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Volsky's Parallel Universe #5
The Grand Ellipse
The Grand Ellipse
In the modern, civilized republic of Vonahr, a land blessed with gaslight, steam engines, and indoor plumbing, the need for magic seems a thing of the past. But soon the Vonahrish will find that magic is their only hope--for an unstoppable evil is on the march. The Grewzians, an imperialistic race of fanatics, are intent on conquering the world. Nation after nation has disappeared down the maw of these barbaric invaders. No one has been able to halt them--and now they are massing on Vonahr's borders. But the Vonahrish still have one slim chance for salvation. In a nearby neutral kingdom, a brilliant savant has conjured up the ultimate Sentient Fire, a miraculous flame that responds to the command of its maker. The potential military value of such a discovery is immeasurable. But Low Hetz's mad, flamboyant king refuses to relinquish the secret and jeopardize his nation's neutrality. And so the desperate government of Vonahr, unable to take no for an answer, has come up with an enterprising plan.... Her name is Luzelle Devaire. An intrepid adventurer of rare beauty, she is exactly the sort to appeal to the king's weakness for exquisite women. There is just one To obtain an audience, Luzelle must enter and win the Grand Ellipse, King Miltzin's extraordinary test of endurance, ingenuity, and valor--a race that will cover distant lands and harsh terrain. To the daring Luzelle, it is a challenge worth taking, for she has her own reasons for wanting to win. But it won't be easy--ahead lie more obstacles, more mystery, and more perils than she ever dreamed. The race is on...and the future of the world rests on its outcome. Superbly written and imbued with drama and magic, poignancy and power, The Grand Ellipse is fantasy at its finest--unforgettable and deliciously entertaining.
In the modern, civilized republic of Vonahr, a land blessed with gaslight, steam engines, and indoor plumbing, the need for magic seems a thing of the past. But soon the Vonahrish will find that magic is their only hope--for an unstoppable evil is on the march. The Grewzians, an imperialistic race of fanatics, are intent on conquering the world. Nation after nation has disappeared down the maw of these barbaric invaders. No one has been able to halt them--and now they are massing on Vonahr's borders. But the Vonahrish still have one slim chance for salvation. In a nearby neutral kingdom, a brilliant savant has conjured up the ultimate Sentient Fire, a miraculous flame that responds to the command of its maker. The potential military value of such a discovery is immeasurable. But Low Hetz's mad, flamboyant king refuses to relinquish the secret and jeopardize his nation's neutrality. And so the desperate government of Vonahr, unable to take no for an answer, has come up with an enterprising plan.... Her name is Luzelle Devaire. An intrepid adventurer of rare beauty, she is exactly the sort to appeal to the king's weakness for exquisite women. There is just one To obtain an audience, Luzelle must enter and win the Grand Ellipse, King Miltzin's extraordinary test of endurance, ingenuity, and valor--a race that will cover distant lands and harsh terrain. To the daring Luzelle, it is a challenge worth taking, for she has her own reasons for wanting to win. But it won't be easy--ahead lie more obstacles, more mystery, and more perils than she ever dreamed. The race is on...and the future of the world rests on its outcome. Superbly written and imbued with drama and magic, poignancy and power, The Grand Ellipse is fantasy at its finest--unforgettable and deliciously entertaining.
549 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2000
About the author
Paula Volsky
23 books106 followersPaula Volsky is an American fantasy author. Born in Fanwood, New Jersey, she majored in English literature at liberal arts college Vassar in New York State. At the University of Birmingham, England, she received an M.A. in Shakespearian studies. Before writing fantasy, she sold real estate and also worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Illusion, The Wolf of Winter, The Gates of Twilight, The White Tribunal, and The Grand Ellipse all take place within the same fictional world, with fantasy plot-lines inspired by historical events.
Paula Volsky also writes under the pseudonym of Paula Brandon
Illusion, The Wolf of Winter, The Gates of Twilight, The White Tribunal, and The Grand Ellipse all take place within the same fictional world, with fantasy plot-lines inspired by historical events.
Paula Volsky also writes under the pseudonym of Paula Brandon
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September 26, 2011Well, this is an odd one. Mostly it's a rather good, light, very readable steampunk romp with a likeable heroine with conveniently 21st century sensibilities. The main flaw in this respect is that while theres a certain lip service paid to the Evils of Colonialism, with lots of suffering downtrodden natives and so on, all the actual non-psuedo-european characters who appear are firmly meesteerious easterners or savage southerners.
