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The Sanctuary Duet #1
Dust and Light
National bestselling author Carol Berg returns to the world of her award-winning Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone with an all-new tale of magic, mystery, and corruption....
How much must one pay for an hour of youthful folly? The Pureblood Registry accused Lucian de Remeni-Masson of “unseemly involvement with ordinaries,” which meant only that he spoke with a young woman not of his own kind, allowed her to see his face unmasked, worked a bit of magic for her....After that one mistake, Lucian’s grandsire excised half his magic and savage Harrowers massacred his family. Now the Registry has contracted his art to a common coroner. His extraordinary gift for portraiture is restricted to dead ordinaries—beggars or starvelings hauled from the streets.
But sketching the truth of dead men’s souls brings unforeseen consequences. Sensations not his own. Truths he cannot possibly know and dares not believe. The coroner calls him a cheat and says he is trying to weasel out of a humiliating contract. The Registry will call him mad—and mad sorcerers are very dangerous....
How much must one pay for an hour of youthful folly? The Pureblood Registry accused Lucian de Remeni-Masson of “unseemly involvement with ordinaries,” which meant only that he spoke with a young woman not of his own kind, allowed her to see his face unmasked, worked a bit of magic for her....After that one mistake, Lucian’s grandsire excised half his magic and savage Harrowers massacred his family. Now the Registry has contracted his art to a common coroner. His extraordinary gift for portraiture is restricted to dead ordinaries—beggars or starvelings hauled from the streets.
But sketching the truth of dead men’s souls brings unforeseen consequences. Sensations not his own. Truths he cannot possibly know and dares not believe. The coroner calls him a cheat and says he is trying to weasel out of a humiliating contract. The Registry will call him mad—and mad sorcerers are very dangerous....
445 pages, Paperback
First published August 5, 2014
86 people are currently reading
2666 people want to read
About the author
Carol Berg
33 books1,128 followersCarol Berg is the author of the epic fantasy
The Books of the Rai-kirah, The Bridge of D'Arnath Quartet, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award winning Lighthouse Duet - Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone - the standalone novel Song of the Beast , and the three novels of the Collegia Magica.
Berg holds a degree in mathematics from Rice University, and a degree in computer science from the University of Colorado. Before writing full-time, she worked as a software engineer. She lives in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and is the mother of three mostly grown sons.
The Books of the Rai-kirah, The Bridge of D'Arnath Quartet, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award winning Lighthouse Duet - Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone - the standalone novel Song of the Beast , and the three novels of the Collegia Magica.
Berg holds a degree in mathematics from Rice University, and a degree in computer science from the University of Colorado. Before writing full-time, she worked as a software engineer. She lives in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and is the mother of three mostly grown sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
October 8, 2014
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/10/08/b...
This is my first book by Carol Berg so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But as the start of a new series taking place in the world of her Lighthouse novels, I figured Dust and Light was a pretty good place for me to start. I ended up being very impressed with her world building, especially when it came to the conceptual framework for her magic, which I found wonderfully enticing and beautiful. However, I also thought the story’s pacing was rather shaky throughout, with things coming a bit undone towards the end, otherwise I would have given this book a higher rating.
Dust and Light introduces us to Lucien de Remeni-Masson, a young Pureblood from a noble house. A Pureblood’s magical talent is called a “bent”, and Lucien, being somewhat of an oddity, has two of them. After landing in hot water over a dalliance with an Ordinary woman, Lucian’s grandfather attempted to have one of his bents burned out, and Lucian ends up working as an artist painting portraits under the supervision of the Pureblood Registry. But then Harrowers set the Remeni-Masson estate afire, killing the whole family save for Lucien and his younger sister Juli.
Not having reached the age to inherit the title as head of his house, Lucian’s life is now in the hands of the Registry. When his contract is sold to a common coroner, he is forced to apply his artistic gifts towards painting portraits of the dead for the purposes of identification. But his magic leads to revelations in his art, and one day, while sketching the corpse of a young murdered girl, the resulting portrait points to the victim as being more than just an Ordinary common child. In trying to uncover the truth with his contract holder Bastien, Lucian quickly becomes embroiled in a storm of conspiracy and politics.
As an artist myself, how could I not find Lucian immediately intriguing? Even his new job of sketching faces of the dead is delightfully morbid and fascinating in its own way. The magic behind his talent and how it manifests itself is a strange but wondrous power, leading to a premise that was filled to the brim with potential. And in fact, I did very much enjoy the first part of the book. Bastien the coroner and investigator is a prickly master, but together he and Lucian make for a good team. It was the perfect set up for an excellent fantasy-mystery.
But for all that the plot remained swift and full of thrills, I thought the overall story was hindered by too many ideas and multiple side threads jostling for attention, which ends up doing a number on the book’s pacing. These elements may work well individually, but I feel the Berg falters here and there when attempting to incorporate everything together while maintain a balance; I felt pulled this way and that, which was quite distracting. It’s important to note that the novel is also divided into several parts, and we lose some time between the first and second when Lucian ends up landing in a bit of trouble with the Registry. As transitions go, it had the effect of a speed bump, and I think that was when I hit my first stumbling block.
Like I mentioned before, I also wasn’t too fond of the ending, which I thought was rushed and so in the process we lose a lot of the mystery and intrigue. I would have preferred a greater emphasis on the investigation side of the story, but of course Lucian’s personal plight and finding out the answers behind his murdered family played a large part too. If you prefer books that are more character-focused (as I do) then you’re sure to enjoy this one. Lucian is brought low, but gradually climbs his way back up to take charge of his life in this extraordinary tale of a young man on a journey of self-discovery.
Even though the execution of this wasn’t as clean as I would have liked, I can’t deny this book had its moments – more positive ones than negative. I think Dust and Light was a good introduction for me to the author’s work. Something tells me this series is just warming up, and the best is still to come in the second half of this duet.
This is my first book by Carol Berg so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But as the start of a new series taking place in the world of her Lighthouse novels, I figured Dust and Light was a pretty good place for me to start. I ended up being very impressed with her world building, especially when it came to the conceptual framework for her magic, which I found wonderfully enticing and beautiful. However, I also thought the story’s pacing was rather shaky throughout, with things coming a bit undone towards the end, otherwise I would have given this book a higher rating.
Dust and Light introduces us to Lucien de Remeni-Masson, a young Pureblood from a noble house. A Pureblood’s magical talent is called a “bent”, and Lucien, being somewhat of an oddity, has two of them. After landing in hot water over a dalliance with an Ordinary woman, Lucian’s grandfather attempted to have one of his bents burned out, and Lucian ends up working as an artist painting portraits under the supervision of the Pureblood Registry. But then Harrowers set the Remeni-Masson estate afire, killing the whole family save for Lucien and his younger sister Juli.
Not having reached the age to inherit the title as head of his house, Lucian’s life is now in the hands of the Registry. When his contract is sold to a common coroner, he is forced to apply his artistic gifts towards painting portraits of the dead for the purposes of identification. But his magic leads to revelations in his art, and one day, while sketching the corpse of a young murdered girl, the resulting portrait points to the victim as being more than just an Ordinary common child. In trying to uncover the truth with his contract holder Bastien, Lucian quickly becomes embroiled in a storm of conspiracy and politics.
As an artist myself, how could I not find Lucian immediately intriguing? Even his new job of sketching faces of the dead is delightfully morbid and fascinating in its own way. The magic behind his talent and how it manifests itself is a strange but wondrous power, leading to a premise that was filled to the brim with potential. And in fact, I did very much enjoy the first part of the book. Bastien the coroner and investigator is a prickly master, but together he and Lucian make for a good team. It was the perfect set up for an excellent fantasy-mystery.
But for all that the plot remained swift and full of thrills, I thought the overall story was hindered by too many ideas and multiple side threads jostling for attention, which ends up doing a number on the book’s pacing. These elements may work well individually, but I feel the Berg falters here and there when attempting to incorporate everything together while maintain a balance; I felt pulled this way and that, which was quite distracting. It’s important to note that the novel is also divided into several parts, and we lose some time between the first and second when Lucian ends up landing in a bit of trouble with the Registry. As transitions go, it had the effect of a speed bump, and I think that was when I hit my first stumbling block.
Like I mentioned before, I also wasn’t too fond of the ending, which I thought was rushed and so in the process we lose a lot of the mystery and intrigue. I would have preferred a greater emphasis on the investigation side of the story, but of course Lucian’s personal plight and finding out the answers behind his murdered family played a large part too. If you prefer books that are more character-focused (as I do) then you’re sure to enjoy this one. Lucian is brought low, but gradually climbs his way back up to take charge of his life in this extraordinary tale of a young man on a journey of self-discovery.
