Red Magician
Written by Lisa Goldstein
Narrated by Elizabeth Wiley
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
In the schoolroom of a simple European village, Kicsi spends her days dreaming of the lands beyond the mountains: Paris and New York, Arabia, and Shanghai. When the local rabbi curses Kicsi's school for teaching lessons in Hebrew, the holy tongue, the possibility of adventure seems further away than ever. But when a mysterious stranger appears telling stories of far-off lands, Kicsi feels the world within her grasp.
His name is Vörös, and he is a magician's assistant who seems to have powers all his own. There is darkness growing at the edge of the village-a darkness far blacker than any rabbi's curse. Vörös warns of the Nazi threat, but only Kicsi hears what he says. As evil consumes a continent, Vörös will teach Kicsi that sometimes the magician's greatest trick is survival.
Lisa Goldstein
Lisa Goldstein has published ten novels and dozens of short stories under her own name and two fantasy novels under the pseudonym Isabel Glass. Her most recent novel is The Uncertain Places, which won the Mythopoeic Award. Goldstein received the National Book Award for The Red Magician and the Sidewise Award for her short story “Paradise Is a Walled Garden.” Her work has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. Some of her stories appear in the collection Travellers in Magic. Goldstein has worked as a proofreader, library aide, bookseller, and reviewer. She lives with her husband and their overexuberant Labrador retriever, Bonnie, in Oakland, California. Her website is www.brazenhussies.net/goldstein.
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Reviews for Red Magician
67 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
The pacing in this is very uneven. It seems the author has spent a lot more time on the first third of the book than the rest, and more time on the middle part than the final third. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I received a free galley of this book at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.When I selected this book to read, I was anticipating a historical fantasy novel involving magicians. That is what is was but not at all what I expected. The magic was not really touched on in any significant manner other than to describe it and inform the reader, through the protagonist, that we would not understand it. I felt that the magic was more a form of spiritual mysticism than real magic. The protagonist spends the book watching the conflict of the two 'magicians' and barely living her life. I never found myself feeling particularly attached or drawn to her. At one point she delves into a bout of survivors guilt and I was left wondering why since she had barely interacted with those who died.Dealing with WWII, this book had the potential to make some excellent points, and it did brush up against them, but then it walked away.It was not bad, but then again...not great.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5But it doesn't take courage to die. That's easy. It takes courage to live.I had never heard of this book before I saw it on NetGalley. It won the National Book Award and Open Road Media is now publishing it in ebook format. I love reading books that take place in WWII and I can't really remember reading many that have some sci-fi or fantasy aspects to them, so this was like a new spin to a theme that I love reading about.I love that this book included pronunciations of certain character names. My pronunciations would have been way off without it and it made reading this book easier as I didn't have to stumble over the names. As far as the characters themselves are concerned there was one that really stuck out for me and that was Vörös. I liked him throughout the book and was constantly curious about him (almost as curious as Kicsi was in the beginning). There were times when I felt so bad for Kicsi but there weren't many times when I really liked her that much. Her personality went from one extreme in the beginning to another towards the end. Her journey was heartbreaking but I didn't really manage to connect with her the way that I connected with Vörös.I liked that this book had a great balance between the fantasy aspects and the horrors that are WWII. I was definitely interested in reading about both and was glad to see that neither of them really hogged the storyline from the other. I would definitely recommend this book if you want to read about WWII but like some fantasy as well. Thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media for the galley.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really did not know how I was going to like this book. However Lisa Goldstein worked her storytelling magic. It was very good.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5An interesting piece of historical fantasy that showcases Jewish culture in a fantasy setting. But the pacing isn't there. Goldstein is not a quality writer, and while she has good ideas it just doesn't come together.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A book with a weird tone -- at times seeming an adult fable, at times a children's book, at times something else. Started promisingly, and then petered out. I ended up skimming, and as a result it's entirely possible I am judging too harshly. As a general rule, however, books that deal moral/emotional high explosive need to take exquisite care. More care than was taken here.Some vivid moments -- the dream of the man with no teeth, for example...4.12.07