Cold Magic (Spiritwalker, #1)

by Kate Elliott

From one of the genre's finest writers comes a bold new epic fantasy in which science and magic are locked in a deadly struggle.

It is the dawn of a new age. . . The Industrial Revolution has begun, factories are springing up across the country, and new technologies are transforming in the cities. But the old ways do not die easy.

Cat and Bee are part of this revolution. Young women at college, learning of the science that will shape their future and ignorant of the magics that rule their families. But all of that will change when the Cold Mages come for Cat. New dangers lurk around every corner and hidden threats menace her every move. If blood can't be trusted, who can you trust?

• ISBN10: 0316080853
• ISBN13: 9780316080859
• Publish Date: 9 September 2010 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 544
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Probably closer to 3.5 stars, this is all worldbuilding, creating the story and the background for what sounds like an interesting adventure, it's a world a lot like our own, but with some subtle differences. Rome didn't really fall, much of the north of Europe is under Ice and there's a land-bridge between England and Europe. Switzerland is under ice as well and there are cold-mages. Cat Barahal and her cousin Bee think they understand their world but things are turned on their head when family politics force Cat into a marriage that will complicate her life.

It's an interesting beginning to a story if a bit convoluted.

[ladygrey]

I can't say this isn't a good book, I just didn't like it much. Not necessarily because it isn't well written, it just isn't written in a way that captured me or intrigued me. I felt more like I was trudging through the story, curious but not engrossed or intrigued or captivated or anything. I liked the world she built well enough but I didn't love any of the characters. I almost loved Anduvai at the end, almost. I liked Rory a lot also, but he's such a fun character you can't help but like him. and I didn't dislike any of them, but I think they suffered from the overall problem of the story, which is that it is dense with description and the details of this world that don't seem relevant to the story. The language is overwrought when it's not straight forward which served more to keep me at a distance from the story rather than fascinate. And it's largely removed from the characters emotions. All of this just kept me removed from an interesting world and characters I wanted to understand more.

I cant even seem to write a succinct and focused sentence after reading it.