#The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick

[betterbooksandthings]

"Excellent epic fantasy debuts are a glorious thing to behold. I love to see new authors on the scene make their first public attempts at crafting magical struggles or impossible quests. It is a difficult subgenre to pull off, and so it is even more impressive when they make a splash.

As a subgenre of high fantasy, epic fantasy must take place in an alternate world with fantastical (i.e., magical and/or otherworldly) elements and involve complex geopolitical plots and/or multi-step quests. Although they are not requirements of the subgenre, epic fantasy books have also come to include multiple point-of-view characters, maps, and pronunciation keys as well.

The subgenre is largely inspired by early epic poetry like Beowulf, the Illiad, or the Odyssey. These are long narrative poems that involve a hero’s journey against large threats across kingdoms, realms, or states. Taking inspiration from the fantastical epic poems, epic fantasy books have larger-than-life stakes as well.

This list of 10 excellent epic fantasy debuts dives into authors who debuted in epic fantasy recently. Many great epic fantasy books were, unfortunately, not the author’s debut and thus have been omitted from this list. I also limited the series to the last decade because I wanted to give some love to recent releases readers might have missed on the shelves. I highly recommend giving these epic fantasy debuts a go."

[alychelms]

I've been threatening to do a Rook & Rose version of that one Twelfth Night production photo for a while now... so guess what I stayed up waaaaay too late last night, finishing!

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[dovahvhenan]

finished the rook and rose trilogy today. (spoiler-free, if anyone is interested, which you should be oh my god please read these books)

after almost two weeks of reading this trilogy, multiple nights spent reading until i realised "oh shit it's 8am and i haven't slept", and essentially not being able to do any of my other interests because i couldn't stop thinking about these books (literally pulled me away from my special interest, guys, oh my god), i feel both happy and sad that it's finished. happy that i experienced this journey, and sad that there isn't more.

the queer representation. the cultures, and languages. the history. the magic. the politics. the characters. i adored every single word of it all.

it was such a satisfying ending, but i still can't help how hungry i am for more. i adore this world and our three main characters, and all of the supporting characters too. i desperately wish to see more of them. i hope some day we might, despite this being the trilogy ending.

my heart feels so full, but i also miss the story and characters already. i feel like this trilogy caught me in a chokehold for almost two weeks solid, and now i don't really know what to do with myself.

[questwithambition]

Sings *book haul book haul book haul* 🎶

[malicedafirenze]

Unfiltered thoughts on Labyrinth's Heart by M.A. Carrick, book 3 of the Rook & Rose trilogy.

The notes below are very spoilery, so if you haven't read this series I recommend instead having a look at my reviews of the three books on Reddit, where spoilers are tagged.

[Review & Discussion] The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick: magical cards and masks, ballroom duels and secret identities all around

[Review & Discussion] The Liar's Knot by M.A. Carrick: Masked Vigilantes, Secret Identities and Ancient Evils

[Review & Discussion] Labyrinth's Heart by M.A. Carrick brings the Rook & Rose series to a thrilling, satisfying and sometimes heart-wrenching conclusion and puts the trilogy firmly into my top of all time

[bookgrotto]

[sixthrangerknight]

So we've only just been introduced to the Rook, but I'm pretty sure I know who it is, or at least I know who Carrick want us to think the Rook is

[opalmxthyst]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Rook & Rose - M. A. Carrick, The Mask of Mirrors - M.A. Carrick, The Liar's Knot - M.A. Carrick Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tess/Pavilin Characters: Tess (Rook & Rose), Ren (Rook & Rose), Pavilin (Rook & Rose) Series: Part 1 of You'll Never Want for Love Summary:

Tess worries and cares for a sleepless Ren. It isn't getting better, but at least there's fresh bread.

Ren's job is to risk herself for the sake of the con. Tess's is to put her back together afterward. She can do it, especially if packages from a certain someone keep landing on their doorstep.

