レビュー

• Disappointment

  I am very annoyed. I purchased this book along with Witch by this author only to discover that it is the same book as Witch exactly with a different title.

• Excellent debut novel

  Marie Brennan's "Doppelganger" was rather a find. Multiple interesting and sympathetic characters, plot twists that I didn't see coming, original world-building. And, y'know, sword and sorcery. I particularly liked her ninja-assassin Hunter characters, which was surprising as I'd expected the witch to be my favorite. The most surprising plot twist also kicked off a big train of interesting cosmological thought, causing me to wander around for the next day or so with a vaguely embarassing "whoa! dude!" sort of look on my face. [grin] In that, I think it achieves the highest ideal of speculative fiction; it makes you think. I've already wishlisted the sequel, which is not yet published, and look forward to it greatly.

• Finding the Balance

  Many other reviews have already given the basic jist of the plot. Miryo, a witch, must find and kill her doppelganger Mirage, a warrior. Simply put that alone was an interesting set up for what I expected to be another fluffy fantasy. To my delight Brennan actually took great care in setting up the world in which these two heroines must meet. Providing a rich tapestry of religion that ties all things together a reader gets to unravel the threads of the book's main conflict and form their own theories. This is the first book I've read in months that kept me with just enough information to perk curiosity and leave me surprised at the outcomes. Though the characters lacked a bit of depth and I could not truly empathize with them as I would have liked to, they were still worth getting to know. If you enjoy a fantasy story with rich detail, strong female characters without whiny feminist themes and a unique premise this book will probably please you.

• Well done swords and sorcery fantasy!

  I have had this book around to read forever. I was excited to finally get to read it. I originally thought this was an urban fantasy but it is actually more of a swords and sorcery type fantasy. I ended up really loving the world and the characters. This book was also published under the title Warrior. There is sequel to this book which was published both as Warrior and Witch, and as Witch. Mirage is a bounty hunter who has always survived by her wits and strength. Her and Eclipse get a job to hunt down a man who assassinated a witch. Mirage tries to stay away from any job involving the witches but the money and notoriety for this job is just too much to pass up. Miryo is a 25 year old witch who was supposed to graduate into her powers but didn’t. Ends up when a witch is born a doppelganger is also born; this doppelganger has no soul and must be killed at birth in order for a witch to come into her full powers. Miryo’s doppelganger was never killed and so Miryo is tasked with finding that doppleganger and hunting it down. Unfortunately for Miryo and Mirage, Mirage is that doppleganger and she isn’t going to go down easily. The first part of this book is quite a bit of setup, but after you get through that the story really picks up and gets engaging. I really enjoyed the world-building and the detailed religion the witches follow. The whole idea behind how the witches come into their power is intriguing. Watching Miryo and Mirage and seeing how they are the same yet different was also intriguing. I also really enjoyed Eclipse as a character, he is in a supporting role and he is awesome at it. He is supportive, smart, and respectful and just generally helpful. There is absolutely no romance in this story; so if you are looking for romanc....look elsewhere. The action scenes are really well written and full of lots of great detail. I will admit at some points there was a bit too much detail and I found myself skimming a bit. However, most of it was well done. The story ties up nicely, but there is still more to be resolved in the sequel. This was a very well done fantasy with some great world building, interesting magic, and engaging characters. I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. I would recommend to fans of classic swords and sorcery type of fantasy. I plan on picking up the second book in the series to read.

• Very promsing start to an alternate world series

  Normally I don't order the sequel until I have finished the book, but I ordered it about `1/2 way through. Nice to see better world construction and not our own world with vampires etc. tacked on. Good plot with compelling characters and a nice twist at the end. A little humor but its absence is made up for by the absence of annoying editorial errors and inconsistencies. The witches are very loosely based on Wicca but are not primarily a religion; although they have some of the characteristics of one. There are at least 2 religions present. Overall an excellent read in the paranormal fantasy, adventure genre.

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