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The Mongolian Wizard #2
The Fire Gown
A second “Mongolian Wizard” tale from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Michael Swanwick – continuing an epic of magic and deception in an alternate Europe of railroads and sorcery..
21 pages, ebook
First published August 8, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 6, 2017
Not as much fun as Katniss' dress, unfortunately. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
“The Fire Gown” is the second story in Michael Swanwick’s THE MONGOLIAN WIZARD series of short stories on Tor, set in an alternate 19th century Europe where magic works both good and evil (you should read The Mongolian Wizard first for background and context). Franz-Karl Ritter, formerly an officer in the Werewolf Corps, a type of K9 Corps where men share a mind link with their wolves, has now accepted a position in Britain’s intelligence agency, working under Sir Tobias Willoughby-Quirke. While they investigate magical troubles, their larger goal is to stop the fearsome Mongolian Wizard from taking over Europe.
When the Queen of England is burned to death by a magical red gown that burst into flame when she put it on (it was made of fire salamander hair), Ritter is charged with investigating her murder. He and Sir Toby suspect that the Mongolian Wizard is to blame. Ritter’s investigation takes him to the tailor’s shop of Knopfman and Rosenberg, where a Jewish dressmaker created a dress for the queen. But the underlying plot against England is deeper and more dreadful than they imagined.
There were some amusing plot points, such as the fact that Britain is ruled by King Oberon, and his murdered queen was Titania. This fantasy mystery is given more depth by Ritter’s brusque but intuitive manner in his investigations, his relationship with his wolf Freki, and his unexpectedly poignant interactions with the Jewish dressmaker’s daughter, who defends her father, their business and, indirectly, her people.
This story, like the six others in this series that have been published to date, is free online at Tor.com.
October 1, 2021
Sir Toby and Kapitänleutnant Franz-Karl Ritter are back. They have just arrived in London along with Ritter's wolf Freki after they find out that The Queen is dead. Then starts the investigation and it is found out that the cause of the death is a gown made with Salamander hair.
Following this investigation, Ritter ends up at The Queen's dressmaker's shop and it is revealed that the dressmaker is also dead but it was the assistant who could have made the fire gown as there is more cloth found in his room. The supposed culprit is captured but Ritter lost Shulamith Rosenberg, daughter of the dressmaker whom he knew only briefly.
I loved this story and it gave me Sherlock Holmes vibes for some reason. I am really enjoying this series and I can't wait to start the next story.
5 stars
Following this investigation, Ritter ends up at The Queen's dressmaker's shop and it is revealed that the dressmaker is also dead but it was the assistant who could have made the fire gown as there is more cloth found in his room. The supposed culprit is captured but Ritter lost Shulamith Rosenberg, daughter of the dressmaker whom he knew only briefly.
I loved this story and it gave me Sherlock Holmes vibes for some reason. I am really enjoying this series and I can't wait to start the next story.
5 stars
October 21, 2024
Actual rating: 3.5 stars.
There’s nothing quite like female monarchs who take up spontaneous combustion as a hobby, if you ask me. So yay and stuff.
The stories in this series are Slightly Very Entertaining (SVE™). The stories in this series are Super Extra Short (SES™). The stories in this series are Super Extra Free (SEF™). This particular story is SUPER EXTRA HERE (SEH™). So read it and stuff.
· Story #1: The Mongolian Wizard ★★★★
· Story #3: Day of the Kraken ★★★★
· Story #4: House of Dreams ★★★★
· Story #5: The Night of the Salamander ★★★★
· Story #6: The Pyramid of Krakow ★★★★
· Story #7: The Phantom in the Maze ★★★★
· Story #8: Murder in the Spook House ★★★★
· Story #9: The New Prometheus ★★★
· Story #10: Halcyon Afternoon ★★★
· Story #11: Dragons of Paris ★★★★★
There’s nothing quite like female monarchs who take up spontaneous combustion as a hobby, if you ask me. So yay and stuff.
The stories in this series are Slightly Very Entertaining (SVE™). The stories in this series are Super Extra Short (SES™). The stories in this series are Super Extra Free (SEF™). This particular story is SUPER EXTRA HERE (SEH™). So read it and stuff.
