Sorcerer to the Crown Series: Sorcerer Royal #1 Published by Penguin on July 12, 2016
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / General, Fiction / Fantasy / Historical, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
Pages: 384
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Goodreads
One of NPR's 50 Favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade
Magic and mayhem clash with the British elite in this whimsical and sparkling debut.
The Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers maintains the magic within His Majesty’s lands. But lately, the once proper institute has fallen into disgrace, naming an altogether unsuitable gentleman as their Sorcerer Royal and allowing England’s stores of magic to bleed dry. At least they haven’t stooped so low as to allow women to practice what is obviously a man’s profession…
At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers, ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up, an adventure that brings him in contact with Prunella Gentlewoman, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, and sets him on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…
Review:
Sorcerer to the Crown was a wonderful escape, a book that takes you to a different time and place. One is fraught with etiquette and expectations, Expectations that dictate what one should and, of course, what one should not do. Then, to make things more interesting, layer in magic, ghosts, fae, and familiars, and you get quite a delightful and intriguing read. This world is not perfect. Far from it, some of the society’s shortcomings were quickly brought to the fore. England’s magical stores are dying, and Zacharias is determined to find a way to make things right. With an unexpected, and honestly a bit unwelcome, journey to visit a school for girls with magical abilities (a school that teaches them not to use their magic), he encounters Prunella. A series of unlikely events set the stage for both these characters to take courses they could never have imagined. It almost feels like perhaps something else was at work to make everything fall in line. Perhaps there was, since there is magic, after all.
About Zen Cho
Zen Cho was born and raised in Malaysia, and lives in the UK. She writes fantasy and romance. Her titles include the Sorcerer to the Crown historical fantasy novels and Malaysian contemporary fantasy Black Water Sister, as well as the Lambda Award-nominated novella The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, and a short story collection, Spirits Abroad. Her newest novel, The Friend Zone Experiment, is a contemporary romance set among London’s East and Southeast Asian community.
Zen is a winner of the Hugo, Crawford and British Fantasy Awards and the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize, as well as a finalist for the World Fantasy, Ignyte, Locus, Astounding, Kitschies and Diverse Book Awards. Her short fiction has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Chinese and Japanese. She has spoken at literary festivals and conventions, taught creative writing and appeared on radio, and was once a model in a campaign for a global luxury make-up brand, chosen specifically for her accomplishments rather than her looks.
When she isn’t writing, Zen works as a lawyer. She enjoys cooking and baking, reading, gossip and travel.
