When the King Comes Home by Caroline Stevermer

When the King Comes Home Reviews

• 
  Melissa

  I much preferred When the King Comes Home to Stevermer's other books set in the same world; it seemed to have more heart and more at stake. I liked the heroine, Hail, with her devotion to art and her determination to muddle through any problem set before her. I really liked the descriptions of the returned king and his champion. Perhaps it's natural I'd have a soft spot for a book featuring a "wayward librarian turned necromancer" also.
• 
  Allison

  What a disappointment. :( I guess since I’d heard so much about this book that I thought it was going to be better than it was. The setting was great and the characters were good, but the plot was so under-developed that a lot of potentially great characters also became under-developed.
  
  Stuff just happens oh so conveniently, and the magic is barely explained at all. The characters don’t quite understand the magic involved and basically say, “Oh well,” so we the readers are never given a chance to understand it either. And the bad guys are described as so easily defeated that it honestly made me wonder what the point of the book actually was. :/
• 
  Joel

  The bad news first. The plot is pretty rough here. Lots of people show up at the right places at convenient times, plans just magically work out (sometimes literally), characters have knowledge (presumably so the dialogue is less clunky). For me, these problems were just confusing and broke immersion.
  
  On the other hand, the setting and the characters were a delight! The setting is a fictional region of Renaissance(?) Europe. The story is narrated by Hail Rosamer, the elderly artist, telling about the adventures of her youth. From her apprenticeship with a certain Madame Carriera to the flight to the shrine of St. Istvan, Hail Rosamer is the sort of intrepid, often inept, often frustrating protagonist it is easy for me to like. Also it's a coming of age fantasy story that is not trying to be Tolkien. It's more like one of those quiet, earnest novels about hopeful young artists coming to grips with craft and love and friendship and family. At least, all of my favorite parts were like that. And I can forgive a lot of plot holes for that.
• 
  Natalie

  Extremely early-aughts high fantasy, which activated my teen nostalgia HARD, even though I only ever read A College of Magics as a teen.
  
  This book was very slice-of-life-y, but I found it incredibly exciting and propulsive. I liked Hail a lot and was delighted by her tight first-person point-of-view and the way magic is not mentioned until about halfway through because it is completely irrelevant to Hail's single-minded pursuit of Becoming A Great Artist.
  
  None of the economics or politics or hierarchy stuff made any sense--for instance: Hail's family of 2 parents and 7 children are wool merchants, but apparently they supply their own woolen goods from sheep straight on through weaving and sewing and then ship their own goods to the city to sell, there don't seem to be very many (if any) hired employees, and yet all of the children go to school and it's totally fine for 1 or 2 of them to apprentice in completely unrelated trades--but I was having too much fun to care.
  
  The first two-thirds of the book completely enchanted me: I loved all of the day-to-day minutiae of Hail's life in the atelier, and I was extremely here for her surprise quest with Fisher/Istvan. However, it didn't quite stick the landing for me--the ending felt very rushed, and Hail herself didn't seem very affected by any of the events, which made me wonder what the point of it all was, particularly since the conceit of the novel is that a much older Hail is looking back on her youth.
• 
  Maša

  A young girl growing up to be an artist finds herself in the middle of the weird happenings, people coming back from the dead, and it all seems to be linked to something she studies...
  
  Well, Stevermer is one of the authors certain to write a book that I will find enjoyable. Interesting characters, meandering plot, deeper themes that come to the surface. I really liked the coming of age aspect of this, and having a main character that is headstrong and blunt. I was intrigued by hints of the time passed, things changed, and was a bit sorry it wasn't explored more. I would've also liked for the "magic" aspect to be a bit clearer in its execution, or being even more vague - this confused me a bit. Also, some parts of the story were skipped over and thus lessened the emotional impact.
• 
  Stephanie

  It was okay.
  
  I really enjoyed the world and the premise. There were shades of the fisher king and King Arthur all over. I loved that the heroine felt like a fresh character. Artists aren’t the normal go-to for main characters in this genre.
  
  But.
  
  There was no real story. It was just a flashback. A moment. It didn’t have enough depth to make an impression. And we didn’t see the character grow at all. Or really even get a sense of what happened after.
  
  The plot was full of deus ex machina. Which is a personal pet peeve.
  
  I thought it wasted potential.
• 
  C B

  Utterly charming!
  
  Although published in 2000, it gives me the feeling of more classic literature. It is apparently part of a series but I never felt a lack of context or story and can happily recommend it as a stand alone. The dialogue is particularly delightful work.
  
  Hail Rossamer is an artsy in all her ways, and not the sort of modern fantasy heroine to take control of the situation and save the day. I think she is allowed to be herself, and not a modern heroine, she is nonetheless engaging to follow.
• 
  Kirsten

  Fun cute fluffy enjoyable fantasy, set in an interesting parallel-Europe. I'd read more books set in that world....
• 
  Maneesha

  ???? huh?????
• 
  Marsha Valance

  Apprentice Hail's efforts to emulate the artist who created the medallion for King Julian's tomb, result in her medallion's being used to resurrect the King.
• 
  Jenna (Falling Letters)

  Quick review originally posted on 5 May 2013 at
  Falling Letters.
  
  I had a cautiously optimistic hope for this book! I stopped signing books out of the scifi/fantasy section of the library years ago because I could only find awful books, but somehow this caught my eye and the description on the dust jacket sounded very nice, just the sort of thing I would like to read. But...
  
  Oooh, what a disappointment! It was alright for about 50 pages, then I thought it was going to get better, so I kept going, and by the time I realized it was going to stay awful I was so far in I decided to finish it. This is the only book I made any notes on because it frustrated me so much - here they are!
  
  The first note I made was 'Nice little read, not too much to note - lots of art, a little too perfect and blissful' - hah!
  
  There's no real conflict (a bit of teasing is the most we see) then BOOM out of nowhere about 60 pages in everything turns around and the main character's running away and she finds the alleged King and things start to go haywire. There's a number of weird plot things I thought it was absolutely silly that this 'King' is not actually the King but his assistant and the King himself shows up a bit later, why bother, why not go straight to the King? that don't make sense or seem pointless or are really weak. For example, one numerous occasions the MC continues to tag along because it's 'not convenient' for her to go home, as she is supposed to be doing - this isn't played as wishful thinking, like the MC wants to tag along so she pretends it isn't convenient; it's played as actually being inconvenient therefore she must stay. It seems like the author had to work so hard to make sure her MC stays the MC and so everything feels really forced and awkward and out of place. Most of my notes are comments on the poor plot; you get the idea so I won't post them all here.
  
  I did like the writing style - nothing too fancy, fairly concise, but easy to read. I like to think it's the sort of style I write in.
• 
  Sarah

  I truly loved the character telling the story. This was one of the few times where I felt like I really got to know and understand the narrator. Often, with first person writing, it's too easy to let main character become a narrator of the story as a whole, rather than their own personal experience. That didn't happen here. I really loved her, she's feisty and sarcastic and drives other people nuts. I laughed out loud several times. The whole book was worth the read just because of this character.
  The writing was beautiful. I liked how she really wrote it from the first person, so that if the main character didn't understand what was going on at the time, neither did we. Her descriptions were heart melting.
  The ending....left something to be desired, wasn't at all what I hoped would happen, and I have to say I was a little dissapointed. But like I said, the whole book was worth it because of the main character. Watch for the humor in this book, it sneaks up on you and you might miss it if you haven't got your wits about you, but its golden every time.
  
• 
  Julie

  I liked this book better than I expected, given that I really did not enjoy A College of Magics. I could like the protagonist, even though it did get the point where she's going around with these people for no particular reason and also seems to be an adjunct to the actual goings-on. She does actually do things and has at least one important thing to do.
  
  I think I picked this book up for a promised threesome. That is, a love triangle that's not at odds with itself. There might be another word for this? Love triad? Anyhow, there is one, but you have to read into it a little bit. And it doesn't involve the main character, though it is central to the story.
  
  So, in short, it's pretty good.
  
  (I'm not sure why it says A College of Magics in parantheses on goodreads. This may take place in the same world, possibly, though I'm not too sure about that. Otherwise it has nothing to do with it as far as I know.)
• 
  Kristi Thompson

  I first read When The King Comes Home when I borrowed from the library sometime after it was published in 2000, and haven’t seen a copy of it since. Now there's an e-book and I hope more people will discover this lovely historical fantasy.
  
  Hail Rosmer is an apprentice artist in a sharply realized Renaissance city in an alternate Europe with magic. She’s such a strong voice: blunt, focused on her art, tending to single-minded enthusiasms which she will not stop talking about. Very much a teenager of a particular time and place. Lots of details about art and artists’ studios and the life of apprentices.
  