But then theres the political subplot. While the main story is lots of feisty Victorian adventuress and her cute love interests quite faithfully racing around the world/recreating a mediocre backpacking blog - lots of waiting for trains, having awkward conversations with people who's language you don't actually know, being leered at by creepy men and seeing things you've already seen in photographs - the war story is brutal, firmly twentieth century and based on some combination of the World Wars.
It's a strangely juxtaposition. I didn't quite know how finely to tune my moral radar - how do I regard the heroine's spending a chapter angsting over sabotaging another racer's carriage in a shocking display of poor sportsmanship, when a few chapters later she witnesses an Einsatzgruppen style mass murder of an entire village? Likewise, the whole steampunk-victoriana aesthetic is wildly jarring against the WW2 backdrop. They simply come in entirely different color palettes.
The individualist focus of the former plot becomes almost tragically absurd with the industrialized mass murder connotations of the latter. In particular the subplot about the development of a new magic weapon, quite clearly standing in for the atomic bomb, is drawn as broad farce, all sex, secret identities and funny sounding food. I might suspect theres a certain commentary there, but it never quite makes it, and the end wraps everything up to easily and exquisitely neatly, never managing to bring together the contradictions.
It's largely a fun, lively read that can't decide what period it's sticking too and, to my eye at least, ends up (probably) unintentionally casting it's idealized Victorianism in a strangely unflattering, almost bizarre light. It's definitely an interesting read though, and perhaps i'm just over-analyzing. Then again, whats the fun otherwise?
But then theres the political subplot. While the main story is lots of feisty Victorian adventuress and her cute love interests quite faithfully racing around the world/recreating a mediocre backpacking blog - lots of waiting for trains, having awkward conversations with people who's language you don't actually know, being leered at by creepy men and seeing things you've already seen in photographs - the war story is brutal, firmly twentieth century and based on some combination of the World Wars.
It's a strangely juxtaposition. I didn't quite know how finely to tune my moral radar - how do I regard the heroine's spending a chapter angsting over sabotaging another racer's carriage in a shocking display of poor sportsmanship, when a few chapters later she witnesses an Einsatzgruppen style mass murder of an entire village? Likewise, the whole steampunk-victoriana aesthetic is wildly jarring against the WW2 backdrop. They simply come in entirely different color palettes.
The individualist focus of the former plot becomes almost tragically absurd with the industrialized mass murder connotations of the latter. In particular the subplot about the development of a new magic weapon, quite clearly standing in for the atomic bomb, is drawn as broad farce, all sex, secret identities and funny sounding food. I might suspect theres a certain commentary there, but it never quite makes it, and the end wraps everything up to easily and exquisitely neatly, never managing to bring together the contradictions.
It's largely a fun, lively read that can't decide what period it's sticking too and, to my eye at least, ends up (probably) unintentionally casting it's idealized Victorianism in a strangely unflattering, almost bizarre light. It's definitely an interesting read though, and perhaps i'm just over-analyzing. Then again, whats the fun otherwise?
December 5, 2014
I think the book actually deserves three and a half stars, but can't bring myself to round up to four stars because of a few elements I found problematic.
Volsky is one of those rare writers of fiction who is good at plotting, characterization, and prose. Most can do one, a few can do two, but Volsky can do all three. However, because of this I may actually have found myself a little less willing to overlook flaws in the book. It's like how the movies I tend to be the most frustrated with are the ones that demonstrate skill but don't *quite* attain the level of quality promised by the capability of its creators. I can accept a bad movie's awfulness, and revel in it; but with a good movie that is almost great, I notice every flaw. And that tension for me was present with this book.
I make this digression to make it clear that, although this review is mostly negative and I point out what I think are a few serious problems, I actually thought it was a good book and would recommend it.
Now, for the dirt--I thought this book had four main flaws.
1) The book mostly sticks to the narrative of Luzelle Devair, the protagonist, as she competes in a "round-the-globe" race. The premise is that the sponsor of the race, flighty, womanizing King Miltzin, possesses a "sentient fire" with the potential to halt the advance of a brutal, world-conquering army that threatens Luzelle's home country; with this in mind, Luzelle is commissioned by her government to win the race and persuade the king to provide access to the sentient fire. This is all well and good; the problem is, every few chapters the narrative devotes several pages to the interaction between the king and his magician who controls the fire. Every time, I found it tedious and pointless. The narrative would have been much improved had Miltzin's scenes been left out entirely. Not only was he one-dimensional in a story that otherwise displayed surprisingly adept characterization, but I thought his scenes uninteresting and a drag on the narrative. Worse are light-hearted depictions of his obsessions with high-society women; a scene late in the novel establishes that his serial philandering involves his use of alcohol and his authority to seduce women against their will, and yet this is written as a comical affectation and not, you know, rape.
