Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in the excruciatingly class-conscious realm of an alternate 19th-century England, Cho's delightful debut novel skillfully blends fantasy and intrigue with issues of race and gender politics. Zacharias Wythe, the child of enslaved Africans, has spent almost all of his 24 years apprenticing under his English adoptive father, Sir Stephen Wythe, Sorcerer Royal and member of the Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers. When Sir Stephen dies and Zacharias is reluctantly thrust into power, the Society is outraged at the thought of a black man governing its ilk and chooses to blame Britain's dwindling magical resources-actually a longtime crisis-on the color of Zacharias's skin. At Mrs. Daubeney's School for Gentlewitches, where girls are trained to suppress their magical abilities because they supposedly lack the intelligence to be sorcerers, 19-year-old Prunella Gentlewoman stumbles across a long-forgotten legacy that could be the key to saving Zacharias's life and restoring Britain's magic. Cho's tale knits together a dizzying array of taut story lines populated by complex characters with interesting backstories. Zacharias brings to mind another orphaned young wizard whose combination of grit and melancholy captured readers' hearts, and ingenious, gutsy Prunella simply shines. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Associates. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Set in an alternate, magical England during the Napoleonic Wars, Cho's debut novel is at once a comedy of manners and a sharp metacomment concerning racism and misogyny in the fantasy genre. Most thaumaturges agree that Zacharias Wythe is a most unsuitable Sorcerer Royal. Born a slave of African parents, he was set free by his predecessor, Sir Stephen Wythe, who raised him and trained him in the magical arts as a kind of experiment. Zacharias' skin color bars him from social acceptance; moreover, he's commonly assumed to have wrested the late Sir Stephen's staff from him by nefarious means. Nevertheless, Zacharias strives to serve his fellow magicians by determining why the magic level in England has diminished recently. He's distracted in his quest by assassination attempts, the conflict between the sultan of Janda Baik and that nation's witches, and the presence of Prunella Gentleman, a young woman of uncertain but presumably half-Indian parentage, who is possessed of powerful magical gifts that ladies are firmly encouraged to suppress. Many voices in the sci-fi community have spoken of the need for diversity in authors, characters, and subject matter and have faced some unpleasant public blowback for that view. In this book, Cho is both providing that diversity and directly responding to those who prefer a more traditional (read: white male) approach to fantasy. She uses wit, charm, and romance to make her point; the result is a classic, gently barbed upper-crust comedy mixed with magical thrills, modern social consciousness, and a hint of political intrigue. A decidedly promising start. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* England is losing its magic, and the Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers normally turns for guidance to its Sorceror Royal. However, Zacharias Wythe is nearly a pariah to the society. Not only is he the freed child of African slaves, but his adoptive father, Sir Stephen Wythe, died under mysterious circumstances, and everyone assumes that the blame lies with his successor. Suffering under the weight of social rejection, Zacharias attempts to discover the truth behind his nation's dwindling magic. In the meantime, he meets Miss Prunella Gentleman, a young woman of unknown parentage and magical gifts who turns the idea that women must suppress their magical talents on its head. Prunella wishes to enter society and make a life for herself but hides a magical secret that could make or break the future of England itself. As Zacharias and Prunella work towards their respective goals, they find that their paths end up more connected than perceived as they travel a road strewn with foreign witches, fairies, and familiars. Cho's entertaining, fantastical debut brings past and current issues of diversity and social class to light with charm, wit, and magic.--Chadwick, Kristi Copyright 2015 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In Cho's debut, set in an alternative fantasy Regency-era England, Zacharias Wythe is the first black Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers of Britain, an intelligent and honest man but also a freed slave and therefore subject to much opposition, insults, and bigotry. Faced with declining magical supplies, war with France, and political intrigue, Zacharias ventures to the border of Fairyland to investigate. Along the way he discovers an impossibility- Prunella Gentleman, a female with magical tendencies (everyone knows women are too delicate to handle magic). Jenny Sterlin provides a smooth narration, adding texture to this witty comedy of manners. VERDICT Of interest to fans of fantasy and Regency novels. ["An exciting story and nuanced, diverse characters who make this novel soar on its own merits": LJ 9/15/15 starred review of the Ace hc.]-Denise A. Garofalo, Mount Saint Mary Coll. Lib., Newburgh, NY © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.