Illusion by Paula Volsky Summary and Reviews
|
Our Price: $10.02 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Illusion
Book Review: Am I the only one who just didn't get it?
Summary: 2 Stars
I must be an oddball, but this book really didn't grab me at all. It seemed like the author thought that by adding a few spells to the French Revolution, she would have a great story. But give me a real French Revolution novel any day - the characters didn't come to life for me in this one. Magic is great, but only if the characters have substance - it can't carry a novel. Go read some Mercedes Lackey or Marion Zimmer Bradley instead.Book Review: Amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. The wonderful spinning of the plot is amazing. Yes it's a retelling of the French Revolution but the retelling is amazing. Eliste an aristocrat daughter helps a serf she is friends with, named Dref, escape from her father's estate. She goes to live with her grandmother in the capital and experiences the magic of court. When the peasants revolt, her world comes crashing down and a long ago friend whome she did a favor for saves her life.Book Review: An excellent novel
Summary: 5 Stars
This book introduced itself to me in a second hand store by way of its unusual cover. What I discovered therein was a gripping story with a tight plot, well-realized characters, fantastic world-building, and suspense at every corner. Perhaps most surprising is, in a genre where "magic" is abused, often substituted for craft, Ms. Volsky rather keeps the "magical" to a limit and adding in technology to keep the otherwise commonplace conventions interesting. Those who revel in words will especially enjoy the exquisite vocabulary and witty repartee which Ms. Volsky deftly employs; and fans of unabridged French and Russian novels will appreciate the "revolutionary" plot.--Emily C. A. SnyderBook Review: Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
This eloquently written masterpiece is captivating, beautiful, romantic, and heart wrenching. The characters are life like, well drawn, in short they are really human.
The Exalted are a nobel class who have achieved their gentility through magic, though the magic is long lost over the years; only a few people have it and those who do are not necessary Exalted. The main character is Eliste vo Derivaille who is a spoiled noblewoman, brought to the capital of Sherreen to serve as a queen's lady. But revolution of peasants sends the nation into revolt and the Exalted are soon a hunted class; no one is safe, everyone is a traitor, anyone can be killed.
The novel is romantic, as well as based loosely on France history. It is so well written it is as if you were watching a movie, not reading a book. The images are poignant and stick with the reader, the characters are unforgettable, and the plot is one worth reading.
Worth everything: the cost, the read, the tears.
Book Review: Buy it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't read much fantasy. It's often predictable and linear, or based on some contrived "Dungeons and Dragons" premise. This book thoroughly rejects the stereotype. It is thoroughly engrossing, and a hell of a lot of fun. Sure, it is broadly predictable, but the dense plot, and wild ride, well and truly make up for that. It doesn't, however, fall into the trap of giving every character what they deserve. You'll be gnashing your teeth over some things, but that's life, and it makes the book much more compelling. If you want a book with a strong female lead, and with excellent and believable character development, this book's a must. In other books, the characters are either too stupid or lucky to truly empathize with, or the author pulls on predictable emotional buttons that you can't help but feel, but which leave a bad taste in your mouth. This is a book that doesn't make you feel guilty about feeling great at the end, and it certainly doesn't need a sequel to tie up any loose ends. Thoroughly enjoyable, and highly recommended.