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Title: Heart of Gold
Author: Michael Pryor
Narrator: Rupert Degas
Format: Unabridged
Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-24-15
Publisher: Audible Studios
Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes
Genres: Teens, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Publisher's Summary:
Magical genius Aubrey Fitzwilliam is about to become involved in a convoluted series of adventures...again.
At a loss after finishing their end-of-year exams, Aubrey and George travel to the Gallian capital, Lutetia, where it so happens that the lovely Caroline is studying natural history. Aubrey wants to pursue a cure for his condition - though his family has other ideas, and he's soon burdened with a royal mystery to solve, old letters to procure, a missing ornithologist to locate, and a spot of diplomatic espionage. These tasks should keep Aubrey occupied - but that would be underestimating his sense of curiosity and uncanny knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Someone is stealing people's souls and turning them into mindless monsters, and the country's magical lifeline, the Heart of Gold, has been stolen, leaving the city in chaos. Aubrey, George, and a somewhat reluctant Caroline are on the case in this engaging listen.
Members Reviews:
book two is better than one, rest even better, strong three
"Charmingly old-fashioned" is how I would describe Michael Pryor's series The Lasw of Magic, which begins with Blaze of Glory (reviewed separately) and continues with Heart of Gold, Word of Honour, and the most recent, due out this summer--Time of Trial, all of which I'll review as a group here. The concluding book will be Hour of Need.
The series is set in an alternate England (called Albion) during the Edwardian Age, on the cusp of WWI at first and then at the start of war in the final two books. The Industrial Revolution happened beside a parallel magical revolution and the two are deeply intertwined in day to day life, though magic less so since it is limited to those with a natural born talent for it, a talent which can be improved and honed via courses of study, the titular "Laws" as well as the study of the ancient languages that underlie most spells.
The main character is Aubrey Fitzwilliam, whose father is the Prime Minister and whose mother is a famed explorer/naturalist. Aubrey is one of those with magical talent--a lot of it, as well as a head for the hard science aspect of it, what he calls "Rational Magic." His best friend and constant companion, devoid of any magical talent himself but full of surprising other ones, is George. The girl he meets in book one and then develops a relationship with, and who thus joins him in all his adventures, is Caroline, who is more than capable in a host of ways (she's a martial arts expert) despite having no magic. The "big bad" of the series is a completely amoral magician, Dr. Tremaine, who is pushing the world toward world war for the singular purpose that the needs a lot of blood sacrifices to cast a spell of immortality on himself.
My review of Blaze of Glory called it a solid if not compelling book that piqued my interest enough to want to continue. I'm glad I did for while it does have some of the same flaws as that first book, in general the books gradually improve and deepen as the series goes on while the world turns more grim and Aubrey grows a bit older.
Heart of Gold deals with trying to recover an object central to Gallian's (France) existence and with a "soul-stealer" who is turning people into zombies. In Word of Honour, the three friends head of to university and end up mixed up in sabotaged submersibles, a bank theft, and international finance.
