Labyrinth Lost, by Zoraida Cordova
May. 18th, 2018 09:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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fffridayAlex Mortiz comes from a long line of brujas, but unlike her mother and sisters, she fears her powers. She's got her reasons. Even normal bruja abilities come with blowback, and Alex's powerful magic comes with danger and death, and shadowy things called maloscuros come to threaten the safety of her family. But when she tries giving back her powers, the canto goes wrong, and Alex's family is taken from her instead.
With the help of her best friend Rishi, and a mysterious boy named Nova, Alex descends to Los Lagos, where souls of the dead go between lives, to get her family back. But the world of Los Lagos itself is in crisis, held hostage and sucked nearly dry by the Devourer, an old and powerful being who might just have her sights set on Earth next, and who is none too happy about Alex standing in her way.
What I liked best about this book was its world. I loved the details of bruja culture and everyday living, from the items which fill Alex's home, to the specificity of the cantos brujas cast (not spells, spells are for witches; cantos are for brujas.) Although the magic and faith practiced by Alex and her family isn't exactly Santeria, or another real-world pagan analogue, you can tell Cordova's done her research even before you get to the author's note. It shows in the vivid verisimilitude of her setting. I loved the eerie, dangerous beauty of Los Lagos, the way its denizens popped off the page, and the way the challenges ahead of Alex felt, well, challenging. I've always been a sucker for descent to the underworld stories; stories of people who'd go to literal or figurative hell for those they love, so the concept was a real easy sell.
As for the characters, I didn't always like Alex, who starts out sullen and wishing to be normal. (Those familiar with my tastes know how little I sympathize with normalcy-seeking characters.) On the other hand, I found her very believable as a person and character right from the get-go, and watching her grow and develop throughout the story was a joy. By the end of the story, I loved her. I found Nova interesting, entertaining, and even sympathetic throughout, for all that his glib inscrutability would have likely driven me nuts in real life. Cordova also does a great job with a lot of her secondary characters, who are memorable despite their relatively-limited page count, especially Alex's older sister, Lula, and the Adas, Rodriga and Agosto. The Devourer is a credible threat, with an interesting background.
And then, there's Rishi, easily the weakest part of the book. Which is a shame, as she's inexorably entwined with the very reason I picked this book up to begin with. Alex is bisexual (which is awesome!) and finds herself attracted to both Nova and Rishi in the course of the story. It's not that I think Alex makes the wrong decision, when she ultimately chooses Rishi, but a) traditional love triangles are stupid anyway, and b) having finished the book, I still have no idea who Rishi is, aside from her being quirky, Guyanese, and into Alex. She falls flat, and with her the love plot. I want to cheer for the same-sex love interest winning the day, but. Eh.
Some of the problem is she has no magic and is a fish out of water in Los Lagos. But Ordinary People (™) can shine in extraordinary settings by being clever and determined. I… guess Rishi is determined, and her faith in Alex is unflagging, but she doesn't contribute a hell of a lot. Even at the point in the plot where Alex and Rishi are on their own, and I think 'hey, now's Rishi's chance to shine…' she still does nothing. She's a love interest, and that's all she is. I'm not sure why there's such a disappointing contrast to the other characters. My only guess is, Cordova was really invested in providing Good Queer Representation (™), didn't want to fuck it up, and overshot in the bland direction.
But on the scale of the book as a whole, that's a nitpick. I really enjoyed Labyrinth Lost and would absolutely recommend it on the strength of its story, world, and cast. I'm really looking forward to the sequel with Lula as the protagonist. The love plot? Eh. But so goes it.
As an aside, it looks like we can't add our own new tags. Will a moderator be eventually tagging posts, or is that a permission that can be granted to members?
With the help of her best friend Rishi, and a mysterious boy named Nova, Alex descends to Los Lagos, where souls of the dead go between lives, to get her family back. But the world of Los Lagos itself is in crisis, held hostage and sucked nearly dry by the Devourer, an old and powerful being who might just have her sights set on Earth next, and who is none too happy about Alex standing in her way.
What I liked best about this book was its world. I loved the details of bruja culture and everyday living, from the items which fill Alex's home, to the specificity of the cantos brujas cast (not spells, spells are for witches; cantos are for brujas.) Although the magic and faith practiced by Alex and her family isn't exactly Santeria, or another real-world pagan analogue, you can tell Cordova's done her research even before you get to the author's note. It shows in the vivid verisimilitude of her setting. I loved the eerie, dangerous beauty of Los Lagos, the way its denizens popped off the page, and the way the challenges ahead of Alex felt, well, challenging. I've always been a sucker for descent to the underworld stories; stories of people who'd go to literal or figurative hell for those they love, so the concept was a real easy sell.
As for the characters, I didn't always like Alex, who starts out sullen and wishing to be normal. (Those familiar with my tastes know how little I sympathize with normalcy-seeking characters.) On the other hand, I found her very believable as a person and character right from the get-go, and watching her grow and develop throughout the story was a joy. By the end of the story, I loved her. I found Nova interesting, entertaining, and even sympathetic throughout, for all that his glib inscrutability would have likely driven me nuts in real life. Cordova also does a great job with a lot of her secondary characters, who are memorable despite their relatively-limited page count, especially Alex's older sister, Lula, and the Adas, Rodriga and Agosto. The Devourer is a credible threat, with an interesting background.
And then, there's Rishi, easily the weakest part of the book. Which is a shame, as she's inexorably entwined with the very reason I picked this book up to begin with. Alex is bisexual (which is awesome!) and finds herself attracted to both Nova and Rishi in the course of the story. It's not that I think Alex makes the wrong decision, when she ultimately chooses Rishi, but a) traditional love triangles are stupid anyway, and b) having finished the book, I still have no idea who Rishi is, aside from her being quirky, Guyanese, and into Alex. She falls flat, and with her the love plot. I want to cheer for the same-sex love interest winning the day, but. Eh.
Some of the problem is she has no magic and is a fish out of water in Los Lagos. But Ordinary People (™) can shine in extraordinary settings by being clever and determined. I… guess Rishi is determined, and her faith in Alex is unflagging, but she doesn't contribute a hell of a lot. Even at the point in the plot where Alex and Rishi are on their own, and I think 'hey, now's Rishi's chance to shine…' she still does nothing. She's a love interest, and that's all she is. I'm not sure why there's such a disappointing contrast to the other characters. My only guess is, Cordova was really invested in providing Good Queer Representation (™), didn't want to fuck it up, and overshot in the bland direction.
But on the scale of the book as a whole, that's a nitpick. I really enjoyed Labyrinth Lost and would absolutely recommend it on the strength of its story, world, and cast. I'm really looking forward to the sequel with Lula as the protagonist. The love plot? Eh. But so goes it.
As an aside, it looks like we can't add our own new tags. Will a moderator be eventually tagging posts, or is that a permission that can be granted to members?
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