Even though the execution of this wasn’t as clean as I would have liked, I can’t deny this book had its moments – more positive ones than negative. I think Dust and Light was a good introduction for me to the author’s work. Something tells me this series is just warming up, and the best is still to come in the second half of this duet.
October 4, 2014
You can always count on Berg for a great fantasy tale, and this one is a top-notch entry into her bibliography.
I thought this would be a direct sequel to the 'Lighthouse Duet': 'Flesh and Spirit' and 'Breath and Bone' - but instead, it's a separate story that takes place in the same world.
The 'Lighthouse Duet' gives us an initially unlikable protagonist named Valen, an attractive young man who becomes contracted to a doubtful master, has to learn about his magical heritage, and who goes through all manner of trials and tribulations, meanwhile growing as a person and solving a problem larger than those that affect just his own life...
Here, we are introduced to Lucien, an initially unlikable protagonist who becomes contracted to a doubtful master, has to learn about his magical heritage, and who goes through all manner of trials and tribulations, meanwhile growing as a person and solving a problem larger than those that affect just his own life... ;-)
Yes, Carol Berg likes tortured young men. I don't mind! And the two characters are actually quite different in their specifics and personality.
The book largely reads as a murder mystery - Lucien is a professional portrait painter, whose magic, when used in conjunction with his art, has developed a tendency to reveal more than intended about the sitter. Unwittingly, he triggers the destruction of his entire family, and is cast from his position. But, the talent that was his downfall may also be his redemption.
Can't wait for the sequel!
I thought this would be a direct sequel to the 'Lighthouse Duet': 'Flesh and Spirit' and 'Breath and Bone' - but instead, it's a separate story that takes place in the same world.
The 'Lighthouse Duet' gives us an initially unlikable protagonist named Valen, an attractive young man who becomes contracted to a doubtful master, has to learn about his magical heritage, and who goes through all manner of trials and tribulations, meanwhile growing as a person and solving a problem larger than those that affect just his own life...
Here, we are introduced to Lucien, an initially unlikable protagonist who becomes contracted to a doubtful master, has to learn about his magical heritage, and who goes through all manner of trials and tribulations, meanwhile growing as a person and solving a problem larger than those that affect just his own life... ;-)
Yes, Carol Berg likes tortured young men. I don't mind! And the two characters are actually quite different in their specifics and personality.
The book largely reads as a murder mystery - Lucien is a professional portrait painter, whose magic, when used in conjunction with his art, has developed a tendency to reveal more than intended about the sitter. Unwittingly, he triggers the destruction of his entire family, and is cast from his position. But, the talent that was his downfall may also be his redemption.
Can't wait for the sequel!
June 20, 2016
I had recently read the Lighthouse duology, also by Carol Berg, and it was one of my favorite reads from the past few years. I then discovered this more recently-written second duology that's set in the same world during the same time frame, but featuring a different set of characters. This is the first book in that second duology, The Sanctuary.
As with Lighthouse, this book is told entirely from the first-person perspective of a young man. In this series, our main character’s name is Lucian. He’s a Pureblood, which means he’s a magician who lives under a strict set of rules intended, among other things, to protect the magical bloodlines. They believe their magic is a special gift of the gods and take its use and preservation very seriously. Unlike Valen, the main character in Lighthouse, Lucian is serious and dutiful. He believes in the Pureblood way of life and he trusts the Registry. The Registry is responsible for making decisions about how Purebloods may use their magical gifts, and for contracting them out to employers. Different Purebloods have different gifts, and Lucian’s gifts involves the ability to draw portraits of people in a way that reflects the truth of who those people are. Early on in the story, the Registry terminates Lucian’s current contract and forces him into a lowly job drawing portraits of dead people for a coroner.
There’s so much more to the story, but anything more I could say would spoil various revelations that are more fun to read about for oneself. All I can say is that there are a variety of mysteries and intrigues in the story, both in relation to Lucian’s new job and in relation to recent family events. As with the Lighthouse duology, the story starts off seeming fairly straight-forward but continues to grow in complexity as things progress. I haven’t yet found it to be as twisty as Lighthouse, but it’s still a great story that keeps me interested in finding out what will happen next.
The two duologies aren’t dependent on each other. A reader could easily pick up either one without any confusion. There is consistency between them, though, in terms of major events happening at the time, which I appreciated. I enjoyed a few small references to things and people who play a larger part in the original duology, and I enjoyed an explanation this book offered for a very minor plot point that was never really explained in the previous duology.
Most of the main questions presented throughout this book are answered by the end, but the over-all plot is not resolved. At the end, there are some interesting events that indicate the next turn the story is about to take and I already have the next book queued up and ready to start.
As with Lighthouse, this book is told entirely from the first-person perspective of a young man. In this series, our main character’s name is Lucian. He’s a Pureblood, which means he’s a magician who lives under a strict set of rules intended, among other things, to protect the magical bloodlines. They believe their magic is a special gift of the gods and take its use and preservation very seriously. Unlike Valen, the main character in Lighthouse, Lucian is serious and dutiful. He believes in the Pureblood way of life and he trusts the Registry. The Registry is responsible for making decisions about how Purebloods may use their magical gifts, and for contracting them out to employers. Different Purebloods have different gifts, and Lucian’s gifts involves the ability to draw portraits of people in a way that reflects the truth of who those people are. Early on in the story, the Registry terminates Lucian’s current contract and forces him into a lowly job drawing portraits of dead people for a coroner.
There’s so much more to the story, but anything more I could say would spoil various revelations that are more fun to read about for oneself. All I can say is that there are a variety of mysteries and intrigues in the story, both in relation to Lucian’s new job and in relation to recent family events. As with the Lighthouse duology, the story starts off seeming fairly straight-forward but continues to grow in complexity as things progress. I haven’t yet found it to be as twisty as Lighthouse, but it’s still a great story that keeps me interested in finding out what will happen next.
The two duologies aren’t dependent on each other. A reader could easily pick up either one without any confusion. There is consistency between them, though, in terms of major events happening at the time, which I appreciated. I enjoyed a few small references to things and people who play a larger part in the original duology, and I enjoyed an explanation this book offered for a very minor plot point that was never really explained in the previous duology.
Most of the main questions presented throughout this book are answered by the end, but the over-all plot is not resolved. At the end, there are some interesting events that indicate the next turn the story is about to take and I already have the next book queued up and ready to start.
August 19, 2014
4.5 stars
The events of Dust and Light happen at the same time as Lighthouse novels.
Lucien is a young pureblood, grandson of the former Royal Historian. He has a rare dual bent (two magical talents). After a minor youthful indiscretion, one of them was burnt out of him and his contract sold to Pureblood Registry where he paints the portraits of other purebloods and where he could be under the constant supervision. Unlike Valen, Lucien does not chafe at rigidity of pureblood life; he cherishes the rules and the discipline and hopes that, if he follows them, he would be able eventually redeem himself and win the better contract.
But, the murder of his entire family leaves Lucien alone with only a teenage sister. When his contract is sold for a pittance to Bastien de Caton, coroner and investigator, his life starts spiraling out of control. Murder investigations, political maneuvering, pureblood conspiracies and the war approaching Palinur throw Lucien in the eye of the storm.
Unlike Valen, Lucien is immediately likable. And, unlike Valen who has spent more than a decade on the run, Lucien is naïve to the ways of the world. His misfortune forces him to grow up, embrace and try to develop all his talents, abandon illusions of his upbringing, find friends in (for him) unlikeliest places and discover strength he didn't know he possesses.
The action and intrigues made the plot move swiftly. Exceptional secondary characters - Bastien, Constance, Demetreo (leader of mysterious Cicerons), the Registry curators, etc. - make Berg's tapestry even richer. While we know the world already, she gave us an insight into the pureblood world she just skimmed in the Lighthouse books, mainly because Valen tried everything in his power to run away from it. The mysterious Danae again play a part in the protagonists story, but we will just have to wait and see what it is. The cliffhanger? By the laws of science, THE CLIFFHANGER! Ash and Silver cannot come soon enough.
This is Carol Berg at her best. Read it, rejoice and... wait. Like I will.
The events of Dust and Light happen at the same time as Lighthouse novels.
