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[The Exile]

I've recently finished reading this book and I was very impressed. Quite a lot of the book is full of imagery involving night and dreaming, so I think it will appeal to other NiGHTs fans.

It is a Victoriana/fantasy romance, set in a mysterious travelling circus that is only open at night. It becomes clear really early on that the circus performances are actual magic, and then it starts getting into the growing romance between two magicians that are using the circus to compete against each other. The descriptions of the different circus acts are beautiful and I especially like the twins with the performing kittens, they are the most adorable things ever ^^
I found the ending satisfying and it elicited some real emotional response for me. I'm not really interested in the romance, it is more the magic of the circus and the dream-like feel of it, and the way it was somewhere in-between a good and bad ending, like one of the endings of Dark Savior. I like the message that it is sometimes OK not to have complete freedom and a choice in everything.

I don't have any complaints about the book at all, but some people might find that the plot moves too slowly, and that the personalities of some of the characters annoys them. It doesn't really bother me but it is noticeable.

I found out about it because I'm an Echo Bazaar addict and the author advertised the book by making a browser game with the same engine, which is a cool way to advertise a book.

[Diputs]

I just finished reading this, after reading this post, and I loved it. The author's writing style manages to feel surreal while still letting you picture what's going on, and the ideas behind it are incredible: a circus open only at night that strives to be as magical as possible, two people bound by a contract they never agreed to forced to be enemies...

The time jumps were a little disorienting at first, but easy enought to grasp as I went on. The characters were nice and varied, but I'll agree the main attraction and focus is on the Cirque itself. It almost seems to take on a life of its own, a dreamy whisp of feeling at the edges of one's conciousness. I finished reading about two hours ago, and I think I've offended about five people by being almost completely unresponsive as I try to take it in.

I really found myself drawn to the people who followed the circus around. It seems to me the height of magic, able to make people willing to travel around the globe to see the circus again.

Sometime, after I'm filthy rich... Nah. It would be really hard to get it close enough to evoke the same response.

Thanks for letting me know about this book, it's one of the few I've read recently that is good enough to reccommend to my friends.