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Windrose Chronicles #4
L Invité Malvenu
Kyra se préparait pour son examen final de sorcellerie devant le Conseil lorsque, soudain, quelque chose s'est mis à troubler sa magie, tissant de sinistres présages même au sein de ses sortilèges les plus élémentaires. Une certitude s'impose vite à Kyra : sa jeune sœur Alix, qui doit bientôt se marier... est en danger de mort ! Tragique, cet événement n'est pourtant que le premier d'une série de catastrophes qui menacent de s'abattre sur le pays. Seule à connaître ce danger, Kyra devra s'opposer à sa famille, qui l'a exilée du fait de ses dons magiques — mais comment peut-elle lutter, alors qu'elle ne connaît même pas l'identité de son ennemi ?
Paperback
First published March 2, 1994
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About the author
Barbara Hambly
216 books1,519 followersaka Barbara Hamilton
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
August 4, 2011
I'm tempted to call this my favorite...except I'm honest enough to admit that my favorite Hambly books is whichever book I'm reading at the time. Even years after having read this for the first time, I'm always amazed at how clearly I can visualize the scenes of Stranger, and how, though it's a much read book, I can get completely engulfed in its world.
It also holds up well for me being older, hopefully wiser and more experienced than when I first read it (or even any of the many other times); Kyra's self-struggle--for identity, self-determination, for self-integrity, for the right and ability to pursue her dreams and wants--is one that spoke to me as a young woman and speaks to me just as much now, as an older and married woman. Hambly's heroines are often women swimming against a tide--of expectation both personal and societal. The fact that they are, even so, the heroines, the movers of action, the center of the story and, through great peril, generally able to secure some modicum of happiness from the world is something I don't think I knew to value when I started reading her books, but probably influenced and helped me more than I knew. I don't feel like it's any less so rereading it now.
Though Stranger takes place in a fictional and fantastical world, Hambly always brings her historical background to give it a grounding in familiar reality; when I first read Stranger, I was most strongly reminder of the kind of effortless, charming banter and flirtatiousness of a classic, Golden Era Hollywood movie. And I still see and feel that there, but I'm also reminded of the class politics and division of Gosford Park or Downton Abbey. Not that Stranger is a pastiche of either of these things; I think Hambly's work stands distinct, but those slight echoes or associations on my part add a richness that improves an already excellent read.
It also holds up well for me being older, hopefully wiser and more experienced than when I first read it (or even any of the many other times); Kyra's self-struggle--for identity, self-determination, for self-integrity, for the right and ability to pursue her dreams and wants--is one that spoke to me as a young woman and speaks to me just as much now, as an older and married woman. Hambly's heroines are often women swimming against a tide--of expectation both personal and societal. The fact that they are, even so, the heroines, the movers of action, the center of the story and, through great peril, generally able to secure some modicum of happiness from the world is something I don't think I knew to value when I started reading her books, but probably influenced and helped me more than I knew. I don't feel like it's any less so rereading it now.
Though Stranger takes place in a fictional and fantastical world, Hambly always brings her historical background to give it a grounding in familiar reality; when I first read Stranger, I was most strongly reminder of the kind of effortless, charming banter and flirtatiousness of a classic, Golden Era Hollywood movie. And I still see and feel that there, but I'm also reminded of the class politics and division of Gosford Park or Downton Abbey. Not that Stranger is a pastiche of either of these things; I think Hambly's work stands distinct, but those slight echoes or associations on my part add a richness that improves an already excellent read.
February 22, 2023
I read this book several times years ago and loved it. My battered paperback was lost in a move at some point, so I was happy this morning when I received an e-mail from Amazon saying the Kindle version was 40% off, so of course I grabbed it. Here's hoping it lives up to my happy memories and that I still love it.
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June 22, 2015In many ways this book explores the same issue as Dragonsbane: a woman struggling with a choice between magic and love.
Kyra chose magic six years ago, sacrificing her relationship with her father and getting herself cast out of her family in the process, but now returns because visions have warned her that her younger sister Alix is soon to die. She must find out who has cursed Alix before her sister's wedding.
