Of Swords and Parasols

A lot of what happened here I predicted, but only because it seemed the only natural course, as opposed to telegraphing itself. I'm not sure I like the ending(specifically, the last chapter and epilogue) but there's a sequel trilogy set 20~ years later, so Canavan may have had it in mind when she wrote it. All in all, though, a pretty good fantasy trilogy.
( a few spoilery comments )
Has anyone read Canavan's other fantasy trilogy? (Too lazy to look up the name right now.)

The Novice picks up shortly after The Magicians Guild' leaves off, focusing on Sonea's first year as a guild novice(hence the title.)  Like The Magicians' Guild, in many ways, it's fairly normal for the middle book of a fantasy trilogy-Sonea is bullied by the other students by her classmates because of her background, she has to prove herself to them and her teachers, she does, Dannyl goes off investigating everything so we'll have a better idea of what's going on, and everything gets moved into place for the final book, etc.-but still a very well written one.  It stands out, though, for the revelations at the end of the first book, and how they alter the typical setup, as well as for the excellent characterization.

There, is, of course, Sonea, who remains smart, practical and resourceful.  She never whines about her bad situation and instead does what she can to make the best of it, and when she has good fortune, it's because she made it for herself, not because she lucked into it.  Then there's Dannyl, a clever man who is far more good natured than his past should allow for, and their mutual mentor, Rothyn, who I begin to fear iss far too kind and believing in the goodness of others(yet without seeming stupid or gullible) to live.  And Sonea's friend, Cery, who continues to carry a torch I feel is destined to be blown out, and Lorlen, placed in the terrible position of knowing too much about the last person he could want to know too much about.  And, of course, there's Lord Akkarin, the hard and cold head of the guild who's far more than he seems, even to those who think they've discovered all his secrets. 

I do, though, have a few reservations.


Also, I am spending an inordinate amount of time wonder who Sonea's costar is on the cover of The Magicians' Guild.  From the matching wardrobes and antagonistic stance, I assume it's Regin on the cover of The Novice, and from his outfit, the back description and the story developments here, I assume it's Akkarin on The High Lord, but I can't figure out who it is on The Magicians' Guild.  It can't be Akkarin or Rothyn, and Cery isn't...well...man enough for it to be him(not that Cery's remotely wussy or anything, but that's no teenaged boy on the cover.)  I suppose Dannyl's a possibility...

And yes, I realize how absurd it is to try to apply context to 99% of the sff covers out there.  But I ponder these things.

In Imardin, all people with magic ability are automatically drafted into the Magician's Guild.  This isn't so much for power as it is that those who aren't trained to use their power constructively and to let it out tend to end up losing control and killing themselves with it.  They tend to take other people out with them.  A sensible enough reason, but it does leave the Guild in a position of great power, and since it's rare for mages to be born to anything but the noble class, it only emphasizes the class distinction, leaving the lower classes understandably bitter, something that isn't helped by the fact that every year, the mages purge the city of what they consider to be undesirables.

Sonea used to be one of those undesirables and a member of a gang of street kids until two years ago, when her aunt and uncle were finally able to move out of the slums and start their own business, and she went with them.  However, when she learns that her old district will be the target of this year's purge, she goes to warn her old friends, Harrin and Cery, only to get caught up in the riot caused by the purge.  When she sees others uselessly hurling rocks at the mages, she throws one of her own, only to have her rock get through their fields and strike a mage, Fergun, in the head.  By the time everyone calms down enough to go "hey, that was someone with magic and if she did that without training, she's probably going to kill herself and half the city soon" Harrin and Cery have bundled Sonea off and into hiding.


In all honesty, it's a fairly straightforward medieval-lite guilds and politics fantasy, but it's a pretty well written one with and interesting enough take on the usual setup(peasant-variety kid learns she has great power, is sought after) and good characters.It's also only a three book series, so no endless storylines.  (Her website tells me that there are more books planned for the world, but in different time periods.)