Contemporary Authors

• Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle) - June 19, 2018 Tor.com,

• CL Polk - https://clpolk.com/about-me/

  ABOUT ME
  C.L. Polk is in a love triangle with fantasy and romance. After short story sales and contributing to the web serial Shadow Unit, she’s written fantasy and contemporary romance novels. She lives in southern Alberta and spends too much time on twitter.

  Her debut novel, Witchmark, will be published with tor.com in 2018.

  You can also sign up to her newsletter.

Print Marked Items
Witchmark
Erin Downey Howerton
Booklist.
114.15 (Apr. 1, 2018): p60.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* Witchmark. By C. L. Polk. June 2018. 320p. Tor, paper, $15.99 (9781250162687); e-book
(9780765398970).
The magnetically handsome Tristan brings a dying man to Dr. Miles Singer's doorstep, aware of Miles'
secret identity as a witch, though he is well hidden in an unfashionable hospital after returning from the justconcluded
war in Laneer. Miles quickly becomes entangled in the hunt for the man's killer, while dealing
with an attraction to the mysterious Tristan and a deepening malaise among fellow soldiers returning from
war. Then Miles' powerful family threatens to shackle him to his sister to be used as a sort of magical
battery, to enhance her storm singing and protect Aeland from the ravages of bad weather. Many disparate
elements are expertly woven together to make this debut a crackler, with layers like a nesting doll and just
as delightful to discover. There's a will-he-or-won't-he heat to the romance, a Philip Pullmanesque setting
full of mages, wizards, and political intrigue, all wrapped up in the feeling of a historical mystery that fans
of Maisie Dobbs and other WWI-era novels will dive into. Polk has created an amazing new world with
hints of Edwardian glamour, sizzling secrets, and forbidden love that crescendos to a cinematic finish.
Witchmark is a can't-miss debut that will enchant readers.--Erin Downey Howerton
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Howerton, Erin Downey. "Witchmark." Booklist, 1 Apr. 2018, p. 60. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A534956911/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2ff42697.
Accessed 19 Oct. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A534956911
Witchmark
Publishers Weekly.
264.52 (Dec. 18, 2017): p110.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Witchmark
C.L. Polk. Tor.com, $15.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-16268-7
Polk's stellar debut, set in an alternate early 20th century in an England-like land recovering from a WWIlike
war, blends taut mystery, exciting political intrigue, and inventive fantasy. Miles Singer's influential
family of mages wants to turn him into a living battery of magic for his sister to draw on. Fearing this fate,
he runs away to join the army and make use of his magical healing abilities, although-like all magic-users--
he must hide his powers or risk being labeled insane and sent to an asylum. When Tristan Hunter, a
handsome, suave gentleman who's actually an angel in disguise, brings a dying stranger to Miles's clinic, the
two pair up to uncover the reason for the man's mysterious death. The devastating war has left most young
men shell-shocked, and many veterans are inexplicably killing their families. Miles struggles to find a
socially acceptable physiological explanation for the veterans' dark auras, while Tristan hopes to understand
why no souls from this country have moved on to the afterlife. A sudden reunification with Miles's socialclimbing,
deceitful sister upends progress on solving the riddles (and on the gently developing romance
between Miles and Tristan) as she pulls him back into the secretive and manipulative world of powerful
mages. Polk unfolds her mythology naturally, sufficiently explaining the class-based magical system and
political machinations without getting bogged down. The final revelations are impossible to see coming and
prove that Polk is a writer to watch for fans of clever, surprising period fantasy. Agent: Caitlin McDonald,
DMLA. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Witchmark." Publishers Weekly, 18 Dec. 2017, p. 110. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A520578886/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=795915c2.
Accessed 19 Oct. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A520578886

• The Skiffy and Fanty Show
  https://skiffyandfanty.com/blogposts/reviews/bookreviews/reviewwitchmarkpolk/
  Word count: 1051

  In C.L. Polk’s Witchmark, an Edwardian world-next-door fantasy universe is the setting for the story of an on-the-run doctor scion from a noble family, hiding his magical gifts, and getting wrapped firmly in the coils of intrigue, politics and romance.

  Miles Singer is a Doctor working in an out of the way hospital, hiding in an unlikely place to run away from his past. A veteran himself, his medical skills gained during his time in a recent war now concluding have transferred to a post-war career helping fellow veterans. His past, however, is why he is working in an impoverished hospital for low wages, living hand-to-mouth in a Tenderloin, and scratching out a living.

  For you see, Miles is the scion of a noble family, but with a magical talent that is deemed to be only good for being a battery for his more skillful sister, who is part of the cadre that provides effective control for Aeland’s weather, necessary in a land that would otherwise be wracked by terrible storms. Miles wanted a life to be more than a battery and a breeder for his sister, and so ran away to the army for the war with Laneer and has been hiding every since. But a strange ailment in his hospital, the arrival of a mysterious and alluring gentleman with inquiries of his own, and his sister’s appearance on the scene will shatter his new world…and reveal the underpinnings of his old one.