Again as with Dragonsbane, the worldbuilding is one of women primarily destined for marriage and babies and little choice about it, and mages forbidden marriage and generally distrusted. And Kyra is another plain/not-traditionally attractive woman (angular and tall in this case) who spent her teens not being wanted by the boys and refusing to be hurt by it.
The mystery of who is behind the curse is one of those "author briefly mentions a person with an obvious motive but the characters never think about that person" stories.
And again the primary story is one of Kyra finding possible happiness and being torn between her magic and love - though this time the
Kyra is thoroughly sensible throughout most of this, and I enjoyed her for that, except for the irritating blindness inflicted on her by the plot-strings.
Kyra chose magic six years ago, sacrificing her relationship with her father and getting herself cast out of her family in the process, but now returns because visions have warned her that her younger sister Alix is soon to die. She must find out who has cursed Alix before her sister's wedding.
Again as with Dragonsbane, the worldbuilding is one of women primarily destined for marriage and babies and little choice about it, and mages forbidden marriage and generally distrusted. And Kyra is another plain/not-traditionally attractive woman (angular and tall in this case) who spent her teens not being wanted by the boys and refusing to be hurt by it.
The mystery of who is behind the curse is one of those "author briefly mentions a person with an obvious motive but the characters never think about that person" stories.
And again the primary story is one of Kyra finding possible happiness and being torn between her magic and love - though this time the
Kyra is thoroughly sensible throughout most of this, and I enjoyed her for that, except for the irritating blindness inflicted on her by the plot-strings.
January 12, 2015
With The Ladies of Mandrigyn, Barbara Hambly won a place among my favorite authors. With this book, she reaffirms that place. Not only does she set up fascinating fantastic situations in a fluid, detailed, readable style, but she writes about the kinds of heroines I love to read about, first the fiercely capable mercenary Starhawk and now the unconventional, sometimes awkward but equally capable magician Kyra. (I need to mention as an aside that I love Hambly's use of the word "wizard" as a gender-neutral term. Not enough fantasy novelists do this. Diane Duane does it, but off-hand I can't think of another one.) I came to like Kyra almost immediately and was eager to see her triumph, both in magic and in love. I also appreciated that she was fallible, prone to the occasional mistake in judgment; because of this, it mattered all the more when her capability shone through.
Kyra is the book's big selling point for me, but by no means is she its sole virtue. Other things it does very well:
1) Kyra is not its sole noteworthy female character. The moving force behind the plot is the love and loyalty between two sisters, and younger sister Alix, while more conventional than Kyra, is revealed to be smart and capable in her own way. She could easily have been written as a pallid, simple damsel in distress, a foil and contrast to the awesome Kyra. Plenty of writers might have gone that route, but Hambly doesn't. Kyra also has a female mentor, Rosamond, who appears in a few key scenes, and even Kyra's mother, presented as a flibbertigibbet for most of the story, turns out to have a bit more to her than Kyra (and we) had initially thought.
2) This book is disturbing. I mean that in a good way. Those inclined to dismiss fantasy as pure escapism should take note of the way Hambly puts a fantastic spin on a real-world evil. The character revealed to be the villain is thoroughly nauseating, all the more so because he has a distinct charm that makes him dangerous. It's a relief to see him vanquished. Yet the pain he leaves in his wake is tragic and moving.
3) The plain, gangly red-haired woman gets the guy. I can't not love that. (Actually, both sisters turn out to be winners in love, and are never actual rivals; I love that too.)
This book leaves me eager to read more Hambly. I may try Bride of the Rat God next -- as I understand, another Hambly tale that focuses on the friendship between two very different women.
Kyra is the book's big selling point for me, but by no means is she its sole virtue. Other things it does very well:
1) Kyra is not its sole noteworthy female character. The moving force behind the plot is the love and loyalty between two sisters, and younger sister Alix, while more conventional than Kyra, is revealed to be smart and capable in her own way. She could easily have been written as a pallid, simple damsel in distress, a foil and contrast to the awesome Kyra. Plenty of writers might have gone that route, but Hambly doesn't. Kyra also has a female mentor, Rosamond, who appears in a few key scenes, and even Kyra's mother, presented as a flibbertigibbet for most of the story, turns out to have a bit more to her than Kyra (and we) had initially thought.
