Book #114 of 2021:
White Cat by Holly Black (The Curse Workers #1)
I’ve enjoyed this fantasy novel enough to continue on to the rest of the trilogy, but I have some real issues with the memory and emotion manipulation magic that populates the story. The protagonist at least somewhat recognizes how problematic it is, especially when turned against himself, yet he and everyone else in this setting seem absurdly trusting of one another given that background. I know readers are often more genre-savvy than characters, but if I lived in a world where someone could rewrite my memories at a touch, I’d stop and question myself pretty frequently — and not assume that people going around gloved constituted any sort of adequate protection. It’s laughable how members of the main crime syndicate in particular don’t ever appear worried that they might be under the influence of a ‘working.’
(That’s also just a deeply silly name for the sorcery here. The eventual reveal that the etymology stems not from toil but from the work camps where persecuted practitioners used to be sent has some bite to it, but I still have a hard time with the notion that “worker” would catch on as a label in this alternate history rather than something as simple as “witch.”)
A few of the key figures like Lila or the hero’s grandfather are crueler than he notices, and I’m not sure if that’s setup for further developments or an odd choice on author Holly Black’s part. And I wish she had included more scenes of Cassel running a con job, as that’s an element of his personality that comes up a lot but is only actually shown on two or three occasions. But mostly I simply want him to be less obtuse, and to suspect the twists that I’ve spotted from a mile off.
At its best this volume has some fun Raven Cycle vibes of complicated family secrets amid an atmosphere of wonder, mixed with the confidence schemes of a typical heist narrative. Hopefully the sequels can lean into that aspect of the text, and away from the parts I haven’t found so convincing in book one.
[Content warning for gaslighting and domestic abuse.]
★★★☆☆
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