[wackachewbacca]

For me when I’m reading a fairly lengthy book, it always feels like a sense of accomplishment when I get to the last 100 pages because I find it’s then when things are most dire. Kind of like how you’ve been stressing for a week studying for an exam and it’s the day of and suddenly it’s now or nothing. It’s that same feeling; there’s nothing more to plan or to hide from: it’s do or die and somehow that feels less stressful when you reach that point

[flaviathebibliophile]

Labyrinth's Heart by M.A. Carrick (Review)

Title: Labyrinth’s Heart Author: M.A. Carrick Type: Fiction Genre: Adult, Fantasy Publisher: Orbit Date published: August 15, 2023 A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Hachette Book Group Canada in exchange for an honest review. Ren came to Nadežra with a plan. She would pose as the long-lost daughter of the noble house Traementis. She would secure a fortune for…

[alychelms]

R&R wiki woo!

The Rook & Rose wiki is live! We created this wiki for our own reference, so there are spoilers galore. But with some help we arranged to archive our version and make a public version that people can edit, add to, etc.

Our original is almost the same length as one of the novels, so lots of robust content for folks to poke around and play with!

[artemisandhersilverbow]

Just started Mask of Mirrors and my god… I am prepared to defeat the 300 world dump slump but this is one of the more brutal ones I’ve encountered.

I was promised adult Six of Crows and it turns I’ll endure pretty much anything for that.

[dovahvhenan]

is there anyone here who has read the Rook and Rose series. please. I'm 70% through the second book and I need to scream with someone about my Ren/Grey feelings. if you haven't heard of these books at all PLEASE READ THEM OH MY GOD THEY ARE SO SO SO GOOD THIS IS A FANTASY YA BOOK SERIES WHERE THEY ARE ACTUALLY YOUNG ADULTS AND NOT 16 YEAR OLDS AND THE LORE AND HISTORY AND MAGIC IS SO DEEP AND INTERESTING AND THE C H A R A C T E R S OH MY GOD EVERYONE IS WRITTEN SO WELL

[malicedafirenze]

excellent pitch of Mask of Mirrors, the Rook and Rose series deserves all the love <3

Who's is That Face in the Mask?

So, it's rare when I pick up a book on the strength of a YouTube video, and honestly even rarer that I enjoy books selected based on that criteria. However, since Marie Brennan is one half of MA Carrick and the book is often described via *that* quote from The Princess Bride (and no, I'm not specifying even though Princess Bride is all *that* quote depending on context), I had hope. After all, I loved the Lady Trent memoirs and The Princess Bride. And folks, this book did not disappoint. Let's talk The Mask of Mirrors.

What do you get when hundreds of years of colonization mixes with a rogue vigilante for the oppressed population and a con woman who sets out for money but comes up with found family? Youu get some stunningly well written characters, intrigue that I frankly preferred to A Song of Ice and Fire, and just beautifully nuanced worldbuilding.

Ren--or Renata Viraudax or Arenza, depending on the day and location--grew up as a dirt-poor half-Vrazenian kid who was completely disconnected from her mother's people in a city colonized by the Liganti. She was a gang member under the objectively abusive Ondrakja until she watched Ondrakja beat her brother to death. Next thing we know, Ren has poisoned her Fagin and made off for another country with her sister, Tess. They end up serving in the household of Letilia--a disgraced member of House Traemantis.

Fast forward a few years, and Letilia being an absolutely irredeemable human gives Ren the idea to con the remaining members of House Traemantis in Nadezera. Mother and daughter are sufficiently estranged that Letilia won't out Ren, but other actors in the city might.

Those actors include Grey Serrado, captain of the Vigil (read police force) and Vrazenian slip-knot (read traitor to his people because he assimilated into Liganti society. He is running himself ragged trying to sort out why street kids keep dying of insomnia, track down the mysterious Rook, and running petty errands for the Liganti nobility. He does not get help from the rampant vanity and nepotism in the Vigil ranks, nor the racism of most Liganti hawks. Add to that his deep grief for his brother's recent murder and Grey needs a hug and a paid vacation.

Then there is Vargo Derossi, crime lord extraordinaire with an eye toward becoming too powerful to be ignored and choosing to pretend to go legitimate to achieve the dream. He is charming and deadly all at once, has someone else in his head, has a pet spider named Peabody, and some serious germophobia. Whether he is caught in Ren's con or she is caught in his web is an open question for most of this book. Vargo is 100% unanswered questions, and every single one is dangerous to ask and even more dangerous not to know the answer to. Especially since he is also SUSPICIOUSLY competent at numinatria...