2) Speaking of problematic gender portrayals, one of the things I most appreciated about this novel is that Luzelle is strong-willed, independent, and assertive in an extremely sexist world with fairly strictly enforced gender roles, which women like Luzelle were actively struggling against. And yet every time she runs into one of the male characters, she practically swoons. To be fair, there is a love triangle of sorts, and her interactions with the second man, her former fiancee, are more consistent with the characterization of Luzelle; their interactions are a complex mix of mutual attraction and antagonism characterized by well-written verbal sparring.
3) The race is in the shape of an ellipse, making a circuit of all the continents; however, the first half of the race takes up probably 80% of the book, and the last half feels rushed to the point where one chapter ends with her at the beginning of a vast continent that marks the second half of the race, and the next chapter begins as she enters the last country on that continent. It reads as though the author realized she was taking too long and needed to wrap things up, and the narrative suffers by descending into summary and omission as a result.
4) Two of the countries she passes through read like a stereotyped Middle East with oppressive, misogynist attitudes, and a sort of cross between Africa and South America, complete with savage cannibals. It's done in a way that plays on and reinforces racist tropes, rather than undermines them or makes them complex; that the narrator is clearly sympathetic to the savage cannibals only suggests a sort of benevolent, "white man's burden" paternalistic racism rather than the more genocidal strains. The racist tropes extend to the point of having a dark-skinned native laden with the ominous threat of raping the protagonist, hearkening to countless decades of real-life racist fear-mongering against black males in the United States, constructing false narratives about their base animal nature and the constant threat that they may carry off and rape innocent, civilized white women. The entire scene in the book made me really uncomfortable for the way it played off this racist fear; that the narrator later battens down her fears and defends the native in no way lessens his ominous nature, but only serves to deflect attention from it by portraying her as enlightened, while still reinforcing the racism embedded in the portrayal of the native.
I would love to see the author revisit this work and substantially revise the narrator's interactions with the native peoples, and revise or cut the parts with King Miltzin. Although I think the above issues are serious flaws, Volsky is a good writer, and I hope she avoids these flaws in her other books; I'd say she shows the potential to reach the league of top-notch SF&F writers like Kate Elliott, whose work this reminded me of (minus the problematic elements).
Volsky is one of those rare writers of fiction who is good at plotting, characterization, and prose. Most can do one, a few can do two, but Volsky can do all three. However, because of this I may actually have found myself a little less willing to overlook flaws in the book. It's like how the movies I tend to be the most frustrated with are the ones that demonstrate skill but don't *quite* attain the level of quality promised by the capability of its creators. I can accept a bad movie's awfulness, and revel in it; but with a good movie that is almost great, I notice every flaw. And that tension for me was present with this book.
I make this digression to make it clear that, although this review is mostly negative and I point out what I think are a few serious problems, I actually thought it was a good book and would recommend it.
Now, for the dirt--I thought this book had four main flaws.
1) The book mostly sticks to the narrative of Luzelle Devair, the protagonist, as she competes in a "round-the-globe" race. The premise is that the sponsor of the race, flighty, womanizing King Miltzin, possesses a "sentient fire" with the potential to halt the advance of a brutal, world-conquering army that threatens Luzelle's home country; with this in mind, Luzelle is commissioned by her government to win the race and persuade the king to provide access to the sentient fire. This is all well and good; the problem is, every few chapters the narrative devotes several pages to the interaction between the king and his magician who controls the fire. Every time, I found it tedious and pointless. The narrative would have been much improved had Miltzin's scenes been left out entirely. Not only was he one-dimensional in a story that otherwise displayed surprisingly adept characterization, but I thought his scenes uninteresting and a drag on the narrative. Worse are light-hearted depictions of his obsessions with high-society women; a scene late in the novel establishes that his serial philandering involves his use of alcohol and his authority to seduce women against their will, and yet this is written as a comical affectation and not, you know, rape.
2) Speaking of problematic gender portrayals, one of the things I most appreciated about this novel is that Luzelle is strong-willed, independent, and assertive in an extremely sexist world with fairly strictly enforced gender roles, which women like Luzelle were actively struggling against. And yet every time she runs into one of the male characters, she practically swoons. To be fair, there is a love triangle of sorts, and her interactions with the second man, her former fiancee, are more consistent with the characterization of Luzelle; their interactions are a complex mix of mutual attraction and antagonism characterized by well-written verbal sparring.
3) The race is in the shape of an ellipse, making a circuit of all the continents; however, the first half of the race takes up probably 80% of the book, and the last half feels rushed to the point where one chapter ends with her at the beginning of a vast continent that marks the second half of the race, and the next chapter begins as she enters the last country on that continent. It reads as though the author realized she was taking too long and needed to wrap things up, and the narrative suffers by descending into summary and omission as a result.
