Michael Barnes
In an alternative England where magic exists but is not universally know where there exists a faerie realm beside ours. Magic is known and wielded mostly by a few significant (read rich) families. Our protagonist a teenage Clover Hill is introduced when her older brother, Matthew leaving the family farm for reasons that will be familiar to any reader of Great War literature; “the war will over in a few months,” he told his sister. “The farm will be fine without me until then. It might be the only chance I get to see the world. Besides, I should be out there. Everyone my age is going.”
In one the fields in France a desperate attempt to open a door into the faerie realm results in no winning bargain, but a dread fey unleashed which results in many horrific deaths before it is forced back, leaving Matthew only one of three survivors but terribly cursed. A curse which drives Clover to attend a England’s secret magical academy Camford to find a cure. But it's no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood but she gains three friends and in her own words
"That was how it started, the four of us. We never meant any harm."
I appreciated how immersive a feel of the 1920's Oxford/Cambridge vibe Parry brings to the setting that period at university when you feel you have friend who understand you and you share everything. This novel also cleverly blends the experiences of World War I veterans into the fantasy plot (Parry the author acknowledges the work of several authors from the period including Vera Britain, Ford Maddox Ford, and Rebecca West). Clover and her friends, Alden, Hero, and Eddie each harbor their own secrets and dreams, work to open a faerie door and find answers that might help Matthew. I found them well crafted and interesting characters for their period. It’s the interactions and developments of these characters at different points in their lives, and how their ambitions and goals have directed their paths forward. I despise what Alden became but I can see how it happened. They are all compelling, but flawed, people who make mistakes, sometimes correcting and sometimes doubling down all the more.
Another brilliantly research historical/magical tale from the author of A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians.
In an alternative England where magic exists but is not universally know where there exists a faerie realm beside ours. Magic is known and wielded mostly by a few significant (read rich) families. Our protagonist a teenage Clover Hill is introduced when her older brother, Matthew leaving the family farm for reasons that will be familiar to any reader of Great War literature; “the war will over in a few months,” he told his sister. “The farm will be fine without me until then. It might be the only chance I get to see the world. Besides, I should be out there. Everyone my age is going.”
In one the fields in France a desperate attempt to open a door into the faerie realm results in no winning bargain, but a dread fey unleashed which results in many horrific deaths before it is forced back, leaving Matthew only one of three survivors but terribly cursed. A curse which drives Clover to attend a England’s secret magical academy Camford to find a cure. But it's no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood but she gains three friends and in her own words
"That was how it started, the four of us. We never meant any harm."
I appreciated how immersive a feel of the 1920's Oxford/Cambridge vibe Parry brings to the setting that period at university when you feel you have friend who understand you and you share everything. This novel also cleverly blends the experiences of World War I veterans into the fantasy plot (Parry the author acknowledges the work of several authors from the period including Vera Britain, Ford Maddox Ford, and Rebecca West). Clover and her friends, Alden, Hero, and Eddie each harbor their own secrets and dreams, work to open a faerie door and find answers that might help Matthew. I found them well crafted and interesting characters for their period. It’s the interactions and developments of these characters at different points in their lives, and how their ambitions and goals have directed their paths forward. I despise what Alden became but I can see how it happened. They are all compelling, but flawed, people who make mistakes, sometimes correcting and sometimes doubling down all the more.
Another brilliantly research historical/magical tale from the author of A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians.