The Tourmaline (A Princess of Roumania) - Hardcover

Park, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 076531441X ISBN 13: 9780765314413

Publisher: Tor Books, 2006

Synopsis

The sequel to Park's stunning fantasy debut, A Princess of Roumania.
Teenager Miranda Popescu is at the fulcrum of a deadly political and diplomatic battle between conjurers in an alternate fantasy world where "Roumania" is a leading European power. Miranda was hidden by her aunt in our world. An American couple adopted and raised her in their quiet Massachusetts college town, but she had been translated by magic back to her own world, and is at large, five years in the future.
The mad Baroness Ceaucescu in Bucharest, and the sinister alchemist, the Elector of Ratisbon, who holds her true mother prisoner in Germany are her enemies. This is the story of how Miranda -- separated from her two best friends, Peter and Andromeda who have been left behind in the forests of an alternate America -- begins to grow into her own personality. And how Peter and Andromeda are shockingly changed in the process of making their way to Roumania to find Miranda again at the end of this book.

About this title

About the Author

PAUL PARK lives in North Adams, MA

Reviews

Young Miranda Popescu, spirited from her Massachusetts home by supernatural powers and guided by her sorceress aunt Aegypta's spirit, pursues her destiny as the "white tyger" prophesied to save "Great Roumania" from German domination in Park's lively continuation of the alluringly offbeat alternate-world saga begun in A Princess of Roumania (2005). Miranda's friends—Peter, who gradually transmutates into the charismatic Chevalier de Graz, and Andromeda, who shape-shifts as a stealthy yellow dog, a wily courtier and her own American self—attempt to rejoin Miranda in her quest, constantly harassed by evil Baroness Nicola Ceaucescu and the fearful German Elector of Ratisbon. Park fortifies his beautiful and baleful Roumanian milieu with deft characterizations and a clever ear for Balkan-spiced dialogue a shade shy of realism, while drawing on mythic resonances, like Roumania's skewed religion (Queen Mary Magdalene melds with Aphrodite). His long Roumanian rhapsody resembles the ambiguous gem of its title that holds the power to ignite love—it both glows coming-of-age green and empurples with the passion for power. (July)
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Park's Princess of Roumania (2005) received widespread acclaim as a brilliantly conceived and original contemporary fantasy. In this equally captivating sequel, Park resumes the story of Massachusetts teen Miranda Popescu, whose fortunes straddle a line between modern-day America and an eighteenth-century parallel universe in which Roumania [sic] is Europe's reigning superpower. Along with closest friends Peter and Amanda, Miranda has been torn from her home via powerful alchemical forces and rediscovered her alternate, Roumanian identity as a princess targeted for assassination by scheming politicians. She narrowly escapes the blade of the malevolent elector of Ratisbone and becomes separated from her friends. Now, the three must find their ways back to one another and struggle with bewildering new circumstances as Miranda begins growing into the woman her enemies fear. Park's quirky blend of realism and magic may hold little appeal for the Harry Potter set, but few readers will find fault with his enchanting characters and compelling story line. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 076531441X
• ISBN 13: 9780765314413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352