The Royal Sorceress

After a few introductory chapters, this story becomes quite gripping and entertaining on first reading, though I'm not sure how rereadable it'll turn out to be.

The heroine is clearly a goodie, and some of the characters are clearly baddies, but the good/bad nature of some other significant characters is ambiguous, they have elements of both, which I think is a good thing in a book. Too many novels divide their characters clearly into the good and the bad, and things aren't that clearcut in real life.

The so-called magic in this book could be better described as supernormal mental powers: no spells or special ingredients are required, just the trained effort of will. I think that both magic and mental powers have been handled better by other writers, but the way it's done here is adequate, although the mental powers described are rather too powerful for comfort. I think more limited powers make for more interesting fiction, and also seem subjectively more credible.

I like happy endings, so I was relieved to find that this book has a relatively happy ending, although unfortunately I found it implausible. Given the events of the story, I would have expected a messier outcome, with much wrangling over the future of the country.

Politically, the author paints a picture of a sick society of gross inequality, in which the poor have no hope; but he also makes the point that violent revolution tends not to improve the situation. What, then, is the way forward? I think he dodges the issue by handing us an implausibly happy ending.

The writing style is not bad, but lacks the assurance of a seasoned professional. Well, the author is quite young and says himself that he's improving steadily.