Unter Golems

by Elaine Corvidae

Jetzt greifen die Golems an!

Die Universität von Giavolo gehört zu den stolzesten Akademien des Landes. An dieser Schule unterrichtet die Zauberin Verbena die magischen Künste und hat sich zusammen mit ihrem Kollegen Malachit einer geheimen Kunst verschrieben: der Erfindung von Golems. Diese biomechanoiden Ungeheuer, halb Mensch, halb Apparatur dienen den verschiedensten Zwecken – Verbenas neueste Kreation, ein Rechengolem, kann außerdem für kriegerische Einsätze genutzt werden.

Als die Seher der Universität eine Attacke auf Verbena prophezeien, wird die Magierin fortan von Riyu, einem furchteinflößenden Ork-Leibwächter, auf Schritt und Tritt begleitet. Schließlich erfolgt der Angriff einer bislang unbekannten Golem-Art und Verbena bleibt dank des Orks unversehrt, doch Malachit wird samt des Prototyps des Rechengolems entführt. Können sie die feindlichen Golems besiegen und verhindern, dass ihre mächtige Erfindung in die falschen Hände gerät?

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Fiction, Beauty and The Beast, Fantasy Romance, Mystery

398 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2011

Reviews

[Talltree · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review:

Characterisation: 5 stars for the MCs. Well done. Usually I find it hard to identify with older h's( this one was 47) but I swear I was reading a book with Minerva McGonagall as the h!! The H was gentle( for an orc) and protective and very much in love with the h. It was not clean romance.
Supporting characters weren't very original though.

Romance : 4.5 stars. Very well done, character oriented, sweet and slow burn

Worldbuilding: 4 stars. Nothing innately original , but the combination was unique - of 'Hogwarts' and maybe Terry Pratchett and some steampunk.

Plot:1.5 stars. Obvious,contrived, full of holes, not very believable at all:((

On the whole I'm gonna go with 3.5 stars. Recommended for readers who enjoy good fantasy worldbuilding, strong heroines, road trip adventures and fantasy with a strong romance angle as well as orc heroes!!

[boogenhagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was EXCEPTIONAL - I haven't enjoyed a fantasy novel so much since Guy Gavriel Kay came out with The Last Light of the Sun.

This one has all typical high fantasy characters, but not a one of them acts in a stereotypical manner. I don't know if this is still available anymore, but for any one who liked the old skool fantasy of Anne McCaffrey or Andre Norton, track down a copy of this and have yourself a really, really excellent time.

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the type of book I kept reading in the hopes it would improve and that it would elaborate on some of the aspects that had some pretty good potential….then it ended…..

This book had a very interesting world: magic is apparently commonplace and studied much like science, a series of independent city-states are locked in some sort of perpetual arms race and there are hints of a complex social system with nobility, aristocracy and political espionage as well as mention of ancient wars and societies of superstitious rural peasants who are part of some sort of magical luddite movement. Orcs are a green-skinned race (think Blizzard/WOW Orcs rather than Tolkien) are frequently hired as mercenaries because of their immense strength and are subjected to a lot of negative cultural stereotypes in human society, and its apparent that humans actually know very little about them.

As well as a fascinating but simple premise: a respectable school mistress from the college of magic has her life threatened by a terrorist attack from an unknown enemy thought to be a rival city and after a colleague is kidnapped she steps up to try and retrieve the weapon the two of them were working on as well as her missing friend. She puts together a band of volunteers to set off on this “quest” and on the way develops a bond with her Orc bodyguard who turns out to be radically different from the human stereotypes. The plot is very predictable (I guessed the big bad a few chapters in but his motivations were even stupider than I imagined), the “action” scenes are dull and the whole quest is oddly bloodless, like much of this book. One epic…meh…

