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The Heart of the Circle #1
The Heart of the Circle
Sorcerers fight for the right to exist and fall in love, in this extraordinary alternate world fantasy thriller by award-winning Israeli author Keren Landsman.
Throughout human history there have always been sorcerers, once idolised and now exploited for their powers. In Israel, the Sons of Simeon, a group of religious extremists, persecute sorcerers while the government turns a blind eye. After a march for equal rights ends in brutal murder, empath, moodifier and reluctant waiter Reed becomes the next target. While his sorcerous and normie friends seek out his future killers, Reed complicates everything by falling hopelessly in love. As the battle for survival grows ever more personal, can Reed protect himself and his friends as the Sons of Simeon close in around them?
File Fantasy [ Love Squared | Stuck in the Margins | Emotional Injection | Fight the Power ]
Throughout human history there have always been sorcerers, once idolised and now exploited for their powers. In Israel, the Sons of Simeon, a group of religious extremists, persecute sorcerers while the government turns a blind eye. After a march for equal rights ends in brutal murder, empath, moodifier and reluctant waiter Reed becomes the next target. While his sorcerous and normie friends seek out his future killers, Reed complicates everything by falling hopelessly in love. As the battle for survival grows ever more personal, can Reed protect himself and his friends as the Sons of Simeon close in around them?
File Fantasy [ Love Squared | Stuck in the Margins | Emotional Injection | Fight the Power ]
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
30 people are currently reading
836 people want to read
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September 30, 2018
וואו ! ספר מצויין, סוחף, מטלטל, חזק. מזמן לא התענגתי כך על ספר מקור ובכלל על ספר פנטזיה. קרן לנדסמן סופרת מוכשרת, טווה בסיפור מציאות אמינה תוך שהיא מרפררת למציאות הקיימת, ששאבה אותי לתוכה בלי יכולת להתנתק. בעיניי היא אמנית תיאור יחסי אנוש ודינמיקה בין אנשים.
ישראל ש"בלב המעגל" היא ישראל אחרת, אלטרנטיבית, בה חיים מיעוט מכשפים וקוסמים שנרדפים ומודרים ע"י הרוב. הרוב מפחד מהשונה והמיעוט מוקצה בדרכים שונות: למיעוט אין זכויות הצבעה, הם נדרשים לעמוד במרובעים לבנים שמסמלים את השונות שלהם (לדוגמא באוטובוסים) , יש להם כניסות שונות למקומות ציבוריים (לדוגמא הם נדרשים לעלות מהדלת האחורית של האוטובוס) ולא כל בעלי העסקים מוכנים להעסיק אותם. בישראל הזו, לא רק שהמיעוט מופלה ע"י הממסד, אלא שקיים גם מיעוט של קנאים אלימים בשם "בני שמעון", שפועלים לממש את חזונם לחברה נקייה מקוסמים ומכשפים ע"י רצח מכוון של בני המיעוט. לשם כך הם משתמשים בעצמם בקוסמים ומכשפים אותם הם מגייסים למען החזון שלהם.
העלילה מתמקדת בחבורת מכשפים צעירים תל אביביים (בני כ- 30) המתמודדים עם הלחץ הגובר של ההדרה והרציחות שמבצעים בני שמעון בבני הקהילה של המכשפים.
במרכז החבורה גבע, ברמן הומו ששקוע באהבה ובגעגועים לחבר המיתולוגי שלו רשף שהיגר לקונפדרציה (ארה"ב). גבע הוא מכשף נפש המסוגל לחוש בנפש של אנשים אחרים ולהשפיע עליה ע"י העברת רגשות או לקיחת רגשות. חברתו לדירה תמר, דמוסית שהיא חוזה בנתיבים האפשריים בעתיד ויכולה לבחור להוביל להווה שבו היא רוצה להיות. סביבם מתגבשת חבורה שנסחפת לסיחרור המאבק של בני שמעון לחיסול המכשפים והקוסמים.
עוד בחבורה, רשף, כאמור החבר המיתולוגי של גבע, פירומן ורו"ח. עומר, שגם הוא מכשף נפש, עלה לארץ יחד עם אחותו יובל, שהיא דגיגונית (מכשפת מים). לכל אלו מצטרפים אחיו של גבע, דורון שהוא רופא רגיל בלי כוחות כישוף ושירן השוטרת.
אחד הדברים היפים בספר, מעבר לעלילה הקיצבית והמותחת ומעבר למציאות האמינה שהיא מצליחה ליצור, הוא שלנדסמן מצליחה בכישרון רב לבנות מערכות יחסים אמינות, מרגשות ונוגעות ללב בין הדמויות. הדינמיקה בין הדמויות מלאת רגשות אנושיים שהופכים אותה לאמיתית ולא מעושה. התמוגגתי ממערכות היחסים ומהדינמיקה בין ההורים של גבע ודורון לילדים שלהם (הילד המוצלח - דורון, והילד ש"נו טוב זה שלנו ועם זה ננצח" - גבע), מערכות היחסים בין אחים (גבע- דורון, שירן ואחותה, עומר ואחותו), מערכות יחסים רומנטיות (פה לא אפרט כדי לא לספיילר אבל יש למה לחכות) ומערכות יחסים בין הדמויות השונות בספר (ביחוד מערכות היחסים בין: גבע-רשף, גבע- תמר, שירן -תמר- גבע, גבע- רשף- עומר, גבע-אור).
האופן שבו הסופרת פיתחה את הרעיון של מעגל כשף בחלק האחרון של הספר, הפעים אותי. האופן שבו היא לקחה מעגל חשמלי רגיל והוסיפה לו נדבך שהרחיב אותו היה יצירתי ביותר. דמיינתי לעצמי מחשב שמשתמש בכח של המחשבים המחוברים לרשת כאמפלפייר ליצירת אפקט הולך ומתרחב של כח מחוץ למעגל.
ספר שפשוט גרם לי לא לישון ולרצות לקרוא אותו מהר (כלומר עוד יותר מהר מהמהר שאני קוראת בדרך כלל) כדי לדעת כיצד הסופרת תסגור את המעגל. הייתי שמחה לדעת שיהיה ספר המשך עם הדמויות מלב המעגל. הייתי שמחה שלנדסמן תוציא עוד ספרים.
ישראל ש"בלב המעגל" היא ישראל אחרת, אלטרנטיבית, בה חיים מיעוט מכשפים וקוסמים שנרדפים ומודרים ע"י הרוב. הרוב מפחד מהשונה והמיעוט מוקצה בדרכים שונות: למיעוט אין זכויות הצבעה, הם נדרשים לעמוד במרובעים לבנים שמסמלים את השונות שלהם (לדוגמא באוטובוסים) , יש להם כניסות שונות למקומות ציבוריים (לדוגמא הם נדרשים לעלות מהדלת האחורית של האוטובוס) ולא כל בעלי העסקים מוכנים להעסיק אותם. בישראל הזו, לא רק שהמיעוט מופלה ע"י הממסד, אלא שקיים גם מיעוט של קנאים אלימים בשם "בני שמעון", שפועלים לממש את חזונם לחברה נקייה מקוסמים ומכשפים ע"י רצח מכוון של בני המיעוט. לשם כך הם משתמשים בעצמם בקוסמים ומכשפים אותם הם מגייסים למען החזון שלהם.
העלילה מתמקדת בחבורת מכשפים צעירים תל אביביים (בני כ- 30) המתמודדים עם הלחץ הגובר של ההדרה והרציחות שמבצעים בני שמעון בבני הקהילה של המכשפים.
במרכז החבורה גבע, ברמן הומו ששקוע באהבה ובגעגועים לחבר המיתולוגי שלו רשף שהיגר לקונפדרציה (ארה"ב). גבע הוא מכשף נפש המסוגל לחוש בנפש של אנשים אחרים ולהשפיע עליה ע"י העברת רגשות או לקיחת רגשות. חברתו לדירה תמר, דמוסית שהיא חוזה בנתיבים האפשריים בעתיד ויכולה לבחור להוביל להווה שבו היא רוצה להיות. סביבם מתגבשת חבורה שנסחפת לסיחרור המאבק של בני שמעון לחיסול המכשפים והקוסמים.
עוד בחבורה, רשף, כאמור החבר המיתולוגי של גבע, פירומן ורו"ח. עומר, שגם הוא מכשף נפש, עלה לארץ יחד עם אחותו יובל, שהיא דגיגונית (מכשפת מים). לכל אלו מצטרפים אחיו של גבע, דורון שהוא רופא רגיל בלי כוחות כישוף ושירן השוטרת.
אחד הדברים היפים בספר, מעבר לעלילה הקיצבית והמותחת ומעבר למציאות האמינה שהיא מצליחה ליצור, הוא שלנדסמן מצליחה בכישרון רב לבנות מערכות יחסים אמינות, מרגשות ונוגעות ללב בין הדמויות. הדינמיקה בין הדמויות מלאת רגשות אנושיים שהופכים אותה לאמיתית ולא מעושה. התמוגגתי ממערכות היחסים ומהדינמיקה בין ההורים של גבע ודורון לילדים שלהם (הילד המוצלח - דורון, והילד ש"נו טוב זה שלנו ועם זה ננצח" - גבע), מערכות היחסים בין אחים (גבע- דורון, שירן ואחותה, עומר ואחותו), מערכות יחסים רומנטיות (פה לא אפרט כדי לא לספיילר אבל יש למה לחכות) ומערכות יחסים בין הדמויות השונות בספר (ביחוד מערכות היחסים בין: גבע-רשף, גבע- תמר, שירן -תמר- גבע, גבע- רשף- עומר, גבע-אור).
