The Heart of the Circle
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Sorcerers fight for the right to exist and fall in love, in this extraordinary alternate world fantasy thriller by award-winning Israeli author Keren Landsman.
Throughout human history there have always been sorcerers, once idolised and now exploited for their powers. In Israel, the Sons of Simeon, a group of religious extremists, persecute sorcerers while the government turns a blind eye. After a march for equal rights ends in brutal murder, empath, moodifier and reluctant waiter Reed becomes the next target. While his sorcerous and normie friends seek out his future killers, Reed complicates everything by falling hopelessly in love. As the battle for survival grows ever more personal, can Reed protect himself and his friends as the Sons of Simeon close in around them?
File Under: Fantasy [ Love Squared | Stuck in the Margins | Emotional Injection | Fight the Power ]
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Intimacy and magic-as-allegory tangle in Geffen Award winner Landsman's first work translated into English, an ambitious novel whose multiple elements never cohere. Waiter Reed Katz is a "moody" an empath who senses and manipulates emotion in modern Tel Aviv, where a pariah community of sorcerers barely copes under segregation laws and winked-at extremist violence. When Reed's ex-boyfriend, Blaze, returns with an American girlfriend, Reed falls fumblingly in love with her empath brother, Lee. Then anti-sorcerer attackers target Reed, and his family biological and chosen must take a daring chance to save his life and the sorcerers' future. Jerky pacing and a rocky marriage of genres mar the story: slice-of-life relationship vignettes and tense political stakes undermine each other, and both screech to a halt for repeated explanations of the magic system. At heart this is more a romance novel than anything else, which may confuse readers expecting urban fantasy. Vague descriptions "A few couches were scattered inside, with typical dance music playing in the background" flatten the setting, and the characters are mostly ciphers. Reed's discomfort with Blaze's bisexuality also diminishes the themes of equality and acceptance. This earnest paean to community is overwhelmed by its scattered execution.
Customer Reviews
Eh. Give it a try. Everyone’s different.
I found it to be kinda boring, which is disappointing given the premise. It was also very boring. At least to me. I gave it 3 stars only because it ended well.