Name: Feast of Souls
Author: Celia Friedman
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Notes: Published in 2007 by Orbit in the UK and Daw Books in
the USA. I bought the British paperback edition.
In the High Kingdom of Danton Aurelius, magisters from
across the known world are gathering for an unusual meeting. The King’s son is
dying of an apparently incurable wasting disease, and he has charged them with
providing an explanation and a cure.
There is a mystery here, but not the one the High King
thinks. The magisters know the cause of the prince’s illness but they dare not
reveal it for fear that it will expose the secret at the heart of their order.
The mystery is not what is responsible, but who…
Why I read it:
I bought this on a whim, really. I’d never heard of Celia
Friedman, but her book had a nice blurb from Tad Williams (whose books I like)
and the prologue seemed interesting.
My Review:
Imagine a world where there are two types of magic users. The
first are witches. Male and female both, witches use their own life source –
their soul fire – to cast spells. Small sorceries cost witches mere minutes of
their lifetime, while larger undertakings might cost days or even years. Only
the Magisters can use magic freely. An immortal order of mages, by tradition
male-only, they fuel their sorcery by siphoning the soulfire of others.
It’s a great premise, right? I
actually think it’s one of the best things about this book. I loved the idea of
vampiric mages. Drawn to novelty, incredibly learned, and dabbling in politics
to pass the years, they’re compelling figures. Indeed, several of the main
characters are Magisters – but Friedman
never lets us forget the callous choice they make every day: to kill others so
they can live. The Magisters also stand out as the most original part of a book
populated with fairly typical fantasy archetypes; of course there’s nothing
wrong with noble princes, insane kings, dashing magicians and tomboy heroines,
but I’ve seen them all before.
The most ‘dark’ thing about this book is the setting. Sexism
permeates everything. At one stage a female character is raped, and even
sympathetic characters use unpleasant gendered language. (“Forgive me, my
fierce little whore.” Ummmmm, what?!) It almost made me stop reading, although in
hindsight I’m glad I didn’t. There are also hints of homophobia – although no
outed queers – and it’s obvious that peasants suffer under the magical feudal
system. It’s a depressing backdrop for a story, although Friedman puts it to
good use. At least not all the characters were white.
Still, there were a lot of positives about this book.
Kamala, an ex-prostitute and survivor to the core, is a brilliant protagonist. I found myself rolling my eyes a bit at some
of her sections – because of course she hates dresses and feels the urge to
monologue about it – but on the whole her quest to become the world’s first
female Magister was a compelling one, especially given what a dubious moral
choice it is. There is also a looming battle against the “Souleaters”: vicious
dragon-like creatures reemerging out of legend and leaving destruction in their
wake, creatures that even the Magisters are ill-equipped to deal with. I’m
expecting big things from Book 3.
Bascially? This was a great novel. I can’t wait to finish
the trilogy.
Cover Commentary:
I don’t mind the British cover. Yes, it’s slightly boring.
But the colours go well together and the castle is nicely drawn, although I’ve
no idea why they the publishers decided to overlay the building with
elven-esque writing. It’s certainly a damn sight better than the American
cover, which for some reason has dragonfly wings framing an underdressed and
sexualized Kamala. It’s a horrible portrayal of a character that 1) is repeatedly
described as unfeminine and masquerades as a boy for most of the novel, and 2)
is a former prostitute who loathes her former life.