2) This book is disturbing. I mean that in a good way. Those inclined to dismiss fantasy as pure escapism should take note of the way Hambly puts a fantastic spin on a real-world evil. The character revealed to be the villain is thoroughly nauseating, all the more so because he has a distinct charm that makes him dangerous. It's a relief to see him vanquished. Yet the pain he leaves in his wake is tragic and moving.
3) The plain, gangly red-haired woman gets the guy. I can't not love that. (Actually, both sisters turn out to be winners in love, and are never actual rivals; I love that too.)
This book leaves me eager to read more Hambly. I may try Bride of the Rat God next -- as I understand, another Hambly tale that focuses on the friendship between two very different women.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2016
This was not a very good book. The story is ok (sorceress needs to find out who wants to kill her sister at her wedding night without letting anyone know she's illegally using magic), but Hambly is overdoing it with the descriptions. Mind you, I'm not anti-description. But in this case, things get described that really have nothing to do with the story and that you don't really want to know. I'll give you a very small example:
She waited while Joblin fetched a silver crown and a few silver bits from one of the blue-and-yellow porcelain crocks on the shelf above the bin-table.
Why do we need to know how much money he is taking? Why do we need to know that the money is in a porcelain crock? Why do we need to know the thing is blue and yellow? Or that is in on a shelf? Or that said shelf is above the bin table?
And this is only a one-sentence example. There are whole paragraphs like this. In my case,it makes my mind zone out and I soon started to read the entire book diagonally.
She waited while Joblin fetched a silver crown and a few silver bits from one of the blue-and-yellow porcelain crocks on the shelf above the bin-table.
Why do we need to know how much money he is taking? Why do we need to know that the money is in a porcelain crock? Why do we need to know the thing is blue and yellow? Or that is in on a shelf? Or that said shelf is above the bin table?
And this is only a one-sentence example. There are whole paragraphs like this. In my case,it makes my mind zone out and I soon started to read the entire book diagonally.
February 24, 2012
Huge spoilers!
Hambly dedicated this book to her husband, so I would guess the love story inherent in the plot is a lot how she felt about him - I really liked it in any case. I liked both love stories - and I remember that the first time I read the book I was mislead by the red herring threads to think that Kira's father's patron or her sister's beloved might be the danger after all.
It took me ages to see the hints (much better visible on this reread) of why there was the falling out with Kira's dog wizard mentor originally.
I liked that a whole lot of the story centres around this one family and their daily life in ordinary times and under this enormous pressure of a formal wedding in the Traditional Style. Beyond that there is a portrait of the town and its quarters, always in service to the plot, but fascinating on its own.
Kira remains herself but she is finally freed from a lot of her anger and guilt, and Spenson comes into his own even more in this book. Alix finally stands up for her love.
There is no HEA but a HFN with potential for more. While her sister Alix and her beloved do get a fresh start, Kira and her father can never openly reconcile and her status as a wizard means she can't have children or marry Spenson openly. He's so far only got a two year respite from his own father (and there is no clue whether the Citadel mages won't realise what Kira had to do to save her sister).
It would be lovely to get a follow-up to the story.
Hambly dedicated this book to her husband, so I would guess the love story inherent in the plot is a lot how she felt about him - I really liked it in any case. I liked both love stories - and I remember that the first time I read the book I was mislead by the red herring threads to think that Kira's father's patron or her sister's beloved might be the danger after all.
It took me ages to see the hints (much better visible on this reread) of why there was the falling out with Kira's dog wizard mentor originally.
I liked that a whole lot of the story centres around this one family and their daily life in ordinary times and under this enormous pressure of a formal wedding in the Traditional Style. Beyond that there is a portrait of the town and its quarters, always in service to the plot, but fascinating on its own.
Kira remains herself but she is finally freed from a lot of her anger and guilt, and Spenson comes into his own even more in this book. Alix finally stands up for her love.
There is no HEA but a HFN with potential for more. While her sister Alix and her beloved do get a fresh start, Kira and her father can never openly reconcile and her status as a wizard means she can't have children or marry Spenson openly. He's so far only got a two year respite from his own father (and there is no clue whether the Citadel mages won't realise what Kira had to do to save her sister).
