Sarah Monette, The Virtu

This very fine book is the sequel to the nearly as fine Mélusine. It starts more or less where the first book stopped, the first person narrators Felix and Mildmay not-quite preparing for the journey back to Mélusine to somehow mend the destroyed Virtu. And in the "not-quite preparing" and the "somehow" lies one of two problems I have with the book: The protagonists never really seem to plan anything, they are more or less drifting into certain circumstances that require certain actions. Most of the time, this is completely in keeping with the characters, but sometimes -for example the mid-book "jailbreak"- it strains belief a little.
Something in which Monette really excels is her use of voice, both narrators always beautifully characterized through their unique ways of speaking. The characterization alone would make the novel recommendable. Although (and this is my second problem) Felix and Mildmay seem to me a little too angsty, their wounds a little too near the surface, when interacting only with each other sometimes. I think I wouldn't even have noticed this, if the brother's relationship didn't seem so real most of the time. Oh, and I'm really in love with Mildmay's voice and character and very much not in love with the personality of Felix; both signs that a character really comes to life in my mind.
Also very fascinating is the recurring motif of labyrinths, tightly connected with the (lovely/terrifying) magic system and the structure of the book itself.
Another thing Monette is exceedingly successful at is the building of atmosphere: I don't think I will forget the scenes under Klepsydra soon, or the conceptual beauty of the Omphalos and so on, and so on.
The plotting seems to me much tighter than in the first book. It always helps when a book has an actual ending instead of just stopping. (Yes, I was a little grumpy about the way Mélusine ended.)


I'm looking greedily at the next sequel, The Mirador, alas I can't throw any money at hardcovers right now. As it goes.