn, the heroes are worth rooting for and the villains are properly villainous. The plot moves along nicely, particularly in the last half, and Prague is portrayed as a fascinating place, alternating between charming and enigmatic.
