Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer to the Crown book #1) by Zen Cho

374 Pages
Publisher: Penguin Group Berkley, NAL, Signet Romance, DAW, Ace
Release Date: September 1, 2015

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Regency Era, Magic

Zacharias Wythe has been named the Sorcerer Royal of the Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers. Being Black, he doesn’t fit into the White aristocracy. Men question his abilities and wonder if he is up to the task. In this world, women are not allowed to do magic. They can play with a few spells to help with household chores but nothing more.

Prunella lives in a facility where girls are taught to behave, act like ladies, and learn to control their magical instincts. Prunella isn’t like the others. She wants to do magic and is willing to do anything for the chance.

The book has a slow pace, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. I had a difficult time getting into the book but then I was hooked. During the story, both the lead characters grow in personality and strength. Although there were times when I questioned their actions, they were likeable. If you like historical sci fi and fantasy books, you should give this one a try.

I love fantasy set in the Regency era. This book was a fun read. I enjoyed the world building and the interactions of the characters.

It took me a bit to get into the narrative, but I enjoyed it and will probably read the next in the series.

After a rough start, this book hooked me! I throughly enjoyed entering this alternate version of Regency England with magic and mayhem.

Absolutely everything about this book is delightful. I can't remember the last time I read a fantasy novel that made me laugh so much — and as often as I laughed, I gasped, I shouted rude words at offending characters, and just generally fell over myself with admiration for Cho's dextrous depiction of Regency manners and wit. Watching Zacharias seethe with vicious politeness at his enemies while being helplessly buffeted by Prunella's well-intentioned ambitions is a splendid treasure, and I outright marvel at Cho's ability to beleaguer and beset a patient man with a kitchen sink's worth of perilously stacked difficulties.

WHAT DID I THINK OF SORCERER TO THE CROWN BY ZEN CHO?
Sorcerer To The Crown by Zen Cho is sure to appeal to A LOT of people. It’s a Regency era type fantasy with a diverse cast of characters. There’s some real Jane Austen like language. And the society is the type that really stands on rules and manners and such. For me, this was a little bit of a slog. However, I think it is because I just was not really in the best mindset for this audiobook. For one, I waited MONTHS to read this. So by the time my turn came up, it just wasn’t something I was immediately in the mood for. Also, I am thinking now that I really just like to physically read these types of books that have a lot of detail.

On the other hand, there’s some great things to say about Sorcerer To The Crown. Main character Prunella is biracial and pretty much the most magical person in this book AND that’s something that is against society’s conventions. She’s really an incredibly interesting character. Plus, she eventually hooks up with Zacharias who is the character that is talked about in the official synopsis. He’s also interesting to read about too.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook of Sorcerer To The Crown by Zen Cho is narrated by Jenny Sterlin. It’s just over 13 hours long. Sterlin the narrator is really proper and pretty much how I would expect a Regency fantasy narrator to sound. However, I will be honest and say I basically retained not a whole lot except that I thought Prunella was mad cool but otherwise, this wasn’t quite my style for an audiobook. And that’s okay, because wow, the waitlist for this audiobook at the library is LONG. So clearly, it’s the right kind of audiobook for a lot of people.

Let's go back to Regency (I think, I'm not the best at the English eras) England only pretend that magic is real and an organized part of society. This is my dream book description. I love the English historicals, and I think they only thing they're missing is a good dose of supernatural mischief.

Zen Cho really brings the supernatural mischief, and I loved it so much. We have witches, sorcerers, Faery creatures, familiars, and a whole host of other potentially magical beings just thrown about in everyday life. (Can someone please build a machine to take me there.) Downfall, they don't really like when women work magic. And so our story begins!

Enter Zacharias, the Sorcerer Royal, and his new protege Prunella, an incredibly magical woman that Zacharias plans to reform the rules of society for so they will accept her as a member and not banish her (or worse) for being a sorceress. I adored Zacharias. He was smart, dedicated to his craft, and always the gentleman. Even as his opponents throw magical hexes and assassination attempts his way time and time again, he takes it all in a stride.

Prunella, on the other hand, I had mixed feelings about. At first, I loved her spunk and get-it-done attitude. Risking it all to follow her dreams and unlock the secrets in the relics her family left her. But as the story went on, I found her to be a bit grating. She rarely listened to the advice of anyone, and it often caused some major problems and ordeals. And in the end, she does something (that I dare not say or I will spoil so much) that made me positively dislike her. I know she did it for all the right reasons, but she was too cold about it. She needed to have an emotional reaction after the fact, and I didn't see it.

I have the paperback for book two on pre-order though. The entire English world built here has completely captivated me, and I wonder how it all plays out.