האופן שבו הסופרת פיתחה את הרעיון של מעגל כשף בחלק האחרון של הספר, הפעים אותי. האופן שבו היא לקחה מעגל חשמלי רגיל והוסיפה לו נדבך שהרחיב אותו היה יצירתי ביותר. דמיינתי לעצמי מחשב שמשתמש בכח של המחשבים המחוברים לרשת כאמפלפייר ליצירת אפקט הולך ומתרחב של כח מחוץ למעגל.
ספר שפשוט גרם לי לא לישון ולרצות לקרוא אותו מהר (כלומר עוד יותר מהר מהמהר שאני קוראת בדרך כלל) כדי לדעת כיצד הסופרת תסגור את המעגל. הייתי שמחה לדעת שיהיה ספר המשך עם הדמויות מלב המעגל. הייתי שמחה שלנדסמן תוציא עוד ספרים.
May 26, 2019
גבע הוא מכשף אמפת שיכול לחוש רגשות של אחרים ולהשפיע עליהם בישראל אלטרנטיבית שבה מכשפים נפוצים באוכלוסיה אבל מופלים בכל מקום לרעה. ארגון קיצוני רוצח מכשפים מאיזו סיבה שלא ברורה לי וגבע צריך להפסיק לרחם על עצמו ולהשתדל לא להירצח.
ספר פשוט מאכזב. נקודת הפתיחה טובה ומעניינת, כוחות הכישוף מעניינים, אבל העלילה עוסקת בעיקר ברחמים העצמיים של גבע, ברומנטיקה לכאורה ובמשל לא ברור על מדינת ישראל. מזכיר לי ספרים שעוסקים ברווקים תל אביביים מדוכאים רק עם כישוף.
לקראת הסוף השתעממתי כל כך שדילגתי על עמודים כדי להגיע לשיא שלצערי היה די מבולבל.
הייתי שמח לקרוא ספר על תמר, השותפה של גבע. היא נשמעת דמות מעניינת הרבה יותר.
אגב, הרבה מהרעיונות נראים כאילו נלקחו מאקסמן אבל שם הם בוצעו הרבה יותר טוב.
ספר פשוט מאכזב. נקודת הפתיחה טובה ומעניינת, כוחות הכישוף מעניינים, אבל העלילה עוסקת בעיקר ברחמים העצמיים של גבע, ברומנטיקה לכאורה ובמשל לא ברור על מדינת ישראל. מזכיר לי ספרים שעוסקים ברווקים תל אביביים מדוכאים רק עם כישוף.
לקראת הסוף השתעממתי כל כך שדילגתי על עמודים כדי להגיע לשיא שלצערי היה די מבולבל.
הייתי שמח לקרוא ספר על תמר, השותפה של גבע. היא נשמעת דמות מעניינת הרבה יותר.
אגב, הרבה מהרעיונות נראים כאילו נלקחו מאקסמן אבל שם הם בוצעו הרבה יותר טוב.
August 14, 2019
On my blog.
Rep: gay mc, gay li, bi side character
Galley provided by publisher
There is little as disappointing and annoying as loving the characters in a book you otherwise deeply dislike. Unfortunately, The Heart of the Circle was one of those books.
The whole plot centres around an allegory for oppression in a vaguely fantastical modern day. In this case, sorcerers (of which there are various kinds) are the ones oppressed. Why? It’s never really explained, we just have to go with it. Reed is a sorcerer who can feel and manipulate people’s emotions (a moodie), though again, how his powers actually work and the limits they have are never explained. Similarly, every other power (elementals, psychics, you name it). Sure, if they use their powers overly much, they end up depleted (and then seem to take their magic from normal people? Not clear), but they seem to be able to do pretty much anything up until that point.
But anyway, the story goes as so: The Sons of Simeon are terrorising the sorcerer community, targeting individuals and businesses who support the sorcerers and killing the sorcerers themselves. And the government is content to just sit back and watch. But, honestly, this is where the plot became a little fuzzy for me. The Sons of Simeon end up targetting Reed, though it isn’t entirely clear why. They want him in a particular place because then they could try kill someone but he would die getting in the way or something, and ultimately they just want sorcerers to rule the world. And I’m still so confused what killing Reed had to do with any of it. It was a plotline that needed more brainpower put into it than I was willing to give. (And don’t even get me started on how confused I was about what Reed actually did to stop all this.)
As a whole, the book seems a little loose. As I said, the limits of the magic system are never really delineated, so when the plot relies on that system, it becomes confusing. Also confusing is the number of plot points that are floating around, and left kind of unresolved. Some of them tie into the denouement, some don’t, and in all, that makes it seem not a very clean plot. Similarly, some character traits are suddenly introduced with no foreshadowing, and relationships make leaps forward within a couple of pages.
And despite all the action, particularly what comes at the end, the book still manages to feel as though it’s just plodding along. There was never any urgency to the writing and the plot. This was probably not helped by the characters going from moving hectically to a long periods of inaction, partly because this book seems to be trying to be a romance as well as a fantasy novel all at once.
But, all plot discussions besides, I was turned off this book very early on by the setting, and the biphobia and cissexism. Let’s take the setting first. I didn’t realise it was set in Israel before I started reading this (more fool me for not reading the blurb at all). I don’t know about you, but a fantasy allegory for oppression, set in Israel? It just feels uncomfortable and turning a deliberate blind eye to actual real life events there. With the biphobia and cissexism, this turned up within the first few chapters. Reed meets an ex-boyfriend and makes comments along the lines of “he’d never expressed interest in the opposite sex” and “people change […] maybe there’s hope for us yet finding out we were always attracted to women”. And later, the ex “will be jealous, but it’ll be too late because he switched teams”. And if that biphobia wasn’t bad enough, how it would be a shock, seeing his girlfriend naked and realising “she was missing something”.
So, in the end, it was a shame I liked the characters, almost, because the rest of this book was a big ol’ disappointment.
Rep: gay mc, gay li, bi side character
Galley provided by publisher
There is little as disappointing and annoying as loving the characters in a book you otherwise deeply dislike. Unfortunately, The Heart of the Circle was one of those books.
The whole plot centres around an allegory for oppression in a vaguely fantastical modern day. In this case, sorcerers (of which there are various kinds) are the ones oppressed. Why? It’s never really explained, we just have to go with it. Reed is a sorcerer who can feel and manipulate people’s emotions (a moodie), though again, how his powers actually work and the limits they have are never explained. Similarly, every other power (elementals, psychics, you name it). Sure, if they use their powers overly much, they end up depleted (and then seem to take their magic from normal people? Not clear), but they seem to be able to do pretty much anything up until that point.
But anyway, the story goes as so: The Sons of Simeon are terrorising the sorcerer community, targeting individuals and businesses who support the sorcerers and killing the sorcerers themselves. And the government is content to just sit back and watch. But, honestly, this is where the plot became a little fuzzy for me. The Sons of Simeon end up targetting Reed, though it isn’t entirely clear why. They want him in a particular place because then they could try kill someone but he would die getting in the way or something, and ultimately they just want sorcerers to rule the world. And I’m still so confused what killing Reed had to do with any of it. It was a plotline that needed more brainpower put into it than I was willing to give. (And don’t even get me started on how confused I was about what Reed actually did to stop all this.)
As a whole, the book seems a little loose. As I said, the limits of the magic system are never really delineated, so when the plot relies on that system, it becomes confusing. Also confusing is the number of plot points that are floating around, and left kind of unresolved. Some of them tie into the denouement, some don’t, and in all, that makes it seem not a very clean plot. Similarly, some character traits are suddenly introduced with no foreshadowing, and relationships make leaps forward within a couple of pages.
And despite all the action, particularly what comes at the end, the book still manages to feel as though it’s just plodding along. There was never any urgency to the writing and the plot. This was probably not helped by the characters going from moving hectically to a long periods of inaction, partly because this book seems to be trying to be a romance as well as a fantasy novel all at once.
But, all plot discussions besides, I was turned off this book very early on by the setting, and the biphobia and cissexism. Let’s take the setting first. I didn’t realise it was set in Israel before I started reading this (more fool me for not reading the blurb at all). I don’t know about you, but a fantasy allegory for oppression, set in Israel? It just feels uncomfortable and turning a deliberate blind eye to actual real life events there. With the biphobia and cissexism, this turned up within the first few chapters. Reed meets an ex-boyfriend and makes comments along the lines of “he’d never expressed interest in the opposite sex” and “people change […] maybe there’s hope for us yet finding out we were always attracted to women”. And later, the ex “will be jealous, but it’ll be too late because he switched teams”. And if that biphobia wasn’t bad enough, how it would be a shock, seeing his girlfriend naked and realising “she was missing something”.
