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The Klaereon Scroll #2
The Pawn of Isis
In 1842, Carlo Borgia has moved on with his life, studying as a student of medical magic in Berlin, leaving behind his relationship with Lucy Klaereon, a woman literally without feeling. A visit from Drusus Claudian, Octavia Klaereon's resurrected husband, pulls Carlo back into the Klaereon web of shadows. Lucy has exiled Drusus from the family home, and Drusus begs Carlo to help him.
Carlo returns to Mistraldol and discovers his romantic feelings for Lucy remain. Carlo worries that Ra, imprisoned inside of Lucy, is driving Lucy mad and enabling her to control Drusus. He enlists the aid of the reformed and respected Octavia, now head of the Klaereon family, responsible for policing her unstable sister and resurrected husband. Rival magician Atreus Galt accuses Octavia of killing her own father, and she is imprisoned , awaiting examination by the council of magical families.
Lucy will protect Octavia, at any cost. Carlo scrambles to prove Octavia’s innocence, save Drusus from Lucy’s control, and bring Lucy back to the woman he loves.
His worst enemies in this struggle, Drusus and Lucy, are also his best allies.
Carlo returns to Mistraldol and discovers his romantic feelings for Lucy remain. Carlo worries that Ra, imprisoned inside of Lucy, is driving Lucy mad and enabling her to control Drusus. He enlists the aid of the reformed and respected Octavia, now head of the Klaereon family, responsible for policing her unstable sister and resurrected husband. Rival magician Atreus Galt accuses Octavia of killing her own father, and she is imprisoned , awaiting examination by the council of magical families.
Lucy will protect Octavia, at any cost. Carlo scrambles to prove Octavia’s innocence, save Drusus from Lucy’s control, and bring Lucy back to the woman he loves.
His worst enemies in this struggle, Drusus and Lucy, are also his best allies.
- GenresFantasy
ebook
Published March 19, 2019
14 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Schaff-Stump
23 books33 followersCath Schaff-Stump writes fantasy for children and adults. She writes funny stories, dark stories, and everything in between. She is the author of the Klaereon Scroll series and the Abigail Rath Versus series. Cath lives and works in Iowa. She hosts the blog Fantastic History and writes the Substack column The Crone.
To support Cath's work, consider buying her a dozen black roses at https://ko-fi.com/cathschaffstump
To support Cath's work, consider buying her a dozen black roses at https://ko-fi.com/cathschaffstump
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 9, 2019
This is a great followup to The Vessel of Ra. I know that there are more books to come in this sequence, so I'm looking forward to whatever's next for the family!
February 11, 2019
3.5 stars, actually.
Let me preface this with the caveat that I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review, and that the ebook I received was an Advanced Reader Copy still undergoing some editing.
So your mileage may vary quite a bit once the finished product goes live :)
This is the second in The Klaereon Scroll series and I did not read the first book. That said, it wasn't too hard to get up to speed in this story with the different characters. The story takes place in a European world where there are families/clans who each have some kind of magic. The Klaereon's magic seems to stem from a deal an ancestor made with demon-like beings humans for millenia have interpreted as Egyptian gods-- Ra, Khun, Isis, Osiris, Anubis, etc. Certain members of the Klaereons are born as "Binders" or with the ability to be attached or attach themselves (that part wasn't entirely clear to me as most of the book revolves around characters who have experienced problems with that attachment) to the god and thus wield magic.
The story starts with Carlo Borgia (of poison fame) coming back to the Klaereon estate to check on the ladies of the family (Octavia and Lucy) after encountering Octavia's husband, Drusus, in exile. Drusus is having troubles with his binding to Khun. Lucy is having trouble with Ra. And Octavia and Drusus have children, boys, who everyone wants to keep out of trouble.
Carlo is pretty entertaining. He's my favorite character, earnest, responsible, caring, poisonous. He and Lucy get to have a nice romance complicated by the dastardly doings of another magic family. There's going back and forth between Druat (the shadow world) which may or may not be the same thing as the Abyss, and allegations of murder Octavia must navigate.
There is a formality to the language and manners of the folks in this story that evokes Austen/Bronte, etc, but sometimes also was so uniform that it left the characters without as much unique personality showing through (except for the villain Galt, his dastardliness shone through nicely).
Fans of Egyptian mythology or steampunk/Austenesque fantastic fiction should check this out, although its probably best to start with Vessel of Ra, the first in the series.
Let me preface this with the caveat that I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review, and that the ebook I received was an Advanced Reader Copy still undergoing some editing.
