A good story, but I found it hard to care about what happens next. ( )

Great story and awesome characters. ( )

This story had a promising start, but I was very disappointed in the ending. There wasn't any climax or conclusion, none of the loose ends were resolved -- It didn't tell a complete story. Apparently you have to read the other books to find out what happens. ( )

This is a lively and intriguing fantasy with orphaned girls, magic mirrors, mermaids and winged lions in a fantastical version of Venice under siege. ( )

I found the entire trilogy in a nearby Little Free Library and was intrigued. Unfortunately, this volume is a disappointment. I'm picky about world-building, and the world-building in this book is slapdash heading for chaotic. Venice! Magic! Egypt! Mermaids! Living stone lions! Hell! (No, really, Hell.) When the book started, I thought it would be about Merle and her new friend and fellow apprentice Junipa...and then suddenly Merle meets a certain boy and the plot becomes all about her and him and, yes, the female friend becomes a minor character. Meh. Since I have the second book in hand anyway, I'll try it and see if things even out, but I'm not optimistic. ( )

Venice has been under the protection of the Flowing Queen since she helped the citizens defeat the Egyptians.....now 3 of the City Councilors have turned traitor and are plotting so that the Egyptians might return victorious.

The canals are poisoned, the mermaids are dying. Merle, an orphan who carries the "Water Mirror" and with special talents is apprenticed to Arcimboldo the magic mirror maker. It is up to Merle, the Flowing Queen, and Vermithrax the Great Obsidian Lion to save Venice.

This was a very enjoyable read. The characters were believable and interesting. The action was smooth and held my interest. I am not going to give this a 4 because it is not as engaging as either "Harry Potter" or "Septimus Heap", but this was a good read, none-the-less. ( )

I feel... like this book went an entirely different way by the end than it had been going towards the beginning. Honestly, I feel a little betrayed, although most people may not have the same reaction. The book started off really interesting and unusual, with two characters that were intelligent and became fast friends regardless of the oddities that they became part of. I admired both of them, Merle and Junipa, because these were girls that were willing to be friends with one another and give each other fair chances, regardless of the personality differences and resignations they had. It was a book that had its unique fantasy elements as well, with living and breathing stone lions, to mermaids that lived in the canals of Venice, our story's main stage, to a magical mirror maker that the two girls were apprenticed to.

Everything started off really intriguing and unique for a fantasy book. It had its own story to tell, and was woven with fascinating purpose and fun, haphazard interactions. Yet there was that sensation of lingering mystery and foreboding over the entire tale, like storm clouds on the horizon darkening the sky, but far enough away that you weren't certain if it would come your way at all or just blow off.

The side characters themselves were truly engaging as well, and I liked each of them for their own strange and beautiful, even sad reasons. Characters like Eft really tugged at my heart strings, and even the rambunctious boys working for Arcimboldo were good characters, if typical boys. *Grins crookedly* Serafin, too, as another main character--though we get to see less of him than Merle--really called to me with his dashing and yet mature personality, his thieving background and insatiable curiosity. Overall, the cast we have to work with was a fun one that brought out unique and enjoyable interactions and kept the book moving forward.


My issue with the book begins to arise when we get to meet a mythical entity called The Flowing Queen. She is apparently a being that has protected the city of Venice for countless decades as it lay under perpetual siege of the Egyptian empire, who to the current time in the book, still sits camped outside the city in a complete and total ring of troops. Meeting this being was at first interesting, but very soon I got a whiff of her mentality when she suggested using the forces of Hell (a real place that exists at the center of the earth in this book) to protect the city simply because she (for unspoken reasons) no longer could at that time.

It's a brave thing for any author to do, and I will not fault an author for wanting to introduce controversial elements into the book. Typically it'll result in a 50/50 split in the audiences: Those who don't mind the controversial elements and want to see what'll happen regardless; and those who will be offended and will stop reading the book because of this.

