The Book of Gems by Fran Wilde

Title: The Book of Gems

Series: Gemworld #3
Author: Fran Wilde
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Fantasy; Novella
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; June 20, 2023

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Some truths are shatterproof...

It’s been centuries since the Jeweled Valley and its magical gems were destroyed. In the republics that rose from its ashes, scientists craft synthetic jewels to heat homes, power gadgetry, and wage war. Dr. Devina Brunai is one of these scientists. She also is the only person who believes true gems still exist. The recent unearthing of the Palace of Gems gives her the perfect opportunity to find them and prove her naysayers wrong. Her chance is snatched away at the last moment when her mentor steals her research and wins the trip for himself. Soon, his messages from the field transform into bizarre ramblings about a book, a Prince, and an enemy borne of the dark. Now Dev must enter the Valley, find her mentor, and save her research before they, like gems, become relics of a time long forgotten.

I’m not familiar with the other two books in this series, but I was instantly intrigued by the premise of Fran Wilde’s The Book of Gems.

The Book of Gems was a story about greed, theft, and academic rivalry intertwined with the active history of the “Jeweled Valley.” This was a solid adventure story with plenty of cool world building to keep me interested from the first page to the last. I liked how the gem-based magic system was approached as a science and an avenue of study (a source of relics), particularly from the perspective of Devina (Dev) Brunai. She was a character who reminded me of Emily Wilde from Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, in that Dev was an academic who struggled to have her skill and work recognized. Like Emily, there was an overall pervading feeling of being stifled. And I liked the way the author portrayed Dev’s frustration as well as her conflicted feelings: wanting to find her mentor but also wanting retribution and to reclaim her stolen research.

There was much more to the story than that, and I enjoyed how the different clues came together in a way that offered a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, The Book of Gems was a quick read, but I had a lot of fun with this novella.

About the author....

Fran Wilde writes award-winning speculative fiction and fantasy. She can also tie a number of sailing knots, set gemstones, and program digital minions. She reads too much and is a friend of the Oxford comma. Her short stories appear in Asimov's, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer, Uncanny, and Tor.com. Fran's debut novel, Updraft, was nominated for a 2015 Nebula Award, won the 2015 Andre Norton Award for Best Young Adult SFF and the 2016 Compton Crook award for Best First Novel, and was nominated for a 2016 Dragon Award for Best Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Tor.com) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!