This book is so chock-full of “what could have been” moments that it hurts. From world building to character development it fails on almost every level. The could-be fascinating world is highly under-developed and I know almost nothing about it, how it functions, the cultures, how the people or politics work. Nothing. The same goes for the characters who all fall flat, Vervain and Riyu are the most fleshed-out and even they are the incredibly flat, cookie-cutter characters. Vervain is a snide, prim and proper talented school mistress. I have the feeling she is supposed to be presented to us as a strong, independent self-made woman who knows what she wants and does NOT take crap from anyone but she comes across more as judgmental, cold, sort of uppity and a total ball-breaker and not in a good way. Riyu for his part is almost completely flat and sounds like one of those bland and generic “perfect gentlemen” straight out of a harlequin novel (except of course he’s an Orc), their relationship is completely shallow and baffling (in that we find out that Riyu “loved” her before he even met her because “she seemed strong” or some other crap) and they keep ascribing qualities and characteristics to each other that not only have neither of them ever once actually displayed but there is no way they COULD know this stuff about each other in the short time they’ve been together (unless they are having some seriously deep conversations “off-screen” so to speak), as for the rest of the characters they seem to either exist to drive the plot forward or as padding and if you can attribute more than two characters traits to any of them then I tip my hat to you.

The only thing I can say for this book is that our heroine isn’t some gorgeously stunning or “exotic” twenty-something sex-kitten who taps into un-hitherto magical powers or gets into an unconvincing love-triangle. Another little detail I liked was that Riyu notes that Orc’s usually aren’t usually attracted to humans, finding them sort of funny-looking which I liked, males of other races/species in fantasy and sci-fi falling for human women for some inexplicable reason is so 1967. That and I managed to finish the book is why it gets 2 stars.

[L.K. Evans]

I LOVED IT

I was completely caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this book. I read it in one day and never had a desire to set it aside.

Vervain is a magic instructor who ends up getting an orc bodyguard when the university fears for several instructors’ safety. Riyu is the orc assigned to her. For me, the best part of this book was Vervain battling with her perceptions about orcs. One by one, what she thought of the “brutes” was quickly proven wrong. Seeing her struggle with her own prejudices was delightful.

I found Vervain to be a refreshing character to follow. She isn’t young as most books peg their protagonist. She’s in her late forties and has dedicated her life to magic. With Riyu’s presence, she begins to see outside her bubble of a world. It was great to watch her grow and even more rewarding to read about her relationship with Riyu, who I found a delight to read about.

The other characters were great supports. Vervain and Riyu steal the show, for me, but the other characters were done well enough to add to the story.

The world wasn’t explored a lot, and I was completely fine. I had a good feel of it all and was able to focus nicely on Riyu and Vervain. There’s some great action, terribly nasty creatures, a dose of romance, and an ending I saw coming, but was no less engaging because of it. There was one part with one of her companions that I never saw coming and my jaw dropped when I read it. It made up for the otherwise predictable ending. There was a light tone to this, but the creatures and some of the action were pretty harrowing. I enjoyed the combination immensely.

The writing flowed brilliantly for me, and I found myself devouring this book rather quickly. As I said, I never had a desire to put it down.

Overall, I’ve already recommended this to a few. If you like a bit of romance in your fantasy, I highly encourage you to pick this one up. It’s a stand alone, and I must say I’m sorry to see it end. I’ll definitely be picking up more of Corvidae’s work.

You can see this and other reviews on my website: http://booksbylkevans.com

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book by Elaine Corvidae that I have ever read. I am definitely a new fan. I loved, loved, loved this story. It’s not often that I all out rave about a book, but this one deserves all of the praise I can lavish on it. Vervain was a sharp tonged professor of the Magical sciences with a razor wit and a scathing attitude. I loved her. She let off some zingers that kept me laughing. She reminds me of what I imagine Minerva McGonagall would be like if she never got flustered and got frustrated enough to speak her mind. Vervain had that same kind of dedicated academic spinster feel to her. But she never held back, not in her words, deeds, or feelings. She spoke her mind, did what she felt was right, and followed her heart at all costs. How could I not love her?

Then there was Riyu…SWOON! I never would have expected myself to fall in love with an orc, but I just couldn’t help it. He was marvellous, calm, loyal, dedicated, built (if a little green and tusky), gentle and soft-spoken, despite his capacity for violence and accepting of his situation. My heart broke for him a little when he related himself to the male in the tale of the Storm Witch. The interaction between him and Vervain was priceless. Corvidae really managed to provide a lot of information about his mood or true feelings through subtle hints such as the position of his ears and such. It made him feel very expressive, even if he didn’t actually say much.

There were a few areas that I would have like explored a bit more. What happened to Cardamom or was there an significance to the earrings Riyu wore, for example? It makes me wish for a continuation of the story. But really I’m thrilled that it is a stand alone book. Everything I read lately seems to be part of a series. It is refreshing to finish a book and story at the same page. I will DEFINITELY be checking out more books by this author.