It would be lovely to get a follow-up to the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2017
Strongly enjoyed this fantasy-of-manners with mystery elements. There's a lot that's (comfortably) familiar here - the strong-willed, not-traditionally-pretty young woman who threatens her family's social status with her unconventional attraction to danger/magic/adventure/etc. - but being an older work that pre-dates the popularity of this approach in YA Fantasy realm, it stays a bit more grounded than some other examples. Having the story jump into things well AFTER the initial events, so that the characters are dealing with old hurts that they've been stewing over, gives some nice layers to things.
July 27, 2019
11/14/14
5/8/09
3/1/07
I have read this about 8 times now, still have to say that this is an emotionally draining book.
This book... what to say. There are parts of it that were hard to read from an emotional standpoint. I have a real difficulty with pedophiles, and there was one. I thought his end was vicious, however.
The story ending was well done, and the entire book shrieks that there are other stories to be told about this group.
5/8/09
3/1/07
I have read this about 8 times now, still have to say that this is an emotionally draining book.
This book... what to say. There are parts of it that were hard to read from an emotional standpoint. I have a real difficulty with pedophiles, and there was one. I thought his end was vicious, however.
The story ending was well done, and the entire book shrieks that there are other stories to be told about this group.
March 26, 2018
Ugh. I absolutely LOVED Barbara Hambly books when I was a teenager, so recently when I was looking for some escapism, I found this book in a used bookstore and figured I'd give it a try. The main characters are all so awful that it was difficult to actually get into the book. And if the author had taken out all the (completely unnecessary) times that the protagonist was clumsy and tripped over something, this book would have been at least 10% shorter. While I'm playing editor, I'd also strip out the pages and pages of unneeded description - I skimmed most of the first half of the book.
About 2/3 of the way through, the plot got more interesting and I was not actively hating everyone all the time, but I wouldn't blame anyone for tapping out well before that point, especially after the 50th examination about how "homely girls who are good at math and like reading are way better than pretty girls who care about fashion and boys!"
I had always intended to go back and re-read Hambly's books, but now I'm definitely going to stay away, and let those rosy memories remain untarnished.
About 2/3 of the way through, the plot got more interesting and I was not actively hating everyone all the time, but I wouldn't blame anyone for tapping out well before that point, especially after the 50th examination about how "homely girls who are good at math and like reading are way better than pretty girls who care about fashion and boys!"
I had always intended to go back and re-read Hambly's books, but now I'm definitely going to stay away, and let those rosy memories remain untarnished.
May 1, 2020
SO GOOD. delicious, crisp & sophisticated. if there were a sequel i would lap it up all at once. makes me yearn to revisit previous fantasy-of-manners favs, like zen cho's sorcerer to the crown and jo walton's tooth and claw.
December 31, 2015
Kyra is a wizard in training in a world where wizardry is disreputable and even illegal, outside of her college; she's practicing for her upcoming exams when she has a vision of her younger sister dying on her wedding night. Kyra travels back home to the family that kicked her out years ago, to try to delay or prevent the wedding by any means necessary, at least until she can figure out who's trying to kill her sister and stop them. I'd seen a lot of descriptions of this book as a comedy, and well... I mean, it does have funny parts! I can see where the Georgette Heyer comparisons come from! But I can't call a book "frothy" when its plot centrally involves an Inquisition, burning people at the stake, and pedophilia. That said, I did really enjoy reading it and do definitely recommend it! I just want people to know what they're getting into.
The worldbuilding is intricate and fleshed-out; the world doesn't feel anything like Generic Medieval Fantasy Europe, although I suppose it technically belongs to that category. But it's so rich and detailed and full of little grace-notes that it doesn't feel right to call it that.
This is an older book than most of Hambly's that I've read, and you can sort of tell; the writing is a bit more purple, a bit more melodramatic than her sharper, more precise recent books. Which is interesting! I mean, it's obviously the same person, but you can also tell how she's changed.
The worldbuilding is intricate and fleshed-out; the world doesn't feel anything like Generic Medieval Fantasy Europe, although I suppose it technically belongs to that category. But it's so rich and detailed and full of little grace-notes that it doesn't feel right to call it that.
