Why is Rook & Rose by M. A. Carrick on my TBR?
Rook & Rose series by M.A. Carrick is a unique experience in the current fantasy landscape, mostly as it takes place in only one city (not uncommon in fantasy but it is unusual to be able to write a compelling story while limited to one city). My experience so far is limited to reading the first book in the series; and the blurb on the cover of The Mask of Mirrors is also quite enticing: “Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars”.
At the time of publishing this post, the series is a trilogy, with the last book to be published in August 2023. The books all have titles and (gorgeous and captivating) covers: The Mask of Mirrors; The Liar’s Knot and Labyrinth’s Heart.
This is a political fantasy story, told from the perspective of a con woman trying to get accepted in the high society of the city of Nadežra. There are many layers of deception in this story, from the con artist story to the nobility of Nadežra and their schemes, not to mention that the impoverished underbelly has its own goals. In other words, there is an interesting mix of different needs and drivers that collide, adding action to the story.
Also, Nadežra is a city inspired by the charming cities of old, reminiscing of Venice and Budapest. I usually am guarded when it comes to writers using Italian heritage in their writing (unless they have actual Italian heritage); it is way too easy to “just” take a pretty place without infusing it of its own magic. In this case, the setting works like a charm and it might be connected to the fact that there is a bit of Easter European world building to it.
Furthermore, the city - at least in book one - is almost a protagonist as anybody else in the story; it almost comes alive through the pages of the book.
Another aspect that fascinates me is the author. M.A. Carrick is a pseudonym for two authors, one being Marie Brennan whose work includes the Memories of Lady Trent and I love what I read so far; and the other being Alyc Helms, whose work I am not familiar with but I am looking forward to get better acquainted with! From a very superficial research, they are both anthropologists and they have been friends for a very long time, sharing interests and eventually writing this series!
I still wonder how the authors collaborated in writing this story; clearly they had to come up with the plot and world building together and it does not show as a collaborative piece of work, it feels a cohesive and consistent world building, magic system and plot. Yet, I could not tell (but I am not the strongest reader from a writing perspective) that the story was told from two different authors’ perspective.
One more note, from reading The Mask of Mirrors, I found that the characters were interesting, although I did not connect with Ren, the main protagonist, while I felt closer to many of the rest of the characters. And I want to see what will happen in the next installments and whether I will feel closer to Ren.
There is a relative buzz on social media about it, with Angela from the Literature Science Alliance YouTube channel being one of the stronger supporters of this story!
So what are my plans for it? I am looking forward to re-read The Mask of Mirrors, starting in June, and explore the rest of the series right on time for the final book of the trilogy.
Have you read this trilogy? Do you plan to read Labyrinth’s Heart upon release? What is the most exciting part of this series for you?