So, in the end, it was a shame I liked the characters, almost, because the rest of this book was a big ol’ disappointment.
January 7, 2021
For me, this book was barely 2 stars. Written by an Israeli author and set in an alternate Tel Aviv, this "fantasy" describes a society where sorcerers (elementalists) and psychics (clairvoyants and empaths) march and demonstrate against the discrimination, segregation, violence, and other indignities they suffer daily as a minority group. In an interview, the author says the plot was inspired by the death of a 16-year-old in a Jerusalem Pride event.
The empath protagonist is romantically involved with a fellow empath and, it seemed to me, the book spent more time in their bed than in world-building, characterization, or delving deeper into the magic system.
Ultimately, this book was not for me. #wit
The empath protagonist is romantically involved with a fellow empath and, it seemed to me, the book spent more time in their bed than in world-building, characterization, or delving deeper into the magic system.
Ultimately, this book was not for me. #wit
pass
July 22, 2020Tel Aviv set fantasy, not landing for me.
April 26, 2018
לב המעגל הוא ספר של פנטזיה ריאליסטית (בטח יש לזה שם טוב יותר). הוא מספר על עולם דומה לשנו אבל שהאנשים בו נחלקים לאנשים רגילים ואנשים בעלי כוחות (מכשפים) שנמצאים בליבו של מאבק (בישראל) על זכויותיהם מול הממסד השמרני והמפוחד של ״הרגילים״ ומול ארגון קיצוני בשם ״בני שמעון״ שמבצע בהם פיגועים. האסוציאציה המתבקשת היא לקהילה הגאה ובטוויסט נחמד הגיבור הוא גיי ובעולם המתואר בספר לאיש לא אכפת.
בניגוד לכמה ספרים אחרים בסוגה הזו (ואני לא קורא הרבה ספרים כאלו) אין פה הסברים דידקטיים וטרחניים והקורא פשוט מוזמן לצלול לעולם הזה ולהבין דברים על הדרך וזו הגישה העדיפה עלי.
ספר מקסים וחכם, מותח קמעה אבל גם עוסק באהבה, חברות ורגישות (ואישית מאוד דיברה אלי דמותו של גבע וכל התיאורים על האמפתיים הרגישו לי מאוד קרובים אלי וזה חלק מיופיו של הספר).
בניגוד לכמה ספרים אחרים בסוגה הזו (ואני לא קורא הרבה ספרים כאלו) אין פה הסברים דידקטיים וטרחניים והקורא פשוט מוזמן לצלול לעולם הזה ולהבין דברים על הדרך וזו הגישה העדיפה עלי.
ספר מקסים וחכם, מותח קמעה אבל גם עוסק באהבה, חברות ורגישות (ואישית מאוד דיברה אלי דמותו של גבע וכל התיאורים על האמפתיים הרגישו לי מאוד קרובים אלי וזה חלק מיופיו של הספר).
April 24, 2018
ספר יוצא דופן ומיוחד.
קרן לנדסמן שאבה אותי לישראל אלטרנטיבית, בה חיים מכשפים בעלי כוחות לצד אנשים רגילים.
המכשפים חיים במציאות בה מפחדים מהם וחשדניים לגביהם, וחיי היומיום שלהם מזכירים להם תמידית שהם שונים ודחויים מצד האנשים ה"נורמליים". אף אחד לא רוצה להעסיק אותם במקום העבודה שלו, הם מוכרחים להיכנס לאוטובוס מהכניסה האחורית, ובמקומות ציבוריים יש להם שולחנות מסומנים שמוקצים להם, כמו גם כניסה נפרדת.
מעבר לרתיעה הכללית מהם, ישנו ארגון קיצוני בשם "בני שמעון" שלוקח את הפסוק "לֹא יִמָּצֵא בְךָ מַעֲבִיר בְּנוֹ וּבִתּוֹ בָּאֵשׁ, קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, מְעוֹנֵן וּמְנַחֵשׁ וּמְכַשֵּׁף…" מספר דברים שמפרט את האיסורים של כישוף ביהדות, ועונשם מוות.
העלילה מתארת את קהילת המכשפים המארגנים עצרת אחת לחודש למען שוויון זכויות, שוויון בתעסוקה והזכות לבחור ולהשפיע. ואת "בני שמעון" שרוצה במוות למכשפים ומנצל כל עצרת להתנקשות בהם.
כשתמר, (רואה את העתיד) החברה הכי טובה של גבע, גיבור הספר, חוזה את מותו בעצרת הבאה, הוא וחבריו מנסים להגן עליו ולמנוע יחד את הגורל הזה מלקרות.
קרן לנדסמן שאבה אותי לישראל אלטרנטיבית, בה חיים מכשפים בעלי כוחות לצד אנשים רגילים.
המכשפים חיים במציאות בה מפחדים מהם וחשדניים לגביהם, וחיי היומיום שלהם מזכירים להם תמידית שהם שונים ודחויים מצד האנשים ה"נורמליים". אף אחד לא רוצה להעסיק אותם במקום העבודה שלו, הם מוכרחים להיכנס לאוטובוס מהכניסה האחורית, ובמקומות ציבוריים יש להם שולחנות מסומנים שמוקצים להם, כמו גם כניסה נפרדת.
מעבר לרתיעה הכללית מהם, ישנו ארגון קיצוני בשם "בני שמעון" שלוקח את הפסוק "לֹא יִמָּצֵא בְךָ מַעֲבִיר בְּנוֹ וּבִתּוֹ בָּאֵשׁ, קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, מְעוֹנֵן וּמְנַחֵשׁ וּמְכַשֵּׁף…" מספר דברים שמפרט את האיסורים של כישוף ביהדות, ועונשם מוות.
העלילה מתארת את קהילת המכשפים המארגנים עצרת אחת לחודש למען שוויון זכויות, שוויון בתעסוקה והזכות לבחור ולהשפיע. ואת "בני שמעון" שרוצה במוות למכשפים ומנצל כל עצרת להתנקשות בהם.
כשתמר, (רואה את העתיד) החברה הכי טובה של גבע, גיבור הספר, חוזה את מותו בעצרת הבאה, הוא וחבריו מנסים להגן עליו ולמנוע יחד את הגורל הזה מלקרות.
August 25, 2018
ספר סוחף, עולם מעניין של מציאות אלטרנטיבית שבו יש בעולם מכשפים ורואי עתיד. האנשים עם הכוחות המיוחדים הם מיעוט נרדף. בארה"ב הם חיים בשמורות, באפריקה הם כמעט הוכחדו לגמרי בתקופת הקולונילאליזם ובישראל הם חיים במין אפרטהייד למשל יש ריבוע שבו הם עומדים באוטובוס(הדוגמה האולטימטיבית לאפרטהייד לא? ) וריבוע שבו הם יושבים בלימודים ובעלי עסקים שמסרבים להעסיקם ויורקים עליהם ברחוב. מצד שני, הם משרתים בצבא שקוראים לו גם במציאות האלטרנטיבית הזו צה"ל. רואי עתיד הולכים למודיעין, יש התחנלויות ויש "השטחים" כלומר שישראל היא עדיין גם אפרטהייד אתני כלפי הפלסטינים אבל הם לא מוזכרים בספר ב-כ-ל-ל. הסיפור מתרחש בתל אביב. לדמויות יש שמות "רגילים" כמו תמר ועומר ושירן אבל גם מיוחדים כמו חורש והרדוף (או שזה כבר לא מיוחד, תכלס לא גרה בישראל כבר 16 שנים אז מה אני יודעת על שמות) יש גם דמויות עם שמות רוסיים כמו דימיטרי כלומר שהעליות הרוסיות התרחשו במציאות הזו וגם ברוסיה היו מכשפים. אבל פלסטינים מכשפים כנראה אין והפלסטינים ה"רגילים" נעלמו מתל אביב. אין אף דמות בספר עם שם ערבי והסיפור מתרחש בתל אביב! אין שום הסבר בספר איך ישראל הגיעה למצב המיוחד הזה שבו גם תל אביב טוהרה מהתושבים הילידים ואם זה בגלל שהם מכשפים או בגלל שהם לא? הפיל הזה בחדר הציק לי במהלך הקריאה כי הסופרת כן בחרה להזכיר במקומות רבים במהלך הספר את הצבא ואת צה"ל והתנחלויות ו"השטחים" ורבין שמכשפים לא הצליחו להגן עליו... זה נראה לי מוזר להניח שזה לא יעורר באף קוראת שאלות על איך המצב הזה מסתדר במציאות האלטרנטיבית.
January 18, 2022
Didn’t grab me like I’d hoped. A wishy washy romance, a wishy washy fight for rights, this book didn’t know whether it was a romance novel or a paranormal novel.
I really liked Daphne as a character, her unrelenting loyalty to her friends is admirable.
Certainly the topic is on point and relatable to the world we live in today - a group of people segregated for things they can’t help and wouldn’t change.
A meh read.
I really liked Daphne as a character, her unrelenting loyalty to her friends is admirable.
Certainly the topic is on point and relatable to the world we live in today - a group of people segregated for things they can’t help and wouldn’t change.
A meh read.