Lucien is a young pureblood, grandson of the former Royal Historian. He has a rare dual bent (two magical talents). After a minor youthful indiscretion, one of them was burnt out of him and his contract sold to Pureblood Registry where he paints the portraits of other purebloods and where he could be under the constant supervision. Unlike Valen, Lucien does not chafe at rigidity of pureblood life; he cherishes the rules and the discipline and hopes that, if he follows them, he would be able eventually redeem himself and win the better contract.
But, the murder of his entire family leaves Lucien alone with only a teenage sister. When his contract is sold for a pittance to Bastien de Caton, coroner and investigator, his life starts spiraling out of control. Murder investigations, political maneuvering, pureblood conspiracies and the war approaching Palinur throw Lucien in the eye of the storm.
Unlike Valen, Lucien is immediately likable. And, unlike Valen who has spent more than a decade on the run, Lucien is naïve to the ways of the world. His misfortune forces him to grow up, embrace and try to develop all his talents, abandon illusions of his upbringing, find friends in (for him) unlikeliest places and discover strength he didn't know he possesses.
The action and intrigues made the plot move swiftly. Exceptional secondary characters - Bastien, Constance, Demetreo (leader of mysterious Cicerons), the Registry curators, etc. - make Berg's tapestry even richer. While we know the world already, she gave us an insight into the pureblood world she just skimmed in the Lighthouse books, mainly because Valen tried everything in his power to run away from it. The mysterious Danae again play a part in the protagonists story, but we will just have to wait and see what it is. The cliffhanger? By the laws of science, THE CLIFFHANGER! Ash and Silver cannot come soon enough.
This is Carol Berg at her best. Read it, rejoice and... wait. Like I will.
November 27, 2021
This book contains some excellent world building. Mind you, I'd never want to live in this mad, mad society the author made up, but I am impressed at how convincing and complete the world of the Registry and their numerous rules and restrictions felt. The way the segregation between the mages and the "ordinaries" in this world works is sadly believable. Your labour can be exploited freely, contracted out on conditions you have no say over, but what does that matter as long as you can believe that you're special, that you're chosen by the Gods?
As an ordinary (a muggle, so to speak), Bastien, would be considered a second-class citizen to Lucian, our protagonist. Lucian is a mage, his magic is a gift of the gods (so he is told). Usually ordinaries would not even be permitted to look at him, let alone speak to him. But since the Registry, supervising all the kingdom's mages, contracted Lucian to work for Bastien, he finds himself at Bastien's mercy.
The strict class system and the master-servant relationships determined by sacred contracts make for some hellish power dynamics that are as fascinating to read about as they're icky. If you enjoy reading about the drama that comes from characters being shackled by societal conventions and norms you're going to have a lot of fun with this book. I certainly did.
I am also now tempted to make a list of all the fantasy media I ever consumed, ranked by how much fun it would be to be a mage in any of them, just so I can rank Dust and Light at the bottom. It is no fun being a mage in this world, especially if the Registry is out for your blood for some reason, as happens to our protagonist.
Lucian is also the narrator of this novel. Usually I avoid first-person-narritives, but there's exceptions: Anything even vaguely dystopian can benefit from a first-person narrative in my opinion. Nothing quite highlights the disturbing goings-on in a restrictive, dystopian society as much as one of its citizens thinking there's nothing wrong with what is happening to him and the people around him. Is there anything more chilling as something unjust or cruel happening that will horrify the reader but makes the first-person narrator only think it's unfortunate, but that's how things have always been?
While Dust and Light is not your classic dystopia there's enough dystopian elements in the story for this effect to kick in.
There's also a couple of interesting twists to the magic used in this novel. One particular aspect that I would have loved to see explored in more detail concerns consent. There are certain kinds of magic that cannot affect a person unless the consent to it. That consent, however, seems to be kind that any person living in a less bleak world would be able to contest in court – it's akin to having to invite a vampire for him to be able to enter your home. Your invitation counts, even if you have no idea your visitor is a vampire. Unfortunately this concepts comes up only toward the end of the novel. I would have loved to see something like this used in bringing down the antagonists of the novel – using their secretive ways and their century-old lies and the burying of truth against them, by tricking them into agreeing to something thinking they have all the facts while remaining ignorant of one little crucial detail. Could have been very satisfying.
Apart from the setting and the above mentioned themes I also liked the prose in this. The writing is very descriptive and the language fits the setting. I'd also hazard a guess that the author did some research on clothing and architecture – I had to look up quite a few words that turned out to be medieval headgear or capes or ornamentation on buildings.
Why did I not rate this book higher then? I'm afraid, as much as I enjoyed the world-building in this novel, it ended up suffocating the plot. The more I read the more I couldn't shake the feeling that the charactrs and the plot were merely intended as vehicles to give us a tour of the world building the author invested so much careful effort to build. I don't mean to say this novel has no plot, it does. There's a lot of plot. A lot of different plot threads actually – and they all revolve around different aspects of the world the novel is set in and, ultimately, they're just too much. Only two or three of the plot threads actually constitute an arc and lead to a resolution. The other ones are more like teasers, hinting at more aspects of the setting that are not explored in this novel (such as the Danae – this world's Fair Folk or Fae – or the background of the Cicerons). And for teasers they take up too much page time. They get in the way of the murder plot and the conspiracy plot that make up the main action of the novel and hamper the pacing.
And then there's the books ending. Oh, boy.
Both the main plots conclude in ways that make sense. There's no last minute revelations that come out of nowhere. All the important beats are there for the reader to pick up along the way. This is very good. Still I can't help but feel that in particular the part in which the protagonist confronts the masterminds behind the conspiracy plot went a bit too smooth, after 400 pages of build-up and everything seemingly going wrong for Lucian, . And then there is that last chapter in which our protagonist, after unearthing the roots of an ancient conspiracy that cost countless lives Who comes up with something like that and why would they consider that a compelling read instead of one of the most frustrating endings to a book ever? It completely and utterly killed my interested in the sequel.
As an ordinary (a muggle, so to speak), Bastien, would be considered a second-class citizen to Lucian, our protagonist. Lucian is a mage, his magic is a gift of the gods (so he is told). Usually ordinaries would not even be permitted to look at him, let alone speak to him. But since the Registry, supervising all the kingdom's mages, contracted Lucian to work for Bastien, he finds himself at Bastien's mercy.
The strict class system and the master-servant relationships determined by sacred contracts make for some hellish power dynamics that are as fascinating to read about as they're icky. If you enjoy reading about the drama that comes from characters being shackled by societal conventions and norms you're going to have a lot of fun with this book. I certainly did.
I am also now tempted to make a list of all the fantasy media I ever consumed, ranked by how much fun it would be to be a mage in any of them, just so I can rank Dust and Light at the bottom. It is no fun being a mage in this world, especially if the Registry is out for your blood for some reason, as happens to our protagonist.
Lucian is also the narrator of this novel. Usually I avoid first-person-narritives, but there's exceptions: Anything even vaguely dystopian can benefit from a first-person narrative in my opinion. Nothing quite highlights the disturbing goings-on in a restrictive, dystopian society as much as one of its citizens thinking there's nothing wrong with what is happening to him and the people around him. Is there anything more chilling as something unjust or cruel happening that will horrify the reader but makes the first-person narrator only think it's unfortunate, but that's how things have always been?
While Dust and Light is not your classic dystopia there's enough dystopian elements in the story for this effect to kick in.
There's also a couple of interesting twists to the magic used in this novel. One particular aspect that I would have loved to see explored in more detail concerns consent. There are certain kinds of magic that cannot affect a person unless the consent to it. That consent, however, seems to be kind that any person living in a less bleak world would be able to contest in court – it's akin to having to invite a vampire for him to be able to enter your home. Your invitation counts, even if you have no idea your visitor is a vampire. Unfortunately this concepts comes up only toward the end of the novel. I would have loved to see something like this used in bringing down the antagonists of the novel – using their secretive ways and their century-old lies and the burying of truth against them, by tricking them into agreeing to something thinking they have all the facts while remaining ignorant of one little crucial detail. Could have been very satisfying.
Apart from the setting and the above mentioned themes I also liked the prose in this. The writing is very descriptive and the language fits the setting. I'd also hazard a guess that the author did some research on clothing and architecture – I had to look up quite a few words that turned out to be medieval headgear or capes or ornamentation on buildings.
