The Mask of Mirrors is a dense fantasy that rewards dedicated readers

M.A. Carrick’s The Mask of Mirrors is long. So long that key elements of its main story don’t even arrive until over halfway through the novel. But there are hidden depths to this dense tome.

Probably the first thing you’ll notice when you pick up a copy of M.A. Carrick’s fantasy novel The Mask of Mirrors is how long it is. Clocking in at over 600 pages, this is not a read for the fainthearted.

The story drops you in the middle of a kingdom – a continent really – with its own rules, history, conquests, and cultures, each of which has its own complex traditions and beliefs. Untangling all these rules, relationships, and systems of government is not easy, and you may feel lost as you try to figure out what the Cinquerat is or how this world’s system of magic (known as numinata) works.

But for those who persevere, there’s a lot to enjoy about this novel, which kicks off a new trilogy called “The Rook and the Rose”.  From its complex worldbuilding to its array of intriguing characters, The Mask of Mirrors does eventually suck you right into the world of its story, crafting a world that feels deeply realized, from the halls of its elites to the poverty-stricken hovels of the poor those same people try their hardest to refuse to see.

The book initially follows the story of Ren, a young Vraszenian woman and con artist who is attempting to play a very long game. Raised as a street thief, she has known want and abuse and is now determined to win a different life for herself – by pretending to be someone else.

Now calling herself Renata Viradaux, she and her sworn-sister Tess have returned to the city of Nadezra after several years of absence. Ren’s grand plan involves passing herself off as Nadezran nobility by pretending to be the daughter of House Traemontis’ long-lost sister now grown and seeking a reconciliation with the family she never knew. If successful, Ren’s con will allow her access to the safety and comfort that comes with nobility – as well as the money, of course.

But what she doesn’t realize is that House Traementis is in serious decline, of both the financial and familial variety. With just three members left (matriarch  Donaia, golden boy Leato, and sheltered daughter Giuna) and little public influence, even if her plans are successful, they may not bring her the security she craves. So she decides to help them win back their fortunes.

There is so much more to this book than this – at least a half dozen other major characters, including the mysterious near-immortal hero known only as the Rook; a criminal underworld boss attempting to go legit called Derossi Vargo; and Grey Serrado, the only Vraszenian police captain in a force meant to subjugate his country, and the only man who cares why children in the poorest sections of the city are dying, unable to sleep.

Though the ways their stories all ultimately intersect is part of the Russian nesting doll trickery of the novel, don’t look to this first installment to give you all the answers. Though things build to an explosive climax here, there are plenty of unanswered questions for the rest of this trilogy to dig into.

But the deft way that Carrick strings these characters together will surprise you and the rich, fully-lived-in feel of their world is something you’ll be loath to exit once it has its hooks in you, even after 600 pages. True, it may take you a fair bit to really get a feel for the story – and many readers may well abandon all hope in the face of its admittedly daunting length.

But those who stick with the story past the first hundred or so pages will be so glad they did.

The Mask of Mirrors is available now.