HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Charmed Sphere (Luna S.) by Catherine…
Loading...

The Charmed Sphere (Luna S.) (edition 2004)

by Catherine Asaro

Series: Lost Continent (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
5731841,265 (3.15)11
Once Chime had been the most promising mage in the land, feted and celebrated for her potential and future role in the kingdom. Then Iris, her young competitor, made a stunning leap in skill and turned Chime's world upside down. Now no longer the most powerful, no longer promised to a prince-- and still unable to harness her magic properly-- Chime was set adrift. As was the new king's cousin-- and former heir-- Lord Muller. Yet when the neighboring kingdom threatened war, Muller and Chime were tasked with uncovering the plot. Both were flawed, yet unwilling to accept a lesser destiny than they had once known. Could this quest be the opportunity for redemption-- or would it lead them to their deaths? Award-winning author Catherine Asaro, creator of The Skolian Empire, creates her first full-length fantasy novel in a world rich with magic and power. Fans who caught a glimpse of the kingdom of Aronsdale in "Moonglow" from the Charmed Destinies collection are...… (more)
Member:dianah2o
Title:The Charmed Sphere (Luna S.)
Authors:Catherine Asaro
Info:Luna (2004), Paperback
Collections:Your library
Rating:**
Tags:keeper, Luna, fantasy

Work Information

The Charmed Sphere by Catherine Asaro

None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 11 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 18 (next | show all)
One of my old familiar re-reads, I've owned this book for years and keep going back to it. Not the most amazing plot or deep charactes, but they're good and comfortable. ( )
  Linyarai | Feb 16, 2020 |
A world where magic is defined by shape [for power] and color[for type]. A really cool premise. A small kingdom is under threat from a neighboring kingdom and must use its mages to supplement it's army. So it sounded good.

Then I met the characters. Bunch of whiny, pansy, selfish, no self confidence bunch of pathetic losers. The characters teenager'ish angst and self-doubt completely ruined this book for me. It was not enjoyable and I will not be reading any more by Asaro. ( )
  BookstoogeLT | Dec 10, 2016 |
Terrible. Lines like, "She quirked one of her perfect eyebrows at him" and "Telli laughed, her melodic voice chiming like bells," and of course, "willowy curves." God help us all. Some of the most cliched, boring piece of fantasy I have ever laughed at. ( )
  wealhtheowwylfing | Feb 29, 2016 |
Well, that was different. I certainly wasn't expecting a fantasy romance, with a touch of math/science thrown in.

Picked this up because the author will be at an event I'm attending in the nearish future and I'd never read any of her work. Blurbs here and there say she's got the chops in science: Harvard and UCLa in physics and chemistry, and deep into molecudyne (look it up if you don't know what it is) research. She also is a dancer, both jazz and ballet. (And married to a astrophysicist at NASA, though it strikes me odd that this information is included in her bio.) I had hoped to read a stand alone book of hers, but as that wasn't available when I was looking, I chose a early book in a series.

I found the plot line a cross between romance and a pre-Twilight YA romance, which, for me, was not that satisfying. The opening scene reminded me of Camelot, where Arthur and Guinevere meet, she running away from her husband to be, he, hiding in a tree to escape the girl who would become his queen. As a result, I hummed the opening song to the musical for a day and a half-- major ear worm. At first I thought the scene a rip-off, but have decided it's probably an homage to Alan Jay Lerner (and Lowe). The magic system, based on the premise that people who are born with mage powers cover a rainbow spectrum of ability, and use geometric shapes to cast and enhance their spells. I can imagine that someone who dislikes math might be disgruntled by the interweaving of power and shapes here. For me, keeping track of characters, their mage color, shapes, and other interrelationships was a bit confusing.

As to the story, I wasn't all that captivated, but I can see where others, who have more patience for romance, might. And had I read this when I was under 20, I might have liked it more. And I just wasn't interested enough in any of the 4 main good guy characters, or the primary evil character, to even worry if they were in danger or not. I'm sorry to say that for this reader, the sphere definitely wasn't charmed, but I'm not giving up on the author. have found that our library system has one stand alone novel, which has won the HOMer Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. I've placed a request and will give that a try. I'd like to be able to honestly tell her when I meet her that I've read and enjoyed something she wrote. ( )
  bookczuk | Oct 9, 2015 |
It was okay. I won't regret the lost time spent reading it, but I'm glad I purchased as an ebook so that it wouldn't have been taking up space on my shelf until I got around to reading it. ( )
  merouda | Apr 8, 2011 |
Showing 1-5 of 18 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

Belongs to Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
To my daughter, Cathy,
Whose luminous heart brightens the world,
With all my love
First words
Chime hid when the king came to town.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Once Chime had been the most promising mage in the land, feted and celebrated for her potential and future role in the kingdom. Then Iris, her young competitor, made a stunning leap in skill and turned Chime's world upside down. Now no longer the most powerful, no longer promised to a prince-- and still unable to harness her magic properly-- Chime was set adrift. As was the new king's cousin-- and former heir-- Lord Muller. Yet when the neighboring kingdom threatened war, Muller and Chime were tasked with uncovering the plot. Both were flawed, yet unwilling to accept a lesser destiny than they had once known. Could this quest be the opportunity for redemption-- or would it lead them to their deaths? Award-winning author Catherine Asaro, creator of The Skolian Empire, creates her first full-length fantasy novel in a world rich with magic and power. Fans who caught a glimpse of the kingdom of Aronsdale in "Moonglow" from the Charmed Destinies collection are...

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Originally a novella entitled "Moonglow" in 2003's Charmed Destinies anthology, The Charmed Sphere is the much-expanded story about a reluctant mage and an equally reluctant heir. Chime is living an idyllic life with her family in the rural hamlet of Jacob's Vale. But her life is turned upside down when one of the King of Aronsdale's most trusted advisers, searching the kingdom for shape-mages, identifies her as a promising mage with powerful undeveloped ability. Chime reluctantly agrees to travel to Castle Suncroft, where she is to be trained in the art of magecraft -- and also groomed for her marriage to Prince Muller, the heir to the throne of Aronsdale! Muller is the nephew to the king, and the last thing he wants to do is get married and rule a kingdom. He's more concerned with fashion than affairs of state. When the King of Aronsdale dies and Muller continues to postpone his royal ascension, the leader of a neighboring kingdom -- along with an insane mage bent on destroying Aronsdale -- sees the transition as the perfect time to strike.
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.15)
0.5 2
1 9
1.5 2
2 15
2.5 6
3 46
3.5 9
4 26
4.5 2
5 15

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,285,003 books! | Top bar: Always visible