Brother's Ruin

This is a fun fantasy/gaslamp novella that I read in one sitting.

As an aside, I don't know if writing a series in novella format is a trend now or if I just happen to be reading them all recently. I'm kind of not a fan, simply because novellas still cost as much as a full length and I'm always left feeling like the story ended just as it started.

Anyway!

This book is set in a world where people who have magic are strictly controlled. They're to report to the Royal Society so they can be properly trained in a specialized area and serve their crown and country. Those in the Society aren't allowed to marry or bear children, as their personal lives cannot come before their duty. Any who try to hide their powers and are discovered are taken show more by the Society anyway and their families are punished for hiding them.

Charlie and her brother, Ben, both have powers, though Charlie is far more powerful. Ben submits himself to the Society to help their family's financial troubles, but Charlie doesn't wish to submit herself. Charlie is headstrong and smart and while she does push the boundaries of what society expects of her, she still wants to marry and have children. I liked the fact that she wasn't the total cliche heroine who doesn't want to do any single thing that other girls want because she has to be special.

As with every short book I review, I feel like there's less I can talk about without giving everything away. But I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to more in this world, even though I wish this was a full-length novel. show less

(Originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com.)

I’m trying to increase my short story/novella reading, and so I was excited when I heard about this new steampunk, fantasy novella put out by Emma Newman. And while I feel like the novella aspect of the book may have weakened aspects of the story, overall, I was very pleased with this story which is the beginning of what looks to be an ongoing series.

Charlotte is in hiding. Not only is she a successful illustrator who must publish under a false name to hide her gender which might cripple her chances at success in a male-dominated profession, but she’s also a talented mage. And to be a mage is to give up one’s life to God and Country, be removed from one’s family (though the family is show more compensated based on the potential ability of their soon-to-be-lost family member), and be trained into serving in the elite Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts. Charlotte has no interest in losing her family, her burgeoning profession, or, worst of all, her fiance. Mages aren’t allowed to marry, and as Charlotte is already engaged to a perfectly pleasing man, so being discovered for the Latent that she is would be catastrophic. Instead, when her family hits hard times, her father recognizes the signs of a magic in his house, but falsely attributes it to his son, and brings in the society mages to test him for abilities. Charlotte must help her brother trick them into accepting him into their group, all while solving a dark mystery into which Charlotte’s father’s debts have dragged them all.

I very much enjoyed the originality of this world. The mages’ society is both something to be esteemed and feared, and this balance is struck again and again throughout the novel. Families can greatly profit from sending a family member to be trained, but they also lose their loved ones in the process, and that loved one gives up the chance to lead a normal life. In one of the opening scenes, Charlotte and her brother witness a young boy being dragged away from his mother once he’s been discovered as a Latent mage. The horror and the tragedy of this early scene is an important reminder as the story progresses and the true danger that her family faces at the hands of her father’s debt collectors becomes clear. It would be easy to question why Charlotte doesn’t simply bring herself forth. In many other fantasy series, having great powers is always shown as a purely good thing. But the sacrifices that come with this life are made clear throughout the entire story. Not only does one give up one’s planned life, but the mages society itself is not without its own dangers and dramas.

Charlotte was a very good lead character. Through her eyes, we can see the fears that have driven her throughout her entire life. Not only does she need to hide her magic, but her own success as an illustrator, a profession that she shares, nay exceeds at, with her own father. He, of course, is unaware of this commonality and the fact that Charlotte has spent much of her own money supporting her brother, in particular. Also, right away, her relationship with her fiance is set up as a challenge. Charlotte has not been honest with him either about these aspects of her life. In truth, her closest relationship is with her sickly brother, the only one to fully know her.

One of the bigger challenges for me in this story was the introduction and use of the mage who aides her in investigating the debt collectors. He is presented as a very attractive man whom Charlotte is drawn to right off the bat. However, throughout the story he routinely misleads her, sends her into dangerous situations without giving her complete knowledge, and out-and-out manipulates her. This behavior is explained, but, for me, he never quite recovers as a heroic character. While Charlotte and her fiance are clearly not well-suited (talk about a wet blanket relationship), I wasn’t as able to forgive the flaws of this new love interest as easily as Charlotte seemed to. The end of the book sets them up to work together in the future, with only the barest hints of romance alluded to (she’s still engaged, mind you), so I’ll be curious to see what comes of this going forward.

My only other struggle was with the pacing and the writing in spots. Charlotte had a few revelations that felt out of the blue and un-earned, and the pacing was jarring in the middle when the plot had to gallop along to cover all the multitude of plot points that were jammed into such a short story. I feel that the story could have benefited from an extra 25-50 pages to fully flesh out the deeper emotional beats and ensure that the plot ran more smoothly.

