What a phantasmagorical read Walking The Labyrinth is! Although Lisa Goldstein has been writing fantasy for years, and won a National Book Award for The Red Magician, this is my first Goldstein read; fair warning, I got this one for free as a review book (Kindle format; yes, there are Kindle review copies!). It’s not a new book, however. The original hardcover was published in 1996, but the publisher, Open Road Media, is now bringing out Lisa’s backlist, and you—yes, you!—can get this right now from Amazon for under $2 ($1.99 on Amazon.ca; $1.71 on Amazon.com)!Unlike The Red Magician, which I believe was a YA book, this one is a contemporary urban fantasy, but if you’re looking for fairies in brownstones, or anything like what Charles de Lint puts out, this isn’t it. While there is magic (or maybe even something like ESP, though that’s never mentioned), there are no fairies. The magic may or may not be derived from something called the “Antient and Secret Order of the Labyrinth,” or that Order may be derived from the magic. In the book’s prologue, a reporter named Andrew Dodd attempts to review a family of magicians after a performance at Oakland’s (California) Paramount Theater in 1935. Invited backstage by one of the performers, Callan Allalie and his sister Thorne, Dodd is quickly drawn into a web of mystery and dazzlement by the members of the Allalie family, who claim their family has been performing magic for centuries. Perhaps confused by the champagne foisted on him by Corrig Allalie, Dodd somehow manages to make his way to his hotel room and fall asleep on his bed fully clothed; when he awakes the next morning, his notebook contains only the questions “Lies?” and “Truth?” The rest is blank. Chapter one introduces us to Molly Travers, professional temp worker, who keeps her options open by taking various typing and filing jobs in 1995 Oakland; leaving her office building for lunch, she is accosted by a man named John Stow, who claims to be a private investigator, searching for her aunt, Fentrice Allalie. Although he appears to be a bit seedy, he has a P.I. license, and says Molly’s aunt may be the beneficiary of a small bequest, and he wants to ask Molly some questions about Fentrice. It is here that Molly first learns of her family’s performing background, and sees the clipping of Andrew Dodd’s mostly made-up review of that 1935 performance (since we know he neither has notes nor can remember much of that particular evening). This meeting with John Stow will put Molly Travers on a particular path of discovery about her family that will change the course of her life.Because of Stow’s interest—and Molly’s distrust of him—she learns that she is the granddaughter of Callan Allalie; orphaned very young, she has been raised by great-aunt Fentrice in the Chicago area and, through a number of discoveries of various publications and private journals (diaries) begins learning about her family, including the mysterious Thorne, who may or may not be Fentrice’s sister. She discovers, through a pamphlet found in a trunk at her aunt’s home in Chicago, the “True and Antient Order of the Labyrinth,” written in 1884, that her family, the Allalies, were members of this Order, which appeared—at least from the pamphlet—to be another of those mystical wannabe spiritualist societies that sprang up in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The labyrinth Molly begins walking here is the twists and turns of her family history. We also learn of her love for Peter Myers, a man who earns his living writing quickie biographies of famous people; who makes his money off scandal and sensation, not caring who he hurts... and we also see, although she can’t see it, that he doesn’t really care for Molly. It’s an old story of a user and the woman who cares for him, not seeing him for what he is.Although there are a couple of modern Labyrinth societies, they’re mostly made up of people interested in mazes and labyrinths. (As you will no doubt remember from your World History classes in high school, the original labyrinth was on the island of Crete, ruled by king Minos, and was—at least in myth—inhabited by a beast called the Minotaur, who ate Cretan maidens. The Minotaur was killed by Theseus, who followed a ball of yarn to the centre of the maze (labyrinth) and found the Minotaur.) There is also a rumour that the Masons’ Order of the Eastern Star (ladies) is somehow related to an Order of the Labyrinth. Since I’m not a Mason I can’t speak to the truth of that. Check out The Labyrinth Company, too. Lots of people seem to be interested in labyrinths.Later we learn that there was an actual labyrinth, built in England (from whence came the Allalie family in the 1930s, before their entrance into the wonderful world of vaudeville in the US) by a Lady Westingate, who later became penurious and lost her home. Throughout the book, there are enough twists and turns in Molly’s life to make it seem a maze itself; a recurring theme is what the Allalie family seems to have been all about, even when performing: teaching one about oneself. The question “What have you learned?” keeps popping up. Various threads, none that seem to lead Molly either out of or to the centre of this particular labyrinth, keep appearing and disappearing: who is Thorne? Is there actual magic involved in the Allalie family and/or the Order? Who were Molly’s parents? Like Dodd’s encounter with Callan, Thorne, Carrig and Fentrice in 1935, Molly’s experience with her own family seems quite phantasmagorical, and at times she doesn’t know what’s real and what isn’t. Consider the family name, which could be deconstructed to read “All a lie”!(The Paramount Theater, by the way, is almost a character in this book as well, which—considering how over-the-top beautifully decorated it is—I found rather fitting. I’m a big fan of certain kinds of over-the-top, rococo, kitsch, Art Deco, and so on, as it pertains to architecture.)I actually enjoyed reading this; it’s a quick read, even though you have to keep track of a number of family members and events; it’s well-written enough that you also keep wanting Molly to open her eyes and see Peter for who he is. If I have any beef at all with the book, it would be the validation, which seemed a bit weak to me. (The “validation,” at least according to Dean Wesley Smith, is that part at the end of the book that lets the reader down easily, referring back to the beginning of the book in some way to show that it’s all over now. Similar to the “freeze” or “laughter” scenes made fun of by the show Police Squad, with the late, great Leslie Nielsen, at the end of many TV episodes.Especially at the current Kindle price, I heartily recommend this book to the lover of urban fantasy.