[DemetraP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another review said the main character Vervain reminded them of Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter series. I completely agree. She's no nonsense, strict but fair, and a good teacher.

The book kept me turning pages. I was eager to know what would happen next.

The romance was a slow build one, and I truly felt they got to know and respect each other.

[Jonathan Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fantasy romance – in the case of this, I mean both a fantastical romance and a story set in an imaginary world (with magic).

Not my usual kind of reading fare – this was largely selected through my (probably naive) thought that it sounded unusual, coupled with the staggering number of 5 star reviews on various book review\marketplace sites.

As it is, this is really all about a romance between two central characters. One, Mistress Vervain, a University instructor in all things magic, is a prim-and-proper suffers-no-fools stiff-upper-lip type. At times smart, capable and passionate (especially concerning magic), completely insufferable at others. Riyu, an Orc (think Warcraft-esque, rather than Tolkien) assigned as her bodyguard, while physically green – is effectively the paragon of a perfect gentleman.

There is a plot of sorts, but very much of a throw-away short adventure tale that exists primarily to give Vervain and Riyu a chance to grow closer; the middle section of the route appears completely pointless, and the ending (and reveal of the "big bad") is patently obvious from the half point of the book.

The dialogue between the two central characters, and the supporting cast of less-than-interesting nobodies, is often so ridiculous as to drive an involuntary eye-roll – everyone seems to spend a lot of time worrying about offending others, or apologising for some earlier trifling matter that might have caused offence. Vervain goes around putting everyone in their place constantly, never to experience so much as wit in return.

The author has also taken to using certain honorifics whenever the Orc characters refer to others ("vervain-ge, vergain-gu" etc.) – something I found particularly irritating after a while, and does little other than to play up the silly-ness of the tale.

Overall a rather tame fantasy affair.
If you have an interest in particularly idealistic romance tales then this might be a big hit – it is after all fairly well written and an easy read; the action sequences are well paced (the "clickers" being the only neat idea in the book) and the story nicely compact and wrapped up.

[Skyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture this: the heroine is hanging from the rafters, about to fall to her death...

Everyone started shouting, but Riyu's voice drowned out the rest. "Vervain-ge! Hang on!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" she snapped back. "Stop yelling at me and bring the ladder."

And this in a nutshell is why I love Vervain, the heroine of The Sorceress's Orc.

She does not suffer fools. She has no patience for nonsense. She is the sort of teacher I would've hated because she wouldn't've let me get away with skipping class and not doing homework when she knew I could do better. And above all she's utterly competent, never eye-rollingly "bad ass" but truly strong and real, and doesn't tolerate the tropes of the fantasy genre that say she should be a wise elder in a young person's story or cry/wail until the hero gallantly saves her. She is, in short, a brilliant feminist (yes, I said the f-word) character, who cuts her own path and follows her own mind (and oh, what a mind!).

The supporting characters are equally well drawn and go against the grain, including Riyu (girly sigh), and I would LOVE to see a spinoff book following Amethyst and Kiki, whose growing friendship I adored.

I'm an unabashed EC fangirl and this is yet another welcome addition to my Corvidae shelf.

[Allyson Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The quick and dirty rating: 4 out of 5

The summary doesn’t prepare you for how intense or action-packed the story gets. While we know Vervain is attempting to save the world, I expected the story to revolve a lot around Vervain and Riyu and entirely be based in Giavolo.

I was wrong on both accounts. Along with our Mistress of the Magical Sciences and her orc body guard, we get:

Hawthorne, Vervain’s charismatic and hard-working journeyman who acts as her student-teacher/journeyman at the University.

Amethyst, one of Vervain’s students who - while showing promise - isn’t as diligent as Vervain would like.

Tourmaline, another teacher at the University that specializes in Art and Dance. He’s a bit foppish and says things that makes Vervain roll her eyes.

Kiki, a younger orc girl from Riyu’s contingent, and the orc leader’s daughter, who strives to prove herself. She is essentially Riyu’s student, when the group goes off on their adventure.

Cardamom, a cadet from the University that... ugh. I’ll leave it at that.