We of course cannot neglect Donaia, Leato, and Giuna Tremantis. This remnant of a once proud family are an unusual bunch, but they're also different enough that watching their personalities mesh and clas ended up being one of my favorite things about this book.

Beyond the character work, the worldbuilding in this book is first-class. The Vrazenians and Liganti are culturally and visually distinct at a glance, and then for those who care to stay and look harder, there is depth and nuance. Both cultures feel real and vibrant, which makes the all-too-clear harms of oppression and colonization, as well as the messiness of navigating mixed-heritage identities, all the sharper.

It also highlights the different magic systems, religions, and ways of knowing and relating to your community based on those cultural differences. Patterning and numinatria are both valid, but neither quite likes the other and thy don't cross cultural lines. The Rook is a folk hero to the Vrazenians and a half-mythical, pain-in-the-ass vigilante to the Liganti. Even fashion is sharply divided.

Overall, the Princess Bride comparison is apt, but perhaps also mixed with some Leverage and some Batman. I loved this book, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next two.

[qqueenofhades]

just saw your offer for book recs and would love some fantasy/sci fi books, it seems like we have similar taste. i just finished nk jemisin's broken earth trilogy, and also loved the city we became by her.

Aha, I am at work right now and thus do not have my bookshelves at hand to make sure I'm not missing something blindly obvious. However, I will start you off with these:

The Rook and Rose trilogy by M.A. Carrick (The Mask of Mirrors, The Liar's Knot, Labyrinth's Heart). Yes, this is the series I have been screaming about nonstop for the past few weeks and thus craftily suckering unsuspecting passersby into reading. An AMAZING world, an OT3 who own my entire ass, lots of political intrigue, cultural and social commentary, a unique magic system, and also plenty of humor. It really has it all. I continue my one-man quest to make this fandom bigger. Ahem.

The Green Bone trilogy by Fonda Lee (Jade City, Jade War, Jade Legacy). Another fantastic fantasy series that NEEDS more readers. Inspired by Chinese/Hong Kong kung-fu movies, set in a gritty modern universe, kind of like the Godfather but with magical jade-wielding families. Tons of discussion of empire, culture, violence, appropriation, power, war, family, Asian identity, more. They're likewise nice and long to keep you busy.

The Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty (The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper, The Empire of Gold). Another you-gotta-read-this trilogy (yes, I have many of them). Set in the 18th-century Middle East and the magical djinni kingdom of Daevabad. Politics, empire, religion, history, intrigue, magic, scheming families, ancient wars, and my most beloved, Muntadhir al-Qahtani. What is not to love.

The Priory of the Orange Tree and its standalone prequel, A Day of Fallen Night, by Samantha Shannon. Absolute doorstopper (800+ pages apiece) epic-with-dragons-and-medieval-worlds fantasy, like Game of Thrones if Game of Thrones was a) good b) gay c) feminist and d) had people of color. She is also the author of the Bone Season series (four books thus far) which is a unique blend of futuristic sci-fi and fantasy set in an alternate totalitarian London and a ruined Oxford.

Winter's Orbit and Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell. Two M/M space opera romances (set in the same universe, but can be read independently). She got her start as a fanfic writer and it shows; these are both delightful, plotty, funny, and full of sassy gay disaster homosexuals in space.

A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (I have read the first one, need to read the second one). Historian of medieval Byzantium writes space opera set in Space Constantinople which is also Space Tenochtitlan. Explores language, history, memory, power, identity, assimilation, and more, and is also very funny.

Autonomous, The Future of Another Timeline, and The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz. High-concept social-commentary dystopian science fiction; of the three, Terraformers (the newest one) might be my favorite. They're not related so you can read them in whatever order.

Two books that I have not read yet but I really want to: Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham and To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. Both are fantasy novels by Native American authors; Basham's is magical realism and Blackgoose's is about a Native American dragon-rider facing assimilation at an English (Anglish) boarding school.

Likewise coming soon and I am excited: The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu. Middle Eastern-inspired fantasy, cyberpunk, techno-magic. In space!

There are definitely more that I will get home and be like oh wait yeah. But this should get you started.