Stories with a con artist as the protagonist are appealing and popular, these kinds of characters play many roles within the story and adhere to their own rules. Throw in some magic and maybe a masked vigilante, and you’ve got the ingredients for what could promise to be a fun fantasy story. The Mask of Mirrors plays with those elements and is the first installment of Rook & Rose M.A. Carrick, a pseudonym for successful authors/writers Alyc Helms and Marie Brennan.
The Mask of Mirrors is the unmissable start to the Rook & Rose trilogy, a darkly magical fantasy adventure in which a con artist returns to the city that betrayed her, determined to have her revenge—only to find that her fate might be to save it.
This is your past, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither . . .
Arenza Lenskaya is a liar and a thief, a pattern-reader and a daughter of no clan. Raised in the slums of Nadezra, she fled that world to save her sister.
This is your present, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither . . .
Renata Viraudax is a con artist recently arrived in Nadezra. She has one goal: to trick her way into a noble house and secure her fortune.
This is your future, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither . . .
As corrupt nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the city of dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled—with Ren at their heart. And if she cannot sort the truth from the lies, it will mean the destruction of all her worlds.
The “Rose” of the series title is Ren, a street urchin looking to become part of the elite of Nadezra, the renaissance-Italian inspired city in which the novel takes place. She poses as a lost family member in order to get closer to the power players in Nadezra, or the “City of Dreams.” Ren’s true identity is that of Arenza Lenskaya and her ethnic group is looked down upon the caste of people, Liganti, into which she’s attempting to insinuate herself. Ren’s biggest challenge in ingratiating herself with the Liganti noble family is Donnaia Traementis, the matriarch who is continually pushing Ren to validate her story. There are many other characters in the family with whom Ren connects and attempts to woo.
Ren is not the only character looking to disrupt the powerful elite, the “Rook” of the series title is a character much more shrouded in mystery and literal shadows. The Rook is a hooded, sword-wielding vigilante who has been a thorn in the side of the ruling elite for decades. He is something of a Batman/Robin Hood/Zorro character but because the character has been patrolling the streets for so long, nobody knows how old he is or if it has been the same person under the hood. Through much of the story, The Rook’s identity is unknown and of course Ren crosses paths with him early on in the novel. Their relationship comes across as a fun cat and mouse game as Ren attempts to decipher who the Rook may be, whether it is one of the family members she’s conning, another up and coming man of power, or somebody else.
The magic in this world is called “imbuing,” which is essentially like a steroid, enhancing the abilities of something beyond its normal bounds – an imbued sword will be more sharp, cut more accurately, and won’t wear and rust. There’s also numinatria, a geometry-based magic and a form of tarot magic known as “pattern reading.” The magic in this world is subtle and treated more like an art than a science, but the rules are present. Overall, I like the way this magic is handled and the more confined aspect of the world building, with the setting being a city, makes for a welcome intimacy. In many ways, the city of Nadezra comes alive as a living, breathing character in and of itself. I’ve become a fan of the heist or con novel in a fantasy setting, especially if that setting is a city. It proves for more intimacy than a global epic of world-shattering proportions potentially can.
I was drawn in by Ren’s character, especially after a very intriguing prologue. Ren comes across as a charming, intelligent, and driven character. Unfortunately, the more I read through the meat of the novel, the less pull I felt from the narrative. Details upon details about the intricacies of places, the multiple forms of magic, or the ornately described clothing down to the minutia weighed down the energy of the plot. Additionally, that leisurely pace and the overabundance of details dragged the plot and lent almost no urgency in what Ren was trying to accomplish with her ruse. In fact, aside from maybe taking down the upper class from her own lower-class position, I didn’t feel too attached to her reasons for the con game she was playing; her motivations felt somewhat ill-defined.
In the end, The Mask of Mirrors has some strong elements, particularly the protagonist, the prose itself, and the idea of a heist/con plot in a fantastical city, but the tedious details, sluggish pacing, and lack urgency took me too far out of the novel to enjoy the sum of the parts.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a book I can recommend.
© 2021 Rob H. Bedford
Rook & Rose, Book 1 | January 2021
Orbit Books | Trade Paperback | 643 Pages (including glossary)
https://www.macarrick.com/
Excerpt: https://www.macarrick.com/writing/mask-of-mirrors/excerpt/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
“tedious details, sluggish pacing, and [of] lack urgency”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s precisely what kept me at arms-length.
I think we’re in the minority, though because this seems to be getting rave reviews.