The City in the Lake

A coming-of-age story written in a style that reminded me less of Rachel Neumeier’s others novels and much more of Patricia A. McKillip, and maybe Robin McKinley.

In the City, the Prince disappears. Meanwhile, on the other side of the great forest, Timou’s father, the mage Kapoen, leaves for the City and does not return.

This is lovely. There’s a dreamlike quality to parts of it, but at its heart, it is very real and emotionally relatable - this story is about losing (and finding) family members.

Her father had not wanted her with him; he had left her behind—no doubt for very good reasons. Although, Timou thought now, a little more fiercely than was really comfortable, he might have explained to her what those were.
In flight show more from her own thoughts, Timou curled into her blanket, leaned her back against the great bole of a tree, and let her mind slip through its deep quiet existence until she could forget that she was small and human, and dream with the tree its slow circular dreams. show less

Oh, book. I tossed you across the room at one point. I don't toss books lightly.

The plot I wholeheartedly disapprove of. The resolution was subtle like a sledgehammer.

The saving grace was the characters--they were the only reason I finished this. I love some of them, but that's no great victory for the author: they're made to be loved.

I do not recommend this book, and I think the wonderful characters are reduced by being in it.

I would give it negative stars if I could.

After reading great reviews of this by Cybils panelists Charlotte's Library and The Puck in the Midden I was intrigued. I thought I'd remembered getting a review copy, so I dug through the never ending piles until I found it.

The City in the Lake is an immensely satisfying book heavy with myth, metaphor, and symbol. It's beautifully written book with a fairy-tale feel but more depth than a fairy tale. I recommend it for anyone who loves rich language, good writing, and depth of plot and characterization, but who doesn't need action around every turn. There is excitement, and suspense, and conflict, but it's not a fast-paced book.

Read my entire review

Reviewed by Breia "The Brain" Brickey for TeensReadToo.com

The story begins with the disappearance of a Prince. The heart of the Kingdom is the City, the heart of the City is the King, and the heart of the King is the Prince. After the disappearance of the Prince, many things go wrong, from the city to the farthest outlying villages.

Timou lives in a remote village where her father is a powerful mage. When the damage to the Kingdom becomes too much for them to ignore, Timou's father, Kapoen, makes a trek to the City to attempt to find the cause of it all. When he doesn't return, Timou decides it is up to her to unravel the mysteries in the Kingdom.

The world Ms. Neumeier created is very well put together and the characters are very show more distinctive. There were some elements that I wonder if they were suitable, such as the King's first illegitimate son being identified as Lord Bastard throughout the story, but I came to realize that it was really one of many talking points that teens can discuss with their parents.

THE CITY IN THE LAKE is listed as a young adult story, but I feel it would also be very appealing to adults. There were many layers to the Kingdom, just as there are many layers to this book. It was well written and inviting . I found the story to be very descriptive and it felt like a movie playing in my head. I enjoyed the book very much, but there may be elements in the story that some parents don't feel they are yet ready to introduce their children to. show less

The kingdom's heart, its prince, has disappeared and no one can find him. Across the kingdom things begin to go seriously wrong, and Kapoen the mage sets out for the city to see what he can do to help, cautioning his daughter Timou to stay at home and not come seeking after him. But Timou doesn't listen. Nor does one who loves her heed her caution to wait behind when she leaves.

In the city, the Bastard, the prince's older brother, takes the throne when his father the king also disappears. The Hunter with his yellow owl eyes is stalking the night and something much worse is lurking ready to prey on the kingdom and its people.

Disparate and lovely, Neumeier winds the threads of story together making a cohesive whole of lives and worlds. show more Although the cover is uninspiring, the story is very readable if a bit obtuse in spots. I wouldn't mind reading this again and/or discussing it, as I suspect there are allusions and allegorical meanings I missed the first time through. show less

The City in the Lake is an original YA fairy tale. When the Prince of the Kingdom goes missing, the magic of the Kingdom is thrown out of balance. The disturbance reaches all the way to the rural village where Timou is learning the craft of her father, a mage. When he never returns from a journey to the City, Timou herself goes to look for him and the missing prince.

While I was originally under the impression that Timou would be the center of the story (and this still is somewhat true) the narrative is actually split between Timou and the Prince’s illegitimate older brother, Lord Neill. I actually liked his sections a lot more than Timou’s, especially in the beginning where he had immediate problems (the disappearing Prince) versus show more Timou, who was still having her story line set up. Even by the end, Neill remained my favorite character.

Other than Neill, there’s nothing else about The City in the Lake that I really like the same way. The prose is well enough written, but it took me over half the book to get involved in the story line. Partly this could be due to the slow start, but I think some of it also lies in how archytipcal everything feels.

There’s not anything about The City in the Lake which feels new. The setting is a generic fairy tale type, if well described. There’s nothing specific in culture or design to make it feel at all different from countless other fantasy or fairy tale type books I’ve read. There’s a city (the City, no other name), a kingdom (again, the Kingdom), an enchanted forest, pastoral rural land… I got the sense that Neumeier was using familiar fairy tale elements, but I don’t think she ever distinguished herself enough from the multitude of other stories out there.

I didn’t find the plot engaging until near the end, but I also felt like the ending was almost literally a deus ex machina. I also never cared at all about Jonas, Timou’s love interest who started getting POV sections about half way into the book.

I don’t think I would tell anyone not to read The City in the Lake, but I don’t think it’s a book I’ll be recommending in the future either.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. show less

I liked this book a lot. It is a little unbalanced first half to second half, but the story is interesting. The mythos feels familiar, but not derivative.