Caroline Stevermer

Reminiscent of The Golem and the Jinni, The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer is a magical and romantic tale set in New York’s Gilded Age. New York 1905—The Vanderbilts. The Astors. The Morgans. They are the cream of society—and they own the nation on the cusp of a new century. Thalia Cutler doesn’t have any of those family connections. What she does know is stage magic and she dazzles audiences with an act that takes your breath away. That is, until one night when a trick goes horribly awry. In surviving she discovers that she can shapeshift, and has the potential to take her place among the rich and powerful. But first, she’ll have to learn to control that power...before the real monsters descend to feast.

The Glass Magician

Celeste Richardson

For some reason, I have the hardest time writing reviews for books that strike me as mediocre. I don’t have anything bad to say, but I don’t have much good to say, either. The Glass Magician was one of those for me. It wasn’t bad. It was fine. A perfectly adequate book. But I doubt I’ll remember anything about it in a couple of months.

Thalia Cutler is a stage magician, following in her deceased father’s footsteps. (I had to grab my copy of the book and look up her name, because I had already forgotten. See what I mean?) Thalia’s story takes place in an alternate New York City in 1905, a world in which humanity is divided into three subgroups: Solitaires, who are your average humans; Sylvestri, who commune very closely with nature; and Traders, who have an animal form in addition to their human one, and whose souls encompass both forms equally. These variances make for a world of interesting dynamics, where a magical-based classism has replaced racism and other forms of prejudice. 

I enjoyed the (very brief) exhibitions of stage magic, though the last scenes including stage magic were eye-rollingly overdramatic. I enjoyed the setting, and can see where this novel could almost be considered a fantasy of manners. I just wish it had been a bit more fleshed out. The characters were fine. They weren’t especially fleshed out, but they also weren’t obnoxious. There were brief glimpses of humor. The plot wasn’t really unique, but it was compelling enough to keep me turning pages. The writing wasn’t bad; it was perfectly serviceable. All in all, I’d relate my experience with The Glass Magician as the literary equivalent of waiting room television or elevator music.

Electronic review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reminiscent of The Golem and the Jinni, The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer is a magical and romantic tale set in New York’s Gilded Age. New York 1905—The Vanderbilts. The Astors. The Morgans. They are the cream of society—and they own the nation on the cusp of a new century. Thalia Cutler doesn’t have any of those family connections. What she does know is stage magic and she dazzles audiences with an act that takes your breath away. That is, until one night when a trick goes horribly awry. In surviving she discovers that she can shapeshift, and has the potential to take her place among the rich and powerful. But first, she’ll have to learn to control that power...before the real monsters descend to feast. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Jennifer

The Glass Magician has some very promising and unique concepts: the historical fantasy blend paired with a very intriguing magic system. I appear to gravitated towards this type of books given the interesting premise, but with the case of The Glass Magician I thought the execution of the materials as promised falls way too short due to a plethora of technical problems e.g. uneven explanations of the magical system itself and pacing issues. So due to the multiple major issues in the writing, I found The Glass Magician excessively difficult to follow through (Thank God it was quite short).

Alexia Cambaling

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books!

Honestly, I'd rate this book 2.5 stars. It has a lot of good ideas but the execution could have been a lot better. For instance, everything that happens in this book just...happens. The mystery didn't feel like a mystery and the ending felt like a cop out. It's like everything just happens too fast- including the character relationships. This made it more difficult to connect with the book and characters and I just flew through it. I think this was one of the instances wherein the book would have been better if it took a more slower-paced approach. The world-building was also sparse, which was a shame considering how interesting the world this book was set in seemed to be. Like, I wanted to know what each of the classes does and how the hierarchy came to be or why the hierarchy was that way. I don't feel like it really answered those questions in a satisfying manner or in some cases, at all.

On the other hand, the book was well-written. There were no obvious anachronisms and it's clear that the author knows the historical setting of the book pretty well. Again however, in this alternate depiction of our world, I'd really would like to know more why things were that way. 

I also did like the character of the heroine. She was headstrong and independent and she knew what she wanted to do. In fact, her character was what made me stick with this book and read through it until the ending.

Overall, The Glass Magician is a mixed bag, leaning more towards the disappointing.

Paige Morgan

This was delightful, and I'm really really hoping that it's the first book in a series (as it seems to be.) Stevermer does worldbuilding effortlessly, and Thalia Cutler and her world spring to life. There are enough details to give readers a foothold and not disorient them, but enough mystery to leave them intrigued. We know some of what Traders, Solitaires, and Sylvestri do -- but not everything; and throughout this first volume we get glimpses of power dynamics that are crying out for more exploration. Happily, Stevermer doesn't let the intriguingness of the world overtake the main plot, which proceeds at a tight but not overwhelming pace. I opened this just to get a sense of it, and ended up finishing it in one sitting -- and if the sequel were available, I'd already have preordered it.

The Glass Magician

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