December 10, 2021
not fantastical enough to be a fantasy and not romantic enough to be a romance, the heart of the circle has a wonderful concept that is utterly let down by the excruciatingly dull execution. reed is being targeted by the sons of simeon because he's Really Special I Guess, despite doing fuck all the entire novel. the romance tries to be hard-hitting emotionally, except the pairing had little to no build-up and had no chemistry, so i didn't give a fuck. the plot twists were also about as obvious as... idk, the fact that we live on the earth, or some equally obvious fact. don't roast me, my brain cells have been fried by how boring this book was.
it was also pretty biphobic (no, the gay man didn't "go straight," because bisexuality and pansexuality exist - as a book ostensibly about equal rights, refusing to acknowledge an entire real life marginalised community is Pretty Fucking Yikes), so as a bi person, that was really fun to read.
for an urban fantasy involving a queer romance and persecuted sorcerers, i would instead recommend Hunter of Demons, the first of a series that just gets better and better with every instalment.
it was also pretty biphobic (no, the gay man didn't "go straight," because bisexuality and pansexuality exist - as a book ostensibly about equal rights, refusing to acknowledge an entire real life marginalised community is Pretty Fucking Yikes), so as a bi person, that was really fun to read.
for an urban fantasy involving a queer romance and persecuted sorcerers, i would instead recommend Hunter of Demons, the first of a series that just gets better and better with every instalment.
August 22, 2019
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Heart of the Circle by Keren Landsman is a timely Israel-set urban fantasy novel in translation. I can't quite decide if I particularly enjoyed this one or not. What I did like about it is the magic. Otherwise though I wish we had a better sense of the world the story is set in and if I were more interested in the characters themselves.
The Heart of the Circle by Keren Landsman is a timely Israel-set urban fantasy novel in translation. I can't quite decide if I particularly enjoyed this one or not. What I did like about it is the magic. Otherwise though I wish we had a better sense of the world the story is set in and if I were more interested in the characters themselves.
April 23, 2018
לא יכלתי להניח מהידיים! מומלץ בחום, גם לחובבי מד"ב פנטזיה ותיקים וגם למי שבדר"כ פחות מתחבר אליהם.
April 6, 2018
הספר כתוב נפלא, סוחף מהרגע הראשון, מהפנט ומרתק. קרן הפליאה לטוות ביד אומן חוטי קסם שזורים בעומק בל יתואר, משולבים במתח עוצר נשימה.
היכולת המופלאה של קרן לכתוב אנשים ורגש במצבים חברתיים מרובד מציאות אחר לכאורה אבל בעצם כה אמיתי, היממה אותי ותפסה לי את הבטן והלב מהפסקה הראשונה ועד השורה האחרונה.
ממליצה בחום רב לפנות זמן כשפותחים את הספר לראשונה, כי קשה מאוד להניח אותו מהיד באמצע.
העומק של הדמויות והאנושיות שלהן גרמו לי להתאהב בכולן ולהרגיש ממש צער של פרידה כשנגמר.
היכולת המופלאה של קרן לכתוב אנשים ורגש במצבים חברתיים מרובד מציאות אחר לכאורה אבל בעצם כה אמיתי, היממה אותי ותפסה לי את הבטן והלב מהפסקה הראשונה ועד השורה האחרונה.
ממליצה בחום רב לפנות זמן כשפותחים את הספר לראשונה, כי קשה מאוד להניח אותו מהיד באמצע.
העומק של הדמויות והאנושיות שלהן גרמו לי להתאהב בכולן ולהרגיש ממש צער של פרידה כשנגמר.
May 23, 2018
ספר נהדר.
שילוב מצוין של פנטזיה "סגורה" (עם חוקים ברורים), התמקדות בדמויות אמינות מאוד, מינון מצוין של מסתורין, דרמה ואקשן.
ישראל אלטרנטיבית מחד וכל כך עכשיוית מאידך, עם רפרנסים גיאוגרפיים, תרבותיים והסטוריים נהדרים.
ללא ספק ספר שאקרא שוב
שילוב מצוין של פנטזיה "סגורה" (עם חוקים ברורים), התמקדות בדמויות אמינות מאוד, מינון מצוין של מסתורין, דרמה ואקשן.
ישראל אלטרנטיבית מחד וכל כך עכשיוית מאידך, עם רפרנסים גיאוגרפיים, תרבותיים והסטוריים נהדרים.
ללא ספק ספר שאקרא שוב
July 11, 2018
הספר כתוב טוב אבל יש הרבה יותר מידי דמויות. יש גם המון חוקים ובשלב מסוים פשוט החלטתי לזרום עם מה שקורה שם ולא לשאול שאלות. אני לא יודעת מה ההבדל בין מעגל חלקי למעגל מלא, למרות שזה משהו שמאוד חשוב לסיפור. באופן כללי אני לא מבינה מה בדיוק הקטע של המעגלים.
September 16, 2019
Originally published at Reading Reality
In a kind of twisted way, The Heart of the Circle reminded me of American Magic in that they both feel like responses to the Statute of Secrecy in Harry Potter. In American Magic, the reveal of the secret of magic is treated like a weaponized virus or other standard spy-thriller macguffin.
But The Heart of the Circle, while also having aspects of a thriller, feels like it comes out of the urban fantasy tradition, and not just because it takes place in a major city, in this case, Tel Aviv.
I say the urban fantasy tradition because this is a minor variation on our current world, but one in which magic not only works, but always has worked, a la Harry Potter. However, in The Heart of the Circle, magic has not only always worked, but it has always been known. There is no Statute of Secrecy here.
Which doesn’t mean that there aren’t witch hunts.
In the past, magic and magic users have been respected and feared. But mostly respected. Or so it seems. We are dropped into this story sometime in their 21st century, and pretty much in the midst of the action. Ancient history isn’t talked about a whole lot, because the present is going off the rails.
A group of religious fundamentalists has done an all too effective job of weaponizing the human hate and fear of “the other” and turned it against the sorcerers. There’s a constant drumbeat in the press to turn sorcerers into “the other” so that their humanity can be legislated away. So that they can be harassed and discriminated against and killed without consequences.
The language and methods that they use will sound all too familiar to anyone who has read about the Holocaust – or read the news or followed twitter regarding the way that immigrants in the U.S. are being demonized this day.
Although, in fine fantasy fashion, the reasons behind this particular weaponization of hate and fear turn out to be nothing like they seem to be. The most interesting agendas are extremely heinous and deeply hidden.
Following our protagonist, Reed Katz, we become involved in the sorcerers’ community as everyone fears for their livelihood and their lives, and we watch them fight back. We become involved in their world and we feel for their plight. They have not, in fact, done anything wrong. They are being hated, and killed, for what they are – while the people who murder them are not even condemned for the crimes they have actually committed.
In Reed’s story, and the story of his community, I saw reflections of our present. The story’s setting in Israel may allow Americans to pretend that this can’t happen here, but it is. The fantasy setting allows readers to see the situation from a distance, but it is all too easy to recognize that it is here and now.
This begins as a story of a beleaguered community dealing with unrelenting hate. It becomes a story about rising up and not just protecting that community, but about proactively discovering the heart of the hate – and exposing it for what it really is.
The Heart of the Circle turns out to be love. Not only romantic love, although that is certainly there, but love of all kinds and all stripes. The love of friends, the love of family, and especially the love of community.
Escape Rating A+: This is a book that sucks the reader into its heart, and doesn’t spit you out until the final page is turned. And I loved every minute of it.
In a kind of twisted way, The Heart of the Circle reminded me of American Magic in that they both feel like responses to the Statute of Secrecy in Harry Potter. In American Magic, the reveal of the secret of magic is treated like a weaponized virus or other standard spy-thriller macguffin.
But The Heart of the Circle, while also having aspects of a thriller, feels like it comes out of the urban fantasy tradition, and not just because it takes place in a major city, in this case, Tel Aviv.
I say the urban fantasy tradition because this is a minor variation on our current world, but one in which magic not only works, but always has worked, a la Harry Potter. However, in The Heart of the Circle, magic has not only always worked, but it has always been known. There is no Statute of Secrecy here.
Which doesn’t mean that there aren’t witch hunts.
In the past, magic and magic users have been respected and feared. But mostly respected. Or so it seems. We are dropped into this story sometime in their 21st century, and pretty much in the midst of the action. Ancient history isn’t talked about a whole lot, because the present is going off the rails.
A group of religious fundamentalists has done an all too effective job of weaponizing the human hate and fear of “the other” and turned it against the sorcerers. There’s a constant drumbeat in the press to turn sorcerers into “the other” so that their humanity can be legislated away. So that they can be harassed and discriminated against and killed without consequences.
The language and methods that they use will sound all too familiar to anyone who has read about the Holocaust – or read the news or followed twitter regarding the way that immigrants in the U.S. are being demonized this day.
Although, in fine fantasy fashion, the reasons behind this particular weaponization of hate and fear turn out to be nothing like they seem to be. The most interesting agendas are extremely heinous and deeply hidden.
Following our protagonist, Reed Katz, we become involved in the sorcerers’ community as everyone fears for their livelihood and their lives, and we watch them fight back. We become involved in their world and we feel for their plight. They have not, in fact, done anything wrong. They are being hated, and killed, for what they are – while the people who murder them are not even condemned for the crimes they have actually committed.