· Story #1: The Mongolian Wizard ★★★★
· Story #3: Day of the Kraken ★★★★
· Story #4: House of Dreams ★★★★
· Story #5: The Night of the Salamander ★★★★
· Story #6: The Pyramid of Krakow ★★★★
· Story #7: The Phantom in the Maze ★★★★
· Story #8: Murder in the Spook House ★★★★
· Story #9: The New Prometheus ★★★
· Story #10: Halcyon Afternoon ★★★
· Story #11: Dragons of Paris ★★★★★
January 1, 2022
The Fire Gown by Michael Swanwick is the second short story in The Mongolian Wizard series set in a fractured Europe that never was.
Wizard Tobias Gracchus Willoughby-Quirke (Sir Toby) and his now partner Junior Lieutenant Franz-Karl Ritter, former officer in the Werewolf Corps (and his wolf companion Freki), are on the case when British Queen Titania spontaneously combusts in her new gown. The investigation soon points to the Jewish dressmaker. Could their Russian roots have a connection to the Mongolian wizard?
“This has not been a very satisfactory adventure,” he managed at last to say.
“No, it has not. But it could have turned out worse.”
The body count is high once more (and for such a short story), but then again it is war time.
After reading this one I would not advise to just jump in somewhere but start with the first story as all are connected and not as stand alone as they say. Don’t get too attached to the women in these shorts because they tend to die a lot (hopefully this gets better).
You can read this story (and all the other from this series) for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2012/08/15/the-fi...
Themes: a combusted Queen, a murder investigation, a Jewish dressmaker, Fire Salamander Hair, saboteur, magical medicine, a loss.
3.5 Stars
Wizard Tobias Gracchus Willoughby-Quirke (Sir Toby) and his now partner Junior Lieutenant Franz-Karl Ritter, former officer in the Werewolf Corps (and his wolf companion Freki), are on the case when British Queen Titania spontaneously combusts in her new gown. The investigation soon points to the Jewish dressmaker. Could their Russian roots have a connection to the Mongolian wizard?
“This has not been a very satisfactory adventure,” he managed at last to say.
“No, it has not. But it could have turned out worse.”
The body count is high once more (and for such a short story), but then again it is war time.
After reading this one I would not advise to just jump in somewhere but start with the first story as all are connected and not as stand alone as they say. Don’t get too attached to the women in these shorts because they tend to die a lot (hopefully this gets better).
You can read this story (and all the other from this series) for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2012/08/15/the-fi...
Themes: a combusted Queen, a murder investigation, a Jewish dressmaker, Fire Salamander Hair, saboteur, magical medicine, a loss.
3.5 Stars
January 19, 2019
4.25. wonderful. getting the impression it's not good to be a woman in this series, but the voice is a delight. this was an excellent break from the novel I'm reading.
December 28, 2019
Story # 2 available on Tor.com. Toby and Ritter arrive in England to discover the Queen has been assassinated on the eve of the war with the Mongolian Wizard. Swanwick again writes a crisp tale of adventure.
January 12, 2024
Three and a half stars.
An entertaining fantasy series for readers in a hurry, by the great Michael Swanwick.
An entertaining fantasy series for readers in a hurry, by the great Michael Swanwick.
July 18, 2019
So sad!!! 4.5 stars, rounded down because SAD!
January 9, 2025
Ritter and Sir Toby are investigating the murder of the queen in this alternate history story. Very cool short story with a nice pace and lots of action. Next one please!
February 9, 2015
I feel these lines from the story itself sum things up pretty well:
“This has not been a very satisfactory adventure,” he managed at last to say. “No, it has not. But it could have turned out worse.”
It had some really good lines and the mystery wasn`t bad, but the whole story moved way too fast, even for a short story. Also, I did not like the character of Shulamith. She was just all over the place. One minute she`s this strong young woman, next she`s collapsing in a teary mess - into the arms of a stranger she just yelled at for being a boorish ass.
Bottom line: not as good as the first story, but doesn`t dampen my anticipation for the next one.
“This has not been a very satisfactory adventure,” he managed at last to say. “No, it has not. But it could have turned out worse.”
It had some really good lines and the mystery wasn`t bad, but the whole story moved way too fast, even for a short story. Also, I did not like the character of Shulamith. She was just all over the place. One minute she`s this strong young woman, next she`s collapsing in a teary mess - into the arms of a stranger she just yelled at for being a boorish ass.
