I can't say I'm too fond of the idea of city-themed tarots, but of course, as soon as I make that proclamation, a tarot deck comes out that, although city-themed, blows me away. The The Tarot of Prague by Karen Mahoney and Alex Ukolov is a sumptuous deck collaged from the art and architechture of the magic city of Prague.

The illustrations are finely detailed and lushly coloured, and are also loosely based on the Rider-Waite deck, so people familiar with the RW deck will easily adapt to this one.

A couple of the illustrations seem a bit off. The Page of Wands, for example, with her solid stocky legs and earthy appearance would seem better suited to the Page of Pentacles.  But overall the imagery of the Tarot of Prague is wonderfully evocative, and I've found the deck very easy to read. 

There are 79 cards - because there are two Death cards, one very troubling and sinister and the other a little more lighthearted. But troubling and sinister are relative terms because overall the deck has a very bright and positive feel. In fact, one of the few difficulties I find with this deck is that often my readings with it are a little too positive, a little too goodness-and-light. I prefer to read with more balanced decks. 

The kit is wonderful and comes in a large beautiful case with an excellent full-sized book. But you can also buy just the cards separately. The box  is book-style and tied with gold ribbons, and has the little white book pasted to the inside. 

 If like me, you avoid the city-themed decks because you've "never been there - can't identify", you'll be pleasantly surprised by this deck. You don't have to know or love Prague to love the Tarot of Prague.