Book Review: The Virtu by Sarah Monette
Feb. 28th, 2013 03:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: The Virtu (Doctrine of Labyrinths Book 2)
Author: Sarah Monette
Published: New York: Ace Books, 2006
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 439
Total Page Count: 130,502
Text Number: 381
Read Because: continuing the series, borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A year ago, Felix's magic was used to destroy Mélusine's magical focus the Virtu, and left him mad. Now Felix has been cured, but has no memory of the past year; Mildmay has been left crippled, and the Virtu still stands in ruins—except that Felix intends to repair it. The Virtu is a direct sequel to Mélusine, benefiting from that book's preexisting worldbuilding—still a densely original setting, now less heavyhanded and overwhelming—and building a better-balanced and utterly successful story. Mélusine was Mildmay's book, but The Virtu belongs to Felix, an equally flawed, strongly defined, and powerfully voiced character. This series has a deceptive aura of fanfiction brought on by an intense, psychological focus on complex non-normative relationships—it's id-level writing, tending towards indulgence but too finely wrought, and I love it. The plot can be uneven, coincidence-heavy and occasionally rushed, but these two first books can be read as a complete and satisfying duology—and the character and relationship arcs are consistently superb. It's rewarding to see an author and series improve so distinctly: every strength of Mélusine persists, and The Virtu capitalizes on them to move forward with finer craft and balance. It can't stand alone, but I now recommend the series without caveat and look forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Sarah Monette
Published: New York: Ace Books, 2006
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 439
Total Page Count: 130,502
Text Number: 381
Read Because: continuing the series, borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A year ago, Felix's magic was used to destroy Mélusine's magical focus the Virtu, and left him mad. Now Felix has been cured, but has no memory of the past year; Mildmay has been left crippled, and the Virtu still stands in ruins—except that Felix intends to repair it. The Virtu is a direct sequel to Mélusine, benefiting from that book's preexisting worldbuilding—still a densely original setting, now less heavyhanded and overwhelming—and building a better-balanced and utterly successful story. Mélusine was Mildmay's book, but The Virtu belongs to Felix, an equally flawed, strongly defined, and powerfully voiced character. This series has a deceptive aura of fanfiction brought on by an intense, psychological focus on complex non-normative relationships—it's id-level writing, tending towards indulgence but too finely wrought, and I love it. The plot can be uneven, coincidence-heavy and occasionally rushed, but these two first books can be read as a complete and satisfying duology—and the character and relationship arcs are consistently superb. It's rewarding to see an author and series improve so distinctly: every strength of Mélusine persists, and The Virtu capitalizes on them to move forward with finer craft and balance. It can't stand alone, but I now recommend the series without caveat and look forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
