Sorcerer to the Crown (A Sorcerer to the Crown Novel) (2015 original; edició 2016)

The book had an incredibly slow start which made me consider dnf-ing it, but I am glad I stuck with it!

The main strength of Sorcerer to the Crown was definitely its characters, as well as its whimsical magic system. Zacharias starts slow, but becomes more and more captivating as we learn more about him (especially at the end), and our second protagonist is a wonderfully talented and capable woman. Some of the side characters - such as the old witch - are also a joy to read about.

All in all, Sorcerer to the Crown definitely deserves a chance, just don't give up until the cork! ( )

This is very obviously inspired by Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but not derivative. The tone is light and not entirely serious, which lets it still being a fun read, whilst having a surprising amount of supernatural horror elements, and addressing real-world horrors of that time period. The mix of intelligence and playfulness reminded me of Bridge of Birds. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in the idea of Regency-era fantasy, but found JS&MN too much. ( )

I should have been on this like, well, like really quickly, since it is after all a fantasy set in Regency England and I’m a big fan of Georgette Heyer (and, more recently, Alice Chetwynd Ley). But I am not, to be fair, a fan of Regency fantasy. It’s not a large genre – unless you include timeslip romances – and most examples I’ve read have not been especially good, mostly because they’ve been by US authors who haven’t quite understood Regency England (at least not to the extent it convinces an experienced Heyer reader), and while I have mostly positive memories of Sorcery & Cecelia, that was a) pretty much the first Regency fantasy, b) an epistolary novel, and c) I read it a long time ago and would reread it except it’s now in storage. Anyway. Anyway. Zen Cho is not an English author, but has lived and worked in the UK for a number of years and so is to all intents and purposes an English author. If Sorcerer to the Crown falls over sometimes in terms of its Regency prose, that’s a failure of craft – Cho knows the period inside-out, that much is clear – and Regency diction can be a little convoluted at the best of times. Having said that, not everything in the plot actually adds up. Britain’s magic has been decreasing, and the witches of Bandar Jaik are partly responsible, but the decrease predates their involvement and is never explained. But Sorcerer to the Crown is more concerned about the race of its title character, the emancipated son of slaves, who takes the title of the, er, title under mysterious circumstances, and his colour of course makes him a number of enemies as well. I wanted to like this book, and I did like it – but I have caveats: the plotting needed to be more rigorous, some of it doesn’t quite add up, and the Regency prose slips on occasion. Heyer, this is not; but then its sensibilities are twenty-first-century and that’s definitely a plus over Heyer. I understand a sequel appeared last year. I would definitely read it. Oh, and apparently there are two sequels to Sorcery & Cecelia, which I didn’t know. ( )

this book is charming as FUCK and really, I can only be furious with myself for not reading it sooner. Prunella!!!!! ZACHARIAS!!!! good lord, these magical children. ( )

3.5 stars. This was a very slow starter, but I believe it is in service to later books in the series, so I am looking forward to the next installment. ( )