Review: Shadowplay

Book two in the Pantomime series
By Laura Lam
Available now from Strange Chemistry (Angry Robot)
Review copy
Read my review of Pantomime

PANTOMIME was one of my favorite books last year.  I even nominated it for the Cybils, where it is now a finalist.  SHADOWPLAY picks up right where PANTOMIME leaves off, with Micah and Drystan on the run and looking for a place to stay.  It had been awhile since I'd read PANTOMIME, so I was a bit lost at sea until I read further and things started coming back to me.

Laura Lam really ramps up the worldbuilding in SHADOWPLAY.  Much more is explained about the Phantom Damselfly and her history as well as how it connects to Micah.  A new character, Cyan, is introduced.  Her story intersects with Micah and Drystan's in a much deeper way than it would appear when she first joins them.  The three become apprentices to a magician, Jasper Maske, all hiding in plain side and developing skills of illusion.  It continues and transforms the circus theme of PANTOMIME.  Plus, Maske gets them tangled up in a magician's duel, which is cool in an entirely different way from ancient magic and hiding from shady bounty hunters.

As for Micah's personal journey, he's much more comfortable with who he is and his body.  (I'm using male pronouns in this review because Micah presents himself as a male during most of SHADOWPLAY.)  He still has to deal with the emotional fallout from the events at the climax of PANTOMIME as well as his growing closer to the mysterious Drystan.  (And yes, a great deal of Drystan's past is revealed.)  It feels like a very natural progression, and a welcome one.  Micah is growing up, which is good since he has some big decisions ahead of him.

I don't think SHADOWPLAY would make much sense to someone who hasn't read PANTOMIME.  In fact, trying as I have to not spoil anything, I doubt this review makes much sense to someone who hasn't read PANTOMIME.  So read PANTOMIME and then SHADOWPLAY because this series is full speed ahead.  Lam drops a couple of plot twists in the last chapter that put the final pieces in to play.  I can't wait to see how this series ends!

Review: Pantomime

By Laura Lam
Available now from Strange Chemistry (Angry Robot)
Review copy

Micah Grey runs away from his life as a privileged aristocrat and joins R.H. Ragona's Circus of Magic.  He wants the chance to discover who he is, rather than who his parents expect him to be, especially after learning something rather unexpected about his past and unwelcome about his future right before running.

He doesn't fit into the circus immediately.  He might be an outsider and an outcast, but he has to endure the other performers' hazing in order to prove it.  He must work hard at grunt work and train to be an aerialist.  He starts a relationship with Aenea Harper, one of the circus's experienced aerialists, and feels a strange attraction to Drystan, the circus's head clown.  But it's difficult for Micah to keep his secrets and gain the trust of the performers.

PANTOMIME is also the story of Iphigenia Laurus, who wants to be called Gene, though only her brother bothers.  She's old enough to make her debut, but she's not interested in courting and being a lady.  She'd rather climb trees and hang with her brother's friends, just like she did as a little kid.  She chafes under society's expectations and lives in fear of being married off to some dolt, because a clever man would discover her secrets rather quickly.

The fantasy elements of PANTOMIME are subtle.  Most of Ellada's magic is relics, rare and losing power.  But not all magic is gone.  Micah might have a connection to those vanished Civilizations, though he's often too busy trying to conceal it than to bother trying to discover how.

I rather enjoyed PANTOMIME and its examination of class, society, and gender combined with the classic stories of a boy running away to join the circus and a girl avoiding an unpleasant marriage.  Some of the story's reveals are obvious, but other twists are very surprising.  And it all builds to a sudden, violent conclusion.  PANTOMIME is only the beginning of the story.  It's a lovely, quiet story but I expect the sequel will be more explosive, given everything that happens.

I recommend PANTOMIME for fantasy fans looking for something slightly offbeat and full of subtle magics, as well as for people looking for something to follow the bestselling THE NIGHT CIRCUS.  It's a magical, romantic tale and I think Laura Lam is an author to watch.