A coming-of-age story written in a style that reminded me less of Rachel Neumeier’s others novels and much more of Patricia A. McKillip, and maybe Robin McKinley.

In the City, the Prince disappears. Meanwhile, on the other side of the great forest, Timou’s father, the mage Kapoen, leaves for the City and does not return.

This is lovely. There’s a dreamlike quality to parts of it, but at its heart, it is very real and emotionally relatable - this story is about losing (and finding) family members.

Her father had not wanted her with him; he had left her behind—no doubt for very good reasons. Although, Timou thought now, a little more fiercely than was really comfortable, he might have explained to her what those were.
In flight from her own thoughts, Timou curled into her blanket, leaned her back against the great bole of a tree, and let her mind slip through its deep quiet existence until she could forget that she was small and human, and dream with the tree its slow circular dreams. ( )

The City in the Lake is an original YA fairy tale. When the Prince of the Kingdom goes missing, the magic of the Kingdom is thrown out of balance. The disturbance reaches all the way to the rural village where Timou is learning the craft of her father, a mage. When he never returns from a journey to the City, Timou herself goes to look for him and the missing prince.

While I was originally under the impression that Timou would be the center of the story (and this still is somewhat true) the narrative is actually split between Timou and the Prince’s illegitimate older brother, Lord Neill. I actually liked his sections a lot more than Timou’s, especially in the beginning where he had immediate problems (the disappearing Prince) versus Timou, who was still having her story line set up. Even by the end, Neill remained my favorite character.

Other than Neill, there’s nothing else about The City in the Lake that I really like the same way. The prose is well enough written, but it took me over half the book to get involved in the story line. Partly this could be due to the slow start, but I think some of it also lies in how archytipcal everything feels.

There’s not anything about The City in the Lake which feels new. The setting is a generic fairy tale type, if well described. There’s nothing specific in culture or design to make it feel at all different from countless other fantasy or fairy tale type books I’ve read. There’s a city (the City, no other name), a kingdom (again, the Kingdom), an enchanted forest, pastoral rural land… I got the sense that Neumeier was using familiar fairy tale elements, but I don’t think she ever distinguished herself enough from the multitude of other stories out there.

I didn’t find the plot engaging until near the end, but I also felt like the ending was almost literally a deus ex machina. I also never cared at all about Jonas, Timou’s love interest who started getting POV sections about half way into the book.

I don’t think I would tell anyone not to read The City in the Lake, but I don’t think it’s a book I’ll be recommending in the future either.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. ( )

After reading great reviews of this by Cybils panelists Charlotte's Library and The Puck in the Midden I was intrigued. I thought I'd remembered getting a review copy, so I dug through the never ending piles until I found it.

The City in the Lake is an immensely satisfying book heavy with myth, metaphor, and symbol. It's beautifully written book with a fairy-tale feel but more depth than a fairy tale. I recommend it for anyone who loves rich language, good writing, and depth of plot and characterization, but who doesn't need action around every turn. There is excitement, and suspense, and conflict, but it's not a fast-paced book.

Read my entire review ( )

Oh, book. I tossed you across the room at one point. I don't toss books lightly.

The plot I wholeheartedly disapprove of. The resolution was subtle like a sledgehammer.

The saving grace was the characters--they were the only reason I finished this. I love some of them, but that's no great victory for the author: they're made to be loved.

I do not recommend this book, and I think the wonderful characters are reduced by being in it.

I would give it negative stars if I could.

Medievaloid fantasy with an interestingly different magic system and a slightly dreamlike quality. ( )