Melusine by Sarah Monette

Melusine by Sarah Monette

Felix Harrowgate is a wizard, living a life of privilege in the Mirador, the magic centre for the city of Melusine. Felix, however, has a very deep dark secret, and when that's exposed, his life goes downhill very quickly.
His former lover, tormentor and mentor Malkor, takes advantage of Felix and uses him to break the Virtu _ the centre of magic for the Mirador.
Meanwhile, in the stews of the city, Mildmay the Fox _ a cat burglar _ is having one bad day after another.
The book is narrated by Felix and Mildmay in alternating sections and is alternately brutal, funny, violent and sad _ especially when Felix is right down the bottom of the well of his madness that Malkor has caused.
I loved the worldbuilding of Melusine, and the language used, which is a pastiche of Latin-based languages that really works. It has the feel of a Renaissance city, from the privileged few to the desperately poor, with a very strong sense of its own history.
So far my favourite character is Mildmay _ he's very direct in what he thinks and says and knows _ certainly a lot better than Felix although some of that might be slightly unfair _ how to make the best of a bad situation.
I'm looking forward to reading book two: The Virtu. :)


Escapist fiction at its best.