Review: Pantomime by Laura Lam

 

Title: Pantomime

Author: Laura Lam

Published: February 5th 2013 by Strange Chemistry

ARC from Netgalley

Book Description:

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

My Thoughts:

P.S. I’ll do my very best to make this free of spoilers.

Frankly, I’m not really fond of this type of genre, but when I’ve read the blurb, I had this huge urge to go ahead, give it a try and read it. And I’m so glad I did.

This is definitely the strangest, yet really fascinating novel I’ve read. So far.

The story is told in two different perspectives. That of Micah Grey, a runaway who joined the circus in hopes of becoming one of them, and Iphigenia Laurus, daughter of a noble family who wants nothing but freedom. These two have a really close connection with each other. How so? You better read it and find out :D

Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed reading this book. I’ve never been to a real circus before but reading this pulled me into their world, making you feel as if you’re really there as one of the audiences, watching every act of the circus performers. Everything was written in detail that you can easily imagine what was happening. And have I mentioned that this has a bit of fantasy as well?

Although the pacing is a bit slow for me, it was still very interesting and I could not wait to see what will happen next. I especially loved reading about Iphigenia aka Gene’s point of view. Micah’s point of view was interesting as well and progresses the story. The characters are believable and you can easily imagine them as real people. I loved Drystan’s character the most. He’s funny and witty, and you‘ll understand him more once you get to know him and his past.

Micah and Gene are great protagonists. They both deal with issues that are very hard to deal with, especially with the time period they live in. (without all those technology to help them). You get to understand their feelings, and especially their dilemma’s about their sexuality.  

I definitely recommend you guys to give this book a try. It’s strange, yet unique in its own way. That cliffhanger ending will surely make you want to read the next book asap!

I give this book 4 clown whales.