An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (The Risen Kingdoms, #1)

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In a world of soaring continents and bottomless skies, where a burgeoning new science lifts skyships into the cloud strewn heights and ancient blood borne sorceries cling to a fading glory, Princess Isabelle des Zephyrs is about to be married to a man she has barely heard of, the second son of a dying king in an empire collapsing into civil war.Born without the sorcery that is her birthright but with a perspicacious intellect, Isabelle believes her marriage will stave off disastrous conflict and bring her opportunity and influence But the last two women betrothed to this prince were murdered, and a sorcerer assassin is bent on making Isabelle the third Aided and defended by her loyal musketeer, Jean Claude, Isabelle plunges into a great maze of prophecy, intrigue, and betrayal, where everyone wears masks of glamour and lies Step by dangerous step, she unravels the lies of her enemies and discovers a truth perilous than any deception. New Read An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (The Risen Kingdoms, #1) [ Author ] Curtis Craddock [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr 4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum Alchemy of Masques and Shadows turned out to an incredible surprise and one of the most engrossing reads I ve had in a long time In truth though, I hadn t known what to make of the novel s description when it first crossed my path Its story s scattered allusions initially prompted me to approach this one with a wariness I usually reserve for unknown quantities, but ultimately this mishmash of genre elements ended up 4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum Alchemy of Masques and Shadows turned out to an incredible surprise and one of the most engrossing reads I ve had in a long time In truth though, I hadn t known what to make of the novel s description when it first crossed my path Its story s scattered allusions initially prompted me to approach this one with a wariness I usually reserve for unknown quantities, but ultimately this mishmash of genre elements ended up being one of my favorite aspects of the book There seems to be something for everyone, whether it s science fiction, fantasy, historicals, steampunk or action and adventure that tickles your fancy.The story predominantly follows two characters Jean Claude, a stouthearted and valiant musketeer who must nonetheless act the drunken fool in order to protect Princess Isabelle, who hails from a powerful family of sorcerers despite possessing no magical a...4.5 stars An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors was such a cool book It had interesting character profiles, totally immersive world building, and an abundance of drop in details that I found totally original When I first received the book for review and saw cover quotes from Brandon Sanderson and Lawrence Watt Evans two of my all time favorites , I knew I was in for a good read, I just didn t know how good Curtis Craddock did not disappoint Right off the bat I was impressed with the unique set 4.5 stars An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors was such a cool book It had interesting character profiles, totally immersive world building, and an abundance of drop in details that I found totally original When I first received the book for review and saw cover quotes from Brandon Sanderson and Lawrence Watt Evans two of my all time favorites , I knew I was in for a good read, I just didn t know how good Curtis Craddock did not disappoint Right off the bat I was impressed with the unique setting for this story a gas giant planet where the only way to travel between floating rock islands is through use of airships The a...Things Katie Enjoys In A Novel, As Correlated With An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors _X_ Calculus jokes_X_ Period appropriate prose___ Talking cats_X_ Strong, sassy heroines who have no trouble kicking it with the boys_X_ Believable, likable characters___ Pandas_X__ Swashbuckling_X__ Witty repartee, preferably in which a member of the nobility is fearlessly sassed_X__ Magical colleges and or general graduate level spell nerdery___ Dragons_X_ People wearing awesome hats_X_ Perfectly executed ge Things Katie Enjoys In A Novel, As Correlated With An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors _X_ Calculus jokes_X_ Period appropriate prose___ Talking cats_X_ Strong, sassy heroines who have no trouble kicking it with the boys_X_ Believable, likable characters___ Pandas_X__ Swashbuckling_X__ Witty repartee, preferably in which a member of the nobility is fearlessly sassed_X__ Magical colleges and or general graduate...Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors is crisply written, cleverly plotted, and highly imaginative a fantasy which succeeds in combining elements from different speculative fiction genres into an entertaining opening to The Risen Kingdoms series.The tale begins with dashing Musketeer Jean Claude racing against time to arrive at the birth of the girl who will become the center of his life Isabelle This offspring of royal, bloodshadow magicians nearly killed after Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors is crisply written, cleverly plotted, and highly imaginative a fantasy which succeeds in combining elements from different speculative fiction genres into an entertaining opening to The Risen Kingdoms series.Th...I received an eARC of this novel from NetGalley.Isabelle is despised and neglected by her cruel father because she was born with a deformed hand and without bloodshadow magic The neglect is fine by her because that means