I liked the concept and the way the family was portrayed in the book. I thought that was the best part of the whole thing. The rest felt rushed and, at times, jerky in the execution of the plot. Molly is rather unlikeable and her relationship with Peter was contrived from the beginning which, unsurprisingly, let to a reveal with him at the end. Everything coming together felt forced and the basic human interactions were gawky and awkward. Not to mention I think Molly ends up dating her cousin. Knowingly. Gross.The story somewhat toggles between the present (which, I think, is in the 90s somewhere) and past but the only pure flashback is at the beginning when we get to see the moment with the reporter backstage after a show the Allalies all put on. Everything else is pseudo-epistolary but not really because Molly and, usually, John, the private investigator, are reading something outloud to each other so it’s only a rather awkward info dump as opposed to a more seamless jump on the timeline. And they could have worked as flashbacks too. Just fine. But they weren’t used like that so instead of being immersed in the history it’s story time and you’re being read to. Kind of annoying.Molly really isn’t a very well-developed character. Her interactions with people are forced and awkward. She doesn’t seem to have any social norms down regarding behavior. I don’t know if that’s a purposeful socially awkward/oblivious person or she’s just not written very well but she just doesn’t have the flow of a normal human being. She’s put in this story to serve a very specific purpose and it’s very obvious that’s the case. She is a chess piece being moved by the author throughout the story and Molly, as a character, isn’t allowed to just be. Because of this her interactions with everyone: her aunt, John, the Allalie family, are all cringe-worthy and contrived and don’t make for fluid reading at all. Her questions are too specific, too exact, too well-timed. Nothing was allowed to play out naturally.Nowhere more than the end was that any more obvious as everyone converged on a single place, the villains, the good guys, the rest of the estranged family, and each layer of the onion was methodically peeled back to expose what the whole story’s been leading up to. It was too neat, too set up, and it left me feeling little to anything about the ending. And seriously, I think Molly ended up dating her cousin. That whole smear of family at the Allalie house was confusing but I’m almost positive her little love interest there is a distant cousin and she knows it. Goo.What the author did do well was describe the magic, from the acts themselves to the ambiance around the people to a simple facet that wasn’t so simple after all. She nailed that. She made the Allalies seem ethereal and magical and maybe they existed and maybe they didn’t and the aura around them was just perfect. That’s where all of her focus seemed to be, was making those people seem as fantastical as they were supposed to. And it worked.What also worked were the historical parts of the story. Even though they weren’t proper flashbacks the tone and the setting Goldstein meticulously set up was vibrant and far outshone anything happening in present day reading. The meetings and the people and the Labyrinth itself were all so much more realistic than anyone flopping around in the present day Bay area, pretending at being real people.WALKING THE LABYRINTH ended up being a really disjointed story where certain aspects had all the effort while the rest of the story had none, or next to none. It made for an inconsistent read with characters I just didn’t care about as they questioned and conspired and pushed the story forward to its ultimate end. It’s not that Goldstein can’t write people or can’t write a cohesive plot, I just think she’s better at some people, and some scenarios, than others and it really showed here.2.5I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Do You like book Walking The Labryinth (1998)?