This is an older book than most of Hambly's that I've read, and you can sort of tell; the writing is a bit more purple, a bit more melodramatic than her sharper, more precise recent books. Which is interesting! I mean, it's obviously the same person, but you can also tell how she's changed.
August 2, 2019
This is set in the same universe as The Silent Tower and The Silicon Mage, but has little in common with them otherwise (barring a couple of minor characters). Instead, it has to do with Kyra, a journeyman wizard at the Citadel of Wizards. While practicing for her tests, all of her spells seem to go wrong, and eventually she sees a frightening vision: the death of her younger sister, Alix, on her wedding night. She journeys home to face her family, who disowned her when she became a wizard, and to save her sister from her unknown enemy.
The mystery is engaging, as is the romance which develops, and the whole thing is given depth by Kyra's ongoing struggle to reconcile her wizardly talents and life to her family and her own desires, as well as by her remembrances of the wizard who taught her and his unkind end.
The mystery is engaging, as is the romance which develops, and the whole thing is given depth by Kyra's ongoing struggle to reconcile her wizardly talents and life to her family and her own desires, as well as by her remembrances of the wizard who taught her and his unkind end.
December 23, 2022
Three and a half stars
This is fantasy of manners with an interesting mystery plot. This time around, I've actually read the other books set in the same world, but I wouldn't say it changed my experience.
This is fantasy of manners with an interesting mystery plot. This time around, I've actually read the other books set in the same world, but I wouldn't say it changed my experience.
June 11, 2008
Barbara Hambly is good at her craft. This is really barely fantasy; mostly it's a detective story with a little romance thrown in.
April 13, 2020
Unexpectedly, “Stranger at the Wedding”, despite an introduction full of forebodings of evil, a series of flashbacks that seem to be just backstory but turn out to be more, and a turn towards adventure/horror in the last third, ends up being a comedy. (You can tell, in part, because, despite the fact that we are reading a Hambly novel, the characters don’t spend any time being freezing cold, and almost no time being beaten up.) Humor is usually not Hambly’s strongest point, but Kyra, imperious, sarcastic, and unintimidated, makes for a good screwball-esque heroine, and the early-industrial upper crust of Angelshand, with its divide between new-money merchant families and old, but not always moneyed, aristocrats, makes an excellent setting for a comedy of manners. The fact that Kyra is an apprentice wizard in a society where magic is not exactly respectable adds another dimension, transforming the self-willed outsiderness of her early days into the real thing. Spens serves as an excellent romantic foil and straight man, with his insecurity in the face of a society that Kyra, outsider or not, navigates very well setting up their dynamic very nicely. And though the book is driven by Kyra’s fear that something terrible will happen on her sister’s wedding night, for the first two-thirds or so of the book there’s no real evidence for this, beyond Kyra’s visions, which not even she is completely convinced are meaningful. So, although something terrible may be in the offing, the stakes are low enough for a comedy of manners to work, with the prospective crime driving the plot but not dominating the book. Until we reach the end of the flashbacks and learn the real reason that Tibbeth of Hale was burned at the stake, at the same time that Kyra finally finds the evidence that proves that her visions were true ones. At which the point the book undergoes an abrupt transition, thanks to the not-entirely believable transformation of the Inquisition, always on the lookout for real or imagined wizardly crimes, from a group of bumbling Keystone Kops into a pressing danger. To keep you from thinking about this aspect of things too much, Hambly increases the pace, turning the story into a classic double chase that culminates in a burst of violence and some quite unpleasant magic, a final confrontation that is really very well done. She also takes advantage of the solution of the mystery (even if the final confrontation is still to come) to shift the focus to the question, lingering in the background the whole time, of how Kyra can reconcile her desire for a magical education with her family life. The flashbacks have explained how her father was unable to overcome his prejudices against magic and his disappointment that his daughter would not follow in his footsteps, leading, eventually, to a close to irreparable break, with the events of the book marking the first time she has seen or heard from her family in five years. Now, Kyra is once again forced to weigh her desire to learn magic against her relationships, this time her love for Spens, and to once again come to the realization that for her, magic is the most important thing. (The resonance of this with modern life should be obvious, and is yet another nail in the coffin of the claim that fantasy and science fiction are escapism that doesn’t deal with real-world problems.) Impressively, Hambly manages to supply a happy ending without falling back on any stereotypes or forcing Kyra to renounce magic after all. The only disappointing thing about “Stranger at the Wedding” is that it is just a spin-off of the Joanna and Antryg novels — Kyra was previously a minor character in “Dog Wizard” — and not the start of a series of its own.