The world building was strong, however, and Charlotte was a fun main character, so I’m definitely on board to see what troubles she finds herself in in the future! And to see what becomes of her brother, Ben, another character I very much enjoyed who is now trapped in a magical society that thinks he is more than he actually is. show less

The title appears to be glorifying severe family dysfunction. After a single chapter I found the sickly sweet "he can do no wrong" presentation too nauseating to continue. Let him pay his own consequences, let him grow up, and if that means he goes to jail (or worse), so be it. (note: he has a mustache, he is going to university, he is old enough to carry his own weight).

Brother’s Ruin is the first in a planned series of historical fantasy novellas.

Charlotte Gunn is the daughter of a lower middle income family in 1850 England. Her father barely scrapes by as an illustrator, but Charlotte has her own secret artistic career that she’s using to help her older brother pay for engineering school. Then disaster strikes – Charlotte finds out that her father is in debt and doesn’t have the money to pay and is facing debtor’s prison or worse.

In addition to her own career as an illustrator, Charlotte has another secret – she has significant magical abilities.

Hiding magical abilities is illegal, and if Charlotte is discovered involuntarily, her family would be presumed to help her and face prosecution. show more But if Charlotte voluntarily announces her abilities to the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts, they would pay her family a compensation of funds analogous with her abilities. It could offer the solution to her family’s financial problems, but it would mean the end to Charlotte’s dreams. Mages are forbidden to marry, but Charlotte has a fiancee. Mages are forbidden to have incomes independent from their work with the Royal Society, but Charlotte loves her art. Can Charlotte find a solution to save her father and her own dreams? Or will she have to make a sacrifice?

My favorite thing about Brother’s Ruin is Charlotte. She’s such a spunky heroine! On the surface, she acts very hard to be the proper Victorian lady. As such, her family and others pay very little attention to her, and she has a lot of leeway to lead her own life. She’s smart, determined, and by golly, she’s got gumption. I’d love to read more about her.

I also enjoyed the alternate history Newman has crafted. She pays heed to historical details but embellishes them with fantastical twists. The Royal Society is appropriately mysterious and intimidating. If you’re discovered with magical powers, you’re taken from your family and made to devote your life to the Society. An early scene with a young boy being dragged from his mother by Society enforcers shows just how real this threat is. It’s abundantly clear why Charlotte doesn’t want to join them.

Brother’s Ruin is a novella, and thus a pretty quick read. It is clearly the beginning of a series, feeling much more like a “Part One” than an independent story. The next novella is also supposed to come out in 2017, but there’s no firm news. That’s too bad! I really want the next part of this story.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received this novella from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review. show less

A few years ago I would have been startled to think that there was such a thing as Historical Urban Fantasy, but yeah, it's a thing now.

And now that we've got cotton gins and the Royal Society deeply involved in the magic business, with all sorts of fear and corruption and intrigue, I shouldn't really be surprised. So the question is: is this good?

I think it's quite fun, personally. It's a simple setup and Charlotte is a pretty cool character with a magical secret. And she deeply mistrusts the Society... for good reason, as it turns out. It's a simple story, a comedy of error and circumstance that becomes a cross between a heist and a romance.

Wait... simple?
Well, yeah, it's a short setup for a longer series, obviously. It's gonna show more require investment. Fortunately, it was fun and I don't have any problems with that. :)

Historical UF is fun! show less

The Society for Esoteric Arts are the people who regulate magic in this world and they wield an iron rod. When a new magician is found they are obliged to join the order and contribute to the empire. When you are found and if you are found to be powerful you are bid on by various mages and this can be the difference between gentile poverty heading to bankruptcy and living a good life. This is the case with the Gunns, their son is not powerful, but their daughter is; however the daughter has no value, so their son and daughter have to combine forces to appear more powerful.

Charlotte finds herself caught up in a nefarious plot that could kill her father, she has to buy time but buying time is more complicated than it seems and one of the show more mages bidding on her brother is a little too interested in her.

I enjoyed this, Emma Newman is an author I enjoy reading. The characters were well drawn and I liked reading about them. They were also quite true to period. show less

Set in an alternate Victorian England, one full of magic and mages, this book examines a woman's relationship with her family. Charlotte Gunn is a talented mage who is hiding from the system that would take her from her family. When her father gets mired in debt and misattributes her talent to her brother, she must help her brother to pass the test the mages put before him. It was an interesting book, but it felt unfinished, with some plotlines left unresolved. Additionally, some of the decisions the characters make seem unreasonable in-story. However, Hopkins was a very interesting character and is the reason that I plan to read the sequel. All in all, it was a fine read to pass the time, but I wouldn't make time for it.