4) Two of the countries she passes through read like a stereotyped Middle East with oppressive, misogynist attitudes, and a sort of cross between Africa and South America, complete with savage cannibals. It's done in a way that plays on and reinforces racist tropes, rather than undermines them or makes them complex; that the narrator is clearly sympathetic to the savage cannibals only suggests a sort of benevolent, "white man's burden" paternalistic racism rather than the more genocidal strains. The racist tropes extend to the point of having a dark-skinned native laden with the ominous threat of raping the protagonist, hearkening to countless decades of real-life racist fear-mongering against black males in the United States, constructing false narratives about their base animal nature and the constant threat that they may carry off and rape innocent, civilized white women. The entire scene in the book made me really uncomfortable for the way it played off this racist fear; that the narrator later battens down her fears and defends the native in no way lessens his ominous nature, but only serves to deflect attention from it by portraying her as enlightened, while still reinforcing the racism embedded in the portrayal of the native.
I would love to see the author revisit this work and substantially revise the narrator's interactions with the native peoples, and revise or cut the parts with King Miltzin. Although I think the above issues are serious flaws, Volsky is a good writer, and I hope she avoids these flaws in her other books; I'd say she shows the potential to reach the league of top-notch SF&F writers like Kate Elliott, whose work this reminded me of (minus the problematic elements).
July 13, 2009
Teaser: As two countries are on the brink of war, a great race, across several lands and seas, is being held. The prize is extremely valuable; the winner gets an audience with the king of the 'outcast' country.
A strong-willed anthropologist (a profession and attitude that sickens her traditional parents) gets approached to compete in the race. Her audience with the outcast King is crucial to prevent the impeding war. She has an undeniable thirst for adventure and reluctantly agrees to participate. As she boards the first ship to start the race, she runs into a fellow racer who makes her blood boil--her pompous, traditional ex-fiance.
Short Thought: Very complicated, hard to follow 'world,' but enjoyable and interesting none the less.
Expanded Thoughts: This was the first 'steam-punk' novel that I have read in quite awhile. The cover and the plot teaser caught me. (Dang those marketing people!) It had a pretty good plot, but all the long country and character names and such confused the snot out of me. I know that doesn't bother some people, but when you have 50 made up words in one paragraph it irritates me. I feel like I am back in history class and need to make an outline or relationship diagram to figure out the significance in what the freak just happened. (whoa, we'll stop this before a rant starts...heh).
The characters, albeit a little cliche, were great and entertaining. I always love a lead female who battles the societal, gender constraints put on her by the more traditional ways. The love story was very entertaining as well as the ideas of the fantastic "race around the world", but some items felt rushed and underdeveloped.
Especially Recommended For: Fans of 'Around the World in 80 Days,' Women Studies enthusiasts, Long Time Fantasy Fans Looking for a change of pace, Steampunk fans, and fans of non-vulgar romances
A strong-willed anthropologist (a profession and attitude that sickens her traditional parents) gets approached to compete in the race. Her audience with the outcast King is crucial to prevent the impeding war. She has an undeniable thirst for adventure and reluctantly agrees to participate. As she boards the first ship to start the race, she runs into a fellow racer who makes her blood boil--her pompous, traditional ex-fiance.
Short Thought: Very complicated, hard to follow 'world,' but enjoyable and interesting none the less.
Expanded Thoughts: This was the first 'steam-punk' novel that I have read in quite awhile. The cover and the plot teaser caught me. (Dang those marketing people!) It had a pretty good plot, but all the long country and character names and such confused the snot out of me. I know that doesn't bother some people, but when you have 50 made up words in one paragraph it irritates me. I feel like I am back in history class and need to make an outline or relationship diagram to figure out the significance in what the freak just happened. (whoa, we'll stop this before a rant starts...heh).
The characters, albeit a little cliche, were great and entertaining. I always love a lead female who battles the societal, gender constraints put on her by the more traditional ways. The love story was very entertaining as well as the ideas of the fantastic "race around the world", but some items felt rushed and underdeveloped.
Especially Recommended For: Fans of 'Around the World in 80 Days,' Women Studies enthusiasts, Long Time Fantasy Fans Looking for a change of pace, Steampunk fans, and fans of non-vulgar romances
July 5, 2008
I don't know of another fantasy writer like Paula Volsky. Her books are set in the same loosely connected world, which is much like ours in the late 18th and early 19th century. This story takes place about 100 years after the events depicted in Illusion.