May 29, 2017
Six years ago, Kyra was cast out by her family, disowned because of her ability to use magic. About to take the final tests for master status, she receives the news that her younger sister is about to be married – and sees premonitions that she will die on her wedding night. She returns home, an unwelcome guest as far as her father is concerned, determined to do whatever she has to to save her beloved little sister.
This novel (also known as Stranger at the Wedding) is the fourth in the Windrose Chronicles, but can be read as a standalone novel; I have never read the other books, although given how much I’ve appreciated the author’s works, no doubt I will sometime in the future.
Kyra is a feisty, determined young woman; as with many of Hambly’s heroines, she isn’t conventionally attractive and stubbornly struggles along her own path rather than bowing to society’s demands. This is almost a magical detective story with some flashes of humour and even romance. I found it thoroughly enjoyable as I love Hambly’s prose; if you find an author with detailed world-building and description hard going then this book may not be for you.
Just a warning: there’s an extremely unpleasant villain , so if you find that too unpleasant to read about, then you also may want to give this a swerve.
This novel (also known as Stranger at the Wedding) is the fourth in the Windrose Chronicles, but can be read as a standalone novel; I have never read the other books, although given how much I’ve appreciated the author’s works, no doubt I will sometime in the future.
Kyra is a feisty, determined young woman; as with many of Hambly’s heroines, she isn’t conventionally attractive and stubbornly struggles along her own path rather than bowing to society’s demands. This is almost a magical detective story with some flashes of humour and even romance. I found it thoroughly enjoyable as I love Hambly’s prose; if you find an author with detailed world-building and description hard going then this book may not be for you.
Just a warning: there’s an extremely unpleasant villain , so if you find that too unpleasant to read about, then you also may want to give this a swerve.
February 10, 2024
Kyra is about to undergo exams for the next level in the Citadel of Wizards when she receives word that her sister, Alix, is to wed. With the news comes a premonition: Alix's nuptials will be the death of her! Kyra races back to the home she was cast out from, determined to save Alix, no matter the consequences. But the wedding can only be postponed so many times. Disaster will surely strike.
I saw some people on Reddit discussing this book and was hooked by the premise (and that amazing retro cover - I had to purchase it as a secondhand copy online). What a great find! I absolutely loved it. A magical murder mystery...except the murder hasn't occurred yet. Then there's the added bonus of a secondary mystery for the reader: what exactly happened in Kyra's past? Both mysteries unravel with perfect pacing, aided by Hambly's exceptional writing style.
I had to re-check the year this book came out, because it has dated so well. Hambly addresses certain issues in a way that many of her peers of the day couldn't. And her female characters - so amazingly well written! Every single one of them has subtle touches that helped breathe life into them.
I cannot gush about this book enough. It is a masterclass in writing.
Content warnings: sexual assault involving a minor, paedophilia
I saw some people on Reddit discussing this book and was hooked by the premise (and that amazing retro cover - I had to purchase it as a secondhand copy online). What a great find! I absolutely loved it. A magical murder mystery...except the murder hasn't occurred yet. Then there's the added bonus of a secondary mystery for the reader: what exactly happened in Kyra's past? Both mysteries unravel with perfect pacing, aided by Hambly's exceptional writing style.
I had to re-check the year this book came out, because it has dated so well. Hambly addresses certain issues in a way that many of her peers of the day couldn't. And her female characters - so amazingly well written! Every single one of them has subtle touches that helped breathe life into them.
I cannot gush about this book enough. It is a masterclass in writing.
