A Marvelous Light
Freya Marske
Freya Marske's A Marvellous Light contains this acknowledgement
And a special shout-out to my mother, who was the first person to tell me that she couldn’t put this book down, and who forgave me for making her read the sexy bits.
Marske's Mom and I would get along, I think.
I picked up A Marvellous Light because The Last Binding was nominated for a 2024 Hugo Best Series award. It is, I believe, Marske's debut novel. It's quite a debut. It's set in early twentieth century England. It transpires that in this version of England there is a demimonde (in the "a distinct circle or world that is often an isolated part of a larger world" sense) of magical families. Our main point-of-view characters are Sir Robert Blyth, Impecunious Baronet, who begins the book blissfully unaware of the existence of magic, and Edwin Courcey, the younger son of an old magical family. Robin, as Sir Robert is nicknamed, takes a minor government job, as some sort of liaison -- he doesn't quite know what the job will entail.
So, it transpires that he is, with Edwin's help, to keep Prime Minister Asquith informed of events within the magical community. His assignment to this office was a mistake, and rather a dangerous one for Robin. The very first words of chapter 1 (I'm not counting this as a spoiler), are "Reginald Gatling’s doom found him..." Robin is Reggie's replacement. And Reggie's doom is hot on Robin's heels.
Edwin, trying to help, takes Robin in hand. Initially Edwin has no more idea than Robin what the fuss is about. That's what the novel is about, mostly, Edwin and Robin's investigation of the plotters who did Reggie. It's a good story. Edwin and Robin make a good team -- they have contrasting and complementary abilities. Robin is the socialite, Edwin the scholar.
The novel is about the investigation, and one other thing. You will notice that A Marvellous Light is shelved as "Romance". And I've already quoted Marske's acknowledgment to her mother, implying that she forced her Mom to read the "sexy bits". Yes, there's a romance, and the two persons in question get it on, several times. The sexy bits are explicit, detailed, and long. When I say "long", I don't just mean they occupy a lot of pages. I mean that as I read them, I was like a kid on a long road trip, asking, "Are we almost there yet?"
Now, obviously tastes differ, and for some readers the sexy bits will be the best parts. If that's you, feel free to bump my three-star rating up a notch. Still, I enjoyed this overall, and I intend to continue with the series. The fantasy mystery plot has me.
Comments
Post a Comment
Add a comment!