Review - Feast of Souls by Celia Friedman (Orbit)

Feast of Souls by Celia Friedman
Published by Orbit
Paperback - 608 pages
Published November 2009
Review copy given by Little Brown Books

Feast of Souls is the first book in Friedman's Magister Trilogy. It follows a number of different characters as they struggle to repel a growing darkness borne of ill magic that was thought lost. Locked in this struggle is Prince Andovan, a proud man who is slowly dying through magic, and is determined to find the cause. Also Kamala, the first female Magister and a force to be reckoned with, and Queen Gwynofar, a women born with the blood of ancient guardians who must watch her kingdom fall apart around her as her husband becomes corrupt by the very forces they are trying to repel.

The greatest asset of Feast of Souls is Friedman's ability to interconnect and entwine her character's stories. She has very different personalities serving their own agenda, only to clash with each other later on in the story. What makes this a great addition to the story is that she doesn't lose sight of the overall driving force. Each character's actions serve their personalities and nothing is put in 'just to further the plot' or 'because it would shake things up'. They are a well balanced set of players that you can feel for, and the intricacies of the narrative only serve to help that along.

The magic system in this story is very strong. Your garden variety 'witch' (whom can be both male or female) use a portion of their own soul fire every time they cast a spell. If they use enough magic, they will inevitably die before their time. The Magisters, however, use up the soul fire of other people (chosen at random). This concept is more or less at the core of the story, and it sets off a chain of events that results in the rise of an ancient evil. This means that magic becomes precious to those who aren't Magisters, and Magisters themselves have to battle with a constant moral dilemma; if they use magic, they are deliberately contributing to the death of another person.

This is not an action packed novel, so if that's all you care about when it comes to fiction then you may shy away from this. What it lacks in action it makes up for in political intrigue, subtleties and underhandedness. The politics and personal prejudices behind the secretive Magisters play a major role in the events of the story, and I found myself wanting to go deeper into what makes these connections and how the Magisters interact.

In short, Feast of Souls is an absolutely brilliant novel that, despite the lack of action, will have you enthralled from start to finish. With a host of fully developed characters and a solid narrative, you should definitely check it out!