Book Review - An Unkindness of Magicians
Oct. 21st, 2018 10:34 amFinished the dark fantasy novel An Unkindness of Magicians by Kate Howard - review is below.
The novel takes place in NYC. I really wish people would stop writing books that take place in NYC and not bothering to provide any realistic details of the city. This book could have taken place anywhere.
Kate Howard's novel falls more within the subgenre of dark hyper-realistic contemporary fantasy, where there are no fantastical creatures and the characters are for the most part, despicable and if they died tomorrow? We'd be better off without them. This is the norm for dark fantasy, which isn't exactly known for its likable characters. In this novel, magic permits you to make it snow in summer, levitate objects, kill people in horrific ways with no retribution (apparently), increase your bank account holdings, heal your friends and yourself, and have an automated house -- in which you don't have to lift a finger. Also the magic people are using comes from somewhere else -- they aren't really using their own. Because using one's own magic is painful -- you get headaches, nose bleeds, naseau, dizzy spells, etc.
The emphasis is on the plot and thematic structure, and less on characters or world-building. Both are there, but not the main point - so the writer tends to only give us enough information to propell her plot forward. Bare outlines and sketch marks. So that's a weakness, at least it was for me, and kept me from loving this novel as much as I wanted to. To be fair, since it takes place in our world -- well for the most part anyhow, not that much world-building is required. The writer just needs to throw in the history of magical use, houses, etc without getting too exposition heavy -- which isn't easy to do. And to a degree Howard pulls it off - but I could have used a little more description. I live in New York City and it did not feel like New York City -- it could have pretty much been any major city. This is a style complaint, perhaps? I tend to prefer a more descriptive style in fantasy -- I like to fall inside the world. And this narrative was very bare bones in that respect. I had a sense of the world, but not enough of one to really visualize it. For example, each magical family has its own House, which reflects its magic or personality. But it's get that visual until about over half-way through. We're told one house is automated with technology, and another is formal with mirrors. When the mirror house gets new magic -- it changes to look like a forest with vines, rose quartz lamps, and green walls. Minimalist style. Which you may prefer, and I admit it is easier to read -- and a good percentage of readers scan or skip over description -- but it helps to visualize a world different from our own.
The characters also fell a bit flat in places. Too one-dimensional. We have our villains, who are a bit obvious from the start, and do not appear to have much complexity, with the exception of the serial killer -- who has a little more than the others appear to. And the heroes, who aren't built a great deal either. There's a romance, but I was never invested in it, and didn't care that much if the two characters stayed together. I was invested in the characters and the plot, so that worked. And it is a quick read.
Also the idea behind the book, and the theme are compelling and pretty much the reason I bought it and could not put it down. It's rather innovative --( Spoilers )
It's a compelling novel. So compelling that I was able to forgive some major typos -- which I think may have been due to the translation to Kindle format. (I read the Kindle version, so no clue if these typos are in the print version. Will state that I find this lazy on the publishers end and it's why I have more respect for independently published writers than traditional. Because independently published writers work hard to keep these errors to a minimum and at great expense to themselves, while the traditional writer relies on their publishing house to correct the problem and if there is one, we blame the publishing house not the writer. So when I saw the typos, I thought, well no wonder this book was on sale for a Kindle daily deal of $1.99. It's normal price is $7-8 , which is pretty high considering there is a garbled sentence in the book.)
But I can't say it's a novel that leaves you with a good impression of humanity or people in general.
Next up? Artremis by Andy Weir
The novel takes place in NYC. I really wish people would stop writing books that take place in NYC and not bothering to provide any realistic details of the city. This book could have taken place anywhere.
Kate Howard's novel falls more within the subgenre of dark hyper-realistic contemporary fantasy, where there are no fantastical creatures and the characters are for the most part, despicable and if they died tomorrow? We'd be better off without them. This is the norm for dark fantasy, which isn't exactly known for its likable characters. In this novel, magic permits you to make it snow in summer, levitate objects, kill people in horrific ways with no retribution (apparently), increase your bank account holdings, heal your friends and yourself, and have an automated house -- in which you don't have to lift a finger. Also the magic people are using comes from somewhere else -- they aren't really using their own. Because using one's own magic is painful -- you get headaches, nose bleeds, naseau, dizzy spells, etc.
The emphasis is on the plot and thematic structure, and less on characters or world-building. Both are there, but not the main point - so the writer tends to only give us enough information to propell her plot forward. Bare outlines and sketch marks. So that's a weakness, at least it was for me, and kept me from loving this novel as much as I wanted to. To be fair, since it takes place in our world -- well for the most part anyhow, not that much world-building is required. The writer just needs to throw in the history of magical use, houses, etc without getting too exposition heavy -- which isn't easy to do. And to a degree Howard pulls it off - but I could have used a little more description. I live in New York City and it did not feel like New York City -- it could have pretty much been any major city. This is a style complaint, perhaps? I tend to prefer a more descriptive style in fantasy -- I like to fall inside the world. And this narrative was very bare bones in that respect. I had a sense of the world, but not enough of one to really visualize it. For example, each magical family has its own House, which reflects its magic or personality. But it's get that visual until about over half-way through. We're told one house is automated with technology, and another is formal with mirrors. When the mirror house gets new magic -- it changes to look like a forest with vines, rose quartz lamps, and green walls. Minimalist style. Which you may prefer, and I admit it is easier to read -- and a good percentage of readers scan or skip over description -- but it helps to visualize a world different from our own.
The characters also fell a bit flat in places. Too one-dimensional. We have our villains, who are a bit obvious from the start, and do not appear to have much complexity, with the exception of the serial killer -- who has a little more than the others appear to. And the heroes, who aren't built a great deal either. There's a romance, but I was never invested in it, and didn't care that much if the two characters stayed together. I was invested in the characters and the plot, so that worked. And it is a quick read.
Also the idea behind the book, and the theme are compelling and pretty much the reason I bought it and could not put it down. It's rather innovative --( Spoilers )
It's a compelling novel. So compelling that I was able to forgive some major typos -- which I think may have been due to the translation to Kindle format. (I read the Kindle version, so no clue if these typos are in the print version. Will state that I find this lazy on the publishers end and it's why I have more respect for independently published writers than traditional. Because independently published writers work hard to keep these errors to a minimum and at great expense to themselves, while the traditional writer relies on their publishing house to correct the problem and if there is one, we blame the publishing house not the writer. So when I saw the typos, I thought, well no wonder this book was on sale for a Kindle daily deal of $1.99. It's normal price is $7-8 , which is pretty high considering there is a garbled sentence in the book.)
But I can't say it's a novel that leaves you with a good impression of humanity or people in general.
Next up? Artremis by Andy Weir