In Reed’s story, and the story of his community, I saw reflections of our present. The story’s setting in Israel may allow Americans to pretend that this can’t happen here, but it is. The fantasy setting allows readers to see the situation from a distance, but it is all too easy to recognize that it is here and now.
This begins as a story of a beleaguered community dealing with unrelenting hate. It becomes a story about rising up and not just protecting that community, but about proactively discovering the heart of the hate – and exposing it for what it really is.
The Heart of the Circle turns out to be love. Not only romantic love, although that is certainly there, but love of all kinds and all stripes. The love of friends, the love of family, and especially the love of community.
Escape Rating A+: This is a book that sucks the reader into its heart, and doesn’t spit you out until the final page is turned. And I loved every minute of it.
June 15, 2019
What a strangely compelling book this was. And when I say compelling I don't just mean your standard 'one more chapter whoops bedtime was three hours ago' kind of compelling. This book was like quicksand. When I first sent it to my kind I opened it just to check that it had worked, and the next thing I knew I was four chapters deep. I'd plan to read a chapter or two with lunch and lose an afternoon. I was late back from my lunch-break at work yesterday and, yes, there were missed bedtimes.
Pretty impressive, considering I don't even know if I liked it that much. Hell, I honestly can't even pinpoint why I found it as compelling as I did. Take the prose, for example. It might be a result of the translation (this book was first published in Hebrew), but I found it to be on the clunky side. And yet there was an open quality to it, a complete lack of pretense, that made reading the sentences almost effortless. It literally felt like the story was just flowing into me.
The plot, I should have loved. Not because it's exiting or twisty, but because it's really not the focus. Plots happening in the background while characters angst at each other is basically my favourite flavour of book, but even if the plot is in the background it should still make sense. I mean the plot here isn't too complicated; in a world where sorcerers are both common and discriminated against a far-right group wants to kill all the non-sorcerers and take control. Our protagonist, an empath named Reed, and his friends want to stop them. The issue I had is that too often B didn't seem to follow logically from A. It would be like if a car crashed into a tree, and the driver said 'great, now I have to buy more milk!' and the other passengers are like, 'obviously.' There were too many, 'wait, what?' moments from me.
I did really like the worldbuilding. The different kind of sorcerers and how they were introduced. I liked how Reed's empathetic abilities were explored, although I was a little uncomfortable with how they tied into mental health and depression. Honestly though this is not an area I have enough experience in to know if the books portrayal of that was problematic, though the fatalistic way everyone just seemed to accept that all empaths would struggle with depression and suicide seemed wrong to me.
My favourite part of this book was the seers. I liked that they were common, because normally a seer character is rare and OP in any universe. Here they're a dime a dozen, and they're all competing to push things there own way. Little touches like how two seers can become quick friends by jointly "seeing" all the future conversations they might have was one cool example of the unique approach the book takes to them. Although I have to wonder why things are so bad for sorcerers around the world if there are so many seers on their side?
I guess every aspect of this book I could describe as 'pretty good, but...' And yet somehow all of these flawed parts made up a whole that I couldn't read fast enough. Strangely compelling really is the best way I can describe The Heart of the Circle. A big thanks to netgalley for letting me read it.
Review also posted to The Turned Brain.
Pretty impressive, considering I don't even know if I liked it that much. Hell, I honestly can't even pinpoint why I found it as compelling as I did. Take the prose, for example. It might be a result of the translation (this book was first published in Hebrew), but I found it to be on the clunky side. And yet there was an open quality to it, a complete lack of pretense, that made reading the sentences almost effortless. It literally felt like the story was just flowing into me.
The plot, I should have loved. Not because it's exiting or twisty, but because it's really not the focus. Plots happening in the background while characters angst at each other is basically my favourite flavour of book, but even if the plot is in the background it should still make sense. I mean the plot here isn't too complicated; in a world where sorcerers are both common and discriminated against a far-right group wants to kill all the non-sorcerers and take control. Our protagonist, an empath named Reed, and his friends want to stop them. The issue I had is that too often B didn't seem to follow logically from A. It would be like if a car crashed into a tree, and the driver said 'great, now I have to buy more milk!' and the other passengers are like, 'obviously.' There were too many, 'wait, what?' moments from me.
I did really like the worldbuilding. The different kind of sorcerers and how they were introduced. I liked how Reed's empathetic abilities were explored, although I was a little uncomfortable with how they tied into mental health and depression. Honestly though this is not an area I have enough experience in to know if the books portrayal of that was problematic, though the fatalistic way everyone just seemed to accept that all empaths would struggle with depression and suicide seemed wrong to me.
My favourite part of this book was the seers. I liked that they were common, because normally a seer character is rare and OP in any universe. Here they're a dime a dozen, and they're all competing to push things there own way. Little touches like how two seers can become quick friends by jointly "seeing" all the future conversations they might have was one cool example of the unique approach the book takes to them. Although I have to wonder why things are so bad for sorcerers around the world if there are so many seers on their side?
I guess every aspect of this book I could describe as 'pretty good, but...' And yet somehow all of these flawed parts made up a whole that I couldn't read fast enough. Strangely compelling really is the best way I can describe The Heart of the Circle. A big thanks to netgalley for letting me read it.
Review also posted to The Turned Brain.
August 14, 2019
This book is set in Tel Aviv – Landsman is an Israeli author – and the different setting is just one of a range of aspects that sets this book apart. It is set in an alternate dystopian setting where magic-users around the world face a variety of measures designed to limit their freedom. In the US, they are forced to live in ghettos and while apparently Israeli society is more liberal, it doesn’t prevent many attacks on sorcerers, with most police turning a blind eye to such crimes. Reed is one of those fighting for equal rights for the magical community, putting himself at risk as he serves in a coffee bar. I found his edgy character, with his ability to read and diffuse people’s moods, appealing and sympathetic – even when he was being a bit of a prat, which is when you know the author has nailed her protagonist.
There is also a strong cast of supporting characters, notably his flatmate, Daphne, who is a seer. I like the gritty detail that people who can see into the future or become assailed with other people’s strong emotions are prone to depression and mental illness with a high suicide rate among them – it makes sense. I felt that Landsman had thought through carefully what would be the ongoing consequences for someone cursed with such a gift. In the middle of all this turbulence, Reed falls desperately, helplessly in love with another empath. His same-sex relationship with Lee, an American, grows steadily more intense throughout the book and described with passion and tenderness and while this isn’t principally a romance, this relationship plays a pivotal role in the narrative.
I burned through this book in just over two days, staying awake faaar too long to find out what happens next. I like Landsman’s layered characterisation and trick of writing a situation from the inside out – and would happily read anything else she has written. This is one of my favourite reads of the year so far and is highly recommended for anyone who likes reading about magical worlds with a difference. The ebook arc copy of The Heart of the Circle was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
10/10
There is also a strong cast of supporting characters, notably his flatmate, Daphne, who is a seer. I like the gritty detail that people who can see into the future or become assailed with other people’s strong emotions are prone to depression and mental illness with a high suicide rate among them – it makes sense. I felt that Landsman had thought through carefully what would be the ongoing consequences for someone cursed with such a gift. In the middle of all this turbulence, Reed falls desperately, helplessly in love with another empath. His same-sex relationship with Lee, an American, grows steadily more intense throughout the book and described with passion and tenderness and while this isn’t principally a romance, this relationship plays a pivotal role in the narrative.
I burned through this book in just over two days, staying awake faaar too long to find out what happens next. I like Landsman’s layered characterisation and trick of writing a situation from the inside out – and would happily read anything else she has written. This is one of my favourite reads of the year so far and is highly recommended for anyone who likes reading about magical worlds with a difference. The ebook arc copy of The Heart of the Circle was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
10/10
November 4, 2019
I am really hoping that more people hear about this one. It's an excellent alternate universe, present day where magical talents exist and are dealt with in various ways by each country. We mostly get to see Israel's way, and the conflicts within. There is a prejudicial divide between people with powers and those without, but also factions within each. The book's main conflict has to do with a group of sorcerers who believe that violence will bring about the future they want.
The characters we get to follow are all fantastic and it's a pleasure to become part of their friendships and relationships... and their drive to see if it's possible to stop one of their friends from a future murder. The exploration of their powers is interesting and mixes both tropes and innovation. I especially liked learning about the precognitives.
The characters we get to follow are all fantastic and it's a pleasure to become part of their friendships and relationships... and their drive to see if it's possible to stop one of their friends from a future murder. The exploration of their powers is interesting and mixes both tropes and innovation. I especially liked learning about the precognitives.
April 27, 2025
Well, this was... curious. A really interesting read, with an interesting and unique magic system, but I'm going to have to think about it a bit more, read some reviews, talk to my friend who lives in Tel Aviv, and then sort of mull it over...
I liked the characters and the magic system, but it just didn't make sense to me in a lot of places - I don't know if it's me, the translation, or the book in general. Their idea of pacifism doesn't really square up with my idea of pacifism. And the ending was probably the most confusing part.