The protagonist is a very interesting young woman who reminds me a great deal of Gertrude Bell. The Grand Ellipse is a race in a grand ellipse around the world, and Luzelle is one of the contestants. She is impulsive, bright, determined, and unafraid of the limelight. The cast of supporting characters is fascinating, too.
And, as usual, Volsky is not at all afraid to kill off supporting characters with virtually no warning. She has a knack for doing this in a way that leaves the reader a bit stunned.
Volsky's world is a rich and memorable one, but her characters are what really make her books. That said, she has finally included a map in this book, so readers of her other books will now be able to see how the various settings relate to each other.
Finally, Volsky's books are standalone books. They can be read in just about any order. And they are all worth reading. Of the series, this one and Illusion are my favorites.
The protagonist is a very interesting young woman who reminds me a great deal of Gertrude Bell. The Grand Ellipse is a race in a grand ellipse around the world, and Luzelle is one of the contestants. She is impulsive, bright, determined, and unafraid of the limelight. The cast of supporting characters is fascinating, too.
And, as usual, Volsky is not at all afraid to kill off supporting characters with virtually no warning. She has a knack for doing this in a way that leaves the reader a bit stunned.
Volsky's world is a rich and memorable one, but her characters are what really make her books. That said, she has finally included a map in this book, so readers of her other books will now be able to see how the various settings relate to each other.
Finally, Volsky's books are standalone books. They can be read in just about any order. And they are all worth reading. Of the series, this one and Illusion are my favorites.
July 3, 2011
The Grand Ellipse asks (and seeks to answer) the questions:
If you answered "maybe" or "no" to any of these questions, I recommend:
because although The Grand Ellipse answers these questions affirmatively, it does so in such an overt and heavy-handed manner that it's less likely to convert you than to foment a visceral rebellion as a reaction to the blatant propagandizing.
In the much more likely event you answered "yes" to each of the questions, the incessant moralizing gets a bit tedious. However, some of the fantasy elements are fantastic enough (and original, like the episode with the "Quiet Fellows")to make this book reasonably enjoyable (even though the ending seems to justify the use of nuclear weapons).
If you're looking for a good fantasy book by Paula Volsky without the sermonizing, try The Luck of Relian Kru
1. Is Colonialism evil?
2. Should women be equal citizens?
3. Can individual citizens of a country with a wicked foreign policy be good?
If you answered "maybe" or "no" to any of these questions, I recommend:
1. Reading Heart of Darkness
2. Talking to your mother or sister
3. Reading the history of your own country
because although The Grand Ellipse answers these questions affirmatively, it does so in such an overt and heavy-handed manner that it's less likely to convert you than to foment a visceral rebellion as a reaction to the blatant propagandizing.
In the much more likely event you answered "yes" to each of the questions, the incessant moralizing gets a bit tedious. However, some of the fantasy elements are fantastic enough (and original, like the episode with the "Quiet Fellows")to make this book reasonably enjoyable (even though the ending seems to justify the use of nuclear weapons).
If you're looking for a good fantasy book by Paula Volsky without the sermonizing, try The Luck of Relian Kru
June 21, 2008
Really cool book. It takes the victorian era of our world and adds magic to it. It's basically a quest novel where you know that no matter what, the main girl is gonna win and get her guy, which still only manages to dampen the novels spark a little bit. The writing is all there, the characters are awesome, and while it does read as a re-make of Around the World in 80 Days, it still holds its own plot-wise. I'd recommend this to most any voracious reader.
June 26, 2009
I really enjoyed the strong female character in the book and the fascinating world. I admired Volsky's chracterization--her characters are likeable, memorable, and interesting, and nobody's perfect. The pacing is good, with plenty of twists and turns. All in all a great read.
May 16, 2012
Nice light read, highly reminiscent of Around the World in 80 Days. There is a message, but Volsky is smart enough not to whack the reader over the head with it. (Might be considered steampunk by some.)
August 6, 2015
This is a long and good adventure story. But wow the ending was way too quick, tidy, and unemotional. I go through 600 pages only to have everything slapped together. I needed a more fleshed out ending, this felt like Paula had a deadline breathing down her neck and she had to stay up late to slam it all closed. Also it would have been great to see Luzell's father's reaction at the end because didn't think, as a woman, she should be learning, exploring, and giving lectures. I would have eaten up a scene with him admitting his mistake.
December 29, 2008
This book reminds me rather strongly of a couple of movies: The Great Race, and the more recent version of Around the World in 80 Days. Like those two movies (I haven't read the book version of Around the World in 80 Days, so I can't comment on that), there's essentially a race to get around the world.
The impelling reason for the race is a little thin, but the characters are fun. There are a few parts that are more gruesome than I would like. I may read it again sometime.