For a while after I finished this book, I was on the fence with this very decision. The Flowing Queen brought up the suggestion yet another time, and the author himself made a point of showing the consequences of making deals with Hell's representatives with a couple of characters throughout the book. At the very end, we get the prime example of how Hell and its Leaders think of the mortal beings with whom they bargain with. Without getting into spoilers, lets just say that the life of one of the characters I grew very attached to suddenly hangs in the balance, and the person who made this pact with Hell's leaders essentially seems to buckle under their demands--for obvious and good reason--to the point where not even guilt will stop him from sacrificing someone's innocent life. What really plays as the clincher is when he says, "Well, I took [this character] into my home because I was supposed to turn them over to Hell in the first place. Instead of giving them to Hell a few years from now, I'm going to have to give them over to them a lot sooner than I thought."


...yeah.


Then they try to sell you some bulls**t about "I was trying to help the children".


Well if you were trying to help the children, you would think with your talents or even just your bare bones and skin, you'd be able to make a living for them doing anything you had to instead of through A PACT WITH HELL WHERE YOU SACRIFICE INNOCENTS TO SAVE OTHER INNOCENTS.


Does NO ONE see the hypocrisy here?!


Whatever the book had going for it was essentially ruined for me with the way the book started to turn sour the further along towards the end it got. Even the introduction of another amazing character at the end chapters of the book wasn't enough to get the bitter taste out of my mouth, thinking about the characters I loved being sacrificed like animals. To be fair, the book gives signs of having a possibility of turning around in the next book in the series and not carrying through on these ideas, but by the time I finished reading this first book, I was stuck feeling sick to my stomach with the thought that I was possibly going to pick up the next book and have to read more of this treachery.

The worst part is that the very "being" of The Flowing Queen, who is supposed to be the savior of this story, is suggesting the people of Venice make a pact with the very Hell that we're sacrificing my babies to.

I'm sorry. I can stomach quite a few things, but this just crosses a line that disgusts me and which I find utterly revolting. And if I sound pompous: deal with it. I have standards, and killing off characters to make blood pacts with Hell so you can live a life that's a lie and contradiction isn't up my alley.


Honestly, I can't in good conscience recommend this book to anyone. It was ruined for me, and people will do what people want, but I won't commend it. It has too much outweighing the positive aspects right now. If I give the second book a try in the future, I'll let you know. Right now-- I recommend skipping it. ( )

What I Liked. The spin Kai Meyer put on some familiar fantasy elements was fascinating. I love it when fantasy tropes are turned on their heads then flipped inside out. Otherwise beautiful mermaids, but with hideous shark like heads, are enslaved and used to pull gondolas through the canals of Venice. Those winged stone lions that today you see gracing the buildings, are alive, also enslaved and used as guards. Egyptians, not Romans, are the major invaders in this tale with their armies of undead mummies, flame throwing flying ships and powerful navy. And only thing that has saved Venice up to this point is the being know simply as the "Flowing Queen" who protects Venice's lagoon and prevents the Egyptian galleys from entering the waterways. And that barely scratches the surface. There are literally too many unique components to list.

What I didn't like. I am not sure if something was lost in the translation or if it was simply a matter of too much story and not enough character development, but I felt disconnected. I liked the orphans who are at the heart of this story but I never developed a sympathetic connection. Instead I felt more sympathy for the mythical entities. This may improve later on, now that the worldbuilding is covered, but it may not. I am struggling with the characters' motivation. It feels like the story is moving the characters instead of the characters moving the story. If that makes sense.

I also have my usual problem with the drop you off the edge of a cliff abrupt ending. Good thing I have the omnibus because otherwise, I'd be seriously frustrated.

Conclusion. I am on the fence so far. The uniqueness and creativity is priceless. If I was rendering an opinion based on the worldbuilding alone, I'd give it a five out of five. However, the portrayal of the characters could have been better. There were too many convenient scenes. Events consistently took place simply because the protagonists were in the right place (or wrong place depending on how you look at it) at just the right time.There is also the fact that there are so many storylines to keep track of. There is the lions' story, the mermaids' story, the orphans' stories, the Flowing Queen's story, Venice's story, the mirror maker's story, his housekeeper's story and a budding romance to keep track of. Deep breath... Never boring mind you, not with all of that going on, but a bit overwhelming at times.

