Too Many Magicians

Substance: Lord Darcy solves another baffling case through ratiocination, one-upping his cousin the Marquis of London, and without much of the usual aid from his side-kick Master Magician Sean O Locklainn.
The clues are fairly laid and, as with all the Darcy stories, the deductions are not dependent on magic any more (or less) than Holmes' are on forensic analysis: Master Sean's evidence is only one strand among others. The conclusion's satisfactory twist owed part of its coil to the existence of magic nonetheless. It also owes a great deal to Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" IYKWIMAITYD.
I am personally very fond of the alternate-history world Garrett has created by continuing the Plantagent / Aquitaine dynasty in an show more Anglo-French empire; the introduction of magic as a major construct (very civilized, not sword-and-sorcery) is a bonus.
FWIW, Darcy's given names are never given. He is the Lord of Arcy in France (Lord d'Arcy).

Style: Garrett's style here is reminiscent of the punctilious use of titles and courtly etiquette typical of Heyer's Regency romances, although the sole romantic entanglement is only a lightly touched element. One of the pleasures of the Darcy stories, abundant in this, the only novel of the oevre, lies in spotting the puns, hat-tips, and parodies. Many "English" names are spelled in a French fashion, for one thing, and others are simple translations of well-known fictional figures. He also uses a large number of obsolete and archaic spellings and synonyms for today's vocabulary.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are prominent role-models, down to cloning most of the essential elements of Stout's novels, including the house, orchids, and side-kicks. I spotted the analog to Gandalf the Grey, but one reviewer claims to have noticed James Bond as well, who I missed somehow.

NOTES:
NOTE: I have read the book before, and actually re-read the damaged copy that I trashed, rather than this particular one. show less

In an alternate world where English history happened differently and magic is an ordinary profession, first a spy and then a master magician are killed, and Lord Darcy -- a character not at all subtly based on Sherlock Holmes -- is called in to investigate.

The book suffers a little bit from infodumping, including the generally annoying "As you know, Bob" kind, but the magic system is interesting and the mystery is rather well done. There were one or two points where I got a little confused, mainly because I was having trouble keeping track of the characters, but that may be more my fault than the book's, as I was reading it under less than ideal circumstances. I kept feeling more and more impressed with it as I read, then having to put show more it down again only to have trouble getting back into it later, so it's difficult, on balance, to know quite how I feel about it. I will say at least that the solution to the mystery comes together neatly and makes sense, and that the magic is woven into the logic in a way that plays fair with the reader. So if you enjoy fantasy, alternate history, and mystery and like the idea of mixing them together, it's worth a look. show less

A romp through a magical alt-present (1966) London where the Plantagenets still rule and magicians take the place of scientists and engineers. There are multiple murders and a various red herrings before the fish is netted.

One of the better blendings of alternate history, fantasy, and detective story. Set in a world where Richard the Lion-Heart managed to survive an infected wound and lived long enough to oversee the development of magic, Lord Darcy is called upon to solve a classic 'locked-room' murder mystery. Sinister plots, spies, and an intriguing world kept me reading.

Twenty years ago, I would have rated this book higher but it seems slow, overly complicated and dated.

Sherlock Holmes with magic. Fun read.

dreadful cover. Nothing to do with the book at all! The book is great.