The impelling reason for the race is a little thin, but the characters are fun. There are a few parts that are more gruesome than I would like. I may read it again sometime.
August 9, 2011
Probably the second most complete of Ms. Volsky's books and well worth the wait, since we get to see more of Volsky's impressive world than ever before. Her attention to detail, even down to how fantasy characters deal with a multiplicity of languages, makes the book a must-read for fantasy aficionados as well as anyone who likes a good romping adventure! Unfortunately, this book is - at present - also her last. A shame since Ms. Volsky's work is incomprable to any other.
February 20, 2015
The Grand Ellipse is the tale of a pseudo-19th century international balloon race, which had a strong flavor of Jules Verne, blending strangely with the fantasy elements. It was good… ish. Didn't hate it, but didn’t love it; didn’t love the characters, though they were more interesting than in many VLFN's; thought the attempt at light Regency-esque froth was a little forced. Not her best.
March 25, 2008
Adventuress seeks to save her country from invasion. To do this, she needs the secret of Sentient Fire--and to get that, she needs to win the Grand Ellipse. This story is basically Around the World in 80 Days in an alternate WWII-era Europe.
December 11, 2008
It reads like a Victorian version of the Amazing Race. Steamships, balloons, gliders, and a liberal spoonful of the arcane. Fun read, well written.
The heroine has several romantic entanglements, so if you like romance novels this will appeal to you.
The heroine has several romantic entanglements, so if you like romance novels this will appeal to you.
November 29, 2020
In this quasi-Victorian steampunk setting, our heroine is introduced to us as a well-traveled adventuress who has been to jungles filled with cannibal tribesmen and returned with a message of cultural relativism and understanding. It is partially for this reason she is selected to represent her nation in the Grand Ellipse, an "Around the World in Eighty Days" style race that will take contestants throughout the known world. But immediately upon embarking, the protagonist behaves as though she has never left home before. She who has supposed to have slept in tents and lived in peace with a stone-age jungle tribe long enough to learn their language quails at the notion of bad sheets in a private stateroom. It seems half the book is her cringing or complaining. And since this is a fantasy, you would think at some point her first and second reactions upon being told of a local magical talent or tradition would not be how absurd and pointless the notion is, especially since every single time she dismisses such a thing it turns out she is wrong. Worse, despite her alleged travel experience, she proves incapable of planning ahead, contriving instead to be surprised by almost every setback, no matter how predictable. She purchases clothing at one port, crosses the sea, arrives at another, and pats herself on the back for her good fortune in having included an umbrella among her purchases, because it is the rainy season in the land of her arrival. It seems a truly experienced traveler would have known the climate of the place she was going before she went. This, along with the protagonist's puerile romance with her ex-fiancee, now-competitor, which is of the irritatingly common "bicker-bicker-bicker-kiss" type, makes much of The Grand Ellipse kind of a bother.
So why read it? Well, Paula Volsky writes an amusing travelogue with pleasant side details, especially of flora, fauna, and geography. Some of the sights described, such as a sheer cliff covered with wriggling blue lichen-sucking worms catching the sun and appearing as an undulating azure wall jutting out of the sea, are sure to stick with me. And considering the main character seems to have wandered out of a bodice-ripper, Volsky is remarkably unsentimental: death and even war atrocity is dealt with in a clear-eyed manner that adds suspense to her work. That was enough for me to keep plugging through The Grand Ellipse, even though if I knew what I was getting into before I started reading, I don't know that I would have cracked open the covers.
So why read it? Well, Paula Volsky writes an amusing travelogue with pleasant side details, especially of flora, fauna, and geography. Some of the sights described, such as a sheer cliff covered with wriggling blue lichen-sucking worms catching the sun and appearing as an undulating azure wall jutting out of the sea, are sure to stick with me. And considering the main character seems to have wandered out of a bodice-ripper, Volsky is remarkably unsentimental: death and even war atrocity is dealt with in a clear-eyed manner that adds suspense to her work. That was enough for me to keep plugging through The Grand Ellipse, even though if I knew what I was getting into before I started reading, I don't know that I would have cracked open the covers.
