Clare-Dragonfly

Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan

I received this book as part of the package that came with my Faeriecon ticket and only started reading it so soon because I didn't have anything else to read on the train home. I expected it to be crowd-pleasing fluff. I was quite pleasantly surprised! The story is set in Elizabethan England, a historical era for which I have a particular love (though I have to say I'm disappointed that Shakespeare didn't make an appearance, since lots of other historical figures did). Brennan has a different take on a faerie court than any other I've encountered--it's a sprawling, mazelike hall set under mortal London. The characters are Lune, a disgraced faerie courtier; Michael Deven, a courtier and spy for Elizabeth; Walsingham, Michael's master; Invidiana, the faerie queen; Tiresias, her seer; Gertrude and Rosamund Goodmeade, brownie sisters who run a faerie inn; John Dee, the mortal magician; and, of course, Gloriana herself.

The romance I expected is there (between Lune and Michael), but much less of the focus than I would have thought--and indeed, it is quite vital to the plot. The faerie and mortal courts work both with and against each other, and every time I thought I knew how the story would go a new twist would pop up to throw my expectations on their head. The very end was disappointing--it felt contrived--but overall the book is a satisfying, enjoyable, and well-researched ride.