It's an allegory for oppression, set in Israel and this could have been very powerful, but I think the execution let it down (for me, at least, until I get some more clarity!). There was also some bi-phobic moments; maybe they were accidental, or I'm being supersensitive but the male MC meets an ex in the first few chapters who is now going out with a girl, and makes the comment: 'maybe there’s hope for us yet finding out we were always attracted to women.' That doesn't sit well with me. As a book supposed to be about equal rights for all... was this a translation issue? It doesn't seem like it...
I'd like to read some more books by Israeli authors (in translation, I don't speak/read Hebrew!), particularly in the fantasy genre. Is this normal for Israeli-written fantasy? I don't want to judge by one book.
I liked the characters and the magic system, but it just didn't make sense to me in a lot of places - I don't know if it's me, the translation, or the book in general. Their idea of pacifism doesn't really square up with my idea of pacifism. And the ending was probably the most confusing part.
It's an allegory for oppression, set in Israel and this could have been very powerful, but I think the execution let it down (for me, at least, until I get some more clarity!). There was also some bi-phobic moments; maybe they were accidental, or I'm being supersensitive but the male MC meets an ex in the first few chapters who is now going out with a girl, and makes the comment: 'maybe there’s hope for us yet finding out we were always attracted to women.' That doesn't sit well with me. As a book supposed to be about equal rights for all... was this a translation issue? It doesn't seem like it...
I'd like to read some more books by Israeli authors (in translation, I don't speak/read Hebrew!), particularly in the fantasy genre. Is this normal for Israeli-written fantasy? I don't want to judge by one book.
August 15, 2018
ממש רציתי לאהוב את הספר. הדמויות שלו נהדרות, היחסים ביניהם והדינמיקה - נפלאים. אבל העולם הרגיש לי לא מספיק מוצק והיה לי קשה לסספנד אותו. ספר טוב, אבל באתי אליו עם ציפיות ממש גבוהות ולצערי הוא לא עמד בהם. שוב, הדמויות נהדרות, אשמח מאוד לקרוא ולגלות מה קורה איתם בעתיד. אבל העולם בהחלט צריך עוד עבודה.
April 25, 2025
I just have no idea how I feel about this book. It definitely had some interesting parts to it but it mostly left me dazed and confused. I feel like I had so many questions and not enough answers. Going to simmer on things.
April 14, 2018
ספר מעולה!!כל כך ישראלי, וחמוד ועצוב ומצחיק ו.. ופשוט תקראו.
August 8, 2019
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I closed this book just a few seconds ago as I type this, and my head is pounding about as hard as my heart is.
Heart of the Circle is a book I’ve been looking forward to for a long time – for at least a year. It was originally published in Israel, and was then translated into English for publication in the West, via Angry Robot, a publisher I have a love/hate relationship with – they find and publish extraordinary books, but their copy-editing often leaves something to be desired.
Well, I hope the final version of this book is a bit more polished than the ARC I received – which had multiple typos and formatting errors – but the book itself? Definitely extraordinary.
HotC is set in a world superficially very similar to our own; it’s a 21st century with mobile phones and cars and barristas and bad tv shows. But this world has sorcerers – people who can manipulate one of the classical elements, see the future, or sense and manipulate the emotions of others. What made my worldbuilding!addict self very happy was the multiple references to sorcerers having existed throughout this world’s history; we hear a bit about sorcerers in the Medieval period, and the effects of colonialist sorcery in Africa, and these things and more have contributed to the myths and stigmas modern sorcerers have to deal with. The attitude towards sorcerers is also not universal; Lee, the love interest of the story, has spent most of his life in the Confederacy – what we know as the USA – where the sorcerer community and culture is very different from what it is in Israel, where our story takes place. Landsman didn’t just slap some magic onto a carbon-copy of our world and call it a day; a lot of thought has gone into creating the world of HotC, and I appreciated all of it. More on that in a bit!
Plot-wise, the blurb is pretty accurate, but drastically undersells the impact and complexity of what’s going on here. In HotC’s Israel, sorcerers are segregated on buses and in schools (I don’t think sorcerers go to schools just for them, but there’s a mention of sorcerer students having to sit in the ‘white space’ during exams, same as the white squares they stand in on the buses), undergo micro-aggressions on a regular basis and full-on hate crimes far too often, and (judging from the slogans chanted during some of the demonstrations) can’t even vote. Reed, our main character, is an empath – what’s known as a ‘moodie’ – working in a cafe, attending rallies when he can and working as a youth counsellor for young sorcerers when he’s off the clock. All of his close friends are sorcerers of one kind or another, and all of them are involved in the political movement for sorcerer rights – something that’s becoming more and more dangerous as the hate group Sons of Simeon becomes progressively more violent. People are dying at the rallies and demonstrations, and the police seem indifferent. It’s a pretty terrible time to be a sorcerer.
And then Reed starts falling for Lee, his ex’s ex, kickstarting a chain of events that leads the Sons of Simeon to paint a bull’s-eye on his back.
Social justice is obviously one of the strongest themes of the book, but not only are there no info-dumping monologues where the writer lectures the reader (Landsman is far too good a writer to need info-dumps of any kind), we’re also presented with a surprisingly wide spectrum of opinions and political stances among the cast. In reality, social justice of any kind is messy and complicated, and even people on the same side often don’t agree on the goals of the movement, never mind the means of reaching those goals. The characters of HotC are realistically diverse in their approaches, opinions, and definitions of success, from the we-must-accept-even-those-who-hurt-us Aurora, to Lee, who calls himself a pacifist, but comes from a community where it’s understood and accepted that anyone who comes after a sorcerer is going home in a body-bag. And absolutely all of them are sometimes too tired or angry or depressed to be social justice warriors all the time – they need time off, to have fun or let off steam or just hide under the blankets for a few hours. It made them all feel incredibly real and human: these aren’t Platonic ideals or paragons of virtue – they’re completely normal people, with terrible taste in music, coffee addictions, and rules about when your roommates can bring their boyfriends over.
I’m not usually a fan of first-person narration, but I think it was the right way to go here, especially with Reed’s sorcery – I’m not sure it could have been conveyed as well in third-person. Empaths regularly deal with intense mood-swings as they pick up on the emotions of those around them, and as the tension mounts towards the second half of the book, being inside Reed’s head really helps you feel the terrifying enormity of the situation he’s in. I spent weeks getting through the first third of the book, picking it up and putting it down again – then read the rest in a little under two days. I couldn’t put it down once things picked up; Landsman’s slightly choppy, bare-bones writing (the complete opposite of the kind of purple prose that generally makes me swoon) was perfect for the boulder-crashing-down-a-hill pacing, the sense of things moving faster and faster, and the walls of a trap closing in.
And I can’t talk a whole lot about what was moving fast, or what the trap is, because that’s really something you need to discover for yourself as you read. But I’m practically bouncing with delight at how cool Landsman’s world is, and I just have to talk about it some more. Especially since so much of it is intimately tied to the plot.
For example: I have never seen empathy-as-superpower like this before. I’m actually in the middle of reading The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen, in which empathy might be a supersensory power, but it’s not exactly a useful one, and it was extra-interesting to be reading these two books side by side – because in HotC, empaths are unquestionably terrifying and very, very badass. Being able to fling fire around might be more cinematic, but when it comes to sorcerer battles, empaths are the ones who make or break a victory, particularly when they’re paired with seers – known as ‘damuses’ in the modern vernacular – who can not only see all the possible timelines, but decide which one they’re in. At one point, Reed describes a training battle from his time in the IDF (in HotC, as in our world, it’s mandatory for everyone to serve a set period in Israel’s military), in which he and his best friend, Daphne, a seer, took on 50 elementalists – and the elementalists still complained that they were outnumbered. Daphne’s job is to pick the timelines in which bullets (or fireballs) don’t hit her or Reed – leaving Reed free to take out the enemy. Seers safeguard, empaths wipe the floor with their opponents, basically. At least once they’ve had a little training.
Empaths are also able to transfer emotions between people, something I don’t think I’ve seen before, and which intrigues me – if emotions are the result of various chemicals and hormones, how can you transfer depression into a brain that’s not depressed? Being able to trigger someone’s brain into creating depression, sure, I can see that, but…well, it’s magic, even if no one quite calls it that. I’m interested, but I don’t need a scientific breakdown of how it works.
This is all really impressive, but about a third of the way through the book there is An Incident in a night-club where we see just what kind of precision a trained empath is capable of, and it is simultaneously jaw-droppingly incredible and, when you stop to think about it, properly terrifying.
Empaths have a particular role in the sorcerer-justice movement – they walk on the edges of the marches ‘listening’ for anyone who means them harm – and they have a unique place in the creation of media, being able to imbue art (including the written word) with emotions that viewers or readers can then feel for themselves. Reed works as a ‘moodifier’ for a bit during the book, and I really would have loved to see more and know more about it – is this how all art all over the world, and throughout history, works??? Are artists not expected to elicit emotions with their art, but just…have those emotions imbued in it after the fact??? If the imbued emotions wear off eventually, how does that work when you’re moodifying a manuscript – will all the printed copies of the book have the emotions in them? I HAVE SO MANY EXCITED QUESTIONS!
Ahem.
