Virtu [Mass Market Paperback]

_The Virtu_ is the second half of _Melusine_. If publishers still published large one-volume novels instead of series, the two would have worked perfectly as one book. I recommend buying both books at once and reading them in order without stopping.

The narrative is still a seamless combination of Felix and his half-brother Mildmay. The two voices are done very well. Unlike some multiple-viewpoint novels, the plot is never confusing because one narrator always takes up precisely where the other one left off.

The fantasy world is unusual and interesting, and the two main characters have great depth. Felix and Mildmay have similar pasts, but have evolved in different ways. Their strengths and weaknesses complement each other extremely well as far as their relationship and the plot goes. Both are damaged characters (mentally and physically), but still capable of good acts. Felix is here shown on his sane, or "up" side, which makes him distinctly more likeable than he was in _Melusine_. Granted, he's conceited, quickly angered, and manipulative, but he's also talented, sometimes charming, and highly intelligent and well educated. Frankly, he was too much of a one-note character in _Melusine_--all he did there was cower and whine, and none of his better traits were visible. Mildmay is much the same as in _Melusine_, but he's an interesting portrait of how a harsh background can form a person who is a professional criminal, but still capable of many generous acts. Both Felix and Mildmay evolve throughout the two books, struggling to become better people. They succeed to some extent; but realistically, with very slow progress, backslidings, and unpleasant self-realizations.

One problem I have with both books is: Everyone in them is far too quick to become extremely angry and/or hurt from a single remark from another character. There are many scenes where people who are supposedly longtime lovers or friends say one thing to each other and bang! either the relationship ends entirely, or the parties involved quit speaking for weeks. For example, Felix's relationship with Shannon--in _Melusine_ Felix is unable to enjoy sex once, and a love affair of several years is over forever. It is often unclear why some characters are in a constant state of prickly dislike for each other. There are no really healthy personal relationships in these books. I don't require books to be cozy, but it seems like statistically there should be a _few_ people in a society who can consistently trust and love each other and get along.

Although _The Virtu_ does not leave as many loose ends as _Melusine_, I'm willing to bet there will be at least one more book in the series. Some minor characters, such as Arakhne, seem to have no purpose in the plot except to return in a later book. There are also hints that the boy Florian will be in contact with Felix again someday. Many mysteries still surround the actress Mehitabel, the parentage of Felix and Mildmay, and the Mirador. The author plants an explicit question as to where Mavortian's divination cards came from.

And this is a long shot, but I'm wondering whether Mildmay is going to get trained as a wizard. He seems to have some unusual abilities that no one has yet recognized as such.

Read this book. I can't recommend it strongly enough.

This novel picks up where _Melusine_leaves off, with Felix newly returned to sanity and Mildmay learning to deal with the injury to his leg. I don't want to give any of the plot away -- everyone should have the joy of watching it unfold at its own pace -- but I will say that every plot twist is satisfying, and appears strangely perfect and inevitable once it happens. Which is not to say that you see any of it coming, because you don't, not with any degree of surety, not until it's already upon you.

Felix is not a particularly likeable guy, a fact acknowledged by everyone, himself included. Mildmay, on the other hand, is one of the most sympathetic and compelling characters in modern fantasy. Watching his relationship with Felix develop, in both healthy and unhealthy ways, is consistently fascinating. You understand why they do what they do, even when their actions make you wince. The desire to find out what happens next may cost you sleep. It did me.

A rare novel, a rare author. I really hope there are more books in this series. You're not going to find better fantasy anywhere.

I am not really sure whether it's the writing style or the characters but I found this novel to be very difficult to get involved in, something I also felt about the previous novel Melusine.

All of the characters are obnoxiously intractable and that makes it very hard to feel sympathetic towards any of them. The whole story left me feeling rather indifferent as to whether they lived or died by the end.

Huge amounts of page time are spent in "in-between" locations traveling from place to place with very little going on except for the characters stubbornly refusing to interact in a meaningful way.

The plot is vague and we're not advised as to the important details of the world herein even as we're bombarded with lots of minutae about the cultures and societies with little context provided. This is a magical world but damned if I could figure out what practical uses magic is actually put to here.

The Virtu is not a horrible novel, but it isn't engaging either. All in all I found it to not be a very compelling read.

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