The premise of this book sounded so interesting so I was glad when I received an ARC through NetGalley. Molly Travers has never known much about her family – she thought that after the death of her parents that her only remaining relative was her great-aunt. Then a private investigator comes asking questions about her family. It piques Molly’s interest and she finds out that her family were illusionists who put on shows around the country.I started off eagerly reading, but somewhere along the way I bogged down and only read to find out what happened. I had a hard time understanding why Molly would answer questions to a total stranger without more credentials or that she would hop on a plane to England with him. I didn’t care for her boyfriend, Peter, and thought she was a complete idiot to fall for someone like that. I kept wishing she would get a healthy dose of dignity and tell him to go jump in a lake. I also got lost in the description of the illusions that the characters played on one another.I gave this book three stars because I kept on reading to the end. If I found that I couldn’t even finish it, it would have gotten less. I hope other like the story better than I did.
—Katie
Goldstein has written a creative and original mystery that involves magicians, a secret society, and an enchanted labyrinth. The main character Molly is lovable and trusting, but she learns that her great-aunt, whom Molly believed was her only living family, has been lying to her all of her life. Molly has to look into her past to discover the truth about missing family members and the secret of her family’s seemingly real magic. In her search, Molly discovers a journal written by one of her ancestors Emily. Emily’s voice is so real, and I loved reading her journal. The labyrinth, described so well, is used perfectly as both a literal and metaphorical journey to wisdom and knowledge. This fun motif went so well with one of the book’s themes, to question everything, and not take things as they may first appear, or as they appear on the exterior. Other subjects covered include family and romance issues.One of the negatives of the book was that while following the clues as Molly did, I discovered that Goldstein seemed to jump to a clue where there was no groundwork or basis for that jump. When you are reading a good mystery, this definitely upsets the build-up of the suspense.Overall, this is a fun mystery and Young Adults who love historical fiction and contemporary fiction will enjoy how the past is juxtaposed with the present. I’m glad I read it for the labyrinth with its rooms and enchantments! I also thoroughly enjoyed Emily's journal- suspenseful!*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.
—Candace
I suppose the correct label for Walking the Labyrinth by Lisa Goldstein is the oxymoron realistic fantasy with a touch of Victorian literature. While there are aspects of this book which I found fascinating, there are other parts which flatlined for me.The plot evolves around Mollie, an unwitting descendent of Emily, who finds herself in the middle of a mystery as she searches for answers about her past. Undercover detective, John Stow, has been hired to discover some truths and all answers must go through Mollie, the key player. Mollie has been brought up by her Great Aunt, Fentrice Allalie, after her own parents were killed in a car accident when she was three. She discovers she is a descendant of a family of magicians who have paranormal abilities that transcend the realm of the normal life most people lead. Their powers are connected to a labyrinth found in the home of their former patroness. Through a series of misadventures, the answers to Mollie's identity are revealed, and various misconceptions are resolved.The best part of the book is the story described in Emily's Diary, taking place in the Victorian era, which evolves around the mystical Order and events surrounding Emily's ability to see into the hearts of the people around her. Emily is trying to confess her sins to her patroness, Lady Dorothy Westingate, who she considers a friend in spite of the wrongs she has done through her soothsaying abilities. This should have been the novel Lisa wrote, in an expanded version, of course.Part of the problem which makes the plot confusing is the continuous lies and innuendos leading us down false paths of truth. I realize that Lisa Goldstein was trying to duplicate the maze experience for her readers, but the result was more frustrating than enlightening. The fact that it was easy to solve the mystery, in spite of the misdirections, spoils the suspense. There is also the matter of poor character development. For some reason, they never seem to come alive or make us sympathetic towards their plight. The most interesting person is Emily who is an individual from the past. Some of the people in the book seem to be thrown in to assist in the numerous plot twists, which instead of thrilling the reader are, at times, either confusing or too drawn out. The character of Mollie is a enigma in that she doesn't appear to demonstrate an inkling of magical ability even though the reader learns she is descendent of this illusionist family.However, if Goldstein were to get rid of the murder plot and the obnoxious, no good boyfriend, and some of the other minor characters and focus instead on Emily with a backstory involving Mollie and her search for truth, then the dynamics could be refocused into an interesting novel full of fantasy from the past, present, and future. I recommend the author tighten up the plot, get rid of erroneous characters, and develop the key players so we understand their motivation.Still, there was enough drama to keep me interested, so I give this book three stars.I wish to thank the Open Road Publishers for asking me to review this book through Netgalley and give my honest opinion. This review is also posted on my blog, Gotta Read.
—Ellen Klock