So your mileage may vary quite a bit once the finished product goes live :)
This is the second in The Klaereon Scroll series and I did not read the first book. That said, it wasn't too hard to get up to speed in this story with the different characters. The story takes place in a European world where there are families/clans who each have some kind of magic. The Klaereon's magic seems to stem from a deal an ancestor made with demon-like beings humans for millenia have interpreted as Egyptian gods-- Ra, Khun, Isis, Osiris, Anubis, etc. Certain members of the Klaereons are born as "Binders" or with the ability to be attached or attach themselves (that part wasn't entirely clear to me as most of the book revolves around characters who have experienced problems with that attachment) to the god and thus wield magic.
The story starts with Carlo Borgia (of poison fame) coming back to the Klaereon estate to check on the ladies of the family (Octavia and Lucy) after encountering Octavia's husband, Drusus, in exile. Drusus is having troubles with his binding to Khun. Lucy is having trouble with Ra. And Octavia and Drusus have children, boys, who everyone wants to keep out of trouble.
Carlo is pretty entertaining. He's my favorite character, earnest, responsible, caring, poisonous. He and Lucy get to have a nice romance complicated by the dastardly doings of another magic family. There's going back and forth between Druat (the shadow world) which may or may not be the same thing as the Abyss, and allegations of murder Octavia must navigate.
There is a formality to the language and manners of the folks in this story that evokes Austen/Bronte, etc, but sometimes also was so uniform that it left the characters without as much unique personality showing through (except for the villain Galt, his dastardliness shone through nicely).
Fans of Egyptian mythology or steampunk/Austenesque fantastic fiction should check this out, although its probably best to start with Vessel of Ra, the first in the series.
March 21, 2018
Potential Review Biases:
* This review is based on a early draft of the novel.
* I received a free eBook from the author in exact for an honest review.
* The author is a personal friend.
It's a bit of a puzzle to me on how to review any book but reviewing an early draft like this makes that task so much harder. Will the things I liked and/or disliked be removed or altered before the final release? I can't say.
Deciding how much about the story I can reveal in a review is something I always struggle with, but it's doubly-complicated here where the novel is still being worked on by the author and they have time to change things.
Things I do feel comfortable saying:
I greatly enjoyed seeing the characters from the Vessel of Ra back for another round of magical mayhem.
* Carlo Borgia gets the chance to develop into an even more interesting & admirable character. Reading his story just makes me anxious to see more of him in future books.
* Lucy's story arc in this book is one that deserves talking about in greater detail than I'd feel comfortable revealing even if this was a finished novel already on the shelves of your local bookstore. At this point, the most I can comfortably commit to saying is her story makes me glad I'm reading it rather than being a character undergoing any part of it.
* Octavia gets to grow much, much more into her own person in this book and unleashes some wonderful snark at times. And as mentioned in previous reviews, I love me some snark. :D
We also get some new characters this time around; characters who help better flesh world & society that all of the characters are interacting in. I look forward to reading more about them in the future.
* This review is based on a early draft of the novel.
* I received a free eBook from the author in exact for an honest review.
* The author is a personal friend.
It's a bit of a puzzle to me on how to review any book but reviewing an early draft like this makes that task so much harder. Will the things I liked and/or disliked be removed or altered before the final release? I can't say.
Deciding how much about the story I can reveal in a review is something I always struggle with, but it's doubly-complicated here where the novel is still being worked on by the author and they have time to change things.
Things I do feel comfortable saying:
I greatly enjoyed seeing the characters from the Vessel of Ra back for another round of magical mayhem.
* Carlo Borgia gets the chance to develop into an even more interesting & admirable character. Reading his story just makes me anxious to see more of him in future books.
* Lucy's story arc in this book is one that deserves talking about in greater detail than I'd feel comfortable revealing even if this was a finished novel already on the shelves of your local bookstore. At this point, the most I can comfortably commit to saying is her story makes me glad I'm reading it rather than being a character undergoing any part of it.
* Octavia gets to grow much, much more into her own person in this book and unleashes some wonderful snark at times. And as mentioned in previous reviews, I love me some snark. :D
We also get some new characters this time around; characters who help better flesh world & society that all of the characters are interacting in. I look forward to reading more about them in the future.
April 14, 2019
Overall Impression: Another fine installment in the The Klareon Scroll Series.
Read this book if: You read the Vessel of Ra and want to follow the characters through the problems they gained in the first book. I don't particularly recommend this for those that haven't read the first book, I think it relies a lot on what came before. Also if you like Egyptian gods, multiple magic systems, and problems of identity and family, this could be for you.
You might want to avoid this book if: You are not a fan of non-sequential narratives. There are a fair number of out of order scenes. They're labeled pretty clearly, but if that's not your jam, this is not for you.
Heads up: There is a bit of a cliffhanger ending as the book, which promises to continue in the Wisdom of Thoth.
Read this book if: You read the Vessel of Ra and want to follow the characters through the problems they gained in the first book. I don't particularly recommend this for those that haven't read the first book, I think it relies a lot on what came before. Also if you like Egyptian gods, multiple magic systems, and problems of identity and family, this could be for you.
