Magic Lost, Trouble Found (Raine Benares, Book 1)
by Lisa Shearin
Book Summary Information
Author: Lisa ShearinEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-05-29
ISBN: 0441015050
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Ace
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780441015054
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Book Reviews of Magic Lost, Trouble Found (Raine Benares, Book 1)
Book Review: middle of the road fantasy with an urban flair.
Summary: 3 Stars
Magic Lost, Trouble Found follows the adventures of Raine Benares, a Seeker (effectively a private detective) who, through a series of mishaps, ends up bonded to a very powerful and very evil magical stone called the Saghred. While the Saghred significantly improves her magical abilities, its power comes at a price: it eats souls, and it's hungry. Meanwhile, a couple of very powerful and very evil goblins are also hunting down the Saghred, people who would use the stone to level cities and destroy governments. So now it's Raine's job to keep the stone away from the bad goblins, keep it from stealing her own soul, and, yeah, save the world.
I got pretty hung-up on the world building. It's basically a modern urban environment, only with medieval clothes and magic. Raine is a female who wears pants every day, her friend Tam runs a nightclub, there is an organized police force that the author refers to as "Mermeia's finest," foreign dignitaries get "diplomatic immunity"...the society was organized along such familiar lines that the trappings of a sword-and-sorcery fantasy world felt out of place - whenever Raine puts on her "doublet" I'd roll my eyes and wonder why the charade; might as well just dress her in a t-shirt and leather jacket and be done with it.
I wanted to understand how the social organization was so advanced while technology was so primitive. Magic is possible here, but not plentiful - and I never got the explanation I craved.
I had some issues with characterization too. I liked Raine, and I thought she was well-developed with a good voice, pragmatic and witty and smart. But a lot of the other characters seem don't seem fully fleshed to me. Piaras, for example, is a powerful young spellsinger. He's a good guy, so he's always noble and moral, but he's young, so he's sometimes nervous and scared, and he's a perfectionist. That's pretty much his personality. Bad boy Tam is more complex, but then again his mix of strong personal ethics, devotion to the protagonist, and dark dark past are as cliched as could be.
This is one of those books that really has me on the fence. It's not bad, but not good enough that I'm eager to read more. I bought the sequel before finishing the first one, and I read that too, and I enjoyed it. But they both left me feeling pretty tepid.
Summary of Magic Lost, Trouble Found (Raine Benares, Book 1)
Raine Benares is a Sorceress Seeker of average ability until she comes into possession of an amulet that amplifies her powers-and her enemies.Contemporary Books
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