DNF Review - The Spirit Lens (Collegia Magica, Book 1) by Carol Berg (2/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 480 pages
Publisher: Roc Trade
Release Date: January 5, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0451463110
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in Collegia Magica series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 2/5 stars

Let me start by saying I really enjoy Carol Berg as a writer.  I absolutely loved her Rai Kirah series and also loved the Lighthouse Duet.  But, for some reason, I had a very difficult time with this book.  I didn't care about the plot, did not like the characters, and struggled through each page.

This book is about Portier de Savin-Duplais; a failed magical student who is called upon to help solve the mystery of an attempted assassination of the king.  Joining him in this investigation are a foppish Noble named Ilario de Sylvae and brilliant (but grumpy) sorceror named Dante.

The premise sounded excellent and I really did enjoy Berg's intricate descriptions of the surroundings and the intricate magic system.  I also enjoyed that this book is written in at a higher literary level.  That being said I only read to page 100 and had a lot of problems even getting that far into this book.

I was not drawn into the mystery to find out who wanted to assassinate the King.  The King was not likable, and to be honest, I really didn't care if someone assassinated him or not.  He doesn't seem to do that good of a job running the kingdom, so I just didn't care. The mystery behind the Spirit Lens was intriguing but not intriguing enough to keep me hooked on the story.

I also did not enjoy the characters.  Portier is so self-deprecating and spineless that I was kind of hoping for something (anything) to happen to him; he just never stands up for himself and bumbles through the book.  Ilario is over stereo-typed as a pompous noble fop, I think he was supposed to add humor to the story, but for me he feel flat.  Dante is the only character that redeems this book; the portion of the book where he was introduced into the story was entracing, but then he is not the focus anymore and I lost interest again.

This book is very long-winded.  I loved beautiful descriptions, but that was taken to the extreme in this book.  I found myself skipping full paragraphs and was still able to follow the story fine.  Then I would stop back-up and reread what I had skipped just to confirm I hadn't missed anything (I hadn't).  Around the point where I stopped more and more Frenchlike noble names are being thrown at the reader.  All these names refer to characters that I have no frame of reference for, can't relate to, and can't remember. 

In the end I just lost patience with it all.  I was having a lot of trouble keeping my eyes open to read more than a page or two at a time.  I know Berg's books are set up very deliberately, but for some reason I just can't handle it with this one.  I really wasn't enjoying it and I have a ton of other books to read so I stopped.

Overall this book just was not my thing; which is not to say it was poorly written...at times the writing was quite beautiful.  I was just not drawn into the plot, did not like the characters, and thought the pacing was way too slow.  If you are into deliberately paced fantasy mysteries this may be the book for you.  If you like your plot a bit more frantic with deep characterization I would look elsewhere.  If you are interested in reading books by Berg I would start with the Rai Kirah series; that characters and plot were much more engaging.

Breath and Bone by Carol Berg (5/5 stars)

This is the second book in the Lighthouse Duet by Carol Berg. As I mentioned in my review for the first book, Flesh and Spirit, the end of the first book left me needing to read the second book immediately. Unlike the first book I thought this was an amazing book. It continues right where the last book left off; except this time the fast pace of the end of the first book continues throughout the second book.

Valen has been contracted to serve The Bastard, Price Osriel. In service of the Bastard, Valen will come to find out many things about his heritage and about how all of the mysteries of the Brotherhood and the princes of the realm are tied together. He will also discover the truth of what is wrong with the land of Navronne and how it can be healed.

This book was much more like what I expect from a Carol Berg book. The characters are complex, the themes dealt with in the book bring up greater questions of life, of heaven and of hell. Valen really comes into his own in this book. In his effort to keep his vows he takes both a physical and mental journey that is at times heartbreaking and at other times very joyful. The transformation of Valen's character really is amazing. That is not to say that the other characters lack at all; Prince Osriel is intriguing, Valen's brother Max is also interesting, Price Osreil's healer is a delight, and Elene also has great character. The only character complaint I have is that Valen's sister seems to have fallen of the face of the earth in this book; I had hoped to spend more time learning about her.

Although Valen's journey is vast and very busy; at times the book was paced a bit slow. In this book that worked for me because those periods of slow pacing were filled with beautiful writing describing the trials that Valen undertook. I really loved this book. The beauty of the writing reminded me of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series. The book ended well; although I was a bit sad when it was over. It makes me wonder if we will see more of this world. There are so many characters in this book, outside of Valen, that have interesting stories to tell. Where the first book was as dark a story as I have ever read, this book was full of light and hope and happiness.

Very good book, definitely redeemed the first book. I still think if some of Valen's time at the monestery had been cut from the first book that this duet could have made a wonderful single book.

Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg (3/5 stars)

Flesh and Spirit is the first book in the LIghthouse Duet by Carol Berg. Previous to this book I had read Rai-Kirah series by Carol Berg. I liked that series initially, although I wasn't completely pleased with the final book in the series. Still when I saw this new series I was intrigued. The art-work on the front of the book helped too, it is beautifully done :-)

This book starts with Valen being robbed by his traveling companion and left to die in the road in the freezing cold. Valen drags himself towards a monastery where he is sighted by a monk that serves as the monastery's lookout. The monks nurse Valen back to health and wish for him to take vows to become an initiate there. As time progresses Valen begins to wonder if more is taking place at this monastery than simple worship and charity. During his recovery the land of Navronne continues to be torn apart as the three sons of the dead king who fight for ruler-ship. Valen has his own secrets though, and as the monks place more and more trust in him, his secrets come back for a visit dragging him into even more dire circumstances.

The writing of this book itself is well done. The pacing of the book is horrible. One review on the book states that "Berg describes the difficult dirty work of ordinary live as beatifully as she conveys...." This is very true. The first 200-250 pages of the book go through Valen's day to day life at the monastery in slow, mind-numbing detail. Interesting facts about Valen and the monastery itself are very very slowly revealed. At times I felt like I was having to painstackingly pull facts of interest from this book, akin to pulling teeth. I had a hard time getting through the first part of this book. I told myself that, since I already owned the 2nd book in this duet, I would read at least the first 150 pages before giving up. Luckily there were enough interesting mysteries to pique my curiousity and hold me for another 50 pages or so.

Around page 300 in the book, the pacing picks up dramatically. Things happen crazily and rapidly, non-stop action from page to page. After the deliberate beginning, the rapid descent into darkness that the remainder of the book takes is almost shocking. As the book draws to a close, you realize that suddenly the book is over and nothing is resolved. Making this a very poor stand alone book. The book literally ends in the middle of things; leaving you hanging with no satisfaction gained from struggling through it.

In summary I thought the pacing was poor, the beginning grueling the get through, and the ending unsatisfying. This is not a nice book, the book is dark in detail and had a thick sense of hopelessness about it. Definitely not a book to lift your spirits. Still the mystery involved and Valen as a character are enough to make me want to read the 2nd book.

If you decide to read this book, buy the 2nd one at the same time because this is not a self-contained book.