Self-published in July 2021
Anna Molman came to Scotland as a refugee from Ukraine in 2022. This is her first book. On her website Molman says “I went blind, then I wrote a book.” This is one of the most promising hooks I’ve encountered from a new author for their first work.
Reading the brief bio on Anna’s website leaves you in no doubt she is capable of composing interesting and thought-provoking prose about her experiences. Sadly, I don’t think this is reflected in the way Tango of Water and Flame is written.
The plot centres around Helga a young woman who is a physician with special magic fire gifts. In Helga’s world, which resembles a mixture of contemporary Britain with a strong smattering of 1950’s social norms, magic is routine. Babies are not born with innate supernatural abilities; these have to be gifted at birth by doctors. Like many young medics developing their practice Helga is starstruck by “the professor” who is wonderful at his job, unfailingly kind to patients, and dispenser of wisdom to his students. Every medical drama used to have one. This professor does not disappoint in that he is young, handsome and yes takes a shine to Helga.
Helga being a serious young woman keeps things professional, even when the professor, recruits her into a secret organisation dedicated to the protection and development of the world’s magic capabilities.
Shortly after her recruitment there is an attack on the facility by malcontents who believe the magicians are experimenting on babies. The director of the organisation orders the staff, for security reasons, to stop flying to and from work, and travel by land instead. This means the women can forsake the trousers they routinely wear to preserve their modestly at altitude, for lovely summer dresses and kitten heels. Not long after Helga is sent on an emergency mission to save a magic creature from the far north and on landing faces a sartorial dilemma. How do you negotiate the North Pole in kitten heals?
The book rattles along and the pages turn. Anna Molman’s imagination is not in doubt, however, this reads like a first draft, as if the author had thrown all her ideas for the story onto the page unfiltered. She has not killed any of her darlings. Most of her characters with the exception of the professor’s kickass mother are indistinguishable from one another. Everyone sounds the same. There is not a great deal of character development. That in itself is not a cardinal sin. Isaac Asimov’s female, and most of his male characters for that matter, where interchangeable, and immutable.
Writing a novel is difficult. Completing one and bringing it to market (this is self-published) after fleeing your homeland and coping with serious illness takes a great deal of determination and discipline. It also needs critical friends and ideally an editor to streamline your flabby plotlines. The other key to success is finding your genre. Having read Anna’s website, I wonder if writing about the contemporary world might suit here writing style and life experiences better.