The Gate of Ivory (1989)

Theodora of Pyrene, a student studying folklore at the university on Athena, is stranded on the planet Ivory. She struggles to earn enough for a passage back home by pretending to read cards in the Trade Square Marketplace, and so when Ran Cormallan, sorcerer and first in his family/house offers her a job reading cards for him, she accepts.
There's a catch or three to this job, which Ran does not forewarn her about. It binds Theodora's fortunes with that of Ran and his house, and also means other people want Theodora dead.

It is an intriguing situation - Theodora accepts a job, hoping it will enable her to leave Ivory, yet it's a job her employer has no intention of letting her leave - and it becomes even more so as things rapidly and unexpectedly (for the characters; we readers know to expect such things) become Much Worse.

However it is Theodora herself who makes The Gate of Ivory compelling. She's intelligent and determined, hard-working - I like that she has to work hard at things. She's a scholar and so she goes around collecting (oral) Ivoran folktales, but she also cannot read written Ivoran. She is always an outsider - she gets called "tymon" which means "Barbarian Outlander With No Manners" - and she has an outsider's perspective of Ivory. Yet she also recognises the ways Ivory has influenced her. When she is offered a chance to leave, it is not a black-and-white decision.

I really enjoyed this. It has solid world-building, an interesting narrator and the story moves forward quite nicely. It's a little strange, perhaps, a curious mixture of fantasy and SF, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. I want the sequels to this!

(Unfortunately, it seems these books are out of print and not available at the library. Ggggggrrrrr. Maybe it is time to venture into the unfamiliar realm of purchasing second-hand books online...) ( )

Strangely cozy, for a science fiction novel. Not so much about Big Ideas--I really liked how it focused on mundane things like baths or how to get a bank account or a job when you've lost all your regular support system. It just happens to be on a planet where there's magic, and the magic isn't especially mystical, it's just how things work, you know? ( )

Excellent SF and fantasy. A little bit of a slow star but really engrossing and fresh. The main characters are interesting and while not always totally likable, that makes them more real. They are likable enough that are definitely want to read the next two books in the trilogy. The setting is a world that has magic, which makes it unique in its own universe. ( )

light, funny, thoroughly entertaining sci-fi. Interesting world building, great characters. I'm very excited that there are two more books in the series. ( )

Stranded on the planet Ivory, former anthropology student Theodora ekes out a living telling fortunes. When she's hired by sorcerer Ran, she finds that using his cards she is able to do it for real. The problem is that the job is a life sentence and now someone is trying to kill her.
It took me a little to get into this new world but once I did I was hooked. The ending was a bit strange but there are two more books in the series.