Sorcerer to the Crown

A Sorcerer Royal Novel

De: Zen Cho

Narrado por: Jenny Sterlin

The Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, one of the most respected organizations throughout all of England, has long been tasked with maintaining magic within His Majesty's lands. But lately the once proper institute has fallen into disgrace, naming an altogether unsuitable gentleman - a freed slave who doesn't even have a familiar - as their Sorcerer Royal and allowing England's once profuse stores of magic to slowly bleed dry. At least they haven't stooped so low as to allow women to practice what is obviously a man's profession.

At his wit's end, Zacharias Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers and eminently proficient magician, ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England's magical stocks are drying up. But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path that will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain - and the world at large.

©2015 Zen Cho (P)2015 Recorded Books

who else is tired of the 18th century

Read it and see how many plots you find that were stolen from other books. I have found Little Miss Sunshine, a Shirley Temple movie, as well as a PG Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster short story.

It reads like Diana Wynne Jones without the clever humor and human insight.

Magic under the patriarchy

Zen Cho’s Sorcerer to the Crown is a fantasy tale set in pre-industrial England where magic exists in the world. Certain individuals possess the power, but women do not partake except for lowly servants who use it to prevent souffles from collapsing. The Sorcerer Royal (the highest magician) is of African descent and has forces moving against him. At the same time, England seems to be gradually losing magic for some unknown reason. A young girl who secretly inherited the eggs of familiars and possessing unique magical skills, allies with the Royal to defeat his foes and solve the mystery of English magic.

Cho crafts an engaging tale with a twist on magical skills (similar to Harry Potter) and the need for subsequent training to properly exploit. There’s a classic upper-class patriarchy embedded in the social hierarchy as well as a bizarre marriage arrangement. One interesting aspect is the broad agreement among countries to avoid using magic in warfare.

The narration is good with decent character distinction. Pacing is a tad slow.

So under-rated!

Quirky, well written, and a page turner. I’m shocked this hasn’t received more attention. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Perfect magical premise

This is a superb premise for a fantasy series. Open magic in the world, land of fairy is known about, and there is the rich and the poor, the prejudice towards people of color, people who know there is something better and strive towards it despite obstacles.
The setting here is in England with magic only allowed to the men and rich gentlemen at that. Poor and women are not to utilize it for all that they have the abilities. Young ladies of substance are sent to schools to suppress their magic if not downright extinguish it.
And the characters with the intestinal fortitude who buck the system. The two main characters, Zacharias and Prunella are people of color, therefore looked down upon by most but not all, especially by each other. Though they have their own prejudices towards one another. Zacharias isn't sure it's proper for Prunella, a mere woman, to have the magical ability she does. And Prunella is sure that Zacharias requires her assistance to maintain his standing and appointment as the Sorcerer Royal against pretty much the entire league of Unnatural Philosophers, the sort of governing body of magic.
Secrets are slowly revealed and the story bends and flows to the point of me staying in the driveway or parking lot to hear more of what's going to happen next. I love when a story makes me almost late for work or dinner.
I can absolutely recommend this book, series and author. I look forward to listening to the rest of the series.

Delightful

Fans of The Night Circus and Jonathan Strange will be likely to enjoy this weaving of manners and magic. All the characters were well drawn and the story, although not shocking, a bit slow to start and a bit abruptly ended, was very enjoyable. Jenny Sterlin is a phenomenal narrator and exactly right for this period and the variety of accents. I'm looking forward to listening to the next book and hoping to work "droll" into my regular vocabulary.

Really good story

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is into fantasy. The story flowed and the Narrator did a great job. I am hoping there are more stories to come from this. 👍🏼

Slow start but excellent ending!

As a lover of Regency, Austen and fantasy, as well as authors of diverse backgrounds, I thought this would hit all my buttons. I had to slog through a few chapters in the beginning, but once I was hooked I was entranced. I can’t wait to investigate more from Zen Cho!!

Great Bit of Fun

I love Zen Cho’s Spirits Abroad so I was very interested when I learned of this title. It had some *mixed* reviews though so I lost a bit of confidence. Decided to give it a shot anyway and so glad that I did.

First, this is a historical fantasy set in *regency* era England. I have to emphasis “regency” because the era is know for its rather contrived and flowery language among other ridiculous and strict codes of conduct. One opinion that other reviewers share is that it’s really annoying to read/listen to and, well…that’s the point. If you are not a fan of that sort of thing to begin with, you will likely have a hard time getting into this. I was a theatre nerd in school so I had a lot of Shakespeare shoved at me. I thought the language was both fun and funny.

Another complaint that I saw is pretty common is that the book goes on and one about racism and sexism. The book’s protagonists are a free Black slave trying to be accepted and operate in an extremely White society that aggressively wishes him gone and a half-Indian magical girl who has to face both racism and the fact that woman are very openly hated by the same society (not that that has truly changed but you know it was the absolute rule back then) that wishes our male lead to be done away with. One thing about being a hated minority is that it takes up a lot of your daily life especially when people are actively trying to get rid of you in one way or another because of these traits. So if reading/listening about racism and sexism throughout a novel is not your cup of tea you may want to find another novel. If you give it a chance though, I think you’ll find that it’s not just a book that hits tried to bash your head in with the stuff. It’s really not a piece of serious scholarship.

I approached this as a cute, fantastical romantic comedy drama and I experienced exactly that.

*My* only complaint - and spoiler alert - is that for all the mentioning of their school-age romantic feelings for one another the was remarkably little done about it until the end and then it was so abruptly addressed. It was a few minutes of listening/a page or so of reading and then the book ended! For a fantasy novel that sets you up for this cute couple forming I was truly disappointed on that point’s delivery.

All in all? Solid, fun read. Would recommend, would listen to and read again.

Surprised! Highly recommended

I was looking for something like Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and to my surprise this novel surprised me! I thought the diversity angle would be heavy handed and offensive. I enjoyed the female protagonist throughout the story.

Definitely will listen to the next volume as well as other novels by the author.

Wonderful.

Fantastic story. Fantastic setting and terrific characters. Can't wait for book 2. Jenny Sterlin's narration is spot on as always.