Content warnings: sexual assault involving a minor, paedophilia
August 31, 2024
Rereading a Favorite
I love a scifi/fantasy novel every now and then, and Barbara Hambly is one of my favorite authors. "Stranger at the Wedding" tells a complicated story about choices, and how people can struggle between their heart's desires and family's demands/expectations on how one chooses to live their life - or whether they get to make any choices at all. Even, if those choices might change, how one adapts if fate steps in.
---
The main character, Kyra, gives up her comfortable life as heiress to her father's businesses, a potential for an arranged marriage and life in the city, to study magic, which is considered a less than decent, even dangerous, path to take, especially if one wishes to continue to live amongst non-mages. It means disgrace, suspicion, and constant threat of execution or imprisonment if Kyra puts one foot wrong with anyone.
Things begin to change rapidly when she rushes home after receiving news of her little sister's impending marriage to the Mayor's son. She's been losing sleep over dire warnings and signs warning of impending disaster. She knows what's coming once she gets an invitation, from Alix, to the wedding - someone means for Alix to die on her wedding night. Kyra has to figure out who is threatening Alix's life, and stop it before it's too late.
Still a great read!
I love a scifi/fantasy novel every now and then, and Barbara Hambly is one of my favorite authors. "Stranger at the Wedding" tells a complicated story about choices, and how people can struggle between their heart's desires and family's demands/expectations on how one chooses to live their life - or whether they get to make any choices at all. Even, if those choices might change, how one adapts if fate steps in.
---
The main character, Kyra, gives up her comfortable life as heiress to her father's businesses, a potential for an arranged marriage and life in the city, to study magic, which is considered a less than decent, even dangerous, path to take, especially if one wishes to continue to live amongst non-mages. It means disgrace, suspicion, and constant threat of execution or imprisonment if Kyra puts one foot wrong with anyone.
Things begin to change rapidly when she rushes home after receiving news of her little sister's impending marriage to the Mayor's son. She's been losing sleep over dire warnings and signs warning of impending disaster. She knows what's coming once she gets an invitation, from Alix, to the wedding - someone means for Alix to die on her wedding night. Kyra has to figure out who is threatening Alix's life, and stop it before it's too late.
Still a great read!
July 28, 2020
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2020/0...
This book centers on a young woman who was cast out by her father when she decided to study wizardry. But now she’s getting all sorts of weird and creepy signs, so she heads home to disrupt her little sister's wedding, even though wizards are not supposed to interfere with human affairs. I liked the sister relationship here, and liked that there was a mystery element, and really liked the main character and thought her romance was cute. Buutttttt big content warning that there is a character here who is a pedophile and is super gross. Just really unpleasant stuff that makes me knock it down a couple grades. B.
This book centers on a young woman who was cast out by her father when she decided to study wizardry. But now she’s getting all sorts of weird and creepy signs, so she heads home to disrupt her little sister's wedding, even though wizards are not supposed to interfere with human affairs. I liked the sister relationship here, and liked that there was a mystery element, and really liked the main character and thought her romance was cute. Buutttttt big content warning that there is a character here who is a pedophile and is super gross. Just really unpleasant stuff that makes me knock it down a couple grades. B.
November 3, 2024
I liked it, maybe the characters.
The strong woman protecting her sister. Again.
Kyra found magic six years ago, sacrificing her relationship with her father and getting herself cast out of her family, but now returns because visions have warned her that her younger sister Alix is soon to die.
It's a book of strong women: Kyra, her mentor and tutor Rosamond, Kyra's mother, initially seen a s scatty chatterbox but has more to her than thought. Even Alix herself in the end, choosing love over her fathers plans to better their position.
And of course the romance, or should that be romances?
I loved the magic, and the sneaking past the Inquisition...
A good read.
The strong woman protecting her sister. Again.
Kyra found magic six years ago, sacrificing her relationship with her father and getting herself cast out of her family, but now returns because visions have warned her that her younger sister Alix is soon to die.
It's a book of strong women: Kyra, her mentor and tutor Rosamond, Kyra's mother, initially seen a s scatty chatterbox but has more to her than thought. Even Alix herself in the end, choosing love over her fathers plans to better their position.
And of course the romance, or should that be romances?
I loved the magic, and the sneaking past the Inquisition...
