Title: Wild Magic
Author: Jude Fisher
Series: Fool’s Gold
Sexual Content: Minimal
Objectional Content: Violence, Sexual references
Synopsis: The brilliant follow-up to Sorcery Rising and the continuation of the “fascinating” (Anne McCaffrey) Fool’s Gold trilogy penned by Jude Fisher-a major U.K. publisher who oversees all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work.
Magic has returned to Elda, creating all manner of wonders and terrors. None yet know that the source of this magic is the legendary Rosa Eldi, restored to the world, but not yet restored to herself. Unaware of her true nature, she has married King Ravn Asharson of the North, and now with usurpers and assassins circling she must conceive a child to establish the succession. But the Rosa Eldi is no ordinary woman…In the Southern Empire, the fire of holy war is smouldering and violence is everywhere, fuelled by fundamentalist hatred and bigotry. Caught up in these machinations, peace-loving Saro Vingo is forced to take up arms against the North and Virelai, apprentice sorcerer, finds himself chained to the murderous plans of his master, Tycho Issian. Ignoring the call to arms, Aran Aranson, chief of the Rockfall clan, is in the grip of a mad obsession borne of a magical map and dreams of sailing the frozen seas to Sanctuary, island of legend, to find a fortune. His daughter, Katla, dreams of sailing with him but her fate lies elsewhere. All over Elda, forces are aligning themselves for good or for evil. There is magic in the world again, but it is wild and unpredictable, and few will count its touch a blessing.
My Review
If I’m being honest (which I strive to be in my reviews) I’m not entirely certain what the plot of this book actually is. The first book in the trilogy, Sorcery Rising, felt very much like it was setting things up, staging things if you will for what was to come. This book, Wild Magic, feels sort of the same, like everything is going to happen in the third book, The Rose of the World.
Wild Magic follows the same characters, picking up basically where Sorcery Rising left off. Everyone has returned to their respective homes after the events of the Allfair. Some characters have been scattered away from their people and misunderstandings about whether a certain character lived or died abound.
There aren’t really all that many characters that I actually like in this trilogy. Katla is presented as a strong female character, which of course I like, but she also has a petulance and stubbornness that makes me think of her as younger than she actually is. Her father has become obsessed with finding a legendary place called Sanctuary, to the detriment of his personal relationships. Her twin is basically going insane and her mother berates her for not having any “womanly” skills.
I enjoy Saro Vingo. He feels like a relatable character. The rest of his family and many people his family interacts with are all pretty horrible, especially Saro’s brother. I certainly can’t help but feel sorry for him as his brother enjoys torturing him so much.
The Rosa Eldi is an interesting character. She has obviously been much more than she seems from the very beginning. I’m interested to know more about her and how her story will progress. Other than Saro, she may be the only character I’m truly interested in.
My rating for Wild Magic is 3 out of 5 stars. I’d recommend this book and it’s predecessor to people who love fantasy with a lot of characters and a bit of mystery.
Thanks for reading!