  This is the story of C L Polk’s Witchmark.

  The central cast makes for a compelling set of characters to follow. I felt immediately for Miles, caught between trying to help his fellow veterans and stay undetected by the powers that be, and getting caught in the machinations of a greater threat to him, those veterans and his entire nation. I also particularly liked Miles’ sister Grace, who, once she finds where he has been hiding, becomes an important voice in the narrative and an interesting counterpoint to Miles. The elder, talented sister, trying to keep her family’s power from falling to a brutish rival, and alternatively manipulating, negotiating and pleading with Miles to see to his family duty made me feel for her a character as well. The beauty of the novel is in showing a sympathetic portrait of both opposed siblings, even if their goals, hopes and desires are very much orthogonal to each other. The third major character is Tristan, Miles’ love interest. His true nature and his own true goals and plans in Aeland are slowly revealed in the course of the novel, to the point where I hesitate to reveal them. Needless to say, Tristan is much more than what he first appears, and the tension of those revelations connects well with Miles and Grace’s stories.

  I also appreciated the setting and worldbuilding, working on a number of levels. The novel is extremely modern and contemporary even as it depicts an Edwardian-era-like world in that it takes some basic assumptions and changes them to suit Polk’s world. The entire core of the romance between Miles and Tristan revolves on a fact, gently revealed, that shifting sexuality is apparently a thing in this world. The idea that a man would take other men as lovers before finally being set to “Settle down” and get married to a woman and have children and a family is, from the context of the novel’s world, the norm. In other words, what our society might call Queer is the societal default. Miles’ romance with Tristan, then, is an act of rebellion, but of a different tone than if the novel was set in our world or a world of our values. It comes across as “you need to settle down and start a family” rather than societal shock and horror and social stigma at a same sex romance.

  The worldbuilding of the novel extends into much more: just how magic works, especially since we get revelations through the novel that is news even to Miles, much less the reader. The novel runs a fine line in how it handles magic and magical talents. In this world, ordinary citizens who show magical talent of any kind are locked into asylums, ostensibly for the safety of them and all around them, but the magic users of the noble classes, both Storm Singers like Grace and Secondaries like Miles, are not considered dangerous, quite the contrary. There is some crunchy worldbuilding, exploring how the aristocracy of her world interacts with those below them. Like the aforementioned gender relations difference, Polk’s world also shows a slightly different technological path than our own world. Automobiles have not been invented here, but the bicycle is at a level of popularity unmatched in our own world and history. Traffic flows and traffic rules navigate the interface between bicycles, pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages. We even get something that is a rara avis in fantasy novels: A bicycle chase, which is depicted wonderfully.

  Miles’ attempt to escape his fate, combined with the technology, make this feel much more of an Edwardian than a Victorian novel, a subtle distinction when it comes to Gaslamp fantasy, but I think the changing society within her novel is important to its plot and structure, and so that makes this a novel set at a time in her world that is extremely interesting to have stories set in and read about. The author has invented a world that works with the characters and story she is trying to tell.

  The style of the novel is a third and strong point of the book. The style is vivid and engages the senses in a way that a lot of authors don’t take advantage of. The novels take advantage of all the senses, and layer in descriptors and things in scenes to build up multidimensional and multisensory scenes that are immersive and drew me into the action and events as a reader.I The writing really reinforces the worldbuilding and character development.

  I found Witchmark to be an excellent debut novel, and I look forward to more works from the author.

• The Nerd Daily
  http://www.thenerddaily.com/review-witchmark-by-c-l-polk/
  Word count: 416

  Our protagonist Sir Christopher Hensley goes by the alias Miles Singer, in order to escape his discovery and continue living a mundane life as a psychiatrist in a veteran’s hospital. His country has been at war; one which Miles has seen first-hand. He went to war to escape his destiny as Sir Christopher, but when he returned home, he couldn’t leave his past behind. When his patients start murdering their families, Miles has to quickly discover what is truly hiding within the veterans who have returned from war, and how he can cure it, quickly!

  Miles is a witch. As the son of a high-ranking Minister and the brother of the woman running for Voice, Miles is assumed to dedicate his life and his powers to his family. However, Miles has better uses for his affinity of healing and his smarts as a doctor. Instead of binding himself to his sister and becoming a Secondary, Miles changes his name, escapes to the war and then starts working with the veterans who have returned with demons, just like him.

  The setting in this novel was very reminiscent of Edwardian England and post-world war. It was a fun steam punk meets Oliver Twist setting, with a dash of political intrigue. Polk describes her characters and the atmosphere magically.

  This book was very enjoyable, however, I believe it could have been more enjoyable if the world was further explained to the reader. From the beginning, the reader is aware that there is a war taking place and our protagonist is at the centre of it, however, we don’t know much else about what started it, who’s on each side and why its continuing. I hope that this is explained more in the sequel and can give the readers a more in-depth look at the magical world Polk fabricated.

  I genuinely enjoyed this book, but because of the lack of explaining when it came to the ins and outs of the war, I was genuinely confused around the 60% mark. Things became slightly clearer and I was able to understand and thoroughly enjoy the ending of the novel, however, more insight would have made the star rating become much higher than what it is.

  This is the first in the Witchmark series and the following books have yet to be announced. I will definitely be continuing on with the series when the books are released.

• The Illustrated Page
  https://theillustratedpage.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/review-of-witchmark-by-c-l-polk/
  Word count: 967

  If you’re a fan of Martha Wells’ work, you may enjoy this debut fantasy novel with a gay lead.

  Miles Singer is in hiding. He ran away from his family, escaping a dehumanizing future as a walking magical battery. But if witches like him aren’t bonded to the elite weather mages, then they’ll be carted off to an asylum for sure and never heard from again.

  Nobody knows about Miles magic or who his family really is. He values his freedom, and he’s careful to keep it. He’s working as a doctor in a veteran’s hospital when a patient arrives who recognizes Miles both for a witch and for his family background. He begs Miles to help find his murderer before he dies of a fatal poisoning. One person overheard all of this: the mysterious Tristan, who has his own reasons for wanting Miles to investigate the murder. And he promises that if Miles helps him, he can teach Miles how to hide his magic, even from other witches.

  Witchmark is a very compelling book. I read all of it in… maybe a day? I was on a trip to Ireland at the time, and I kept getting torn between looking at the scenery and reading! I ended snatching pages whenever trees blocked out the view.

  What makes Witchmark so compelling? For starters, the writing style is great. It’s smooth and flows so well. The plot is also full of the twists I love, and the murder investigation soon leads Miles towards a huge conspiracy. That plus the world building makes me think of Martha Wells’ Death of a Necromancer as a comp title, so if you like her work, you should probably read Witchmark. Oh, and side note, if you haven’t read Martha Wells, you should go read both her work and C.L. Polk’s.

  I also really loved the world building. World building is a large part of what draws me to science fiction and fantasy, so excellent world building is always important for me. Witchmark certainly has that. The setting is inspired by Edwardian England, although this is a second-world fantasy. Miles’ country has just ended a colonial war with another country, and his veteran’s hospital is being swamped with men returning from the front. So many of his patients have lingering mental health problems from the war, but he’s being made to release them anyway, as the hospital doesn’t have the necessary funds to provide much treatment. Miles himself is a war veteran, and he has PTSD. I don’t feel knowledgeable enough to talk much about the portrayal, but mental health is an important topic in Witchmark.

  While the world of Witchmark is inspired by Edwardian England, there’s obvious differences. For one thing, it’s not the only world within these pages! There’s a race of people who are basically fae and have their own realm. You find out pretty early on that the mysterious (and gorgeous) Tristan is one of them. Oh, Tristan’s also the love interest, if you hadn’t cottoned on.

  Sexism and homophobia both also work differently in the Witchmark world. It seems a bit less sexist (but still somewhat sexist) than our own corresponding time period, and there’s references to some controversial, historical king who expanded rights for women. There’s no religious backing for discrimination against same-sex relationships, and they’re not referred to unnatural or any such. They seem to be accepted for certain age ranges, but people are expected to grow out of them and start having children.

  Remember when I talked about Miles’ family and dehumanization? Power and oppression also play a large role in the story. The discrimination against witches sort of reminds me of how some stories will use magical discrimination or some such as a metaphor for other things. In this case, it feels like it has some parallels to queerness, but we get an actual canonically queer lead.

  Oh, back to power and dehumanization. There’s some really messed up stuff going on with Miles’ family. His sister’s one of the esteemed weather mages who pretty much secretly run the country, and his future was supposed to be becoming bonded to her to provide her with more magical power, in a relationship where he’s magically forced to obey her every command. Yeah, no wonder he runs away. Not to mention, mages like him are basically breed by their families with no choice in the matter? Again, so messed up.

  You do meet his sister. She says she wants to change the system… but can Miles really trust her? As a reader, I never really knew. She is an interesting character, and she’s also the most significant female character in the novel. I don’t really have complaints about this, but if what you’re specifically looking for in a novel is lots of female characters in lead roles, this isn’t that particular book. Again, sort of like Death of a Necromancer in that way.

  The only other potential criticism I can think of is that the relationship between Miles and Tristan seemed to move pretty fast. But I’m not going to get whiny about queer characters being happy. If you’re worried: this isn’t a queer tragedy. At the end of the book, both Miles and Tristan are happy and alive.

  All in all, Witchmark is one of my favorite debut novels yet in 2018. I bet it’ll end up making my best of the year list! I highly recommend it.