A good read.
September 2, 2018
Loin d'être le meilleur Hambly !!! Je m'y suis profondément ennuyé : tout m'a paru lent et artificiel Est ce du à la traduction ??? (M. Charrier) je ne crois pas : cela sonne creux et pompeux (Dystopie époque victorienne monde partagé magie/pas magie etc ? ) Kyria aurait pu être un beau personnage central dans la défense de sa soeur et de la magie mais les imbroglios sentimentaux m'ont perdu !
Même l'intrigue est décevante malgré le sujet sensible abordé très discrètement d'ailleurs (trop ???)
Bref une déception en ce qui me concerne alors que j'avais adoré sa trilogie DARWATH
Même l'intrigue est décevante malgré le sujet sensible abordé très discrètement d'ailleurs (trop ???)
Bref une déception en ce qui me concerne alors que j'avais adoré sa trilogie DARWATH
February 24, 2025
Cute, but dragged a bit. This book was written a while ago, and it has that sort of feel to it, where kids ran away from home and could actually make a decent life. The premise is intriguing, but you learn early on that the narrator is not revealing all she knows (it's not that she's unreliable, just that you don't see everything she does) and it increases the suspense. The romance is obvious from the beginning, but cute all the same. I enjoyed the characters actually having consequences for being tired/using too much magic.
July 18, 2024
Oh wow I had not expected to love a side story in this world more than the main books but here we are. This was horrifying but also so well written and heartwarming and funny.
Hambly has such a knack for writing interesting female characters, and Kyra and Alix were wonderful. Yes, the romance felt a bit rushed but it didn't feel like a bad thing.
Also love that Kyra and Spenson are both fashion disasters.
Also also, Blore is a wild name to give a main character.
Hambly has such a knack for writing interesting female characters, and Kyra and Alix were wonderful. Yes, the romance felt a bit rushed but it didn't feel like a bad thing.
Also love that Kyra and Spenson are both fashion disasters.
Also also, Blore is a wild name to give a main character.
March 30, 2020
I have had far too much anxiety this month to focus on reading, and not knowing what was coming in my books was too much for me. So I returned to this well-loved book from my early teen years. I’ve probably read it 15 times. It’s clever, fun, and still deeply emotional. This book was there for me when I needed it most.
October 26, 2020
This book is better with a bit of context of other books in the series, but they are not required for this book.
An interesting world with it's own odd kind of magic. I enjoy the setting, and this book has a bit of who-dunnit and sets a frantic search with good bits of light humor to break the tension.
The writing style doesn't quite engross me, but it's a fun read.
An interesting world with it's own odd kind of magic. I enjoy the setting, and this book has a bit of who-dunnit and sets a frantic search with good bits of light humor to break the tension.
The writing style doesn't quite engross me, but it's a fun read.
January 14, 2018
Works great as a stand-alone despite being 4th in a series. This is a good solid mystery novel in addition to fantasy, and as much of a fair-play mystery as you can get when there’s magic involved.
TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING: child sexual abuse is a major subplot that cannot be skipped over.
TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING: child sexual abuse is a major subplot that cannot be skipped over.
January 16, 2021
Mystery meets fantasy meets a dash of romance. (The romance is kinda the weaker portion because it gets a little repetitive) Effective use of flashbacks which is really impressive, frankly, as such heavy flashbacks usually disrupt everything.
October 4, 2023
I’ve read over 20 Barbara Hambly books and loved most of them, but I found this one my least favorite. The first half was too fluffy, but the second half picked up. I found the tall, clumsy girl repeatedly tripping over her skirts irritating and trite.
November 15, 2023
An engaging story with an interesting mystery and a truly creepy villain. Kyra was a bit too "not like other girls" at times, with all her hideous clothing and clumsiness and red hair, but nonetheless, this was a great read.
December 18, 2024
this is a twisting and intriguing book
Witches, fear love hatred and a terrifying end. But love conquering all at the end. Things that surprise, make you laugh and bitter sorrow but justice prevails and all is well
Witches, fear love hatred and a terrifying end. But love conquering all at the end. Things that surprise, make you laugh and bitter sorrow but justice prevails and all is well
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