October 8, 2022
This book was surprisingly enjoyable to read. I thought it would be like Around the World in Eighty Days, but it was so much more. In a fantasy world, a self-styled adept has created a form of fire that is green and responds to his mental commands. The rulers other nations in the world all want this potential military weapon, but the king who sponsors the adept claims neutrality. The king is portrayed as a man who has whims and when he does he follows them whole-heartedly. His latest is to sponsor a contest, the Grand Ellipse, in which contestants from many nations follow a prescribed route through many countries. The government of Vonahr sends two entrants, a woman they hope will win and then get the ear of the King to offer a substantial sum for the so-called Sentient Fire, and a man to make sure she wins. The series of experiences are mostly followed through the eyes of this woman, Luzelle Devaire, and many are much more dangerous than anything Phineas Fogg ever encountered. Along the way she, the other contestants, and the reader learn about the atrocities the nation of Grewzia are willing to inflict on the peoples of the lands they’ve recently conquered or otherwise made part of their imperium. The political angle of the story brings to mind the land grabs by Germany during WWII, but also more recent events.
May 19, 2021
2.5 stars rounded down. More than anything, this novel just feels dated 21 years after it was published. The villain is cartoonishly flat, the love triangle gets resolved in a unsatisfactory way, as does the general plot, and the heroine is the stock middle-class liberated woman.
And then there's the trip around the world. One of the more glaring issues is that the protagonist is OK with colonialism on her side (the French-equivalent Shereen) side but not the side of the German-equivalent Grewzland empire. Volsky could have addressed this in the text, showing, say, how Shereen also misuses its power in its colonies but the protagonist ignores it. However, I'm not sure that the author would have found Shereen's colonies to be a problem.
This issue for me is only heightened for me by having just read Arkady Martine's books on empire that manage to show more morally complex characters and the ways in which they interact with an imperial hegemony. Compared to the finesse of Martine's writing, Volsky's writing comes across as ham-handed and simplistic. This book has been sitting on my shelves for 9 years and I think I would have liked it better had I read it when I bought it in 2012, but I'm relieved that I can finally let it go.
And then there's the trip around the world. One of the more glaring issues is that the protagonist is OK with colonialism on her side (the French-equivalent Shereen) side but not the side of the German-equivalent Grewzland empire. Volsky could have addressed this in the text, showing, say, how Shereen also misuses its power in its colonies but the protagonist ignores it. However, I'm not sure that the author would have found Shereen's colonies to be a problem.
This issue for me is only heightened for me by having just read Arkady Martine's books on empire that manage to show more morally complex characters and the ways in which they interact with an imperial hegemony. Compared to the finesse of Martine's writing, Volsky's writing comes across as ham-handed and simplistic. This book has been sitting on my shelves for 9 years and I think I would have liked it better had I read it when I bought it in 2012, but I'm relieved that I can finally let it go.
September 23, 2018
Beautifully written adventure
Paula Volsky is a true wordsmith and an amazing world builder and she did not let me down in this book. It's set in the same world as her book Illusion but decades past the revolution that occurred in that book. This time she goes much broader, incorporating more countries, their cultural differences, how they are affected by a cruel ruler bent on conquering country after country until it is one empire.
This is the setting of the Grand Ellipse, a race called by a benign but bored King of a small country who has not yet felt the ravages of war. The contestants travel through different countries, which is proved by getting their passports stamped. Some are in it for the land and title the winner receives. Others are in it for the opportunity to speak to the king about a potential weapon he has in his possession.
I'm giving a vague description because I don't want to ruin anything, but I read a lot, and this is one of the better books I've read in awhile. If you're looking for a grand adventure with a sassy heroine, political intrigue, and a little magic, you've found your book.
Paula Volsky is a true wordsmith and an amazing world builder and she did not let me down in this book. It's set in the same world as her book Illusion but decades past the revolution that occurred in that book. This time she goes much broader, incorporating more countries, their cultural differences, how they are affected by a cruel ruler bent on conquering country after country until it is one empire.
This is the setting of the Grand Ellipse, a race called by a benign but bored King of a small country who has not yet felt the ravages of war. The contestants travel through different countries, which is proved by getting their passports stamped. Some are in it for the land and title the winner receives. Others are in it for the opportunity to speak to the king about a potential weapon he has in his possession.
I'm giving a vague description because I don't want to ruin anything, but I read a lot, and this is one of the better books I've read in awhile. If you're looking for a grand adventure with a sassy heroine, political intrigue, and a little magic, you've found your book.
December 31, 2018
This is three books: a fun Victorian-era "Grand Tour" adventure story with unfortunate descents into colonialism, a grim indictment of fascism destroying both its victims and perpetrators, and a weird pointless sentient fire MacGuffin featuring a character I was positive was going to be the main villain but instead just turned out to be basically nothing. Enjoyable for what it is but in need of some edits.
April 20, 2025
This is probably Volsky's weakest book. The problem is that the main character is a little dim, the interludes with the King and the inventor of Sentient Fire are boring, and the "racing using public transport" premise, while reminiscent of Around the World in Eighty Days, isn't very interesting.
It's still entertaining, mostly for the dialog.
