Illusion
A world crumbles and a bloody reign of terror ensues, forcing an innocent young woman to call upon her dormant magical powers. Reprint. K. PW. Okay, it’s a retelling of the French Revolution, but there’s magic in this story. You know what’s going to happen by page 3, though some of the particulars differ. The familiar-seeming background makes the sorcery-touched story that much more engrossing. Read this for Volsky’s wonderful fillips of detail, which make her story live and breathe, an
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(out of 41 reviews)
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Review by Kelly L. (www.FantasyLiterature.com) for Illusion
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This novel, a fictionalization of the French Revolution set in the invented kingdom of “Vonahr” and laced with a little bit of magic, is a gem of historical fantasy and ought to be a classic. The author combines epic ideals, all-too-human characters, and lovely prose to create a book I couldn’t put down and will never forget.The events of these turbulent times are seen through the eyes of a high-born young woman, Eliste vo Derrivalle. Eliste is at first a product of her society and upbringing–a spoiled brat who doesn’t think to question her class’s superiority over the serfs and working class. She is only willing to respect one serf–the brilliant Dref Zeenoson, whose talents belie everything Eliste has been taught about the inferiority of his kind. When Eliste’s father shows himself as a cruel master, and Dref defies him, only Eliste can save Dref from a terrible fate. She frees him–and then tries to put this subversive incident out of her mind.For Eliste has been appointed as a maid of honor to the Queen herself. She travels to the capital and is trained in courtly ways. But the fairy-tale court is not long for this world; a revolution is beginning. When Eliste loses everything she had taken for granted, she will have to learn to survive just like everyone else. But she will not always be without help–for there is one person who has never forgotten Eliste’s first act of heroism. This is an enthralling, heartbreaking, and suspenseful story, made all the better by its wonderfully drawn characters: the ingenious Dref, the stubbornly dignified grand dame Zeralenn, the incorrigibly shallow Aurelie, the so-sweet Kairthe, and even the terrifying Whiss v’Aleur, who lays waste to a nation to assuage his childhood feelings of inadequacy. But most of all, Eliste, who matures into a very different sort of woman than she had planned to become.This is not just a good fantasy; it also holds its own with the best sort of straight-up historical fiction, illuminating a place and time from its hovels to its palaces, as seen through the eyes of memorable characters. If you like fantasy, read this book. If you don’t normally go for fantasy, but like a good romantic historical epic, suspend your disbelief about the magic and read it anyway. And if you’re like me, and like both genres–don’t hesitate another moment.
Review by Lesley West for Illusion
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The adventures of the Exalted Eliste are very entertaining indeed. Our heroine is appropriately fesity, the settings well drawn, and the other characters who populate her world are interesting and believable. But what makes this story so different, and really quite entertaining, is that it is really a tale of suffering and redemption following the French Revolution, but in a different world and time. Following this, everything that Eliste knows and holds to be true is swept away in fear and violence, and her struggle to survive in this changing world is the centrepiece of the book.Eliste’s world is not France of course, and the King and Queen are not Louis and Marie Antoinette, but they may as well be (though they have no children). The strict formalities that surrounded the French Court are faithfully related here, and you come to believe in this society where the Exalted lived just as the aristocracy did in France. Anyone who is familiar with the French Revolution will find this very clever – the reader can indulge in a game of “find the characters” – Marat for instance, who spent most of his time in a bath due to an unpleasant skin condition, is transformed into the beggar leader Fungus (who as the name suggests has an equally unpleasant skin condition). Even the guillotine is transformed into something far more nasty – a machine called Kokette with enormous spikes and needs of its own!Interspersed with all this is some magic, some terrible hardship (the author does not shirk from some rather graphic descriptions of hardship and deprivation), and of course love. Eliste travels a rocky road from a spoilt young lady to a woman with rather formiddable skills and fortitude.This is a different, clever and entertaining book. It is quite long, but thankfully keeps your attention for the whole time. I recommend it highly for people who enjoy a great story, fabulous writing and a complex plot.
