The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick
Book information
The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick, book one in the Rook & Rose series
Published first on the 21st of January 2021 by Orbit
I already gushed about this series here: Why is Rook & Rose by M.A. Carrick on my TBR?
4 stars out of 5
“Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars”. This is a great summary of the story; this is a story of a con-woman who tries to become someone she is not; it is also a story of power and political intrigue.
High stakes for the main characters become high stakes for the entire city, as this is a story contained in the city of Nadežra only, a wonderful mix of Eastern European (think Bucharest) and Venice.
In fairness, I did not like Ren much but I truly enjoyed her interaction with many characters; I still had my favorites, in Vargo (and what is he hiding?) and Donaia (having to deal with all the issues of the family, from economic problems to grief).
It gave me a little bit of The Rose of Versailles vibes, in hindsight (possibly the Rook reminds me of the Black Knight, the vain society that might tumble from one day to another and the strong female protagonist; maybe there is something more).
A few highlights
World building is interesting; the story is contained in one city only, yet there is reference to the rest of the world (and their politics influenced the world) and there is a pretty detailed description of this city-state with the rich and poor quarters, gentrification, politics ruling the city through Houses.
Magic system - while it is superficially explored, as we mostly see the effects of it rather than how to wield magic effectively, this is an appealing element to the story.
I do not recall using magic while sleeping. Just fun!
The magic system is also based on astrology (yes, not astronomy but astrology) and tarot reading belong squarely to the magic system and they are helpful to shape the world!
Collaboration between two different authors and it blends seamlessly; it will be interesting if this collaboration will continue, as they offered a different perspective on world building, characters and magic system!
Tropes/themes that work for me
Found family is an important trope all over this story and it continues to influence many decisions.
Power and politics corrupt; there is also an interesting commentary of how alike criminals and politicians who are corrupt by power truly are. In fact, they are both aspect of criminality.
High stakes for characters (and a few poor people, falling under the radar to most) become high stakes for the entire city
Interesting commentary on rich and powerful not acknowledging the interests and the pain of the majority of the population and the poor, almost as they are disposable goods
Conversely, I love the smoke and mirrors (and the vanity) used to keep up appearances of families that might not belong to the powerful any longer.
