Aliette de Bodard’s “The House of Shattered Wings” is not the only title coming at the
end of summer/the beginning of autumn from the science fiction and fantasy
imprints of the Penguin Publishing Group that I am looking forward to read, Zen Cho’s “Sorcerer to the Crown” caught my attention as well. I first
discovered Zen Cho’s fiction in Jonathan
Oliver’s anthology, “End of the
Road”, her story “Balik Kampung
(Going Back)” was one of the highlights of that collection for me. That
short story led me to “The House of Aunts” published on GigaNotoSaurus
in December 2011 and to my desire to read more of Zen Cho’s fiction. Sadly, the
fulfillment of my wish got postponed, I lost Zen Cho’s collection of short
stories, “Spirits Abroad”, among the
tangles of my to-be-read pile of books. I am confident I will correct that,
perhaps not before “Sorcerer to the Crown” is released, but someday soon for
certain. As it is certain that I’ll be reading “Sorcerer to the Crown” when it
is published this autumn. At a first glance Zen Cho’s debut novel doesn’t sound
exactly right up my alley, but her two short stories I read convinced me that
“Sorcerer to the Crown” deserves a fair chance. Not to mention that going
outside the safety box of my usual readings proved on several occasions to hold
plenty of benefits. Still, looking over Zen Cho’s guest post on the Barnes
& Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog I discovered further points of attraction
for me at “Sorcerer to the Crown”.
“But there are also stroppy magicians enmeshed in intrigues, dragons in
disguise, foppish fairies, giant mermaids, and people flying around on clouds.
Characters cast spells that go wrong and find themselves hopelessly entangled
in hijinks. Women of various descriptions harangue other people at hilarious length.
I was thinking about power when I wrote the book, but I wrote it mostly to
entertain and comfort myself, as a prophylactic against loneliness. I hope it
serves that purpose for others too.”
I like the cover quite a lot too, the color
appeals to me and the sensation of bas-relief is excellent, while the dragon
looks great. It doesn’t say much about the actual novel, but I still like it.
With all these in mind I am waiting with great
interest the release of Zen Cho’s “Sorcerer to the Crown”, on September, 1st
by Ace Books in the US and on September, 10th by Pan Macmillan
(cover not yet revealed) in the UK.
In this sparkling debut,
magic and mayhem clash with the British elite…
The Royal Society of
Unnatural Philosophers, one of the most respected organizations throughout all
of England, has long been tasked with maintaining magic within His Majesty’s
lands. But lately, the once proper institute has fallen into disgrace, naming
an altogether unsuitable gentleman—a freed slave who doesn’t even have a familiar—as
their Sorcerer Royal, and allowing England’s once profuse stores of magic to
slowly bleed dry. At least they haven’t stooped so low as to allow women to
practice what is obviously a man’s profession…
At his wit’s end, Zacharias
Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers and eminently proficient
magician, ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical
stocks are drying up. But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most
unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets
on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the
world at large…
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