But although Reed’s empathy plays an enormous role – it’s an intrinsic part of who he is, something that’s made extra clear when another character points out how he (and other empaths) are useless at reading body language because they’ve never had to learn it – especially in his relationship with fellow empath Lee (and by the way, the way they use their empathy to melt into each other psychically is both beautifully written and far more intimate than sex), the Big Dramatic Plot is much more…dictated? If dictated is the right word? – by the seers, and how their powers work. The silent, invisible battle between rival damuses – all of whom are trying to manifest conflicting timelines where their side comes out on top – is both intricate and chilling. Questions of inevitability, fate and destiny come up hard against free will and personal choice – none of which have easy answers, all of which have costs attached to them. One of the scariest conflicts revolves around Reed making the future he’s been fighting for by being himself – Daphne and the other seers can only help so much, before their interference alters the decisions he’ll make, and therefore the timeline that will be created. It reminded me of Rachel Aaron’s Heartstriker series, where the main character Julius is also a linchpin of a prophet’s plans…but can’t be told anything about those plans without unmaking them. Although I love the Heartstriker series dearly, it did feel a lot less like a tease here, and much more like an inevitable, intrinsic aspect of being surrounded by seers.
Ultimately I think that’s what makes Heart of the Circle really special – how real it all felt. From the slang and subtle hand-signals sorcerers use amongst themselves, to how believable the character relationships and dynamics were, to all the ways great and subtle Landsman’s world differs from ours, this felt like a book I could step through like a doorway and find a real place waiting on the other side. Even the cinematic, X-Men-worthy showdown at the book’s climax didn’t feel unbelievable – on the contrary, I felt like I should be ducking the fireballs and getting under cover! So it is with great delight that I can say that Heart of the Circle lived up to my hopes for it, and I very much hope everyone snags a copy come publication day.
I closed this book just a few seconds ago as I type this, and my head is pounding about as hard as my heart is.
Heart of the Circle is a book I’ve been looking forward to for a long time – for at least a year. It was originally published in Israel, and was then translated into English for publication in the West, via Angry Robot, a publisher I have a love/hate relationship with – they find and publish extraordinary books, but their copy-editing often leaves something to be desired.
Well, I hope the final version of this book is a bit more polished than the ARC I received – which had multiple typos and formatting errors – but the book itself? Definitely extraordinary.
HotC is set in a world superficially very similar to our own; it’s a 21st century with mobile phones and cars and barristas and bad tv shows. But this world has sorcerers – people who can manipulate one of the classical elements, see the future, or sense and manipulate the emotions of others. What made my worldbuilding!addict self very happy was the multiple references to sorcerers having existed throughout this world’s history; we hear a bit about sorcerers in the Medieval period, and the effects of colonialist sorcery in Africa, and these things and more have contributed to the myths and stigmas modern sorcerers have to deal with. The attitude towards sorcerers is also not universal; Lee, the love interest of the story, has spent most of his life in the Confederacy – what we know as the USA – where the sorcerer community and culture is very different from what it is in Israel, where our story takes place. Landsman didn’t just slap some magic onto a carbon-copy of our world and call it a day; a lot of thought has gone into creating the world of HotC, and I appreciated all of it. More on that in a bit!
Plot-wise, the blurb is pretty accurate, but drastically undersells the impact and complexity of what’s going on here. In HotC’s Israel, sorcerers are segregated on buses and in schools (I don’t think sorcerers go to schools just for them, but there’s a mention of sorcerer students having to sit in the ‘white space’ during exams, same as the white squares they stand in on the buses), undergo micro-aggressions on a regular basis and full-on hate crimes far too often, and (judging from the slogans chanted during some of the demonstrations) can’t even vote. Reed, our main character, is an empath – what’s known as a ‘moodie’ – working in a cafe, attending rallies when he can and working as a youth counsellor for young sorcerers when he’s off the clock. All of his close friends are sorcerers of one kind or another, and all of them are involved in the political movement for sorcerer rights – something that’s becoming more and more dangerous as the hate group Sons of Simeon becomes progressively more violent. People are dying at the rallies and demonstrations, and the police seem indifferent. It’s a pretty terrible time to be a sorcerer.
And then Reed starts falling for Lee, his ex’s ex, kickstarting a chain of events that leads the Sons of Simeon to paint a bull’s-eye on his back.
Social justice is obviously one of the strongest themes of the book, but not only are there no info-dumping monologues where the writer lectures the reader (Landsman is far too good a writer to need info-dumps of any kind), we’re also presented with a surprisingly wide spectrum of opinions and political stances among the cast. In reality, social justice of any kind is messy and complicated, and even people on the same side often don’t agree on the goals of the movement, never mind the means of reaching those goals. The characters of HotC are realistically diverse in their approaches, opinions, and definitions of success, from the we-must-accept-even-those-who-hurt-us Aurora, to Lee, who calls himself a pacifist, but comes from a community where it’s understood and accepted that anyone who comes after a sorcerer is going home in a body-bag. And absolutely all of them are sometimes too tired or angry or depressed to be social justice warriors all the time – they need time off, to have fun or let off steam or just hide under the blankets for a few hours. It made them all feel incredibly real and human: these aren’t Platonic ideals or paragons of virtue – they’re completely normal people, with terrible taste in music, coffee addictions, and rules about when your roommates can bring their boyfriends over.
I’m not usually a fan of first-person narration, but I think it was the right way to go here, especially with Reed’s sorcery – I’m not sure it could have been conveyed as well in third-person. Empaths regularly deal with intense mood-swings as they pick up on the emotions of those around them, and as the tension mounts towards the second half of the book, being inside Reed’s head really helps you feel the terrifying enormity of the situation he’s in. I spent weeks getting through the first third of the book, picking it up and putting it down again – then read the rest in a little under two days. I couldn’t put it down once things picked up; Landsman’s slightly choppy, bare-bones writing (the complete opposite of the kind of purple prose that generally makes me swoon) was perfect for the boulder-crashing-down-a-hill pacing, the sense of things moving faster and faster, and the walls of a trap closing in.
And I can’t talk a whole lot about what was moving fast, or what the trap is, because that’s really something you need to discover for yourself as you read. But I’m practically bouncing with delight at how cool Landsman’s world is, and I just have to talk about it some more. Especially since so much of it is intimately tied to the plot.
For example: I have never seen empathy-as-superpower like this before. I’m actually in the middle of reading The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen, in which empathy might be a supersensory power, but it’s not exactly a useful one, and it was extra-interesting to be reading these two books side by side – because in HotC, empaths are unquestionably terrifying and very, very badass. Being able to fling fire around might be more cinematic, but when it comes to sorcerer battles, empaths are the ones who make or break a victory, particularly when they’re paired with seers – known as ‘damuses’ in the modern vernacular – who can not only see all the possible timelines, but decide which one they’re in. At one point, Reed describes a training battle from his time in the IDF (in HotC, as in our world, it’s mandatory for everyone to serve a set period in Israel’s military), in which he and his best friend, Daphne, a seer, took on 50 elementalists – and the elementalists still complained that they were outnumbered. Daphne’s job is to pick the timelines in which bullets (or fireballs) don’t hit her or Reed – leaving Reed free to take out the enemy. Seers safeguard, empaths wipe the floor with their opponents, basically. At least once they’ve had a little training.
Empaths are also able to transfer emotions between people, something I don’t think I’ve seen before, and which intrigues me – if emotions are the result of various chemicals and hormones, how can you transfer depression into a brain that’s not depressed? Being able to trigger someone’s brain into creating depression, sure, I can see that, but…well, it’s magic, even if no one quite calls it that. I’m interested, but I don’t need a scientific breakdown of how it works.
This is all really impressive, but about a third of the way through the book there is An Incident in a night-club where we see just what kind of precision a trained empath is capable of, and it is simultaneously jaw-droppingly incredible and, when you stop to think about it, properly terrifying.
Empaths have a particular role in the sorcerer-justice movement – they walk on the edges of the marches ‘listening’ for anyone who means them harm – and they have a unique place in the creation of media, being able to imbue art (including the written word) with emotions that viewers or readers can then feel for themselves. Reed works as a ‘moodifier’ for a bit during the book, and I really would have loved to see more and know more about it – is this how all art all over the world, and throughout history, works??? Are artists not expected to elicit emotions with their art, but just…have those emotions imbued in it after the fact??? If the imbued emotions wear off eventually, how does that work when you’re moodifying a manuscript – will all the printed copies of the book have the emotions in them? I HAVE SO MANY EXCITED QUESTIONS!
Ahem.
But although Reed’s empathy plays an enormous role – it’s an intrinsic part of who he is, something that’s made extra clear when another character points out how he (and other empaths) are useless at reading body language because they’ve never had to learn it – especially in his relationship with fellow empath Lee (and by the way, the way they use their empathy to melt into each other psychically is both beautifully written and far more intimate than sex), the Big Dramatic Plot is much more…dictated? If dictated is the right word? – by the seers, and how their powers work. The silent, invisible battle between rival damuses – all of whom are trying to manifest conflicting timelines where their side comes out on top – is both intricate and chilling. Questions of inevitability, fate and destiny come up hard against free will and personal choice – none of which have easy answers, all of which have costs attached to them. One of the scariest conflicts revolves around Reed making the future he’s been fighting for by being himself – Daphne and the other seers can only help so much, before their interference alters the decisions he’ll make, and therefore the timeline that will be created. It reminded me of Rachel Aaron’s Heartstriker series, where the main character Julius is also a linchpin of a prophet’s plans…but can’t be told anything about those plans without unmaking them. Although I love the Heartstriker series dearly, it did feel a lot less like a tease here, and much more like an inevitable, intrinsic aspect of being surrounded by seers.