It's still entertaining, mostly for the dialog.
April 18, 2020
An intrepid adventurer of rare beauty must enter and win the Grand Ellipse, an extraordinary test of endurance, ingenuity, and valor a race that will cover distant lands and harsh terrain, to obtain the ultimate magical weapon to protect her homeland from invasion.
July 20, 2017
One of my all time favorites! I read almost once a year. I never tire of the the worlds Volsky creates.
January 2, 2020
This book is 'Around the World in Eighty Days', but with magic and the fate of the world at stake! Contains several violent scenes, as well as an attempted seduction.
January 23, 2021
Fun, as expected.
September 30, 2024
I tagged this as ‘racist-trainwreck’ and I stand by it. The moment the MC has to deal with foreigners who don’t look like her, Grand Ellipse got fucking ugly – even as Volsky tried so hard to make her seem like an Enlightened White Woman. But that doesn’t work when all your ‘natives’ are thieves, violent, abusive, or out to kidnap and rape your MC.
So much ick.
I picked this up to read to my husband at bedtime, because long-winded and uninteresting is what I want in a book meant to send us both to sleep. But it took both those qualities to, frankly, excessive extremes, and then the blatant racism smacked me across the face, and NO THANK YOU.
(Plus, not over presenting the FANTASY NAZI as a love-interest, even if it’s pretty clear he’s not going to win the love triangle.)
So much ick.
I picked this up to read to my husband at bedtime, because long-winded and uninteresting is what I want in a book meant to send us both to sleep. But it took both those qualities to, frankly, excessive extremes, and then the blatant racism smacked me across the face, and NO THANK YOU.
(Plus, not over presenting the FANTASY NAZI as a love-interest, even if it’s pretty clear he’s not going to win the love triangle.)
June 24, 2010
This book takes Around the World in 80 days and turns it into a race not only to see who can complete the Grade Ellipse first, but also to see if anyone can stop a brutal empire is on the road to enslaving the world.
While the point of view shifts between characters, Luzelle Devaire, adventureress in a mock Victorian world is the heroine. Volsky does a fantastic job of showing us a woman in a man's world who will just not give up. If she wins, she has a shot at saving her country and is guaranteed control over he own life.
The exotic world that mixes gas light technology with the fantastic is the backdrop of Luzelle's race for freedom. Among her many competitors there are two men who she is attracted to, each from opposite sides of the war that is about to engulf her nation.
Great fun, with high stakes and a character you come to know better than she knows herself.
While the point of view shifts between characters, Luzelle Devaire, adventureress in a mock Victorian world is the heroine. Volsky does a fantastic job of showing us a woman in a man's world who will just not give up. If she wins, she has a shot at saving her country and is guaranteed control over he own life.
The exotic world that mixes gas light technology with the fantastic is the backdrop of Luzelle's race for freedom. Among her many competitors there are two men who she is attracted to, each from opposite sides of the war that is about to engulf her nation.
Great fun, with high stakes and a character you come to know better than she knows herself.
August 17, 2009
What can I say about this book? I loved parts of it, for instance the setting - this world is fantastic. Some of the characters were great. I was so disappointed when some of them were just dumped along the way, or died. The heroine is a naive, selfish and not very smart woman. As you might be able to tell I don't like her very much, and that's a major drawback. The plot was disappointing too. The race - The Grand Ellipse from the title - was fascinating. It took the characters around the world, letting them experience all the various countries and cultures. Then when it ends the story more or less ends too. I could have given this book four stars, but as it was, I was considering giving it only two.
January 19, 2016
Around the World in 80 Days in a world with a little magic. Oh, also a thinly veiled World War II allegory. The main character is a dashing female adventurer in an age when women aren't really supposed to travel alone. Unfortunately, she's fairly irritating and not very bright. There's a bit of an interesting love triangle between her, the one good Grewzian [errr... German] who realizes his country's dreams of conquest are wrong, and the aristocrat she was formerly engaged with but left because she was too free-spirited.
Barely good enough to finish. I kind of wish I'd put it down. I can't really recommend.
Barely good enough to finish. I kind of wish I'd put it down. I can't really recommend.
May 27, 2008
The plot is like a fantasy version of The Amazing Race. I liked the story and there were parts of the book that I liked, but between the obnoxious dialogue and the author's tendency to constantly state what the characters are thinking, the book just became annoying to read.
June 7, 2010
I stopped reading it after two chapters. I can't read this. Maybe it mostly is the German translation but the language is so damn bad and the world which is created by the author is so uninteresting for me.
It's a pity because I was so looking forward reading this book.
It's a pity because I was so looking forward reading this book.
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