Jennifer Wingert

Having burned myself out on fantasy fiction as an adolescent, I shy away from it as an adult. When I picked "Spirit Fox" up at my library's twice-anual sale, I had the typical misgivings about it that I typically have with fantasy these days.
"Sprit Fox" did not disappoint.
The story opens with the birth of a girl to a noble house and the preview from the back cover of the book is enough to make it obvious to the reader just how ominous this birth is. The beginning of th book also provides some background to the history of the civilization and enough foreshadowing for the reader to guess where the future of the civilization is headed.
The book skips ahead to this newborn girl's adolescent years and the reader is caught up with introductions to the girl's relatives and friends and the complicated relationships and circumstances they all have. These characters along with the setting are very artfully presented; the reader is made to understand each character by observing how the character behaves as opposed to being spoon fed what the character is. The omniscent perspective of the reader makes this a bit easier than it would have otherwise, but the characters are still developed naturally at a reasonable pace.
The setting and the values and organization of the society are also developed as naturally. With access to the character's thoughts, we can understand how what the values of the society are as each character weighs what he wants to do against the consequences of what would happen if he did. In this land, the local priests are the final arbiters in the new era of peace afforded the civilization. It is clear the the society is extremely religious and very conservative where violence and romance are concerned. There are crushes, there are conflicts, there are misunderstandings, and some of the characters get separated from others, dividing the thoughts into different threads.
At about this time, an army from a foreign land is beginning a campaign to conquer the people with whom the reader has just ben acquainted. Following these characters grants the reader a better understanding of the nature of magic that the authors have created. The invading army has among its soldiers a devout priest of a different religion than those of cities of the invaded and a number of individuals who have dedicated their lives to studying the use of magic. The debates among the priest and the magic users helps explain the influence magic has in this world and sets up an interesting contrast among the belief systems. The magic users demonstrate a very secular understanding of the nature of magic while the priest views magic as the manifestation of the will of a diety. The views of the army as a whole demonstrate a broader contrast among the two cultures, causing the reader to question the appropriateness of the continent's inhabitant's culture. Where we had been presented with what the culture is and forced to accept it, we are guided to question if perhaps there is not a better way for the culture to operate.
Also at about this point in the book, dialogue among some of the original main characters suggests that perhaps the new peaceful order of the continent might actually be a conspiracy.
As the story unfolds, the main characters have interactions at various levels with these invaders and must somehow prevent the invaders' conquest of their homeland. The various plot threads come together, but I found as I got toward the end of the book that the climax had not yet occurred and that it would have to come together soon and that there wasn't enough book left to make it very grand. If I have one complaint about the book, it's that the story just sort of "resolves/" Not much really "happens." There is a final showdown among a few of the characters, but not enough time is spent building it up or describing it to lend it much impact.
If I have two complaints about the book, the second would be that the characters are too sensitive.
Despit the soft ending, I enjoyed this book very much because of how everything was presented. I enjoyed the characters and how they were developed and appreciated how they didn't behave erratically. Their interactions felt genuine, their reactions seemd reasonable, and their personalities where varied and unique.
I also enjoyed the limited presence of magic in this world. This isn't a high-fantasy experience as magic use is limited to a few native healers and the invading magician warriors. I am pleased that the streets weren't crowded with commoners throwing fireballs at eachother and even more pleased to see that even those individuals trained in the use of maigc could not do just anything with it. There are limitations with the use of magic and these limitations helped to distinguish even the magic users among eachother.
I also very much appreciated the contrasting views of the two cultures in the book. Where the reader is initially introduced to the natives of the continent, I was compelled to identify with them and accept their beliefs. When the fresh perspective of the invaders was presented, I found myself seeing the natives' beliefs as the superstitions they probably are. Having my perspective twisted a littlle was fun, but the authors clearly didn't favor one culture over the other: although I questioned some of the beliefs of my "host" society, I also found points that the invaders made that I disputed out-of-hand. I very much enjoyed this approach of no side is right or wrong because they allowed the reader to see the whole world more clearly through both perspectives. Perhaps providing these two lenses leant depth to the world.
I also appreciate the interpretations that the authors left for the readers. I was left wondering if the tale was a comment on traditional views versus modern ones. I wondered if one culture represented faith and the other reason. I could see this book being assigned reading for a collegiate literature or ethics class because of the points that are brought up and never answered.
Because of these selling points, I am able to forgive the plot for not actually getting anywhere. I would eagerly read another installment as this book felt like a tight introduction to something much fuller.… (mais)