Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, I just got my head blown.

Getting the obvious stuff out of the way, let me just say that I'm gonna get a hardcover copy of this and put it on my display of ultimate pride. Beautiful reading, extremely original, cognitively dense where it ought to be, and gloriously messed up where it HAS to be.

Coming away from this, I have to believe that everyone who has ever read any kind of SF/Fantasy really SHOULD read this as to experience what OUGHT to be a hard-fast CLASSIC of the genre.

Wow, right? It's so creative and gorgeous I'm putting it on the same pedestal as Library at Mount Char. And better, it's a fantastic demonstration of a half-way UF meets Magic School meets higher education pressures. It isn't Harry Potter. It's a true magical college, and what's more, the magic itself is GLORIOUS.

As I was reading it, I was hit by the sensation that I was reading the very best Lovecraftian depiction of higher learning ever, but spread out and given a lot of depth. It kept me wondering till the very end.

I will recommend this unreservedly to anyone and everyone. So beautiful.


My synesthesia review would be nothing less than pure silence, expanded and all-enveloping until my mind broke. And yes, this IS a good thing. :)


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

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