Book Review: The Mask of Mirrors (Rook and Rose, #1) by M.A. Carrick
Cover art illustrated by Nekro XIII
The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: Rook and Rose (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 688 pages (Paperback edition)
Word Count: 215,000 words
Publish date: 19th January 2021 by Orbit
The Mask of Mirrors is the start of a Venetian fantasy-setting series with a heavy focus on political intrigue, multiple identities, lies, and world-building.
For the uninitiated, The Mask of Mirrors is the first book in the Rook and Rose trilogy by M.A. Carrick. Similar to how James S.A. Corey is the name for a duo comprising Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, M.A. Carrick is the name for the duo of Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms. I haven’t read anything by Alyc Helms yet prior to The Mask of Mirrors, but I’ve read two books by Marie Brennan this year. Those are the first two books in The Memoirs of Lady Trent series. Although I enjoyed the first two books in The Memoirs of Lady Trent, I was wondering whether The Mask of Mirrors would be a better fit for me as I repeatedly heard how this is a heist/con fantasy novel. And it is in a way an accurate assessment. But if you approach The Mask of Mirrors thinking it would be something akin to, let’s say, Mistborn: The Final Empire or The Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo in terms of plot progression or actions, you might find yourself disappointed by this.
“Trust is the thread that binds us… and the rope that hangs us.”
Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars.
Most of the story in The Mask of Mirrors is told through the perspective of Ren, a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadežra with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house of Traementis to secure her and Tess—her sister’s—fortune.
But as Ren is drawn further into the elite world of House Traementis, she realizes her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. As nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the City of Dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled…with Ren at their heart.
Social injustice, rich vs poor, identities, and ambitions are some of the main themes of The Mask of Mirrors. I believe the themes were handled well, but I feel it is mandatory to remind future readers (based on my recommendation) to be patient with the novel. While I am a fan of a slow-burn narrative, I felt The Mask of Mirrors is much slower and longer than it should be. This is (mostly) because of the first half of the book. The plot and the stakes just did not feel intriguing enough for the slow-burn narration. It was not until I reached the halfway mark of the book (The Azrezai’s Dream sequence) that I felt the story progressed more compellingly. As I’m writing this review, I am in the middle of reading The Liar’s Knot, the second book in the trilogy, and guess what? The same circumstances are practically replicated again.
Fortunately, the slow-burn narrative did provide some good character development for the main characters. Ren, Tess, Grey, Vargo, the Traementis family, and the mysterious vigilante named Rook… Every one of them started out as an alright and relatively uninteresting character to me. But after I read through each chapter and learned more about them and their respective motivation, it felt easier to care about them and the storyline. My favorite character, undoubtedly, is Ren, though. Including the fact that almost the entire story of The Mask of Mirrors is narrated from her perspective, but the insight and exploration of her characterizations, background, and the mysteries left for future installments were so well-written. Even though the pacing was slow, reading about Ren’s struggle and motivation to uphold her multiple identities for her continuously increasing schemes and plotting rarely felt boring. At the end of the day, Ren’s relationship with Tess, Sedge, the Traemantis family, and the Rook are the strongest parts of The Mask of Mirrors.
Lastly, before I end this review, you would be sorely mistaken if you think The Mask of Mirrors is as accessible and easy to read as The Memoirs of Lady Trent. The world-building in The Mask of Mirrors is incredibly detailed. From the clothing, cultures, history, setting, and abstract magic, this is where M.A. Carrick clearly displayed their big ambitions for the trilogy. If you like the Venetian fantasy setting in Camorr from The Lies of Locke Lamora, there is a good chance you will like being in Nadežra as well. Do note that the story is entirely different in terms of vibe and tone, though. However, if you are not a fan of reading details about clothing, dancing, and all that, I will have to be the bearer of bad news in saying some areas in this book will test your patience. There are close to no battle scenes, too. Other than the Azrezai’s Dream sequence and the last few chapters, the rest of the novel is dialogues, scheming, and world-building.
On the plus side, if you are a reader on the opposite side, let’s say you are in love with the way Robert Jordan described every single detail about clothing in The Wheel of Time, The Mask of Mirrors will scratch that itch on that regard. In my opinion, at least as far as the first book goes, The Mask of Mirrors is better than A Natural History of Dragons. Although the first half of the novel was not as interesting as I hoped, resulting in the book feeling longer than it should be, I believe The Mask of Mirrors is a great novel for us readers who are looking for a Venetian fantasy-setting story with an emphasis on manipulations, scheming, and unpredictable magic usage. I can also confirm that the second book is a superb and better installment.
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