Kristin Osani’s The Extravaganza Eternia is a fast-paced and tightly-plotted — without wrapping up every loose end! — murder mystery set in an extradimensional circus community operated by beings that feed off human emotions (and, from time to time, souls), and I really enjoyed it! one of the most fun books I’ve read all year.
the novel is focalized through Leathan, a name I am choosing to pronounce as if it were a portmanteau of “Lea(h)” and “Jonathan” rather than taking it to be (pseudo-)Irish — both because leathan means “wide, broad” and because none of the other names suggest even an even vaguely Celtic linguistic texture. Leathan is a performer in the titular magical circus, run by the demanding but fiercely protective lihilim (which seems to be both singular and plural) ringmaster Yokuiv. all of the performers in these carefully regulated circuses are victims of curses, trading a century of service for protection from the effects of their curses; Leathan’s curse operates through her emotional connections with other people, a fact that has driven her to consciously distance herself — or at least attempt to do so — from everyone else in the circus. still, she has some friendly acquaintances, one of whom, on their last night at this location, is murdered. Yokuiv instructs Leathan to investigate the murder, which leads her into a tangle of personal histories and inter-circus politics.
I will say, I did think some of Leathan’s arc was a little predictable, and while the writing was mostly good there were some moments were it slipped — mainly some tense issues, as the narration is in present tense but occasionally events that should have been present perfect or simple past were in the pluperfect instead. the climax is also, perhaps, a little rushed, but I didn’t really mind it. those are honestly basically my only criticisms, though!
Osani does a really good job of balancing the fast-moving mystery plot with allowing space for character moments and an impressively multilayered world-building, without letting either the character moments or the world-building interrupt the flow of the mystery. the twists and turns of the mystery are effectively complicated by the fact that Leathan has tried to limit her interactions with other members of the circus and, of course, by the fact that she’s accompanied in her investigation by a spy from a rival circus. Leathan’s interactions with the spy, Zuna (they/them), give the novel an emotional center, as Leathan struggles with her desire to connect with others and with Zuna in particular. meanwhile, the novel offers a compelling glimpse of a deeper world, both by giving the setting a history (the book is set within living memory of a brutal war between lihilim, in the context of a still-fragile peace) and by gesturing towards its characters’ personal histories. Leathan’s is hidden from her by her lost memories (parts of this reminded me of Cameron Reed’s The Fortunate Fall), but all of the circus performers are bound to the circus by a diverse array of curses; Osani gives a clear sense of the social dynamics of the circus culture without the novel ever feeling bogged down in exposition.
speaking of the circus, I was really impressed by the handling of the circus as a space/culture. there’s a certain queer frisson to the idea of running away to join the circus — a romanticization of the itinerant lifestyle as welcoming to the marginalized. the novel certainly leans into that: almost every circus character is explicitly queer and/or trans, and there is a strong sense of camaraderie and intimacy among the performers, in spite of Leathan’s efforts to distance herself from them. at the same time, the novel resists the tendency to romanticize: if the circus has the characteristics of a family, it is with an awareness that the family is also a site of exploitation, and with a repeated emphasis on the fact that this is 1) a job and 2) a job which Leathan has not freely chosen. rather, it is a job she has been forced into for want of other options, as her curse threatens to kill her or those she cares about if not contained by Yokuiv’s power. it is a “job” which she is contractually bound to do for a century, sustained by Yokuiv’s magic, on pain of having her curse unleashed on her. it is a job where her boss subsists on emotional energy that the circus performers collect and that he then consumes. what if, The Extravaganza Eternia asks, your boss literally wanted to devour your soul?
Leathan’s relationships with her coworkers are another highlight, because, prior to the murder, she has none. when Yokuiv assigns her to investigate, he places a spell on her that makes all her coworkers believe they have an established friendship, and this creates a fun dynamic. on the one hand, Leathan doesn’t want to connect with them, but she finds herself opening up to them in spite of herself. on the other hand, the charm allows Osani to imply a depth of relationship and reveal supporting characters’ backstory very quickly without it feeling forced or artificial — or, rather, by making it textually artificial, by offering an in-world explanation for why people Leathan has barely spoken to are suddenly willing to tell her their life stories. it’s very cleverly done.
the novel’s descriptions of magic are evocative without being overly detailed — there is a sense that there is a system here, but ultimately it is impressionistic rather than systematic. I was interested that while the word “spell” is used occasionally they’re mostly referred to as “weaves” and described as composed of knotted strands of magic — interested both because I like the imagery (I did grow up on Tamora Pierce’s Emelan books) and because it suggests some Wheel of Time influence in a book that otherwise bears very little resemblance to Wheel of Time.
all of this is to say that the novel skillfully packs a lot of narrative, exposition, and character development into a very tight space — it is both dense and quick. in that respect it reminded me of Anya Johanna DeNiro’s City of a Thousand Feelings, and I don’t say that lightly!
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