Bottom line: not as good as the first story, but doesn`t dampen my anticipation for the next one.
November 6, 2015
At least this one has an accurate title. Day of the Kraken, pfft!
June 28, 2021
Major Written By A Man™️ energy. Every female character dies and/or is emotional to the point of being unable to do her job. And the Jewish-coded characters are there because...? Only positive thing about this short story was that I got to rant about both of those things!
November 24, 2025
The Queen is dead. Murdered by a magic dress. When Sir Toby sets his best man on the case, he is shocked at what he discovers.
More fantastic shenanigans with a magical twist, this story is an intriguing locked room mystery.
More fantastic shenanigans with a magical twist, this story is an intriguing locked room mystery.
Read
September 10, 2015More espionage and skulduggery in a magical alternate 19th century (I fear the term 'spellpunk' may well have been used of this series, by people who should know better). On paper, I should like Swanwick more than I do.
October 22, 2012
Great story, but hardly standalone fiction.
March 9, 2021
Best line: "Thin as a rail, pale as an Eskimo, and weak as my grandfather a month after he died. You are immensely improved.”
This story was better than I remembered it bring from the first time I read it. A good second installment, though I hoped to hear a little more about the titular wizard, but I guess it is probably too soon for that. It's remarkable how fast paced, emotional, and full of detail Swanwick can make a story thay only takes about 20 or so minutes to read.
This story was better than I remembered it bring from the first time I read it. A good second installment, though I hoped to hear a little more about the titular wizard, but I guess it is probably too soon for that. It's remarkable how fast paced, emotional, and full of detail Swanwick can make a story thay only takes about 20 or so minutes to read.
August 6, 2018
Read as part of The Stories: Five Years of Original Fiction on Tor.com but the story can be found online, here
August 2, 2019
This is the second story in the Mongolian Wizard Series, and it's a little on the light side. I was kind of hoping that they'd color in the lines some more on the world. They do a little bit, but I was left wanting.
April 16, 2020
What's better than discovering a new series? Discovering that the next story holds up.
Love it.
Love it.
December 28, 2020
Kind of boring. I'm still waiting to care about any of the characters. I'm still not convinced the Mongolian Wizard is even real rather than a political plot.
October 27, 2024
Otro buen relato corto, aunque al final demasiado obvio. C
September 2, 2015
Originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2015...
Just last week I read the first story in the Mongolian Wizard series of Michael Swanwick, and I enjoyed it. I have been recently reading a new thing Bookburners which is a serialized fiction, like a tv show but in short story format and actually I got the same feeling from this series of Michael Swanwick. Even more so with finishing this second story. Each story is like a little episode.
Picking up directly from The Mongolian Wizard, Ritter and his wolf Freki have travelled to Great Britain. In the first story Franz-Karl Ritter was recruited by Sir Tobias Gracchus Willoughby-Quirke to the British Intelligence services. Having narrowly escaped death there, he now sets foot on the stable grounds of Great Britain. Well at least that is what he was thinking. No sooner than when he reaches Buckingham Palace does word come that Queen Titania has passed away. A spontaneous combustion has occurred while she was putting on a new dress. Toby and Ritter set out to investigate this incident and soon find out that there has been some foul play in work. In the remnants of the accident they discover a piece of cloth called woven from a salamanders hair and not just any salamander, a fire sprite known for the flammable properties. It can catch flame due to bodyheat alone. Everything in the ends points towards the dress maker but here Ritter finds out that there is much more going on. The questions remains is who can you trust? How far has the Mongolian Wizard's influence reached in Europe already?
The Fire Gown is over in a flash. The story it self shows a nice broadening by taking place on British soil, added to this we do see more of Ritter's character and something on the emotional side of him, but for the rest it does remain a bit in the background. What we do get to is the influence that the Mongolian Wizard seems to have across Europe, and that things can go from bad to worse in an instant.
Though The Fire Gown was more show and didn't give many clear answers it seems that in the next story there is the promise of a lot of things to come. Lets see!
you can read the full story here
Just last week I read the first story in the Mongolian Wizard series of Michael Swanwick, and I enjoyed it. I have been recently reading a new thing Bookburners which is a serialized fiction, like a tv show but in short story format and actually I got the same feeling from this series of Michael Swanwick. Even more so with finishing this second story. Each story is like a little episode.