Why did I not rate this book higher then? I'm afraid, as much as I enjoyed the world-building in this novel, it ended up suffocating the plot. The more I read the more I couldn't shake the feeling that the charactrs and the plot were merely intended as vehicles to give us a tour of the world building the author invested so much careful effort to build. I don't mean to say this novel has no plot, it does. There's a lot of plot. A lot of different plot threads actually – and they all revolve around different aspects of the world the novel is set in and, ultimately, they're just too much. Only two or three of the plot threads actually constitute an arc and lead to a resolution. The other ones are more like teasers, hinting at more aspects of the setting that are not explored in this novel (such as the Danae – this world's Fair Folk or Fae – or the background of the Cicerons). And for teasers they take up too much page time. They get in the way of the murder plot and the conspiracy plot that make up the main action of the novel and hamper the pacing.
And then there's the books ending. Oh, boy.
Both the main plots conclude in ways that make sense. There's no last minute revelations that come out of nowhere. All the important beats are there for the reader to pick up along the way. This is very good. Still I can't help but feel that in particular the part in which the protagonist confronts the masterminds behind the conspiracy plot went a bit too smooth, after 400 pages of build-up and everything seemingly going wrong for Lucian, . And then there is that last chapter in which our protagonist, after unearthing the roots of an ancient conspiracy that cost countless lives Who comes up with something like that and why would they consider that a compelling read instead of one of the most frustrating endings to a book ever? It completely and utterly killed my interested in the sequel.
January 6, 2016
Berg at her finest.
March 7, 2017
This book has two major plot lines, one a conspiracy and one a murder mystery, and I think it would have been far better served if it has just focused one. As it is both story lines, which were barely connected, had the potential to be excellent but ultimately were underdone. It was still an entertaining read, and I very much enjoyed the friendship that grew between Lucian and Bastion, which is hardly a shock because male friendships have always been one of Berg's strongest points.
February 21, 2018
I loved this book. Carol Berg’s writing is just wonderful and would certainly work well for those who typically enjoy literary fiction. It’s definitely an under appreciated fantasy novel!
February 1, 2015
am very very picky about my fantasy but I have just found a new obsession - Carol Berg. I’ve never read anything of hers before but after I’ve just spent the last two days devouring Dust and Light (the first of her two-book series), I am about to remedy it with every last book the woman ever wrote.
The protagonist is Lucian de Remeni Masson, whose world is on the verge of general and personal destruction. The kingdom he lives in is suffering - the dead king’s sons are conducting a brutal civil war for the right to inherit the throne, and years of awful weather have led to famine and death. Normally, this would affect Lucian little because he’s a ‘pureblood’ - that world’s term for a magician. Purebloods are highly protected in that society - they perform lucrative magical contracts and are so highly regarded that for an ‘ordinary’ (non-magic person) to harm a pureblood is instant death. But they are also incredibly tightly controlled by the Registry - their governing body. The Registry controls everything from big matters - who they marry and whether they can have children to small ones - how they must behave with each other, in public, in private etc. But a few years ago, Lucian violated one of the Registry precepts - he fell in love with an ordinary and allowed her to see him without his mask (which purebloods are required to wear most times), he showed her magic and he even *gasp* made love with her. As a punishment, his grandfather sealed away half his magic and sent him to work at the Registry itself, where he can be observed every second. And shortly before the book starts, Lucian lost his whole extended family (200+ people) when a rioting mob burned them to a crisp, leaving him and his young sister Juli as the only survivors.
Lucian’s bent (i.e., magic talent) is for drawing, so he’s been occupied drawing portraits of purebloods for the Registry. But when the story opens, the Registry contracts him to an ordinary coroner to draw corpses, for 1/10th the normal fee. And his troubles are just beginning.
The book is part murder mystery (Lucian gets involved in Bastian the Coroner’s investigation as someone is murdering royal bastards), part a conspiracy novel (it is no surprise that Registry is corrupt but the question is who and why wants Lucian utterly broken and possibly dead), and in large part a growth story - one of the best and unusual parts of the novel is that Lucian starts the book as devoted to the very system that ruined him. It’s easy enough to have a novel with a corrupt regime and a hero who suffered under that regime and rebels. But Carol Berg gives us a hero who lives under an unjust regime, has been punished by said regime and holds to the justness and rightness of that regime tooth and nail, because that’s really all he has left. The best part of the book is the very very slow process of Lucian’s transformation into a rebel against this system, of realizing how utterly wrong and false his whole worldview is. But the cool thing is that even before that, even before he repudiates the basic tenets of the Registry, he is a good person. It’s that tension between his conscience and the supposed pureblood beliefs that really makes this book (for example, he is so angry at the murders Bastien the Coroner and he uncover while the registrars wonder why on earth anyone would care about ordinaries).
There are other mysteries - like whether he really sees the danae - supernatural spirits, what is the sanctuary they talk of, and what it is his particular magic gifts can do. And the characters, both Lucian (who comes through some unimaginable horrors) and the secondary ones are awesome. I kinda want a whole series of Lucian the Magician and Bastian the Coroner’s Detective Adventures.
I cannot recommend it highly enough but two caveats:
1. The book ends on a cliffhanger. Actually, forget cliffhanger. It’s more like Mount Everest hanger. So if you don’t like that sort of thing, wait until August 2015, when the second book comes out.
2. No love story. There is a memory of one, which sort of set the narrative in motion, but if you want to read something with a prominent romance, this ain’t it. I do think there will be more about it in second book because there are some hints that I cannot see Berg abandoning
The protagonist is Lucian de Remeni Masson, whose world is on the verge of general and personal destruction. The kingdom he lives in is suffering - the dead king’s sons are conducting a brutal civil war for the right to inherit the throne, and years of awful weather have led to famine and death. Normally, this would affect Lucian little because he’s a ‘pureblood’ - that world’s term for a magician. Purebloods are highly protected in that society - they perform lucrative magical contracts and are so highly regarded that for an ‘ordinary’ (non-magic person) to harm a pureblood is instant death. But they are also incredibly tightly controlled by the Registry - their governing body. The Registry controls everything from big matters - who they marry and whether they can have children to small ones - how they must behave with each other, in public, in private etc. But a few years ago, Lucian violated one of the Registry precepts - he fell in love with an ordinary and allowed her to see him without his mask (which purebloods are required to wear most times), he showed her magic and he even *gasp* made love with her. As a punishment, his grandfather sealed away half his magic and sent him to work at the Registry itself, where he can be observed every second. And shortly before the book starts, Lucian lost his whole extended family (200+ people) when a rioting mob burned them to a crisp, leaving him and his young sister Juli as the only survivors.
Lucian’s bent (i.e., magic talent) is for drawing, so he’s been occupied drawing portraits of purebloods for the Registry. But when the story opens, the Registry contracts him to an ordinary coroner to draw corpses, for 1/10th the normal fee. And his troubles are just beginning.
The book is part murder mystery (Lucian gets involved in Bastian the Coroner’s investigation as someone is murdering royal bastards), part a conspiracy novel (it is no surprise that Registry is corrupt but the question is who and why wants Lucian utterly broken and possibly dead), and in large part a growth story - one of the best and unusual parts of the novel is that Lucian starts the book as devoted to the very system that ruined him. It’s easy enough to have a novel with a corrupt regime and a hero who suffered under that regime and rebels. But Carol Berg gives us a hero who lives under an unjust regime, has been punished by said regime and holds to the justness and rightness of that regime tooth and nail, because that’s really all he has left. The best part of the book is the very very slow process of Lucian’s transformation into a rebel against this system, of realizing how utterly wrong and false his whole worldview is. But the cool thing is that even before that, even before he repudiates the basic tenets of the Registry, he is a good person. It’s that tension between his conscience and the supposed pureblood beliefs that really makes this book (for example, he is so angry at the murders Bastien the Coroner and he uncover while the registrars wonder why on earth anyone would care about ordinaries).
There are other mysteries - like whether he really sees the danae - supernatural spirits, what is the sanctuary they talk of, and what it is his particular magic gifts can do. And the characters, both Lucian (who comes through some unimaginable horrors) and the secondary ones are awesome. I kinda want a whole series of Lucian the Magician and Bastian the Coroner’s Detective Adventures.
I cannot recommend it highly enough but two caveats:
1. The book ends on a cliffhanger. Actually, forget cliffhanger. It’s more like Mount Everest hanger. So if you don’t like that sort of thing, wait until August 2015, when the second book comes out.
2. No love story. There is a memory of one, which sort of set the narrative in motion, but if you want to read something with a prominent romance, this ain’t it. I do think there will be more about it in second book because there are some hints that I cannot see Berg abandoning
May 2, 2022
You can always count on Carol Berg for a gripping fantasy.
Excellent wordbuilding, wonderful characters and a downright addictive intriguing plot.