We also get Jasper and Briar, but in the former’s case, his appearance is relatively short lived, and in the latter’s case, he comes in near the very end.

Of course, I can’t describe the secondary characters and neglect the primary.

Vervain is an uptight sort of professor, but not without reason. She teaches magic sciences, where a wrongly drawn circle or rune could cause awful damage. Though particular and somewhat standoffish, she’s not without a soft side. Even in her unwavering confidence, she has moments of uncertainty or outright blames herself.

Riyu is an orc who has taken up the warrior’s path, which has particular rules like not striking somewhat out of anger or being prepared to give one’s life to keep their charge safe. He’s observant and intelligent, along with strong and intimidating. Also, a bit of a hopeless romantic, but maybe that’s my interpretation. lol

For the most part, the plot was engaging without immense focus on romance. It takes you though various settings and felt believable, as far as the rigors of traveling and battle. The descriptions were just enough to give you a mental image, if necessary, but not overwrought.

I greatly enjoyed Riyu and Vervain’s interactions, especially when we start seeing the realization of romantic feelings solidify. They are built up as friends, before getting into the mushy warm feelings.

The sex scenes were not detailed or lengthy; so if that’s the mood you’re in, save this book for when you want something engaging.

The world building sprinkled in was fairly interesting, giving the universe a particular feel to it. (One such example is humans from richer lineages are named after gemstones and poorer human families tended to name their children after plants.)

The clickers, amalgamations of machine and organic material, were basically machines for the antagonists. I don’t want to give much away about them, but their descriptions were rather horrifying.

Overall, there was a lot that was very good about the book. However, there were a few pitfalls.

Firstly, the term “golem” is used to describe machines created with magic. Golems are particular to Jewish culture and non-Jewish people utilizing them can be seen as cultural appropriation.

There’s an array of discussion about this topic, but I’m not sure if such discussions were as widespread in 2011, when this book was published.

Secondly, and this is more of a personal qualm, Vervain repeatedly mentioned the fact she prematurely judged orcs - believing they were all unintelligent brutes - very frequently once she gave Riyu a chance. There were like three mentions in the same chapter. This was early in the book and it didn’t last, thankfully.

I did appreciate that Vervain acknowledged that her behavior and presumptions were unfounded - especially since she still had some missteps at interspersed moments later in the book - but I just felt it was repetitive early on.

Overall, a solid 4 out of 5, perhaps even a 4.5 out of 5 if I was prepared for a action-heavy fantasy.

I was expecting more focus on romance and sexual heat than I got, but I am not disappointed in the slightest.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember who rec'd this to me wish I could. Enjoyed the hero who was no "hero" just a teacher doing the right thing. Loved the unconventional shipping but to be honest would have liked a more graphic description of the orc since I base mine of WoW....yeah really not attractive.
looking forward to more from this author.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good characters. Bit of a quick wrap up ending with all loose ends neatly tied up.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hits the sweet spot between romance novel and fantasy adventure.

[Melissa Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never thought I'd fall in love with an Orc. It's happened! And all on an adventure of magic and clockwork creations with danger on out tails.

***** Full Review *****

Vervain stops dancing Golems from attacking students with her magic on her way to her class, to then be summoned to the Chancellor's study. Vervain sees Orcs there, and learns the Divination Department has foreseen there's a threat to the University's Masters. Bodyguards have been assigned since magic safeguards are already in place with the war between their country and Benevalia. Vervain is picked as on of the Masters to be protected for her work with magic and her projects, she is very important. Vervain is not happy with an Orc bodyguard, or any bodyguard at that, but an Orc... A week later Riyu, her Orc bodyguard, is called away for a commotion at the wall, when golems of clockwork, wires, and human eyes sent by Brighthand attack the classrooms, killing students and coming for her. Vervain fights back, then saved by Riyu. When she wakes from her injuries, Vervain learns of the deaths and that her partner in the project of a calculating golem, Malachite is missing and his Orc dead. When the Princes chief Military Advisor thinks he shouldn't go after Malachite; not knowing where he is, if alive, and with limited resources with protecting the school, Vervain decides to strike out and search on her own.

