Review: Rich and Atmospheric
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 20, 2014
Sometimes "Choose Your Own Adventures" can be gimmicky, with more attention paid to the novelty of multiple story options than the actual story, characters or writing. I get that; they can still be fun.Well, this book is in a whole different world. Yes, you do reach decision points at which you have to decide whether to climb the ladder or look behind the tapestry. But that is a small and almost inconsequential part of the overall reading experience. This book is good, and I mean immersive, elegant, well-written good.The narrative proceeds at a dreamy pace, with spare but carefully crafted sentences that gently carry you deep into the magician's house. We don't really know anything about our hero - who he is or why he's there, or what his history is; we just know he's young and is more or less a servant or errand boy. We don't know who the magician is. What we do learn is that the magician's home is a fun house of magic portals, shifting rooms, odd furnishings and strange residents. (Keep away from the dark corners; stray magic gathers there like dust bunnies and you may be unpleasantly surprised.)All of this is presented in slightly formal and oddly stilted language that feels like it is being whispered in your ear. This is emphasized by the narrator's use of the second person singular. "You" do this and then "you" do that. When used properly, as it is here, I think this adds a detached, almost ethereal tone and yet an immediacy, to any narrative. "You" are there, right now.And I guess it is appropriate that a book titled "The Magician's House" is mostly about you in fact being in and walking about the magician's house. Actually, while you aren't sneaking, you are pretty close to lurking - especially with all of those hidden peekholes and hidden doors. This is just fascinating and compelling stuff, and this book is a remarkable and satisfying find. It will justify all of your previous Kindle freebie searches. (By the way, I have an old Kindle Touch and the choose-you-own option worked very smoothly on it; I wasn't sure that would necessarily be the case.)So, all in all a nice find and a nice choice. Please note that I found this book while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.