City of Lost Dreams

Starred review from October 1, 2013
Sequel to City of Dark Magic (2012), set in a world where alchemy, magic and science all work; another lively, amusing romantic mystery from the pseudonymous Flyte (Meg Howrey and Christina Lynch). Musicologist Sarah Weston arrives in Vienna hoping to find a cure for her friend, the blind young composer Pollina, who's dying of an intractable ailment. Meanwhile, Sarah's friend and ally, the drunkenly world-weary, 400-year-old dwarf Nico Pertusato, wanders around London seeking an ancient alchemical remedy only to discover that a mysterious adversary has anticipated his every move. In Prague, Prince Max, Sarah's ex-lover, ponders the baffling reappearance of a saint who drowned 800 years ago, then a World War II Czech resistance hero shot by the Gestapo; meanwhile, his seductive new girlfriend, redheaded British historian Harriet Hunter, pursues a hidden agenda of her own. Rumor has it that the brilliant biochemist Bettina Muller may have formulated a treatment for Pollina, but when Sarah tries to contact her, Muller proves peculiarly elusive and demands that Sarah return the priceless antique model ship purloined from the British Museum that Muller, for some reason, has concealed in her refrigerator. Growing desperate, Sarah makes use of a drug that frees her mind to float back through the centuries and peruse the work of Philippine Welser, the brilliant alchemist wife of Emperor Rudolf II, besides, that is, enjoying all the food and culture Prague and Vienna have to offer, not to mention mind-blowing sex with a hot Austrian noble in a stable that's in the process of burning down (she still remembers to use a condom). Sensual, witty and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, set forth in sparkling prose and inhabited by characters well-worth getting to know. Wunderbar!

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December 15, 2013
The follow-up to City of Dark Magic (2012) finds musicologist Sarah Weston in Vienna, trying to find a cure for her young friend Pollina's rare autoimmune disease. Nico, the dwarf made immortal in 1601 by the astronomer-alchemist Tycho Brahe, has his own idea about a cure, but it involves some pretty scary ancient technologies. Meanwhile, Sarah is trying to track down another doctor, but he has vanished, leaving behind an old clock apparently stolen from the British Museum; and as much as she's reluctant to ask former lover Max Anderson for help, he's the guy with the museum connections. Oh, and let's not forget Westonia, the time-travel drug, and the villainous woman operating behind the scenes as a sort of puppetmaster. Trying to assign this book to a genre would probably result in a headache, so just think of it as a blend of urban fantasy, romantic comedy, and time-travel adventure, with an extra twist of weirdness. Flytea pseudonym for the team of novelist Meg Howrey and TV writer Christina Lynchkeeps things moving at a brisk clip, not giving us a chance to pick at any loose threads. Lots of fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)