Vervain ends up with quite a mixed group to venture with; a fellow teacher who absentminded of consequent and willingly created the dangerous dancing golems for the Dance and Social Arts department - Tourmaline, a noble-woman student who could be so much more if she applies herself - Amethyst, Vervain's journeyman and talented with magic - Hawthorn, a cadet - Cardamom, and of course her Orc bodyguard sworn to protect her - Riyu, and one other Orc - Kiki. All under the pretense of a noblewoman going to meet her bridegroom.

OH MY! I never thought I'd say I'd fallen in love with an Orc. AN ORC, of all creatures! It's happened! And all on an adventure full of magic and clockwork creations with danger on their tails. Just you wait until you meet Riyu. I just kept picturing an Orc, and thinking hard, but the way he's written I kept pushing the Orc image aside.

Vervain is a strong women who stands alone and on her own. Her students have some choice phrases about her, and consider her mean, but she doesn't put up with lazy students and dumb actions. She wants them all to be better and smarter. Even though many may not think it with her bluntness, she is a kind woman wanting better for all. Even for her Orc bodyguard, whom she learns much of what she "knows" of Orcs is really rumors and not true. Vervain finds she grows fond of the Orc who's completely opposite the human beliefs of dumb, brutish and clumsy. Vervain is a brilliant teacher and character, one I do hope to read of again.

I'll mention this as the first sentence is listed above... I have to say, I thought I wasn't understanding the first sentence clearly, but a page in and I learned I read it exactly right. She was attacked by the Dancing and Social Arts, unintentionally but it happened.

I enjoyed the writing of this story, along with the creation of the world. We have a fantasy feel with magic and ruins used with spoken words to create magic spells, and Orcs. But we also had mechanical and clockwork creatures; evil golems, runners made of pistons and metal in various animal shapes to relay messages, firefly golems, boats of clockwork oars and powered by hear, and an airship!

This was one adventure I enjoyed the whole way through. I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this world and adventure. The University has many departments, even though we hear of others we focus only one, the magic department, yet giving a bigger feel to the world around us. When Vervain and crew leave for their rescue mission, we find we are attacked a few times by the "clickers" (evil golems named so for the noise they make). On this mission we have many discoveries, and learn of each character more, and the countries around the world here. I was impressed with the tale of each character coming to light as the story moved on with ease. And possibly a grow of a relationship somewhere in here as well.

Not everything is all peaches and cream with the adventure, and I like that. I want the characters to fight for it, and these ones more than do. Wonderful adventure!

This is one world and set of characters I hope the author shares with use in the future again. I was drawn into the world and want to see more of them.

[K.M. Frontain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the chapters for this book on the author's website up to the following line: "The sitting room seemed suddenly small, filled with armor and hair and too many muscles." And that's the point I decided to buy the novel.

I knew I'd have a good fun read with romance and humour, and I wasn't disappointed. A gave this story five stars for a surprising bit of horror concerning the journeyman. The monsters are gruesome. They would have done well in a story more grim, but having them in this romance? Well, it made the story much more memorable for me.

Loved having a mature woman carry the show. Thank you, Elaine Corvidae.

All around good fun read.

Bought this from Smashwords, btw. I'm glad the author did not yank her book off to Amazon. Would have given her six stars just for that.

[Rosalind M · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I enjoyed reading about a more mature heroine than you usually see in fantasy and science fiction, and I always enjoy coupled characters who seem like an uncomfortable mismatch at first. However, I had questions from the beginning about the worth of the quest. All that for one person who's not a loved one or a figure vitally important to the lives of your fellow men? After a certain amount of collateral damage, it'd be time to look for another option, wouldn't it?

[Colleen Helme · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing story with a compelling main character who isn't afraid to say what she thinks. I enjoyed the intricate magical system that was part of this world and how the love story developed. If you like books like 'The Wizard Hunters' by Martha Wells you will definitely want to pick up this book.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, the plot twists were so unexpected and I liked that it was about a more experienced heroine, which almost never happens. The romance was amazing and so sweet. The magic system was defined and the characters were very real to me. I have read it more than once and will most definitely read it again.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful! This is the best thing I have read by this author, which is saying a lot since I've enjoyed all of her books. Very original and well written. I truly hope she writes more in this universe.

[Ellan Bethia Otero · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of fun.

[Kendra Rae Linzey (Scribble Watch) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't give out a lot of 5 stars. Great read!

[Eric Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

Action adventure romance. A good book though the ending was kind of rushed and a lot more could have of been done with it.