Touchstone

December 5, 2011
Rawn takes heroic fantasy to its logical conclusion, creating a lived-in world where the scars from magical wars still linger and pure blood is a thing of the distant past. Cayden Silversun is the playwright and manager of the up-and-coming magical theater group Touchstone, alongside his friends Rafe and Jeska and the startlingly talented Mieka Windthistle. Despite their differences, wild Mieka and sensible Cade become fast friends. Shunned by his family, Cade is driven to prove himself, pushing Touchstone to ever greater heights. But as their fame grows, so do Mieka’s drug abuse and self-destructive behavior. Cade, troubled by prophetic visions of Mieka’s possible futures, wonders whether he has the right—or the obligation—to interfere with his impetuous friend’s choices. This strong, heartfelt, and familiar performer’s tale is full of astonishing promise, powerful but co-dependent friendships, insecurity, and addiction, and it will appeal to fantasy fans and theater lovers alike.

December 15, 2011
The play's the thing: new fantasy series about a magical theater company, from the author of The Golden Key (1996, etc.). Part Elf, part Wizard, Cayden Silversun is determined to follow his aptitude and instinct into the theater, despite the snobbish disapproval of his aristocratic mother and the example of his father, who moves in lofty regions at the Royal Court (where he's actually the Royal pimp). Cade knows he and his troupe are exceptionally gifted, and when brash but highly talented young Elf Mieka Windthistle inveigles his way into the company, Cade knows they'll be second to none and could challenge to join the Royal Circuit itself. They are four: Cade, the "tregetour," playwright and director who imbues the glass withies essential to the performance with magic; Jeska the "masquer" plays all the parts; Rafe the "fettler" controls the performance on stage; and Mieka the "glisker" uses his magic to make everything come alive. Though Mieka offers Cade his trust and friendship, Cade can't bring himself to tell the young Elf his dark secret: he foresees possible futures and has the ability to make them come true or turn them aside. But he foresees a horrid future for Mieka and, assuming he can do nothing and should not interfere anyway, Cade says nothing. Finally the company, Touchstone, joins the Winterly Circuit, enjoying long roads, rivalries, bad food, surly innkeepers, all-male audiences, ghastly weather and the attentions of groupies. There are promising ideas, though Rawn doesn't really manage to convey how it all works, together with an insufficiency of plot and little or no real insight. Instead of a grand finale, it just stumbles to a halt. Youthful melodrama without catharsis.

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Starred review from February 15, 2012

Cayden Silversun, a blend of Elven, Fae, and Wizard bloodlines, defies his noble family to pursue a life in the theater, forming the four-person troupe Touchstone with the goal of making it to the highest echelons of the performing circuit. Given the talents of troupe member Mieka Windthistle, a brilliant "glisker" whose job is to enhance with magic both the crowd's emotions and the performances' special effects, their goal seems reachable. Yet Cayden's prophetic dreams indicate something sinister about Mieka's presence and tempt him to try to change fate without incurring a larger doom. The author of the "Dragon Prince" and "Dragon Star" trilogies as well as the urban fantasies Spell Binder and Fire Raiser returns to high fantasy with a captivating tale of magic, theater, politics, and love. She sets her story in a Renaissance-like world, a place recovering from a devastating war that resulted in the stringent regulation of potentially harmful magic. VERDICT Rawn's storytelling mastery, ability to create unforgettable characters, and fresh approaches to world building and magic theory make this a must-read for an audience that extends well beyond her fans.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2012
This first in a new series introduces a world full of people of mixed magical heritage and a love of magical theater. Nineteen-year-old Cayden wants nothing more than to be a famous playwright, but in order for his group to succeed, they need a fourth member. When young, beautiful, mercurial Elven Mieka joins in a performance, she transforms the group and gives them a shot at becoming one of the few troupes to travel the Kingdom. Once Cayden starts seeing Mieka in his troubling visions of the future, he knows that they will succeed, but at what price? Can Cayden control his visions and change the bleak future he keeps seeing? With a fully realized world and magical system, as well as a character-driven plot, this will appeal to fans of traditional fantasies like Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson or Michael J. O'Sullivan's Riyria series. Highly recommended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)