You might want to avoid this book if: You are not a fan of non-sequential narratives. There are a fair number of out of order scenes. They're labeled pretty clearly, but if that's not your jam, this is not for you.
Heads up: There is a bit of a cliffhanger ending as the book, which promises to continue in the Wisdom of Thoth.
April 6, 2019
After reading VASSEL OF RA (Klaereon Scroll book 1), I’ve been looking forward to reading PAWN OF ISIS (Klareon Scrolls book 2)—and I wasn’t disappointed in the least. PAWN OF ISIS is a fantastic continuation of this great series. That said, I do recommend reading this series in order. The Klaereon Scroll world is a complex mix of history and myth with a gothic tone and epic feel. If you enjoy deep, rich settings, lots of unique magic, and characters with surprising backstories and interconnections, then I highly recommended this series. I’m looking forward to reading book 3!
October 5, 2020
Loved the storyline and the useage of character development from the previous book. The plot twists i didn't see coming and some stuff just dropped towards the end. As the Lucy just didn't care anymore which i thought was hilarious for Octavia trying to get her house in order. Now the next book i have no idea what it will be about because of the way this one ended. So many pieces on the chessboard have been moved. Love this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2020
I've been wrestling with my review of this novel. I loved book 1 of this series so much that I was dying to get my hands on book two. And after finishing book 2, I definitely want to read book 3, but book 2 didn't leave me wanting in the same way book 1 did. I'll see if I can explain.
The writing definitely flows better in book 2. While I did enjoy book 1, I felt like the writing was very formal and tight feeling. Because the writing seems to flow better, I was able to read The Pawn of Isis at a comfortable clip.
However, I question whether Pawn of Isis starts in the right spot. The flashbacks to events in the past left me feeling confused and lost. Time was moving forward and backward too quickly leaving things feeling disjointed. It felts like a lot of info dumping at times a result because the reader had to know about A LOT of stuff that happened in the past plus remember what happened in book 1 and keep up how all those things affected the incidents currently on deck.
I still love Lucy, but her ongoing "relationship" with Ra is confusing on paper. It's hard to know who is talking when and who actually has control of the situation. This also happens with Drusus/Khun.
Carlo saw the most growth in this book, but too much is left off the page. Carlo is a schemer and there were hints he was working on stuff to make "everything turn out okay," but as a reader, I wanted to see how his mind and his machinations worked.
So what do I want to see in book 3? A more straightforward timeline and more explanations on the world of magic in this story. As book 2 went on, it became increasingly clear, especially as other magical families were added into the story, I don't get how it all works.
Oh, and can we get more George and Helen? I want to know Helen's story. And George...well, I don't want to spoil it!
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The writing definitely flows better in book 2. While I did enjoy book 1, I felt like the writing was very formal and tight feeling. Because the writing seems to flow better, I was able to read The Pawn of Isis at a comfortable clip.
However, I question whether Pawn of Isis starts in the right spot. The flashbacks to events in the past left me feeling confused and lost. Time was moving forward and backward too quickly leaving things feeling disjointed. It felts like a lot of info dumping at times a result because the reader had to know about A LOT of stuff that happened in the past plus remember what happened in book 1 and keep up how all those things affected the incidents currently on deck.
I still love Lucy, but her ongoing "relationship" with Ra is confusing on paper. It's hard to know who is talking when and who actually has control of the situation. This also happens with Drusus/Khun.
Carlo saw the most growth in this book, but too much is left off the page. Carlo is a schemer and there were hints he was working on stuff to make "everything turn out okay," but as a reader, I wanted to see how his mind and his machinations worked.
So what do I want to see in book 3? A more straightforward timeline and more explanations on the world of magic in this story. As book 2 went on, it became increasingly clear, especially as other magical families were added into the story, I don't get how it all works.
Oh, and can we get more George and Helen? I want to know Helen's story. And George...well, I don't want to spoil it!
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
March 25, 2019
Carlo Borgia moves in 1842 to Berlin to study medical magic leaving behind Lucy Klaereon. The second book in The Klaereon Scroll series brings new characters into play. However, it is best to start with book 1. After returning to Mistraldol Carlo discovers he still loves Lucy, but Ra seems to be driving Lucy mad. Can he bring Lucy back?
I enjoyed reading this book and finding out what happens to Lucy and Octavia.
Those fans of steampunk will definitely enjoy this book.
I enjoyed reading this book and finding out what happens to Lucy and Octavia.
Those fans of steampunk will definitely enjoy this book.
April 12, 2019
The Pawn of Isis was a fascinating story with wonderful characters. I am going back to read the first one. Well written and I hope to read more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews