Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

[janestarz]

After finishing Red Dwarf, we picked a new series to watch: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It got a rave review from jenthompson and she was so inspired she made herself a Lost Hope fairy dress to celebrate this dark and wicked series.

It is set in Regency England, but unlike Pride & Prejudice and Zombies this captivates from the first minute in. The Society for English magic, meeting once a month on a Thursday night to have dinner and discuss magic and -- and this is important -- never ever ever practice magic feels very Pratchettian to me. If you can stick through the first two scenes, it all starts to get dark and creepy and intense very soon.

Soon enough Magic is brought back to England, and all sorts of strange things start happening. We've just watched episode two and I'm already hooked. The atmosphere is haunting and captivating and thrilling. The characters are utterly believable, from the rigid and mousy mr. Norrell, who is ill at ease in society, to his manservant with the gloomy look. The street magician crackpot called Vinculus, who makes Thoros of Myr look like the picture of personal hygene and grooming (incidentally, played by the same actor). The Gentleman who is Reginald Barclay - no! - Gríma Wormtonge - no! - (even more creepy than) mr. Tay-ah-tee-may from Hogfather. Suspense! Magic! Brooding Stares!

As much as my review sounds like it's a series for sixteen-year-olds it really isn't. It's dark and scary enough to come visit me at night, probably. So I very much hope to see more of this series, even though IMDB states there are only seven episodes in the first season and denies telling me if there will be more.

Until that time, I leave you with a trailer:

Comments

[querca-robur.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reminding me again of it's existence. It sounds like I really need this in my life!

[athiel-draaick.livejournal.com]

I loved it and was inspired to reread the book too. Usually I'm not a big fan of lengthy fantasy epitomes, but this one stands out. Mainly because Ms. Clarke actually has enough to tell to fill a thousand pages. Her alternative history blends in with actual history really nicely. It is filled with academic footnotes and mundane details, which builds the world in a much more subtle manner than most fantasy writers manage. Her style of writing is inspired by 19th century authors, which is a nice touch.

There are no new seasons expected. The season covers the entire book, so it would be weird to continue.

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

I was kind of curious how the series compares to the book, and now I know! Perhaps I should read the book too. The way the TV-series tells it, you can just smell that there is a far, far greater universe behind what we're seeing. I am curious about the story behind the King's Roads (we're just halfway, so I'm betting we will see more of it in the coming episodes!) and the fairy kingdom.