Blood Over Bright Haven - Review
Link to the author's (M. L. Wang) personal website
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Type: Book
Tags:
- Average Age of Main Characters (30)
- Length (6 / 10)
Link to Goodreads
Blurb: An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.
What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.
Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?
Review: A great self-contained tragic novel. I found that the general plot was largely telegraphed, but that it was so well written I didn't care. I enjoyed reading the depiction of Tiran, and how the city mixed magic and technology. I believe it's the first novel I've read that so directly portrays magic as programming.
Sciona and Thomil were great main characters, also serving as vehicles for beautiful depictions of sexism, personal ambition, and racism. The conversation over differing belief systems on what makes someone "good" was an especially great scene. The ending manages to be both cathartic and miserable. Is a solid recommend from me.