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jpskewedthroneThe Enchantment Emporium is the first book in a new urban fantasy series by Tanya Huff. And it's pretty damn good. I've only read a few of Tanya Huff's books (mostly the Quarters series), but after reading this I ordered all of her backlist, so expect some more reviews of her past work in the near future.
The main premise here is that Allie, part of the magically powerful Gale family based off of wicca/paganism, sort of (it's never really made clear or precise, at least not explicitly), goes to Calgary in order to take over her grandmother's junk shop after she vanishes and is thought to be dead. Her goal is to figure out what happened to her grandmother, and after she arrives and some rather strange things begin to happen, figure out what's going on in Calgary. Because the junk shop caters to the local fey and has more than the usual items on the shelf.
The main draw in the book for me was the family itself and their interactions with each other. The family is more or less ruled by the "aunties," the Gale women. They are the source of power, which they provide the Gale men, who anchor it and use it. The entire family of Gales are characters that you grow to love, even if they are perhaps a little domineering and interfering. Allie attempts to solve the problems in Calgary on her own, with only a few family members there to help out, but in the end the problem is too large for her to handle alone and so the aunties are called in as reinforcements. But it's still Allie's territory and even after they arrive it's Allies story, her decisions that dictate what happens and she's the one who resolves the plot.
I liked the casual mix of magic with the real world here. We get to see in passing a few of the others creatures of the unnatural world as they pass through the shop, so there's plenty of opportunity for future stories, but the book mostly focuses on the Gales, a leprechaun, and a sudden influx of dragons (hence the cover art). And there wasn't a vampire or werewolf in sight.
In the end, a very strong opening for the series, with likeable characters, an interesting magical system and world, and plenty of opportunity for future conflict. Recommended.
The main premise here is that Allie, part of the magically powerful Gale family based off of wicca/paganism, sort of (it's never really made clear or precise, at least not explicitly), goes to Calgary in order to take over her grandmother's junk shop after she vanishes and is thought to be dead. Her goal is to figure out what happened to her grandmother, and after she arrives and some rather strange things begin to happen, figure out what's going on in Calgary. Because the junk shop caters to the local fey and has more than the usual items on the shelf.
The main draw in the book for me was the family itself and their interactions with each other. The family is more or less ruled by the "aunties," the Gale women. They are the source of power, which they provide the Gale men, who anchor it and use it. The entire family of Gales are characters that you grow to love, even if they are perhaps a little domineering and interfering. Allie attempts to solve the problems in Calgary on her own, with only a few family members there to help out, but in the end the problem is too large for her to handle alone and so the aunties are called in as reinforcements. But it's still Allie's territory and even after they arrive it's Allies story, her decisions that dictate what happens and she's the one who resolves the plot.
I liked the casual mix of magic with the real world here. We get to see in passing a few of the others creatures of the unnatural world as they pass through the shop, so there's plenty of opportunity for future stories, but the book mostly focuses on the Gales, a leprechaun, and a sudden influx of dragons (hence the cover art). And there wasn't a vampire or werewolf in sight.
In the end, a very strong opening for the series, with likeable characters, an interesting magical system and world, and plenty of opportunity for future conflict. Recommended.
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Date: 2010-08-12 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 03:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 04:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 12:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 09:26 pm (UTC)However there was one particular thing about this book that I found quite frustrating. It didnt give you a lot of context or backstory, and you had to accept a lot of different concepts without a lot of explanation, and I felt like I worked quite hard to fill in the gaps.
Someone who didnt have a fairly extensive background in more classic mythic fantasy and some of the folk/celtic tropes might struggle with some of the concepts. And I consider myself fairly well read in this kind of space.
It does all fit together in the end but I did find myself going back and rereading bits to try an aid myself to figure out what was going on.
It was harder work that some of her other stuff, but also brilliantly written and greatly enjoyable.
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Date: 2010-08-13 12:07 am (UTC)Some of the ways in which the fey worked wasn't explained either. In particular, the rules applying to the leprechaun were more or less assumed to be known by the reader, but I came away thinking I didn't know anything about leprechauns.
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Date: 2010-08-13 12:19 am (UTC)Things like the father being 'stuck' to his area and the family congregating around his area. The antlers - it took me a while before I realised it was calling back to the Hernehunter lord/beast god style of mythical history.
There were things that I pieced together over the book, like the most powerful man in the area would be the 'anchor' but not the how or why, and even at the very end of the book I didn't understand that about David.
It was these kind of things that left me a bit frustrated. Once the story got going I didnt mind so much, but I kept tripping over that kind of thing. But Huff writes a rollicking good story and I love her humour, its the thing that keeps bringing me back to her whatever she writes :) And I forgave her a lot for how overall good this book was. I was totally left going "there has to be more books in this - it must be a series" when I got to the end.
I might have to reread it now LOL
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Date: 2010-08-13 12:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 03:22 am (UTC)I probably should have more to say on this book (love it!), but i have no Brain tonight. Sorry - melted in the heat.
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Date: 2010-08-13 12:33 pm (UTC)