I didn't love this one quite as much as Valen's tale, but still, a damn fine read!
And that end had me jumping straight into the sequel.
Excellent wordbuilding, wonderful characters and a downright addictive intriguing plot.
I didn't love this one quite as much as Valen's tale, but still, a damn fine read!
And that end had me jumping straight into the sequel.
May 31, 2020
One of the biggest regrets of my life is that were it not for going to World Fantasy Con when it came to Washington, D.C., I may never have discovered Carol Berg. And her writing is simply amazing.
Dust and Light takes us into a world where people have "bents," or narrow types of magic with specific applications. Lucien's is based in painting, and he has a job creating portraits for the Pureblood Registry (which regulates people with bents). Until the moment the registry essentially kicks him out, selling his contract to a coroner without giving him a single thing to say about it. So, this haughty highborn sorcerer is reduced to painting dead people among the corpses, so they can be identified (his magic allows him to paint portraits of how they looked before).
And then, of course, things start to go wrong.
The world of this book was so detailed and complex that I found myself entranced by the basic working of it all. The working of the magic had me thinking about implications and applications in the way that really good magic systems do (a la Brandon Sanderson magic systems, actually).
And Lucien is an interesting main character. We're in his head the whole time, and to be honest, at the start he's not super likable. He's lived as part of the upper crust his whole life, and while he's been through some HORRIBLE things, he also benefits from a lot of the decisions society has made about class and worth. That's actually why the changes that take place in the book is so difficult for him. He's being asked to do things he never in a million years expected to do, and he's HATING every minute of it. but that's also part of what makes his development as a character so compelling to me.
I don't think I'll ever be able to explain to you all just how much I loved this book. How much I loved how she wrote about the joy Lucien has in using his magic. About how much I love how REAL the other characters feel too. About how deeply I hate the people who do horrible things to Lucien or others. About how frustrating it is to see all the problems in the world they inhabit and know that they will have a hard time addressing them -- that even winning may not be winning.
It's a great book, and if you have even a slight thought that you might enjoy it, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Dust and Light takes us into a world where people have "bents," or narrow types of magic with specific applications. Lucien's is based in painting, and he has a job creating portraits for the Pureblood Registry (which regulates people with bents). Until the moment the registry essentially kicks him out, selling his contract to a coroner without giving him a single thing to say about it. So, this haughty highborn sorcerer is reduced to painting dead people among the corpses, so they can be identified (his magic allows him to paint portraits of how they looked before).
And then, of course, things start to go wrong.
The world of this book was so detailed and complex that I found myself entranced by the basic working of it all. The working of the magic had me thinking about implications and applications in the way that really good magic systems do (a la Brandon Sanderson magic systems, actually).
And Lucien is an interesting main character. We're in his head the whole time, and to be honest, at the start he's not super likable. He's lived as part of the upper crust his whole life, and while he's been through some HORRIBLE things, he also benefits from a lot of the decisions society has made about class and worth. That's actually why the changes that take place in the book is so difficult for him. He's being asked to do things he never in a million years expected to do, and he's HATING every minute of it. but that's also part of what makes his development as a character so compelling to me.
I don't think I'll ever be able to explain to you all just how much I loved this book. How much I loved how she wrote about the joy Lucien has in using his magic. About how much I love how REAL the other characters feel too. About how deeply I hate the people who do horrible things to Lucien or others. About how frustrating it is to see all the problems in the world they inhabit and know that they will have a hard time addressing them -- that even winning may not be winning.
It's a great book, and if you have even a slight thought that you might enjoy it, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
October 14, 2014
Lucian de Remeni-Masson is convinced it was his indiscretion that lead to the death of his entire family. As a pure-blood sorcerer he is forbidden to even talk to ordinaries--those who have no magic--much less allow one to see him unmasked or perform magic, yet he did.
Years have passed since his college dalliance, but he still fears he hasn't completely escaped the consequences and finds himself at the mercy of the Pureblood Registry. Despite good behavior and hard work using his talent for magically created portraits, he is contracted to work for a mere coroner drawing the corpses of ordinaries whose identities are unknown. Lucian fears his fortunes have sunk so low that he may never find favor in the eyes of the Registry again.
But it is while drawing the dead that Lucian begins to uncover abilities he thought he'd lost, and as a result the past begins to unfold a narrative that is much more complicated than he anticipated.
Carol Berg's DUST AND LIGHT is an engrossing book, full of intrigue, magic, and fascinating characters. Told in Lucian's first-person narrative, we come to quickly understand that the insular world he's accustomed to is about to allow his downfall. Nothing goes right for him, and by three-quarters of the way through I remember hoping that he'd catch some kind of break, but the poor guy just gets ground down time and again. To his credit, Lucian pushes forward and doesn't give up, isn't afraid to ask the hard questions and search for the real answers, messy though they may be. Fortunately, he's not without allies and the coroner Bastien, despite his rough exterior and ruthless ambition, proves resourceful and persistent.
They live in a city in the midst of war and famine, whose king has won the crown from his brother...or so he claims. The coroner Bastien and other regular citizens only know the hardscrabble life of those who live in the city's slums. Bastien's world is the necropolis, where he runs a small army who takes care of the dead for an entire city. The rest of the cast of characters, from Lucian's only surviving family (his younger sister Juli), to the city's people, the workers at the necropolis, and the pureblood community--they are all well drawn and give the story depth. And in fact many of them are fascinating. What is the Registry council's motives for their treatment of Lucian? Who are these mysterious people of the slums who seem to have their own brand of magic? There are so many questions, and the answers aren't always what you think they will be.
Berg's prose feels dense at first, but if you've read her fantastic Collegia Magica series (including THE SPIRIT LENS, THE SOUL MIRROR, and THE DAEMON PRISM) then its rhythm will be familiar to you. I love how the style gives the reader a sense of the narrator and the era in which he lives. As in her Collegia Magica series, here also it's the mystery that helps us understand more fully how the magic works, how the people live in the city, how the classes interact, and all the juicy tidbits world-building enthusiasts enjoy.
Often, the pace moves slowly in Berg's novels, that forward movement suffers despite the quality of characterization, prose, and setting. Fortunately, DUST AND LIGHT doesn't suffer as horribly from this problem as in previous works. Even if it's not as fast as we would be accustomed in other authors' works, the story does move pretty quickly, much to the benefit of the narrative as a whole.
The novel ends with the knowledge that DUST AND LIGHT isn't the end of Lucian's story. Not yet. But despite this, the novel is a well-conceived act 1, where the truth is exposed and Lucian must decide what to do with his newfound knowledge. I look forward to the next installment.
Recommended Age: 14+ more for reading comprehension than content
Language: None
Violence: A few scenes but not gory
Sex: Referenced
***Find this and other reviews at Elitist Book Reviews.***
Years have passed since his college dalliance, but he still fears he hasn't completely escaped the consequences and finds himself at the mercy of the Pureblood Registry. Despite good behavior and hard work using his talent for magically created portraits, he is contracted to work for a mere coroner drawing the corpses of ordinaries whose identities are unknown. Lucian fears his fortunes have sunk so low that he may never find favor in the eyes of the Registry again.
But it is while drawing the dead that Lucian begins to uncover abilities he thought he'd lost, and as a result the past begins to unfold a narrative that is much more complicated than he anticipated.
Carol Berg's DUST AND LIGHT is an engrossing book, full of intrigue, magic, and fascinating characters. Told in Lucian's first-person narrative, we come to quickly understand that the insular world he's accustomed to is about to allow his downfall. Nothing goes right for him, and by three-quarters of the way through I remember hoping that he'd catch some kind of break, but the poor guy just gets ground down time and again. To his credit, Lucian pushes forward and doesn't give up, isn't afraid to ask the hard questions and search for the real answers, messy though they may be. Fortunately, he's not without allies and the coroner Bastien, despite his rough exterior and ruthless ambition, proves resourceful and persistent.
They live in a city in the midst of war and famine, whose king has won the crown from his brother...or so he claims. The coroner Bastien and other regular citizens only know the hardscrabble life of those who live in the city's slums. Bastien's world is the necropolis, where he runs a small army who takes care of the dead for an entire city. The rest of the cast of characters, from Lucian's only surviving family (his younger sister Juli), to the city's people, the workers at the necropolis, and the pureblood community--they are all well drawn and give the story depth. And in fact many of them are fascinating. What is the Registry council's motives for their treatment of Lucian? Who are these mysterious people of the slums who seem to have their own brand of magic? There are so many questions, and the answers aren't always what you think they will be.
