Becoming The Muse

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments is a dystopian futuristic fantasy novel by Zimbabwean author T. L. Huchu. It was published by Tor Books 5 April 2022.

It is T.L. Huchu’s fourth novel and the second instalment in the Edinburgh Nights Series following The Library Of The Dead set in Scotland.

Our Lady Of Mysterious Ailments continues the story of Ropa, the precocious and magically gifted 15 year old with preternatural abilities. Having managed to get herself into a prestigious internship position which she discovers to be an unpaid position and with bills to be paid and a fox to feed, a girl gotta earn money. Her friend Priya, organises a gig at Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments where she can put her gifts to use and most importantly make some money… which leads to another epic adventure with a lost fortune, con men, an avenging spirit and secrets best kept buried.

The Good

As a fan of fantasy, I am intrigued by the adventures of Ropa Moyo who has special abilities and great potential in Scotland and of Zimbabwean descent. While the first book introduced the protagonist to us, the second book introduces us to her world.

The book expands on the world building giving a insights into the magical history of Edinburgh, its hierarchy and politics. Huchu’s world of magic is a complex system that follows an almost academic grounding in the finer arts of magic… juxtaposition this with a willful protagonist who isn’t much for following rules especially rules that arent in her favour, then you have a heady mix.

There’s more character building in the book, we get to see more of Ropa’s partner in crimes, Jomo who seems to always get entangled in her (mis)adventures and Priya the wheel-chair bound bestie capable of meeting any challenge you throw her way.

I like that the characters make mistakes, they don’t always agree and have different opinions on how things should work out but they are not above admitting when they are wrong, learning and moving from it.  

The Bad

For a book titled Our Lady Of Mysterious Ailments which is said to be an exclusive holistic healing and therapy clinic – I would have expected that a larger part of the plot would have revolved around the clinic with the logo of praying hands which got you the best care money could buy…

Instead we actually get to learn more about The Library Of The Dead – the kind of information I would have really wanted to have gotten in the first book of the Edinburg Nights Series -. Maybe its just that the individual titles are a red-herring, they simply mark a way point in the tale but not an indicator of how and where the story will actually unfold.

There is still a lot of questions, the book leaves a lot of questions unanswered…. what is the end game?

The Ugly

I had hoped the Chivanhu Craft (which is the blend of ancient magic which Ropa’s grandmother Melsie Mhondoro is supposed to be adept at) would also get a bit more feature but its only mentioned once and in reference to Melsie Mhondoro’s failure to impart the craft to Ropa except for the basics…

At least Ropa’s mbira instrument still makes an appearance and she uses it to deal with spirits either as an anchor or to sever tethers as such instruments can tap into cosmic harmonics… But her skillset is looked down upon by the academic magicians and treated as child’s play. I hope further along in the series Chivanhu craft gets respectable prominence in its own right.

Final Thoughts

I love the Edinburgh Nights Series, I loved the first book more, The Library Of The Dead which set the bar quite high, Our Lady Of Mysterious Ailments follows closely and manages to match the bar….

The third book in the Edinburgh Nights Series The Mystery Dunvegan Castle will be released 27 July 2023.