Servant Mage, by Kate Elliott (Tor)
Kate Elliott always delivers entertaining stories with
relatable characters, and Servant Mage is no exception. Indentured
fire-mage Fellian leads a drab life, half-starved and clinging to memories of
her childhood, before the rigid, fundamentalist Liberationists came to power
and enslaved anyone with magical power. The usurped Monarchists have formed an
underground rebellion, and they need Fellian’s Fire magic. Of course, one among
them is devastatingly handsome, thereby setting expectations of romance to
come, as well as the restoration of a noble, altruistic king.. Here’s where
Elliott departs from the usual and becomes deeply subversive. Fellian holds
steadfastly to her own values when presented with an attractive man and the
lure of a benevolent monarchy restored. Instead, she asks piercing questions
and relies on her own judgment, time and time again. She is keenly aware that
the other conspirators need her special talent, and she’s not about to exchange
her autonomy for a new community. In short, she thinks for herself. Through
her, Elliott strongly questions the romantic notion so prevalent in fantasy:
the noble aristocracy, devoted to the welfare of their subjects. Fellian
insists that to trust future generations of entitled rulers is folly and that
exchanging one form of top-down rule for another is no guarantee against
despotism. This emperor might be just and fair, but in a generation,
common people like her might find themselves just as oppressed.
I love how respectful Elliott is of her readers’
intelligence. She plays fair and gives us all the information we need (such as
Fellian’s passion for literacy in teaching fellow servants to read and write)
without ramming conclusions down our throats. She lets the characters and
unfolding events speak for themselves without telling us how to feel about
them. For this, and for superb storytelling and compelling characters, I’ll
grab anything she writes!
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