Ultimately I think that’s what makes Heart of the Circle really special – how real it all felt. From the slang and subtle hand-signals sorcerers use amongst themselves, to how believable the character relationships and dynamics were, to all the ways great and subtle Landsman’s world differs from ours, this felt like a book I could step through like a doorway and find a real place waiting on the other side. Even the cinematic, X-Men-worthy showdown at the book’s climax didn’t feel unbelievable – on the contrary, I felt like I should be ducking the fireballs and getting under cover! So it is with great delight that I can say that Heart of the Circle lived up to my hopes for it, and I very much hope everyone snags a copy come publication day.
April 5, 2018
אני חושבת שזה ספר הז’אנר האהוב עליי כרגע.
May 18, 2018
ספר פשוט נהדר. הוא עוקב אחרי גבע, ברמן בבית קפה שבמבט ראשון נראה כי הוא חי חיים רגילים, אך למעשה חיו רחוקים מרגילים, מכיוון שהוא ורוב חברי הם מכשפים. מכשפים שיותר מזכירים את האקסמן מאשר הארי פוטר גם בכוחות שלהם, גם באופן שבו הם משתמשים בהם וגם האופן שבו החברה רואה אתם. ההתחלה של הספר היא די איטית ומתמקדת יותר בחיים האישיים של גבע ולקראת אמצע הספר הוא ממש תופס תאוצה ונהיה מותח ברמה שקשה להניח אותו. שרשרת של אירועים מתחילה להתרחש שתשפיע על חיו לא רק של גבע אלא על כל חבריו והאופן שבו הם יחיו במדינה. כמובן שהספר לא חף מפגמים, כמו למשל שקצת קשה לי היה להבין את הכוחות של כולם עובדים, אבל בסופו של דבר אני מאוד ממליצה על הספר. ויותר מספר המשך הייתי רוצה דווקא פריקוול לספר הזה לראות את העבר החילופי או המקביל שהספר רק נוגע בו.
April 3, 2018
קרן כתבה ספר נפלא, מעניין, רגיש. פנטזיה אורבנית מצויינת וישראלית כל כך.
May 4, 2018
ספר נהדר. מותח מאוד, בייחוד כשהוא מתקדם לקראת הסוף. הדמויות נהדרות, נוגעות ללב ואנושיות מאוד. פנטזיה ישראלית במיטבה.
August 13, 2019
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Heart of the Circle is a new adult SF/magical realism novel set in modern Tel-Aviv by Keren Landsman. Originally published in 2018, this English translation was published 13 Aug 2019 by Angry Robot. It's 400 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.
The central themes of isolation, acceptance, love, diversity, racism, and betrayal are all present and accounted for. The world building was more or less nonexistent, it's Tel Aviv, and it's quite believable. The magic system is very well done and also believable. Empaths, seers, and other mages/psychics are shunned and discriminated against openly. People fear them, they're literally made to stand in the back of the bus. Against this background, protagonist Reed (an empath) and his friends become politically active to push back against the prejudice and violence.
There's a great deal of angst, a lot of rough language, violence, and a fair bit of sex. It's a compelling read, though I can't put my finger on why it was so compelling for me. I was very interested in the psychosocial changes which accompanied the magic world-building. The fact that the psychic connections are strengthened by physical touch puts a whole new spin on handshakes and hugs, and the author explores that subtly but well. There was also a subplot involving Reed's ex who had moved on to another relationship with a woman. The exploration of the subtle but present bias against bi-sexual people, even (especially?) from people who identify as gay was refreshing to see.
The translation work is good, but not seamless. There are several places in the book where I noticed the prose was off, slightly mechanical or plodding. All in all though it was a very well written book and a good read. The mystery subplot wasn't the main attraction for me about this book, and I wouldn't really recommend it for mystery fans looking for something a little speculative/SF. This is a solid choice for NA/possibly mature YA (language, sex, violent content would make this iffy for YA). It could be a good choice for speculative fiction buddy read or book club selection.
Four stars. Looking forward to seeing more from this author. I've read and reviewed several books recently besides this one which were written by physicians, and they were all good. Maybe we need more ridiculously well trained academically inclined authors writing SF!
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Heart of the Circle is a new adult SF/magical realism novel set in modern Tel-Aviv by Keren Landsman. Originally published in 2018, this English translation was published 13 Aug 2019 by Angry Robot. It's 400 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.
The central themes of isolation, acceptance, love, diversity, racism, and betrayal are all present and accounted for. The world building was more or less nonexistent, it's Tel Aviv, and it's quite believable. The magic system is very well done and also believable. Empaths, seers, and other mages/psychics are shunned and discriminated against openly. People fear them, they're literally made to stand in the back of the bus. Against this background, protagonist Reed (an empath) and his friends become politically active to push back against the prejudice and violence.
There's a great deal of angst, a lot of rough language, violence, and a fair bit of sex. It's a compelling read, though I can't put my finger on why it was so compelling for me. I was very interested in the psychosocial changes which accompanied the magic world-building. The fact that the psychic connections are strengthened by physical touch puts a whole new spin on handshakes and hugs, and the author explores that subtly but well. There was also a subplot involving Reed's ex who had moved on to another relationship with a woman. The exploration of the subtle but present bias against bi-sexual people, even (especially?) from people who identify as gay was refreshing to see.
The translation work is good, but not seamless. There are several places in the book where I noticed the prose was off, slightly mechanical or plodding. All in all though it was a very well written book and a good read. The mystery subplot wasn't the main attraction for me about this book, and I wouldn't really recommend it for mystery fans looking for something a little speculative/SF. This is a solid choice for NA/possibly mature YA (language, sex, violent content would make this iffy for YA). It could be a good choice for speculative fiction buddy read or book club selection.
Four stars. Looking forward to seeing more from this author. I've read and reviewed several books recently besides this one which were written by physicians, and they were all good. Maybe we need more ridiculously well trained academically inclined authors writing SF!
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
November 3, 2019
The Heart of the Circle is a fantasy novel set in an alternate world version of Israel, where some people are born with the power of sorcery. These people are shunned and segregated from much of the rest of society.
The story centres around an empath, Reed, and his friends. There are attacks on sorcerors and they are being killed. Reed becomes involved in trying to find out who is behind these attacks, but he is also putting himself and his friends in danger.
I really like the concept of the alternate world this book is based in. There are various different types of sorcerors, who are born with their powers. They have formed their own kind of underground society since they are not always welcome in the company of the normies. I like the ideas the author had about having white doors and white sections of the bus to be used by sorcerors only as a way of separating them from other people. I think the discrimination against the sorcerors is easily relatable to our society and the discrimination many people have really suffered throughout history.
I also really liked the plot of the book. It wasn't particularly unique or different, but it was a solid idea - someone is killing sorcerors, and Reed and his friends were trying to find out who it was and stop them. There was also a bit of a love story going on for Reed, which added another important dimension to the book. Alongside that, a lot of the book followed Reed in his life. You learned about his work, daily life, his past, his family and friends, and this did make the book a lot more rich and deep. You truly felt like you knew Reed by the end of the book.
However, the pace of the book is very slow and it is pretty long. Although it was well written, descriptive and emotional, I found it quite hard to get through and it took me a while to read this book. I wouldn't say that I didn't enjoy it, but I was quite glad when I reached the end. This is definitely more of a drama than a thriller, and if you like a hard hitting, fast paced book then this is not for you.
The story centres around an empath, Reed, and his friends. There are attacks on sorcerors and they are being killed. Reed becomes involved in trying to find out who is behind these attacks, but he is also putting himself and his friends in danger.
I really like the concept of the alternate world this book is based in. There are various different types of sorcerors, who are born with their powers. They have formed their own kind of underground society since they are not always welcome in the company of the normies. I like the ideas the author had about having white doors and white sections of the bus to be used by sorcerors only as a way of separating them from other people. I think the discrimination against the sorcerors is easily relatable to our society and the discrimination many people have really suffered throughout history.
I also really liked the plot of the book. It wasn't particularly unique or different, but it was a solid idea - someone is killing sorcerors, and Reed and his friends were trying to find out who it was and stop them. There was also a bit of a love story going on for Reed, which added another important dimension to the book. Alongside that, a lot of the book followed Reed in his life. You learned about his work, daily life, his past, his family and friends, and this did make the book a lot more rich and deep. You truly felt like you knew Reed by the end of the book.
However, the pace of the book is very slow and it is pretty long. Although it was well written, descriptive and emotional, I found it quite hard to get through and it took me a while to read this book. I wouldn't say that I didn't enjoy it, but I was quite glad when I reached the end. This is definitely more of a drama than a thriller, and if you like a hard hitting, fast paced book then this is not for you.
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