I quite enjoyed The Witch’s Lens. It’s refreshing to get a more Central European take on the supernatural. Too often it’s more English-based, I guess. I dunno, I liked the change of scenery from the more “classic” fantasy stuff I’ve been reading. The story was very good, too, if it felt a little rough-shod toward the end.
Petra’s an interesting main character. She starts out kind of timid, but quickly finds her feet in the war zone she ends up in. I liked that her backstory wasn’t dropped until mid-book, though it would have made a good intro… I can see why it wasn’t, though. The reader, as much as Petra’s compatriots, needs to be kept in the dark about her powers for a while. None of the “well why didn’t she just…” needs to come into the story, after all.
I think combining the general misery of the Eastern Front with the horror elements of actual monsters was very effective. I also liked that the general populace apparently has little idea what magic can do, while apparently the upper echelons do. It’s always interesting to see how the world of magic clashes or doesn’t with the “human” world.
The upir mythology and “realization” was neat. I’m definitely used to the “traditional” vampire stuff, so getting an, I wanna say “earlier” but I’m not sure if that’s correct… different, is what I’ll go with, take on a vampiric creature was fun. Upir are kind of a cross between vampire and zombie, at least from a Western-centric viewpoint. The horror with them worked really well, I thought.
So yeah, I enjoyed The Witch’s Lens and am cautiously looking forward to the next one in the series.
Favorite Line
"Men’s eyes have always shone with the light of greed and will take what they covet." - King Wahaj
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