she hastime to follow her passions by illegally studying math and science Although Isabelle is a princess, she doesn t believe she has any future prospects until an offer of arranged marriage to the Prince of Aragoth opens up her world Isabelle travels from her home on I received an eARC of this novel from NetGalley.Isabelle is despised and neglected by her cruel father because she was born with a deformed hand and without bloodshadow magic The neglect is fine by her because that means she hastime to follow her passions by illegally studying math and science Although Isabelle is a princess, she doesn t believe she has any future prospects until an offer of arranged marriage to the Prince of Aragoth opens up her world Isabelle travels from her home on Isle des Zephyrs in l Empire C leste to the Kingdom of Aragoth with Jean Claude,...Wow, what a wild ride I m amazed that this is Craddock s first book The writing is so tight, so witty, so rich with image that I was drawn in from the start, even though I m wary of anyspecial girl in repressive patriarchal settings SF F Craddock makes it work anyway, because the characters are so vivid, rather than the stock characters you meet in that situation And the sure grace of the narrative voice, avoiding the too often encountered awkward lumps of sentence fragments and chains Wow, what a wild ride I m amazed that this is Craddock s first book The writing is so tight, so witty, so rich with image that I was drawn in from the start, even though I m wary of anyspecial girl in repressive patriarchal settings SF F Craddock makes it work anyway, because the characters are so vivid, ...What a book I m impressed Not only it s good, fresh, intelligent and imaginative, it s also author s debut work Dude, you ve got some skills.L Empire C leste is ruled by Grand Leon and inhabited by Clayborn regular folks and Saintborns direct descendants of saints who can kill with their shadows, or hollow people out and take away their volition Isabelle des Zephyrs is a Princess and the daughter of the Comte des Zephyrs cruel aristocrat who enjoys destroying others Sometimes for fun What a book I m impressed Not only it s good, fresh, intelligent and imaginative, it s also author s debut work Dude, you ve got some skills.L Empire C leste is ruled by Grand Leon and inhabited by Clayborn regular folks and Saintborns direct descendants of saints who can kill with their shadows, or hollow people out and take away their volition Isabelle des Zephyrs is a Princess and the daughter of the Comte des Zephyrs cruel aristocrat who enjoys destroying others Sometimes for fun Sometimes for power or to prove a point Not only Isabelle is a girl, but also she has a malformed hand with characteristic wormfinger and no inherited magic That makes her a total failure in the eyes of her da.Isabelle has a brilliant mind but as she lives in strongly patriarchal society, women are not allowed to do anything worth doing for exampl...I loved this book I love the feisty and bright Isabelle, who is smart and charismatic, and whose insecurities are so real for the way she was raised I love her devotion to the people who deserve it those who care about her for HERSELF, and not for her station and to her cause peace I love her father figure musketeer Jeane Claude, who is incredibly good at reading people and who is loyal first to Isabelle, even though he s supposed to be loyal to his king foremost I loved the setting, bot I loved this book I love the feisty and bright Isabelle, who is smart and charismatic, and whose insecurities are so real for the way she was raised I love her devotion to the people who deserve it those who care about her for HERSELF, and not for her station and to her cause peace I love her father figure musketeer Jeane Claude, who is incredibly good at reading people and who is loyal first to Isabelle, even though he s supposed to be loyal to his king foremost I loved the setting, both the clearly Renaissance inspired courts and the floating landmasses and airships and strange physics I love the magic system, even though so far we ve only gotten a glimpse of what promises to be farintriguing magic that the current generation of people have lost from their past I love the great depictions of female friendships between Isabelle and her ladies, who defer to her as station demands, but still give solid and sensible advice I love the plot, with plenty of layers...Looking for a steampunk alt history fantasy revolving around royal magic users, religious half machine cyborgs, and flying galleons set in a pseudo medieval France and Spain THEN READ THIS BOOK, MON AM...I adored An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors. A polymath, physically disabled princess who is delightfully clever An aged musketeer, utterly devoted to the princess he loves as a daughter, and brilliant in his own way A world of floating islands and blood magic and mirror projections Villains who are complex and creepy, never falling into caricature This really has it all The world building is complex but never overwhelming I was hooked within the first few pages, and was eager to grab any c I adored An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors. A polymath, physically disabled princess who is delightfully clever An aged musketeer, utterly devoted to the princess he loves as a daughter, and brilliant in his own way A world of floating islands and blood magic and mirror projections V...

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (The Risen Kingdoms, #1)
  • English
  • 25 September 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 416 pages
  • 0765389592
  • Curtis Craddock
  • An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (The Risen Kingdoms, #1)