Review: Doppelganger by Marie Brennan

Doppelganger introduces an intriguing, thankfully fresh fantasy world. Mirage is a Hunter, a mercenary-for-hire with almost superhuman reflexes and brilliant red hair–something very unusual, for only the witches in this world have red hair. She and her year-mate, another Hunter with whom she trained, are hired to track down the assassin who killed a high-ranking witch, and they find themselves in an extremely dangerous situation, one that could change their entire world. Namely, they meet Miryo, a young witch who looks remarkably like Mirage, and who must kill the Hunter.

To say that the events in Doppelganger are just the setup for what happens in the sequel, Warrior and Witch, would be unfair. You must read Doppelganger first, but the two stories blend together almost seamlessly, as if it was one book split into two (which is particularly apt, considering the subject matter).

This book begins to introduce Brennan’s fascinating world. Unlike most high fantasy, this world is not based on the generic “back then,” which so often draws on medieval Europe. Instead, the world seems more inspired by Asia, but not obviously so; in other words, this isn’t a world akin to something you’d see in anime fanfic. It’s well-built and well-thought-out (not that anime fanfic isn’t… oh, I’ll stop digging my own grave now) and exceptionally creative.

The characters are interesting and easy to empathize with. I liked both Mirage and Miryo and kept finding myself hoping they’d find a really creative way to work out their… ahem, differences. Fortunately, I wasn’t disappointed in the end.

I particularly like the way Brennan constructs magic in her world. It is a religious concept–magic comes from their goddess–but yet magic and religion are also removed from and often at odds with each other. Magic is also based on sound; witches sing their spells, which is an idea that’s somewhat familiar to me (though I can’t for the life of me remember if I’ve read that in another book or what) but is also at the same time a little difficult to imagine in my head. It seems odd to burst into song in the middle of a battle (okay, they don’t exactly burst into song, but still.).

Definitely check this book out, if you get a chance. It’s well-written, creative, and involving.