Berg's prose feels dense at first, but if you've read her fantastic Collegia Magica series (including THE SPIRIT LENS, THE SOUL MIRROR, and THE DAEMON PRISM) then its rhythm will be familiar to you. I love how the style gives the reader a sense of the narrator and the era in which he lives. As in her Collegia Magica series, here also it's the mystery that helps us understand more fully how the magic works, how the people live in the city, how the classes interact, and all the juicy tidbits world-building enthusiasts enjoy.
Often, the pace moves slowly in Berg's novels, that forward movement suffers despite the quality of characterization, prose, and setting. Fortunately, DUST AND LIGHT doesn't suffer as horribly from this problem as in previous works. Even if it's not as fast as we would be accustomed in other authors' works, the story does move pretty quickly, much to the benefit of the narrative as a whole.
The novel ends with the knowledge that DUST AND LIGHT isn't the end of Lucian's story. Not yet. But despite this, the novel is a well-conceived act 1, where the truth is exposed and Lucian must decide what to do with his newfound knowledge. I look forward to the next installment.
Recommended Age: 14+ more for reading comprehension than content
Language: None
Violence: A few scenes but not gory
Sex: Referenced
***Find this and other reviews at Elitist Book Reviews.***
August 27, 2017
One part of Dust and Light is a buddy cop movie. No, seriously. There’s the new guy who is a posh bloke, arrogant, privileged and obsessed with obeying rules to the letter. And there’s a working class guy who has been doing this job for a long time who is very aware that justice sometimes clashes with what is legal. Of course, they can’t stand each other at first. But then a murdered child turns up and they realize that both want the person behind this to pay for their crime. There is also some mutual life-saving involved and soon they’re willing to do everything for each other.
The other part of the book is a conspiracy thriller. Lucian discovers that he has some very powerful enemies. He has no idea why they are after him but he soon learns that he can trust nobody. Now he somehow has to find out what’s so special about him that the whole magical government is after him while also avoiding being captured by said magical government. (And catch a child-killer. Because the constant threat of imprisonment and worse is no excuse to neglect your strong moral compass).
I love buddy cop shows. I hate conspiracy thrillers. And the thriller is the main plot. Now despite my dislike for that particular genre: it’s a very well done one. The more Lucian finds out about the why the less he knows whom he can trust. And the more he has to deal with what this why means for him and his convictions. Carol Berg once said that she likes to put her heroes in situations where they have to go against their most valued beliefs and that is very true for Lucian. I really felt for him that on top of everything he also has to come to terms with something that major.
And all that made me often almost forget that all the conspiracy thriller tropes actually exhaust me. But then came yet another scene that made me wonder why Lucian hasn’t collapsed from exhaustion at an inopportune moment because he spent the last three days mostly without sleep, constantly running and getting beaten up at least once. Or he got attacked and my first thought was ‘Well, there’s about 8 possible choices for who did this’. So I was annoyed and at the same time really wanted to know how it all continues. (I still do and so I will read book two). Somebody who is less bothered by these tropes will probably enjoy this book more than I did. But for me, it’s a book I liked but one that won’t get a space on my favorite shelf.
This review can also be found on a href="https://blackcataoife.wordpress.com/2... blog
The other part of the book is a conspiracy thriller. Lucian discovers that he has some very powerful enemies. He has no idea why they are after him but he soon learns that he can trust nobody. Now he somehow has to find out what’s so special about him that the whole magical government is after him while also avoiding being captured by said magical government. (And catch a child-killer. Because the constant threat of imprisonment and worse is no excuse to neglect your strong moral compass).
I love buddy cop shows. I hate conspiracy thrillers. And the thriller is the main plot. Now despite my dislike for that particular genre: it’s a very well done one. The more Lucian finds out about the why the less he knows whom he can trust. And the more he has to deal with what this why means for him and his convictions. Carol Berg once said that she likes to put her heroes in situations where they have to go against their most valued beliefs and that is very true for Lucian. I really felt for him that on top of everything he also has to come to terms with something that major.
And all that made me often almost forget that all the conspiracy thriller tropes actually exhaust me. But then came yet another scene that made me wonder why Lucian hasn’t collapsed from exhaustion at an inopportune moment because he spent the last three days mostly without sleep, constantly running and getting beaten up at least once. Or he got attacked and my first thought was ‘Well, there’s about 8 possible choices for who did this’. So I was annoyed and at the same time really wanted to know how it all continues. (I still do and so I will read book two). Somebody who is less bothered by these tropes will probably enjoy this book more than I did. But for me, it’s a book I liked but one that won’t get a space on my favorite shelf.
This review can also be found on a href="https://blackcataoife.wordpress.com/2... blog
December 31, 2015
Reread 12/31/15 --
I finished my reread of Dust and Light by Carol Berg in prep for reading the second (recently released) book of the duology, Ash and Silver. Although it wasn't long ago that I read Dust and Light the first time, the story had lots and lots of details that I wanted to go back over.
There's something about Berg's writing that really appeals to me. She always writes in a very personal, very character-focused way, and she makes you feel the experiences of her characters very intensely. That's not to say she writes purple prose or that she's an angst-merchant (although there is certainly plenty of angst to be had in her stories); I think she's just very good at putting the reader in the shoes of her characters. And additionally, the trials she puts her characters through tend to be devastating emotionally rather than physically.
And onto that, you can add complex and layered worldbuilding. There's a LOT going on in her worlds. I often have a hard time suspending belief for parts of it -- for instance, in these books I have a hard time accepting that a caste with so much magical power could at the same time allow themselves to be so seriously restricted in their rights and lifestyles -- but it's clear that Berg thinks through these things and does a lot of planning to fit world and story together (I'd be astonished if she's a pantser when she writes).
And then you further add in lots of plot twists and turns. This book in particular is part politics and betrayal, part mystery, parts world-at-war, and lots else besides. Never a dull moment throughout, and if you don't pay attention you may get lost. Like with the worldbuilding, I sometimes have trouble suspending disbelief -- in this case, our MC Lucien is waaaaay too conveniently overpowered in handy ways, and a few coincidences here and there had me rolling my eyes a bit -- but these are relatively minor quibbles.
As for the narration -- I've mentioned elsewhere that MacLeod Andrews is a fine narrator for modern UF, like the Cal Leandros and Sandman Slim series. I'm not so fond of him for more "high" fantasy stuff, because he's limited in his voices and accents. He does an okay job here, though not exceptional. His accent faded in and out, and there wasn't much differentiation of accents between characters, but his delivery was fine.
Over all -- very much worth a read, and worth a reread. And it's always a good sign when a book stands up to rereading.
I finished my reread of Dust and Light by Carol Berg in prep for reading the second (recently released) book of the duology, Ash and Silver. Although it wasn't long ago that I read Dust and Light the first time, the story had lots and lots of details that I wanted to go back over.
There's something about Berg's writing that really appeals to me. She always writes in a very personal, very character-focused way, and she makes you feel the experiences of her characters very intensely. That's not to say she writes purple prose or that she's an angst-merchant (although there is certainly plenty of angst to be had in her stories); I think she's just very good at putting the reader in the shoes of her characters. And additionally, the trials she puts her characters through tend to be devastating emotionally rather than physically.
And onto that, you can add complex and layered worldbuilding. There's a LOT going on in her worlds. I often have a hard time suspending belief for parts of it -- for instance, in these books I have a hard time accepting that a caste with so much magical power could at the same time allow themselves to be so seriously restricted in their rights and lifestyles -- but it's clear that Berg thinks through these things and does a lot of planning to fit world and story together (I'd be astonished if she's a pantser when she writes).
And then you further add in lots of plot twists and turns. This book in particular is part politics and betrayal, part mystery, parts world-at-war, and lots else besides. Never a dull moment throughout, and if you don't pay attention you may get lost. Like with the worldbuilding, I sometimes have trouble suspending disbelief -- in this case, our MC Lucien is waaaaay too conveniently overpowered in handy ways, and a few coincidences here and there had me rolling my eyes a bit -- but these are relatively minor quibbles.
As for the narration -- I've mentioned elsewhere that MacLeod Andrews is a fine narrator for modern UF, like the Cal Leandros and Sandman Slim series. I'm not so fond of him for more "high" fantasy stuff, because he's limited in his voices and accents. He does an okay job here, though not exceptional. His accent faded in and out, and there wasn't much differentiation of accents between characters, but his delivery was fine.
Over all -- very much worth a read, and worth a reread. And it's always a good sign when a book stands up to rereading.