Review by for Illusion
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This is a book about metamorphasis and the change of a petty, spoiled “exaulted” (noble) girl named Eliste. Illusion is obviously a fantasy take on the French revolution, so it’s fairly clear what is going to happen…but so what–that doesn’t reduce the suspense any. A reader interested in history will easily be able to pick out the parallels of in characters, the guillotine, and the palace at Versailles.I couldn’t put this book down. You will want to read Illusion in one sitting, partially because it’s so gripping, partially because you can’t bear to leave the character until the situation gets, at least, slightly better. The middle of the book reminded me of nothing so much as a nightmare, the kind where you are always afraid, always running, where all your family and the people around you are caught or killed. Thankfully, three-fourths of the way through, the books lightens a little, and the ending is somewhat optimistic.Volsky’s world is richly textured and totally immersive. Illusion perfectly captures the terror of a revolution, the anger of the masses, the rioting, and the revolution’s metamorphasis from idealistic to dictatorial. It is an engrossing fantasy take on the French revolution and well worth your time.
Review by Maceres for Illusion
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Honestly, it’s a good book. I haven’t read it since it was new, probably 10 years ago, but I can’t forget it, and came looking for it again. Don’t listen to any reviewer who says the characters are “1 dimensional”. At the end of this book you will know Eliste vo Derrivalle, and if you’re a guy you’ll probably be in love with her, though you’ll hate her at first. A decade later the phrases “coquettes of the kokotte” and “nits of nu-nu” will still bring pictures into your mind. This is good stuff.
Review by Spectral Knight for Illusion
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One of the strongest points in this story is, frankly, how the attitudes and viewpoints of the Exalted (and thus the nobility of the real world) are brought to life. You read about it in history texts, but while the idea sinks in, it’s never really explained or made comprehensible, and the modern American reader, secure in the knowledge that all men are created equal, is simply left to wonder why these people were such jerks!
Volsky doesn’t do that, and she doesn’t patronize her readers about it, either. She makes the whole thing understandable through her characterizations, which are easily some of the best I’ve ever seen in any printed work of fiction. Eliste vo Derrivalle is a delightfully plucky spoiled Exalted brat at the beginning of the story, arguing with her clever (and forbidden) friend Dref Zeenoson (fortunately for the reader’s enjoyment, she is not devoid of redeeming characteristics), and how she changes throughout the story helps to keep the book engaging and strong even among contemporary works. Dref Zeenoson himself is another of the book’s strong characters, and though his changes aren’t seen, they are most certainly felt through the eyes of his former childhood playmate. The relations between the characters tend to get complicated, as in real life, and foils for the two main characters are occasionally seen (one character manages to be a foil for both hero and heroine!).
The strongly realized political angle of the book separated it from much of the fantasy writing of the time; no magic swords or One True Kings here. Simply the age-old principle of Exalted superiority through magic, so embedded in the culture that no one would question it much were it not for a past resurgence of Reason, and the ideas that it has begun to stir in the minds of those who thanklessly support the ruling class above them. Nothing new, historically speaking, but in fantasy literature it’s very rarely touched on, and almost never with this level of skill.
The world is also well-realized. This may be prerevolutionary France with a few twists, but it is brought to life as flawlessly as the characters that inhabit it. It’s easy to lose yourself in its details. I found myself ducking at least once when a fly buzzed too close while I was reading, and expecting to see a flash of gold as it winged away. And while magic is real here, it’s thankfully not the overpowering force that rules all. But illusions, the hallmark magical power of Vonahr, are not to be underestimated when used cleverly, a fact that Quinze vo Derrivalle demonstrates admirably. There is good reason, it seems, for the common man’s fear of fully-developed Exalted magical potential, even as rare as it is!
All in all, Illusion remains Paula Volsky’s best work to date. If you like well-rendered, fluidly written prose, you’ll find it here. If you like magic, you’ll find it here, too. If you like well-realized characters… well, you can see where I’m going with this! Buy it, borrow it… just read it. It’s well worth your time.