Title: The Magician of Tiger Castle
Author: Louis Sachar
Genre: Historical fiction, fantasy
Rating: 3 out of 5
Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia’s father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the “wedding of the century,” Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe.
The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures—the latest being an attempt to transform sand into gold—he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. The only one who still believes in him is the princess.
When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. With one chance to save the marriage, the kingdom, and, of most importance to him, his reputation, will he betray the princess—or risk ruin?
This didn’t really work for me. Everything was a little too coincidental for it to be believable, and what might have worked for The Princess Bride, did not work here. (Not that I’m saying this was trying to be The Princess Bride. Just that when absurdities became magical in that case, they did not here.) Anatole came across as more bumbling idiot than anything. Why was he so clumsy/klutzy? It, like a lot of other things, just seemed kind of pointless to me. I’m clearly not the target audience here.
Louis Sachar is from New York. The Magician of Tiger Castle is his newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Berkley Publishing Group | Ace in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 