Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter
Reviewed by Matt
L. Jagi Lamplighter’s novel Prospero Lost is an English Lit major’s wet dream. Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, specifically the Inferno portion, is all true and William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is actually a semi-autobiography. There are also numerous other references to various classic works that weave their way into this novel. Father Christmas, aka Santa Claus, plays a prominent role in the story as he is as old as time itself. He even is able recall the creation of humans as he had witnessed the actual event. This is all situated in an urban fantasy setting that has a unique perspective and it has a potential to become a classic. Prospero Lost is the first of three planed novels, to be followed by Prospero in Hell and Prospero Regained. As such, this is a set up novel for the rest of the series as it specifically focuses on character building.
The Prospero’s are an immortal family that has survived for centuries while having adventures and building a magical empire. The head of the family is Magus Prospero. He has directed the family and his business for several hundred years. Over time Magus has had a total of eight children, six males and two females, with several different mothers. The strange thing is that none of the mothers are immortal. The novel focuses on Miranda Prospero as she is the oldest of the siblings and the current CEO of the family’s company, Prospero, Inc. Magus had stepped down as the CEO many years ago to study some dangerous and unusual magic. At the beginning of the story Miranda discovers a note from her father that he has disappeared and to warn her siblings of the Three Shadowed Ones. Essentially, the rest of novel covers Miranda’s travels to meet with her various bothers and sisters to warn them of the Three Shadowed Ones and uncover clues as to what happened to her father. This is not as easy as it sounds. Miranda has fallen out of contact with them over the centuries and some have followed very unusual paths.
Miranda is joined by the company’s special investigator Mab. Mab is actually a supernatural creature belonging to a race called Aerie Ones. The Aerie Ones have a pact with Magus to serve him for a set amount of years and then they can be release back into the wild. At one time, the Aerie’s were wild winds that caused havoc on the human race but are attempting to learn to control themselves. Mab has taken a human form but can leave the shell when he is in danger. During the course of the novel there is an interesting debate and theme about how the Aerie Ones are beholden to the Prospero’s which in some respects is considered to be a form of slavery.
What I enjoyed most about this novel is that Ms. Lamplighter has a grip on dealing with immortal beings. Many novels tend to treat their immortal characters with typical outlooks of beings with an average life span. In seems to me that when one has lived for centuries they would tend to tire of all the human strife and become numb to events and feelings. Miranda is portrayed spot on as a person who seems to be uncaring and is all about furthering her father’s goals. Some the other siblings have decided that they don’t want immortality anymore and have chosen to live their lives naturally. While others have been radically changed by time and effected by certain events in their lives. The petty jealousy and rivalry between the siblings are accurately portrayed as they have a lot of time to fume over their perceived slights by their brothers, sisters and their father. The character building is the major achievement of this novel.
The only issue I had with the novel is the pacing of it. It seemed to move very slow and not a lot is accomplished by the end of novel. It is a well crafted story but it seems to move at a snail’s pace. Personally, I think the payoff will occur in the 2nd and 3rd novels now that Ms. Lamplighter has established her characters and detailed the background of her universe.
Prospero Lost is not your typical cookie cutter urban fantasy novel in which the main female character is young and full of angst. Miranda Prospero is mature character a who is a powerful business woman but has a lifetime of regrets. It is refreshing viewpoint and one I plan to follow in subsequent novels.
Matt started this discussion 4 months ago. ( )
