A College of Magics

I had a lot of fun reading A College of Magics--and I know I would have found it at least as engrossing (and hard to put down) as a younger person. Twelve-year-old me would have read it in one sitting ... unfortunately, thirty-two-year-old me can't just wander off to read for hours at a time, but I still felt that impulse.

I didn't love the ending, and some of the romantic feelings and so on are rather overdone. But many of the characters are interesting--evil Uncle Brinker who turns out not to be evil but also not to be sympathetic, for instance--and the plot takes some neat turns. Strong work with setting and a pleasingly subtle approach to the nature and purpose of magic in the world. And, though I like Faris (the main character), I show more love her practical and impeccably-dressed British friend Jane. I'd be very interested to read a novel where she gets to shine in a lead role ... Anyway, regardless of the little flaws in plot, characterization, and pacing, this novel is hugely entertaining and a treat. show less

I had no idea that Caroline Stevermer had written adult fantasies, so I was excited to encounter this vintage title in a used bookstore.

A College of Magics is an alt-history gaslight fantasy, part school story and part Ruritanian romance. In blending genres, Stevermer takes structural risks that almost made me put down the book. The first several chapters are largely narration, and the story develops very organically and episodically.

I kept reading for Faris. The young duchess of Galazon, gawky, headstrong, and equal parts self-assured and self-conscious, she is a splendid, unforgettable character. The other highlight here is Stevermer's confidence with her source material—she has an incredible command of the language and culture of show more early twentieth-century Europe, with just a subtle twist of magic and whimsy for flavoring.

Despite the slow start, the tension ratchets up as the book progresses, and the last third is exciting and well-plotted (and features one of the funniest examples of a Chekhov's gun that I've encountered in fiction). It's a pleasure to encounter a novel that delivers on all its narrative promises.

Definitely a quirky book, but some serious talent behind it - on the whole, a pretty excellent light fantasy read.

ETA: Apparently when they reprinted this, they marketed it as YA and as a "better than Harry Potter" magical school story. OH NOES. Older teens would enjoy this book, but stylistically it is really not YA at all. show less

Faris, a young woman of rank, arrives at Greenlaw. Sent there by a guardian she doesn’t trust, she is to be a student at this college, until she comes of age. Faris tends to rebel against conventional standards of deportment, until she grasps that one is most successful in life when when it is clear to others that you flout such standards of behavior by choice rather than from ignorance of what is appropriate. Faris grows in her thinking as she interacts with those of different backgrounds and nationalities, but once in the world, discovers that she must learn other lessons as well. Who is trustworthy? What are the costs of committing to the full use of one’s talents? Unanticipated lessons plunge Faris into a life of magical show more intrigue and adventure. Will there be a happy ending for her?

There are some lovely references to both the literary and the real world. Our characters know both Oxford and Paris, but also are familiar with Graustark and Ruritania. You've got strong women, fun female friendships, male characters who are supportive but not the main focus. Because this is a fantasy novel, there is magic but the emphasis in this novel is placed on the relationships between the characters. The pacing throughout is excellent, but most particularly in the closing chapters. show less

From the title and the back blurb, I expected a book about the typical magical school. What I got was a story about a young woman coming to terms with and taking a hold of an unexpected responsibility. Yes, there is a college for the first hundred pages or so. However, during that time, there is little magic. When the main character, Ferris, asks, she is told that magic is something that must be discovered by yourself.

Faris Nallaneen is the heir to the dukedom of Galazon. While she is too young to rule, her Uncle Brinker runs in her stead. He insists on sending her to Greenlaw College, a woman’s finishing school known for producing witches. The book starts with Ferris arriving, reluctantly, at Greenlaw.

At Greenlaw Ferris makes a show more friend of Jane, an amazingly competent young witch, and an enemy of Menary, a girl with dangerous and unknown powers.

The quote from Jane Yolen suggests that the book is reminiscent to Harry Potter – that would be inaccurate. This is a story of a young woman dealing with a very different sort of magic somewhere around 1900. The magic in this book does not involve words or spells. Ferris’s magical abilities are mainly subconscious – things happen without her direct intention.

