review 1: What an interesting setting for a fantasy world -- no one really understands magic and all natural magicians are sent to school to learn how (not) to use it. A much more authentically feudal world than what we usually see in fantasy.It was hard to understand what was happening as the story got going -- I probably didn't have a very clear picture of what was happening until halfway through the book, and I found it a little difficult to connect with or care about the characters, so overall my engagement with the story was a bit low.It is a fascinating world, though, and so different than the norm! review 2: On the island of Cercia, magicians are forbidden to leave and bound by strict laws called the Heresies. No magician is to practice magic on a human being, liv... moreing or dead. But that doesn’t stop Quentin, a young and arrogant nobleman, from secretly engaging the services of a grave robber so he can hone his supernatural craft. His best friend, a good-hearted man of a lower class called Asahel, reluctantly aides him in his efforts, knowing that if they are caught, they will be executed. Quentin’s motivations for risking not only his life, but the life of his friend, are noble enough. He believes that magic can be used to heal and wants to practice on corpses, much like a medical student. In his obsession and determination, he often disregards the world around him—taking Asahel for granted, never questioning the origins of the corpses, and more.The Universal Mirror is the kind of book that allows the reader to really care about the characters and understand their world. Asahel is by far the most sympathetic character, with his kind, somewhat naïve nature. Sometimes he seems a little too nice and dependent on Quentin, although as the book progresses, so does he. Quentin and his wife, Catharine, a cold and snappish woman whose physical beauty is marred by plague scars, are less immediately likable. And then there’s Felix, a magician and nobleman like Quentin, whose charming and casual nature hide his unpredictable intentions.Many contemporary books, catering to an impatient audience, drop their readers in the middle of the story and make a mad sprint for the end, sprinkling the plot with a quick dash of details that are barely glimpsed. Like watching a countryside zip by out the window of a train, you get the idea of the world you’re in but not much more. In The Universal Mirror, Perkins throws this notion out the window. The book can feel a little slow, and the plot doesn’t really take off until the second half. But by the time it does, one is so familiar with the universe and invested in the people that the ultimate conflict holds greater meaning and carries more suspense than it would have without the set-up.[This is a condensed version of a full review on my blog, Zigzag Timeline] less
