Review: “Masques” by Patricia Briggs

Title: “Masques”
Series: Sianim #1, Aralorn #1
Author: Patricia Briggs
Genre: Fantasy
Details: Mass market paperback, 294 pages
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
ISBN: 0441019420

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Patricia Briggs is known more for her “Mercy Thompson” urban fantasy series than she is for her other works.

Having kept up with her urban fantasies, Briggs has become one of my favorite writers. When a friend mentioned her older fantasy works — well, it didn’t take much convincing to get me to pick one up.

“Masques” is Briggs’ first book. It was in publication in the early nineties, and has recently undergone a new printing. There’s an introduction in the beginning where Briggs’ asks her readers not to judge her too harshly on the quality of  “Masques”; she also tells readers that she made some (but not many) edits to the story that were not in the original printing.

For fans of fantasy, “Masques” is a wonderful book. The world is rich and full of magic and shapeshifters. There’s an evil mage, a plucky hero and a mysterious sidekick in the form of a wolf. The story follows Aralorn, a mercenary spy, as she joins the rebellion against the powerful sorcerer, Geoffery ae’Magi.

The ae’Magi is a bit stereotypical for a villain. He’s power hungry and there’s not a whole lot of depth to him. Aralorn, by contrast, is simple. She’s a bit brash and headstrong, but there are moments when you get a glimpse into a deeper aspect of her character. She has strong intuitions, and there are scenes in the book where her gut serves her well.

Probably the most interesting character, in my opinion, is Wolf, Aralorn’s mysterious friend. Four years prior to the main time line, Aralorn rescues the wolf from a trap, and immediately the reader knows that this wolf is no ordinary wolf. There’s magic in him and he talks to Aralorn like a man would, but she can’t place the magic inside Wolf. He’s not a shapeshifter like she is, but there aren’t any mages who can hold a shape as long as Wolf, either. Wolf is an enigma throughout the entire book. He’s a man/wolf of few words, and the reader suspects that he has a hidden agenda he’s not telling anyone.

By the end of the book, however, you learn a lot more about the mysterious Wolf.

Like many fantasies, the plot in “Masques” sometimes move at slow pace. Do not expect a whole lot of action in this book. I’m willing to bet there is more action in the sequel, “Wolfsbane”, which I will review in March most likely. That’s not to say there isn’t any action, because there is — there are zombie-like creatures, battles and even a mystery involving an old legend.

“Masques” also has a slight romantic arc. It’s very subtle, but beautiful in how it’s done. I’m curious to see how the romance evolves in the sequel.

Three and a half stars, but classified under four.