  She ends up on a bit of an adventure (sparked by her artistic obsessions), and there’s a king, and he comes home, but this isn’t Aragorn. Surplus kings turning up unexpectedly can rather complicate the political situation.
• 
  Julie

  While I enjoyed the well-written main character, the mixture of real and fantasy was a little uneven. The first part is set in a Renaissance-esque Italian-esque town, where Hail Rosamer is apprenticed to a (female) master artist. We follow her as she learns about pigments, befriends or tolerates her fellow-apprentices, and becomes enamored of the work of the great Maspero, who sculpted and painted masterpieces in the time of Good King Julian 200 years before. Then one day Hail encounters a beggar who is more than he appears to be, and suddenly a whole layer of sorcery and enchantments opens up when it appears that a witch has called back Julian from the dead and a civil war might be brewing. The first part of the book was completely rooted in reality, so this seemed to come out of nowhere. Both halves were interesting, but they didn’t seem to fit together.
• 
  Julie

  Another "meh" book, unfortunately. I'm not really sure what kept me from liking the book more. It was set in an interesting time period, and at least some of the characters drew me in (Istvan and Julian, particularly). I found myself wishing that there was a previous book that was actually set 200 years earlier, when Julian and Andred and Istvan were originally alive. Their backstory was intriguing and I wanted to see it "first-hand."
  
  My other problem seems to have been that I didn't like Hail all that well. The opening part where she was learning the artist's craft was just kind of dull for me.
  
  I felt like there was a great story in there somewhere, obscured by all the stuff currently going on.
• 
  Sara

  Rarely do I buy a book on a whim without recommendations or at least having heard of the author. I'm glad I did.
  
  When The King Comes Home is unlike the other fantasies I read. I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite it being so short, it had a crisp world and characters; something most fantasy authors need 700+ pages of lengthy description to succeed in.
  
  My only qualms being I wish the book had been slightly longer if only because I would have wanted more time with some of the characters, and the climatic ending would have been better had it not happened so quickly. It felt rushed. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book.
• 
  Amy

  Like a satisfying piece of dark chocolate.
  I did not want to put it down, and I did not want it to end.
  Honestly, I need to read it again before I give more details; I lent it to someone (ok, watch out friends!) and never got it back. But I definitely loved it.
  Stevermer is a fantastic author.
  
  --new: I am reading it again, and it is just as satisfying the second time through. The imagery is fantastic, and she includes just the right amount of detail in each scene, whether it's dialogue or descriptions.
• 
  Becca

  (5/19/09) Weird. I'm not sure I got it.
  
  (6/7/10) I've upped the rating from 3 to 4 stars, because I did much better with it this time. I still think the main characters is overly impetuous, but just because I wouldn't like her in person doesn't mean she is a bad main character. The plot hung together better on a second reading, too. My favorite part is still the description of life in the atelier, but I can appreciate the adventures more. It's really a pity about Ludovic; he seems very pretty.
• 
  Maureen E

  It’s been awhile since I read the other two books in this series, which meant that I wasn’t quite sure where this one was supposed to fall in the timeline. The first two were both sort of early 20th century, whereas this one seemed much more Renaissance-y. Eventally I just let it go and enjoyed the book. I found all of the details about learning to be an artist fascinating. I also liked the fact that it didn’t have romance, but didn’t have it in a way that seemed natural to the character. Quite different from the other books, but good.
• 
  Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides

  Strictly speaking this is maybe not a four-star book, but it's got so many things that I personally enjoy. Also, a female expy of
  Benvenuto Cellini. Who could resist that? Not me. (Her name being Hail Rosamer ("My name is a greeting, dignified and sober, not a form of bad weather.") was not just the author being quirky. Benvenuto means "Welcome" in Italian.)
• 
  Liz

  I wasn't quite sure what to do with this book. It feels...unfinished, perhaps As though it is still one draft away from being done. I've enjoyed the other books in this series and love Stevermer's collaborations with Wrede, so it's not the author. Just this book.
  For those who enjoyed College of Magic, this book is interesting because of the background it provides for Galazon and the rest of the story but, overall, it was just meh.
• 
  Mir

  High fantasy riff on the legend(s) of Arthur and other great leaders who are not dead but sleeping and promised to return in the hour of their kingdom's greatest need.
  
  Possibly deserves another star, but I was disappointed by not liking it as much as her other books. Should probably reread it with fewer expectations.
• 
  Eliza Wyatt

  I really loved this book, until about halfway through. If anything, I almost think it was the fantasy that killed it; the renaissance setting and the art were so interesting, and fantasy is my genre of choice. That said, the writing is beautiful throughout, the characters are interesting. I suppose it's the plot and theme that I found lacking.
• 
  Isana Skeete

  It was short but entertaining. I was really pulled into the story and enjoyed it a lot. Only thing that irked me was the ending. It felt so rushed which, I suppose, makes some sense since the book is her talking about that one adventure but it still felt really, really weak. I still liked it enough that the end didn't ruin my opinion of it though.