December 28, 2023
Damn my impatience!! I made it through about a third of the book when I felt like this was going to go south the same way that Berg's Song of the Beast did (I was very frustrated with that book), so I decided to just speed-read the rest. Behold, the story was actually really good!! It had the politics and the sleuthing and the take-downs that made me love The Chimera Trilogy (under Berg's pseudonym Cate Glass).
The thing about Berg's writing that I noticed -- now that I've read several of her books -- is that the first quarter or so of each novel deals with conflicts that are kind of adjacent to the actual plot, and the true plot doesn't get revealed until halfway or two-thirds of the way through the book. On one hand, this gives a grandness to her stories, because you're getting something a lot more than you thought you would; on the other hand, this kind of frustrates me, because I feel like the story I signed up for isn't actually the one getting fleshed out. And while the true plot manages to contextualize that smaller, adjacent plot from the beginning, the shift away from my expectation feels a bit like a bait-and-switch.
As a book unto itself, Dust and Light was very well executed, but I can't help but find its structure eerily similar to Berg's other books. Here we have a sad man who has recently suffered a traumatic tragedy, trying to build a semblance of a new life, only to find out that magical forces stronger than he's ever known are behind his misfortunes, and that they are actually trying to use him for their own ends, and they can and will make him suffer all the more if needed. Even the first book in the Chimera Trilogy sort of followed this pattern.
But just like her other books, her character work here was exceptional, and it's truly what convinced me to speed-read instead of just DNF'ing. It's very likely I will pick up the sequel, if only to find out what became of Bastien and Juli. Before I do that, I will reread this more thoroughly. Now that I know how the story goes, my expectations will be placed correctly, and I believe I will enjoy it more.
The thing about Berg's writing that I noticed -- now that I've read several of her books -- is that the first quarter or so of each novel deals with conflicts that are kind of adjacent to the actual plot, and the true plot doesn't get revealed until halfway or two-thirds of the way through the book. On one hand, this gives a grandness to her stories, because you're getting something a lot more than you thought you would; on the other hand, this kind of frustrates me, because I feel like the story I signed up for isn't actually the one getting fleshed out. And while the true plot manages to contextualize that smaller, adjacent plot from the beginning, the shift away from my expectation feels a bit like a bait-and-switch.
As a book unto itself, Dust and Light was very well executed, but I can't help but find its structure eerily similar to Berg's other books. Here we have a sad man who has recently suffered a traumatic tragedy, trying to build a semblance of a new life, only to find out that magical forces stronger than he's ever known are behind his misfortunes, and that they are actually trying to use him for their own ends, and they can and will make him suffer all the more if needed. Even the first book in the Chimera Trilogy sort of followed this pattern.
But just like her other books, her character work here was exceptional, and it's truly what convinced me to speed-read instead of just DNF'ing. It's very likely I will pick up the sequel, if only to find out what became of Bastien and Juli. Before I do that, I will reread this more thoroughly. Now that I know how the story goes, my expectations will be placed correctly, and I believe I will enjoy it more.
December 29, 2014
Really, Carol Berg?
I bought Dust and Light, your latest fantasy novel, because you wrote it, and because I loved the COLLEGIA MAGICA series. I had no idea you were going to do this to me.
I knew I was going to love your rich prose. In the first few pages, though, with great economy, you provided us with the big picture; a dead king, princes warring for a nation, a group of pureblood families who wield magic and go to extreme lengths to protect their bloodlines; rumors of an ancient, possibly mythical race called the Danae; and our narrator Lucien, who has failed his family and lost nearly everyone he loves. I liked his rebellious young sister Juli. I liked the way you showed us a character already in jeopardy, and then piled on more jeopardies, hard and fast. Just when I thought things could not get worse for Lucien, they got worse. Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
I bought Dust and Light, your latest fantasy novel, because you wrote it, and because I loved the COLLEGIA MAGICA series. I had no idea you were going to do this to me.
I knew I was going to love your rich prose. In the first few pages, though, with great economy, you provided us with the big picture; a dead king, princes warring for a nation, a group of pureblood families who wield magic and go to extreme lengths to protect their bloodlines; rumors of an ancient, possibly mythical race called the Danae; and our narrator Lucien, who has failed his family and lost nearly everyone he loves. I liked his rebellious young sister Juli. I liked the way you showed us a character already in jeopardy, and then piled on more jeopardies, hard and fast. Just when I thought things could not get worse for Lucien, they got worse. Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
July 17, 2017
It has been a few months since I’ve read the Lighthouse series, also by Carol Berg and set in the same world and time. Nevertheless, memories came back quickly and I got into this world much faster than after the first book. I quickly started to like the new protagonist who is responsible, faithful and just. Quite different from the character in the first duology, but again so very authentic and excellently chosen for this dark story of betrayal, murder and corruption.
The story somewhat reminds me of Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy and I think I can safely recommend this one to its fans. But beware, compared to those this is staff for adults! Well done!
For me the only downside for a non-native English speaker (even when used to reading English) is the rather complex language, that made it hard to keep track of everything that was going on… nevertheless, I’ll round this 4.5 stars up.
The story somewhat reminds me of Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy and I think I can safely recommend this one to its fans. But beware, compared to those this is staff for adults! Well done!
For me the only downside for a non-native English speaker (even when used to reading English) is the rather complex language, that made it hard to keep track of everything that was going on… nevertheless, I’ll round this 4.5 stars up.
February 23, 2016
The book reads more like the outline of the book Ms Berg set out to write. It is slow starting and then jumps along at full swing with occasional elaboration of detail. It is a complex and promising plot, but the rough edges are showing. It is not as good as her other books but the reader can hope that the next books in the series are better polished.
For instance, she kills off almost all the main character's large, extended family in a terrible fire. I'm not counting that as a spoiler because it happens before the first chapter. Even though it happened just 3 months before the opening of the book, he is not as depressed as you would expect. This seems to be a detail that needed more work.
For my own tastes, I do wish she refrained from torturing the characters as much as she does. We want the villains to be despicable but if you take it to heart, you might find it too unpleasant.
For instance, she kills off almost all the main character's large, extended family in a terrible fire. I'm not counting that as a spoiler because it happens before the first chapter. Even though it happened just 3 months before the opening of the book, he is not as depressed as you would expect. This seems to be a detail that needed more work.
For my own tastes, I do wish she refrained from torturing the characters as much as she does. We want the villains to be despicable but if you take it to heart, you might find it too unpleasant.
February 21, 2015
I am so pleased to revisit the world of Flesh and spirit created by Carol Berg. As far as I am concerned she is a very underrated writer and should be accessed by a much larger readership. Her world building skills are excellent as are her character portrayals. In this novel things don't seem to be going too well for our erstwhile hero Lucian , most of his family gone, humiliated and demeaned. Then accused off arson and murder and the frightening prospect of his talent bound forever. No spoilers here but it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, waiting to find out what happens next, Not too long I hope :)
February 18, 2016
Fantastic. Love Carol Berg.
September 28, 2023
The writing is compelling, and this is a really hard book to put down. I found myself so immersed in this world and so invested in Luka's story that it was really hard to let them go. And yet, at the same time, I don't know if I want to read the sequel. And I know it sounds strange, because if you like the first one why don't read the second, too? And still... this book is demanding. A lot. The author is not kind to his characters. Luka suffers a lot between these pages, and we suffer with him. And we have other interesting characters too, Bastien at the front of the queue, but not the only one. I really enjoyed the Cicerons's company, too, and even if I had some problems with Luka's sister, I also admire her so... yeah, we have some really interesting characters in there. And we have a big mystery, with a lot of smaller ones, and the story is captivating! I really wanted to know more, and to understand all that was happening, because this is a story of magic, but also of politics, war, and mysteries, and it all slowly unraveled (but not enough... there are still some things that need uncovering, and I have so many questions!!).
But the atmosphere is bleak, and the story is not a happy one, there are really few positive things in there, and this... didn't work so well for me, hence my being on the edge with the series as a whole. But it is a solid work, and it had me captivated from the start to the end.
But the atmosphere is bleak, and the story is not a happy one, there are really few positive things in there, and this... didn't work so well for me, hence my being on the edge with the series as a whole. But it is a solid work, and it had me captivated from the start to the end.
April 23, 2018
This is a great book.
I liked the first person point of view - not many authors can pull it off, but this was great. The main character, Lucian, starts off as rather stiff and rigid. Perhaps this is grief of its own kind. His contract then gets accelerated and broken, and he slowly unravels a plot surrounding him.
