From the Bookshelf of Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
An entertaining, if overwrought, historical fantasy about an impecunious young lady-in-waiting trying to save the life of a mermaid-like creature who has been captured and put on display in Louis XIV’s exotic menagerie at Versailles. I’d recommend this if you’re interested in the setting, since there’s more court drama than fantasy.
The book does a good job depicting the glamour, as well as the cruelty and absurdity, of the Sun King’s Versailles, as Marie-Josephe, an intelligent but naive girl fr ...more
The book does a good job depicting the glamour, as well as the cruelty and absurdity, of the Sun King’s Versailles, as Marie-Josephe, an intelligent but naive girl fr ...more
I was a bit disappointed with this book, although that may have been because my first encounter with McIntyre was in her Hugo and Nebula winning novel, Dreamsnake, which does kinda skew one's perspective.
This story is grounded solidly in the court of the Sun King, almost too solidly, as I do feel that the narrative sometimes wanders off into the "look how much research I did" category. Still, the setting is lovely and the characters are, overall, quite sympathetically drawn. She doesn't make the ...more
This story is grounded solidly in the court of the Sun King, almost too solidly, as I do feel that the narrative sometimes wanders off into the "look how much research I did" category. Still, the setting is lovely and the characters are, overall, quite sympathetically drawn. She doesn't make the ...more
A sumptuous historical fantasy set in the court of Louis XIV at Versailles in the 17th Century. A young woman feels a unique bond with a sea creature that was captured by her brother and placed in the large fountain in the gardens. It is rich in historical detail and fine charaterisation. A fine novel and wonderful read.
Jun 07, 2008
Jeffrey
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
historical-fiction
Oct 04, 2008
Stephen
marked it as to-read
Jul 05, 2009
Erich Franz Linner-Guzmann
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
fiktion,
historische,
award-winner,
sociology,
europa,
wissenschaft,
politik,
kultur,
fantasy,
award-nominee
Apr 30, 2010
Colleen
marked it as to-read
Jan 17, 2015
Tiger Gray
marked it as to-read
Aug 17, 2015
Lorena
marked it as to-read
Aug 24, 2015
Steve
marked it as to-read
Jan 24, 2022
Tess
marked it as to-read