Picking up directly from The Mongolian Wizard, Ritter and his wolf Freki have travelled to Great Britain. In the first story Franz-Karl Ritter was recruited by Sir Tobias Gracchus Willoughby-Quirke to the British Intelligence services. Having narrowly escaped death there, he now sets foot on the stable grounds of Great Britain. Well at least that is what he was thinking. No sooner than when he reaches Buckingham Palace does word come that Queen Titania has passed away. A spontaneous combustion has occurred while she was putting on a new dress. Toby and Ritter set out to investigate this incident and soon find out that there has been some foul play in work. In the remnants of the accident they discover a piece of cloth called woven from a salamanders hair and not just any salamander, a fire sprite known for the flammable properties. It can catch flame due to bodyheat alone. Everything in the ends points towards the dress maker but here Ritter finds out that there is much more going on. The questions remains is who can you trust? How far has the Mongolian Wizard's influence reached in Europe already?
The Fire Gown is over in a flash. The story it self shows a nice broadening by taking place on British soil, added to this we do see more of Ritter's character and something on the emotional side of him, but for the rest it does remain a bit in the background. What we do get to is the influence that the Mongolian Wizard seems to have across Europe, and that things can go from bad to worse in an instant.
Though The Fire Gown was more show and didn't give many clear answers it seems that in the next story there is the promise of a lot of things to come. Lets see!
you can read the full story here
February 14, 2017
Michael Swanwick continues to cement
his position as one of the premier world builders
in modern SF.
Here he presents a different early 20th Century
where sorcery rules.
And the main threat looming over
Europe is the Mongolian Wizard
driving the word towards war.
Though sinister plots the Wizard
drives Europe towards chaos.
Magical plots and sacrifices
are the tools of the anarchist in this 1900's.
Set against them is Franz-Karl Ritter
a Prussian Lt. attached to his new commander
the British sorcerer and spy master Sir Toby.
Facing threats both magical and
mundane and using his own trade craft
and magical ability
as well as the wolf he is bonded to
Franz fights to keep the World from War.
his position as one of the premier world builders
in modern SF.
Here he presents a different early 20th Century
where sorcery rules.
And the main threat looming over
Europe is the Mongolian Wizard
driving the word towards war.
Though sinister plots the Wizard
drives Europe towards chaos.
Magical plots and sacrifices
are the tools of the anarchist in this 1900's.
Set against them is Franz-Karl Ritter
a Prussian Lt. attached to his new commander
the British sorcerer and spy master Sir Toby.
Facing threats both magical and
mundane and using his own trade craft
and magical ability
as well as the wolf he is bonded to
Franz fights to keep the World from War.
December 4, 2013
3,5 star
The second story in the series about the Mongolian Wizard.
The story feels more as a sketch than a complete story and that is why I "only" give it 3.5 stars.
Read my review: http://wp.me/p40HVI-bC
The second story in the series about the Mongolian Wizard.
The story feels more as a sketch than a complete story and that is why I "only" give it 3.5 stars.
Read my review: http://wp.me/p40HVI-bC
July 1, 2014
کارای این بابا، جادوگر مغولی اصلاً قابل فهم نیست برام. میزنه ملکهی یه کشور رو میکشه که چی؟ که اون کشور رو با خودش دشمن کنه و به بندازتش تو دامن اتحاد دشمنانش؟ آخه اینم شد کار؟ برای ایجاد رعب و وحشت کارهای بهتری میشه انجام داد. این بابا یه راست واسه خودش دشمن میتراشه.
April 9, 2016
I feel like Sir Toby's sarcasm is growing on me.
Now let me look at you! Thin as a rail, pale as an Eskimo, and weak as my grandfather a month after he died. You are immensely improved.
August 16, 2012
A bit shorter than the first installment. But good nonetheless. The queen is murdered and Ritter must use his instincts to find out who. Cause of death was the Fire Gown.
May 11, 2018
I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading this one and it turned out to be a sequel to the Mongolian Wizard. Hope he writes more.
October 3, 2012
I thought that this installment was a bit better than the first.
http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/08/th...
Link to the first story: http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/07/th...
http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/08/th...
Link to the first story: http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/07/th...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews