I just finished reading City of a Thousand Dolls, by Mirian Forster. It was a very enjoyable read. The biggest surprise with the book was how confined the scope of setting was, virtually everything takes place in the very narrow world of the City of a Thousand Dolls, where the unwanted girls of the vaguely Asian nation are abandoned to be raised and trained in the various houses until they are redeemed or purchased, typically at or after the age of 16, as apprentices, wives, mistresses, etc. The setting felt relatively fleshed out, the protagonist was lost and unaware in the mystery without being too annoying, and the putting together of all the pieces at the end didn't have any false notes as the clues were appropriately placed through the story. Another plus, and frustration, is that there is left a significant amount of unexplored territory in the past and future for the author to do much more in this world. Here is to hoping that the author writes more at the same or better level!
Her website is http://msforster.blogspot.com/, and she does a nice list of recommended fantasy books set in Asian based worlds that I will have to mine next time I have a good chunk of reading time. Most of my fantasy novel reading runs toward a more European setting, but I found this setting quite appealing and immersible.
