Marie Brennan

The Onyx Court — (2008-2009) Publisher: England flourishes under the hand of its Virgin Queen: Elizabeth, Gloriana, last and most powerful of the Tudor monarchs. But a great light casts a great shadow. In hidden catacombs beneath London, a second Queen holds court: Invidiana, ruler of faerie England, and a dark mirror to the glory above. In the thirty years since Elizabeth ascended her throne, fae and mortal politics have become inextricably entwined, in secret alliances and ruthless betrayals whose existence is suspected only by a few. Two courtiers, both struggling for royal favor, are about to uncover the secrets that lie behind these two thrones. When the faerie lady Lune is sent to monitor and manipulate Elizabeth's spymaster, Walsingham, her path crosses that of Michael Deven, a mortal gentleman and agent of Walsingham's. His discovery of the "hidden player" in English politics will test Lune's loyalty and Deven's courage alike. Will she betray her Queen for the sake of a world that is not hers? And can he survive in the alien and Machiavellian world of the fae? For only together will they be able to find the source of Invidiana's power -- find it, and break it . . . . A breathtaking novel of intrigue and betrayal set in Elizabethan England; Midnight Never Come seamlessly weaves together history and the fantastic to dazzling effect.

Midnight Never Come

Midnight Never Come is the story of two courts, and of two courtiers who must uncover a deadly secret that threatens both mortal and faerie England. Lune is a disgraced lady of the faerie court, trying to win her way back into the good graces of the cruel Queen Invidiana. Michael Deven is a young gentleman of Elizabeth I's retinue, working with Elizabeth's spymaster Walsingham to sniff out a "hidden player" in English politics. Neither is quite prepared for what they discover.

Marie Brennan has a lovely, elegant prose style that lends itself well to describing the glittering courts. There's a certain "iciness" to it, a certain emotional distance between reader and characters, at least at first. Later in the book, emotion does bleed through, unmistakable even when it's described with great restraint. And speaking of restraint, Midnight Never Come is unusually chaste when compared to many other recent faerie-themed novels. This is fantasy of manners, closer kin to Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint than to Laurell Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series.

The plot is tightly crafted. At the beginning it feels a little slow, but picks up as Lune and Deven get closer and closer to the secret at the heart of Invidiana's court. Brennan has done a great deal of research into faerie lore and Elizabethan history, and it shows. Brennan doesn't infodump, though; the folklore helps drive the plot and flows organically with it. There are layers upon layers of politics and curses and bargains and secrets here, and I loved discovering them along with the characters.

Brennan makes an unusual authorial decision toward the beginning of Midnight Never Come. I initially didn't like it but eventually decided it worked. (*** Spoiler alert in this paragraph! ***) The early stages of Deven and Lune's courtship, when Deven first meets Lune in her guise as a mortal lady, are completely skipped over. By the time we realize Deven and Lune have met, they're discussing marriage, and trouble brews between them not long after. I felt cheated at first, but in retrospect, I don't think those early months actually matter much. The real development of their relationship begins later, outside the artifice of court. If Brennan had devoted a lot of page space to the romance in the early chapters, it might have resulted in the plot taking too long to get off the ground. So, I think this decision turned out well in the end.

Marie Brennan's treatment of London is delightful. She builds her story around real locations within the city, and the legends that have grown around those locations, creating a tangible sense of place. I only wish she had included a map of the city in Midnight Never Come, so that a reader unfamiliar with London could more easily visualize the places the characters visit. I ended up reading Midnight Never Come with Forever Amber open on the table next to me because it has an excellent map of London in it.)

Overall, a slowish start, but worth it. Brennan's prose and plotting are particularly good, and I can't wait to read In Ashes Lie.  —Kelly   Comments

In Ashes Lie

In Ashes Lie continues the story of the Onyx Court, a faerie city situated just below London, and the Court's dealings with London's mortals. Lune, who became queen of the Onyx Court in Midnight Never Come, reigns still. Her mortal consort, Michael Deven, is long dead. Lune has chosen another man to act as her official consort and liaison with the mortal world, but the role is political only.

In Ashes Lie follows Lune and her allies through the end of Charles I's troubled reign, Oliver Cromwell's rise to power, and the eventual restoration of the monarchy. Running alongside this mortal politicking, dangerous plots are afoot in the faerie court. As you might guess by the novel's title, the climactic events take place during the Great Fire of 1666, which threatens to destroy both London and the Onyx Court. Like Midnight Never Come, In Ashes Lie gets off to a slowish start. Marie Brennan takes her time moving all of her pieces into place. When all hell does break loose, though, it's as exciting as anyone could wish, and made all the more effective by the careful, deliberate buildup of events.

This is, first and foremost, a story about power: its uses and misuses. It becomes clear early in the novel that Lune has been changed by her years on the throne, by the tough decisions that a ruler must make. The events of In Ashes Lie test her further, and there are a few questions always on Lune's mind and the reader's: When should justice be tempered by mercy? Should the fae meddle in mortal affairs, and if so, how? Can Lune avoid becoming as ruthless as her predecessor, Invidiana?

Readers looking for romance will not find it here. If In Ashes Lie is a love story, it's a love story between Lune and her kingdom, and between her mortal friends and the city of London. It's a beautiful and touching story, too. It's just not what you may be expecting if you seek another Lune/Deven plotline.

I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention Brennan's prose, just as restrained and elegant as before. And the only real peeve I had in Midnight Never Come has been remedied here: there's a map of London in the front of the book, along with a Dramatis Personae for those moments when you can't remember who is lord of what.

Recommended, with the caveat that you'll probably want to read Midnight Never Come first. In Ashes Lie stands on its own plotwise, but there are many references to people and events past. The characters' history weighs heavily on them, and you'll get more out of the story if you are familiar with that history.
—Kelly   Comments