I loved the worldbuilding! There's a medieval society with a clear and separate class of mages, and there are strict reasons for monitoring reproduction. This results in extreme class differences here (and a maintenance of inbreeding), and I liked that Lucien slowly explores these boundaries of class differences and transgressions (this includes him visiting ). It's rather similar to his own magic, which . Also: adulthood at thirty feels so far away.
I loved the author's pacing, and I enjoyed that the other characters also had their own time to shine (in particular, Bastien was steadfast and wily).
I liked the first person point of view - not many authors can pull it off, but this was great. The main character, Lucian, starts off as rather stiff and rigid. Perhaps this is grief of its own kind. His contract then gets accelerated and broken, and he slowly unravels a plot surrounding him.
I loved the worldbuilding! There's a medieval society with a clear and separate class of mages, and there are strict reasons for monitoring reproduction. This results in extreme class differences here (and a maintenance of inbreeding), and I liked that Lucien slowly explores these boundaries of class differences and transgressions (this includes him visiting ). It's rather similar to his own magic, which . Also: adulthood at thirty feels so far away.
I loved the author's pacing, and I enjoyed that the other characters also had their own time to shine (in particular, Bastien was steadfast and wily).
July 25, 2017
Carol Berg's books are so good that while I was reading this one, I had to buy the next book in this series, "Ash and Silver". Now I'm reading that, and enjoying it just as much. She has everything I look for in a book: lush, beautifully descriptive writing, complex, intelligent plots, great world-building and really compelling characters, even when they're not heroic. I love this series as its hero is an artist who uses magic to do his work, an idea I really love. I can't recommend this author's work highly enough. When I get done with this series, I mean to check out everything else she's written.
January 2, 2018
As I always expect from Carol Berg, I loved this. I enjoyed seeing a different angle on the same world and magic system as her Lighthouse Duet, with a main character who's still been screwed over by the "Pureblood" Registry, but this time, getting a more direct focus on the nature of the registry and how it operates. I enjoyed the working relationship that evolved between Lucian and Sebastien, and really loved the murder mystery aspect of the story.
September 26, 2017
This was perfect for my current mood - a wonderfully written fantasy novel. It is impossible to put down and I am reminded why I love this author so much.
April 7, 2015
Great new story by Carol Berg, set in her universe of Flesh and Blood, but with new protagonists. The bad weather continues and crops are dying, people are starving and the civil war still goes on. It looks as though one of the sons of the old king may be at last coming through as the victor in the war of succession. But the noble purebloods are not really touched by the problems of the commoners. They are still well fed and enjoying a reasonable life style in their secure homes. Except for our hero, Lucien. First, all his family are wiped out by the Harrowers. Then somehow, he does something wrong..... (he is imbued with a talent for portraiture, where he puts more than the obvious truth into the portraits). And now he has to pay the price. As punishment,he is hired out to the town coroner, a kind of investigator. At first they really don't like each other, but over time, they forge an investigative partnership, which works well until the war comes back to the city and things all go to pieces...... This was a great book, set in a believable universe, which is still imaginative enough to be different. It sort of carries on from the previous ones, by referencing some events from then, but as I have forgotten much of those events, it didn't matter. It's a great read; the ending was of course a cliffhanger, but it was done in a kind of closure-like way, setting Lucien up for a new chapter in his life, so it was acceptable. Now we need chapter 2....
November 9, 2014
In the return to the breathtaking world of Navronne, we meet Lucian de Remeni-Masson, a pureblood sorcerer who has committed himself to maintaining the strictures of pureblood life. He doesn’t stray from his duties. He follows their rigid protocols while trying to raise his sole surviving relative, and still somehow finds himself at opposing sides with his own kind. The mystery of Lucian’s rebuke from the Registry is unraveled with the help of his new master, Bastien, who has become another of my favorite characters in the authors’ stories. She weaves such a wonderful tale, and the world building in this series was better than ever. I cannot wait for the next book! This one is just a few years before (maybe not even that long) the events in Flesh and Spirit, and we even meet again one or two of the characters from the Lighthouse Duet. I won’t tell you which ones…you’ll just have to read it for yourself! You do not have to read Flesh and Spirit or Breath and Bone before reading Dust and Light. Some people found Flesh and Spirit a little slow in the beginning. Dust and Light is completely different in that regard. It will keep you guessing and turning the pages right up until the very end.
November 8, 2014
Dust and Light features an intensely developed protagonist who encounters non-stop challenges. Lucian de Remeni-Masson, an elite member of society who possesses magic powers, faces his first crisis when his services as an artist are sold to a coroner who has him drawing the dead in a charnel house. Accusations of madness and criminal behavior disrupt this miserable existence. Lucian’s problems are complicated by famine and civil war raging in his society.
The story line focuses on Lucian’s investigations into the murder of a child of royal blood and the reason for a conspiracy to destroy him and his family. Scenes that place Lucian in peril propel the novel forward. The depth and complexity of Lucian’s responses create a rich atmosphere and arouse reader empathy. Author Carol Berg crafts the plot so that the action scenes and Lucian’s development move smoothly forward as one story arc. Through suffering and loss, Lucian matures, losing his stiff naivety and realizing the complexity of people’s motives. Berg creates an incredibly detailed world populated by priestesses, soldiers, and magicians. Along with Lucian, the reader discovers the deceit and betrayal of the corrupt ruling classes.
The story line focuses on Lucian’s investigations into the murder of a child of royal blood and the reason for a conspiracy to destroy him and his family. Scenes that place Lucian in peril propel the novel forward. The depth and complexity of Lucian’s responses create a rich atmosphere and arouse reader empathy. Author Carol Berg crafts the plot so that the action scenes and Lucian’s development move smoothly forward as one story arc. Through suffering and loss, Lucian matures, losing his stiff naivety and realizing the complexity of people’s motives. Berg creates an incredibly detailed world populated by priestesses, soldiers, and magicians. Along with Lucian, the reader discovers the deceit and betrayal of the corrupt ruling classes.
August 21, 2018
Man, this was a slog. The language is formal and flowery and at times hard to follow and a bit pompous. The book is basically two stories that aren't well integrated. Lucius has a rare double magical ability: he can paint the truth, and his art also unveils history. He was an interesting character. He starts out as naïve, an aristocrat on hard times. When his services are sold to a low brow coroner, he starts to grow and mature. He was an interesting character, as was the coroner. The first story, some vague gibberish involving a conspiracy, was confusing and dull and took to long to get where it was going. There wasn't enough time spent developing the different conspirators, so I had no emotional involvement in that story and didn't care enough about any of the potential villains to have a reaction to the conclusion. The sister was just a MacGuffin who needed to disappear at times to motivate the hero. Didn't need her. The second story was great. It involved a murdered child. The whole book could have been about that story. I would actually love a series with the hero and the coroner, solving crimes. This was written as a two parter but should have been one book. I'm not sure I'll read the second one.
January 25, 2016
I've read most (all?) Carol Berg's books and mostly loved them. But till the last series I couldn't read to much of Carol Berg in a row: her heroes' sufferings were too much for me. The tortures they endured were never gratuitous or complacent, but they were near intolerable.
For my happiness, the author decided to lighten their fate! Well, they still have lot on their plate, and must bear pretty much every privation, but her last books are really easier on the reader!
I loved the first book of this new series: the beautiful writing, the strong atmosphere, the characters, the story (mostly in a dead house - strangely I'm currently viewing the excellent TV series 'The Frankenstein Chronicles'!), the intrigue... The magic was very interesting, particularly the main character's.
Lucian is an intriguing character to follow: the way his personality and nature evolve, as he revolts very slowly against his all-life conditioning, his beliefs and even his lost love-ones, is absolutely credible, and makes him likeable without any unduly simplification.
The end of The Sanctuary Duet's first book is quite satisfying, opening toward an exciting book 2!
For my happiness, the author decided to lighten their fate! Well, they still have lot on their plate, and must bear pretty much every privation, but her last books are really easier on the reader!
I loved the first book of this new series: the beautiful writing, the strong atmosphere, the characters, the story (mostly in a dead house - strangely I'm currently viewing the excellent TV series 'The Frankenstein Chronicles'!), the intrigue... The magic was very interesting, particularly the main character's.
Lucian is an intriguing character to follow: the way his personality and nature evolve, as he revolts very slowly against his all-life conditioning, his beliefs and even his lost love-ones, is absolutely credible, and makes him likeable without any unduly simplification.
The end of The Sanctuary Duet's first book is quite satisfying, opening toward an exciting book 2!
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