The book has also been repackaged as young adult, which I also don’t feel is wholly accurate. There isn’t any specific adult content, but the book didn’t have the tone or feel or many of any of the recent young adult books. Also, the main character is college aged – most YA books feature teen protagonists. While this can be read by younger readers, I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much if I read it at the marketed age.

A College of Magics did a fantastic job on female characters. Well, wouldn’t a book set partly in a women’s college have to? Ferris interacts with and is friends with other female characters, and both she and Jane are worthy heroines. Throughout the story, they show their skill, capability, and intelligence.

I would suggest this book to people looking for well written female characters, a more surreal magic system, or a fantasy set just after the Victorian age. The book has a whole is well written and engaging, even though I found the beginning a bit slow going. By the end, I was sad it was over. show less

I have wanted to read A College of Magics ever since I read the companion novel-sequel, A Scholar of Magics, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. In hindsight, taking so long to find A College of Magics was actually a good thing, because I couldn’t remember anything remotely spoiler-ish from A Scholar of Magics. My expectations of this as a story about a magic university had also lessened with the passage of time, and I didn’t feel the disappointment that I might have once felt upon discovering that a lot of A College of Magics is actually about Faris after she leaves the college.

This is a mystery about magic and a coming-of-age story about responsibility. This is vivid and poignant and there’s something really lovely about it. I show more enjoyed the parts about college life, and Faris’ friend Jane is an utter delight. I’m so pleased I finally got to read this.

Her fellow students at first had given Faris the impression of high intelligence and strange intensity. Even slight familiarity taught her that this impression was, if not entirely mistaken, sadly incomplete. In fact, her fellow students were simply exhausted. Fatigue took strange forms.
One day in the dining hall, Faris sat across the table from a first-year student who stared blankly at the single artichoke on the plate before her.
“That looks good,” said Faris. The artichokes had vanished before she’d arrived and she cherished a faint hope that her classmate disliked them, perhaps enough to barter for it.
“Extremely good,” agreed the first-year, dashing Faris’s hopes. Wearily, she added, “if only I could remember how to eat one.” show less

Summary: Faris Nallaneen, heir to the duchy of Galazon, has been sent away from home to Greenlaw College by her despotic uncle to keep her out of the way. However, Greenlaw is not your average finishing school; it also includes instruction in magic. By the time Faris is summoned to return to Greenlaw, she (and her friends, servants, and bodyguard) are more than capable of causing a little mayhem in their task of setting Galazon - and the world - back to rights.

Review: I thought this book had some interesting potential, but was too choppy to really hold my interest. The best parts are the characters and dialogue - they're very reminiscent of the lightheartedness and slightly wry humor of Sorcery & Cecelia - but unfortunately, the world show more the characters move around in is uneven, and the plot is strangely paced. I don't understand the choice to set this in an alternate 1900, with Paris and motorcars butting strangely against fictional kingdoms and more medieval fantasy elements. It would have worked better either entirely in a fictional kingdom or entirely in an alternate 1900, but the combination of the two doesn't quite mesh, and as a result is rather distracting. Similarly, the system of magic and the political scheming are not as well-integrated as they could be; the book's got magic in the title, but so much time is spent on the evil uncle that the magic is not very well explained, and its inclusion seems more like an afterthought. In general, each of the elements of this book is pretty good on its own, but they don't blend into a coherent novel particularly well.

Recommendation: Reading this wasn't a waste of time, but there are other books (including some by this author) that are much more successful at accomplishing what this book attempted. show less

I first read these books years ago, when they had just come out, and I had remembered liking the sequel (A Scholar of Magics) much more than the original. The sequel is, certainly, a simpler, friendlier, and more conventional story, but on re-read I found myself liking College just as much, if not more.

College plays, self-consciously, with genre and form. It's essentially a fairy tale, about wicked uncles, jealous sorceress, foolish kings and arranged marriages and cursed castles, it's but set in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Western Europe in the early 20th century, and the characters are caught between the two worlds, trying to find a footing, just as much as the reader is (and just as much as much of the world was, in that show more historical time and place.)

Faris Nallanneen is engaging from the very beginning, Jane is a dear, Tyrian takes a while to come into his own but does so very believably, and the schemes and plots of the antagonists are interestingly complicated and realistically ambiguous. show less