Lost in Translation

Nicely done. The setup was neat, the heroine properly self-absorbed, the various heroes neatly set up, and the bad guy a total administrative nasty. That is, not any sort of grand evil, just bureaucrating his way up the ladder by any means available. Little things like her stocking up on batteries, or not mentioning she feels ill because there's nothing he can do, are - well, I kind of expect it from Margaret Ball by now. She's very good at not leaving any logical holes in the plot - and I do notice such things, even when they don't actually interfere with the story. Good stuff.

There comes a point in this book where the villain labels the heroine "unbelievably dense." She is, and that's the problem: it's unbelievable. Despite being in a magical, low-technology world for over a week, she's sure she's at a university in the south of France, circa 1995. Never mind that she studied French for five years, she doesn't realize that the language coming out of her mouth isn't French. The lack of electricity, cars, and paved roads sails over her head. Declaring a major in Magical Arts seems reasonable to her. There's one sentence suggesting that the villain has magically clouded her mind, but there wasn't enough detail for it to balance her complete obliviousness.

The book improved as it went along (and as the heroine show more finally realized her situation). I did like the magical world itself. I thought its system of magic was different than that of many fantasy novels I've read, and I wished I could have seen more of it in action. The characters are generally distinct and sympathetic—the villain is understandable, even though I mostly wanted to thwack him with something. Only one secondary character is really two-dimensional, and, well, he was a secondary character. I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more as a teenager, and am sorry I couldn't have read it then. show less

I read Lost In Translation years and years ago, but it remains one of my favorite sci fi/fantasy novels ever! It's funny and the main character is endearing and smart. I love how the cover captures the spirit of the book!:)