**I voluntarily read a complimentary copy of this book**

This book was a bit out of my usual read - but something spoke - and I have to say it was a great read. I have ordered copies to sell in y store I was so pleased with it.

I received Sorcerer to the Crown through NetGalley, and while I enjoyed the book, it wasn’t really what I had expected. This story by newcomer Zen Cho is set in Regency London and is a light and fun adventure filled with magic, humor, social commentary, and a little romance. Sorcerer to the Crown is a stand-alone novel that could be followed by more books in this alternate world.

Zacharias Wythe was seized from his home as a child, sold into slavery, and raised in England by Sir Stephen, England’s Sorcerer Royal. He is freed and raised much like a son to the sorcerer and trained in magic as well. Zacharias inadvertently inherits his mentor’s position as Sorcerer Royal after Sir Stephen dies under mysterious circumstances. This shrouds Zacharias in suspicion, and with his race already making him an outsider amongst the London social elite, the other sorcerers in England plot against him.

The true protagonist of the novel is Prunella, a young lady who teaches at a school for magically gifted girls. However, it is unseemly for women to use magic, so the true purpose of the school is to teach the ladies how to avoid using their powers. Prunella is particularly gifted, but runs into trouble when Zacharias Wythe visits the school. She leaves with the new Sorcerer Royal and hopes to learn more about her powers and her past.

The plot weaves back and forth between these two, with Prunella struggling to master her magic while keeping some dangerous secrets. Zacharias works to discover why England is running out of magic, a problem likely linked to the Faerie realm.

I found the story to be light and engaging and the plot drew me in. Prunella is a fantastic character, and overshadows Zacharias with her audacity and bravery. I don’t read a lot of books set in this time period, but to someone who isn’t overly familiar with Regency novels, the historical aspects worked and nothing seemed out of place.

The mysteries behind Sir Stephen’s death and Prunella’s past are all cleared up in a satisfying way. While the stakes are high, the outcome is logical and happy, as befits the overall tone of the book.

I’ll be looking out for more books from Zen Cho in the future.

This book will appeal to fans of Naomi Novak and Mary Robinette Kowal.

It is an engaging read of high fantasy and lush culture. I found the build up to take a little while but once I fell into the story I happily stayed.

A delightful fantasy--just enough of all the right elements to make it a fun read. I liked the variations on the usual fantasy, and felt that Cho did a nice job in weaving an interesting tale. I found myself thinking "oh, I can't wait to see what other tales this world might hold," even when I didn't recall it was, in fact, the first of a series.

There's a little bit of mystery, a little bit of romance (in the good way, not the annoying, tacked on, over the top way!), and a lot of magic.

I had a hard time at first, so much so that I had to drop it, then get back to it. Let's face it, the beginning moves at a snail's pace. It was just maddening. I kept reading because I liked the characters and the undercurrent of witty humour. Eventually, it did get better! But I liked it from a distance, if that makes sense. It was getting better, but I didn't let myself get too invested.

Not a very fun book. The premise was better than the execution and I found my mind wandering; should I eat a donut, is it too late to go to the yarn store, did I remember to lock the front door?

The characters weren't that compelling and the competitiveness and lack of a problem to worry about right off made the story more of a description and a-day-in-the-life rather than the adventure of world changing proportions that the back blurb implied.

A friend said the story picked up when he met the female magician, but frankly, no, I just don't have time to waste on boring stuff. If a book hasn't grabbed me by 25 pages in, I'm donezo. With all that's going on with the world and my near permanant state of anxious distraction, I just can't be bothered anymore.

Fun story. The setting is kind of vaguely fantasy Regency, with heavy sexism and racism (and classism, which plays a lesser part), which is a large part of the point of the story. Zacharias gets seriously dumped on, from all directions. I found the revelation about Rollo near the end rather ridiculous; doesn't really fit the character, as previously revealed. Mrs. Daubney would no doubt be seriously unhappy to know who she was acquainted with... Prunella was...rather convenient, at least in timing, as was the arrival of the Sultan et al just then. All of this has been going on for years, and it just happens to come together in these few...weeks? Is it that long? The ending was rather predictable - actually, my reaction was rather "Oh good, they finally got around to it!" Good story, I enjoyed it, but it didn't really catch me. I might reread in a while, and I'll keep an eye out for the sequels. I got a copy from Netgalley, but was unable to read it (format problems, PDF) - I slogged through (I thought) a good bit of the story, but when I got this copy I found I hadn't quite finished the second chapter. So I'm not sure the disclaimer is necessary, but I did get a free copy of the book.