For more detail please read full review @ Dragons, Heroes and Wizards. ( )

After reading many of the reviews... I have to agree, this book's ending is incomplete and leaves one frusterated. But... I loved it. Even after reconsidering I give it 5 stars. It has a 'Golden Compas'-esque quality, in the way it looks at a very trecherous and dynamic world from an innocent simplistic POV. This book is a good read for anyone who loves Pullman. ( )

Fantastic. I was immediately captured by the not-pretty mermaids, and then there were magic mirrors, and a girl with mirrors for eyes and flying stone dragons and a love interest and Venice.

For a slightly younger than teenage audience, I think, but totally enjoyable as an adult as well and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

I recieved this book as a birthday present years ago, and I just recently re-read it. The characters and objects in the book are very strange, but that is what I abslutely love about this book. The ideas put into the text are fascinating and original. The stone lions were, by far, my favorite things in the story, but everything in it was interesting. ( )

I thought this book was amazing, there's so much I loved about it. I can't believe it's been sitting on my shelf for so long unread. ( )

I picked up this book because I liked the cover. I enjoyed the beginning of the story, even though the 'orphan sent to be an apprentice at a scary shop' wasn't the most original setup. There were intriguing bits to the story (I liked the mirrors and the stone lions) however, as the story progressed I felt like there were too many things pulling for my attention. There was the water queen and the mermaids, there was the competition between the mirror maker and the dress maker, there were the stone lions, there was a war, there was the devil and the underworld, there was too much. I was relieved when I was done with the book because it meant I didn't have to try to keep so many things straight. I think the story is not bad, it just needs a lot of the clutter pulled away to let it shine. ( )

There is something alluring about Meyer’s text that keeps me wanting to keep reading. The mysterious nature to the story and the fantasy, often riding the fence between the dark and the mystical continually draws the reader deeper into the world. However, as is often with original or semi-original fantasies, there is not enough emphasis on the description of the various elements that Meyer is naming to create an accurate picture of this world and how it appears. As a reader, I find it confusing and difficult to follow some of the action because I have no context for what’s going on in the story.Overall, I was expecting a little more from the read, but the new and recreated elements of the mythology, especially the obsidian lion named Vermithrax, are engaging and make it fun to see what new creature or fantasy element may pop up. It is refreshing to see something that’s out of the vampire and magic vein, but the world needs more description and explanation to really take hold. -Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

Kids book, but interesting images. ( )

Different from other fantasies as it merges mermaids, sphinx, and magic into an exciting adventure. ( )

www.yasarah.blogspot.com ( )

Set in an enchanted Venice that has been held under siege for years by the Egyptians, Merle and Junipa are taken from an orphanage to apprentice with Arcimboldo, owner of a magical mirror workshop. Although the girls are not sure why they have been chosen, it is clear that they both possess some gifts. Junipa, blind since birth, is given mirror eyes that allow her to see. Merle is entrusted to save the life of the Flowing Queen, a goddess of the water. Complete with stone lions, mermaids, and mirror spirits, there are a host of magical creatures that coexist with the human characters. The political situation is coming to a head with war threatening and a messenger from Hell entreating the Venetians to form a pact.
The book, translated from the German by Elizabeth D. Crawford, tries to do too many things at once and what seems to be key information is divulged when the book is about to end with no development. The book reads as a first chapter, as the main characters are all left in disparate situations and the reader must wait for the next installment of the series to discover their fates. It is an ambitious attempt to cover an expansive array of fanciful creatures, war, political intrigue, and even a little romance. Series readers would enjoy this book which develops an increasingly fast pace as the volume progresses, others may well find it an interesting but ultimately unsatisfying read. ( )

The Water Mirror is set in an alaternate Venice of the late 1800 filled with magic, mermaids, and an evil Egyptian empire. Merle is an orphan and is apprenticed to a magic mirror maker. When she and Serafin - the magic weaver's apprentice - overhear a plot to allow the Egyptians to conquer Venice, they find themselves in the midst of danger.

A well told story, especially with the audio narrator. It was quite different from other plots and I look forward to the next book. My only complaint is that the story ends on a cliff hanger and should have gone on for a bit more. ( )

http://6impossiblethings.wordpress.com/2006/05/12/the-water-mirror/ ( )