5 stars for Dirty Magic (Prospero's War book 1) by Jaye Wells.
It has been a depressing past 2 weeks or so. I have been feeling down and out of sorts due to work and health. Yep, lots of changes at my work place and my health suddenly suffers a downturn upon my return from a short trip to Bangkok, Thailand during the Lunar New Year period from 18 Feb to 22 Feb. But I think most of all, my depression stems from the lack of a good storybook on hand. In the short span of 10 days since my last book review post, I have chucked 6 books, all in various stages of abandon, ranging from 2% to 20% read before I toss them aside. My stubborn self has insisted on persisting on an urban fantasy. I am on the brink of giving up when the decision to read Dirty Magic saves the day. 3 chapters in and I know I have touched base with a solid tale.
In Dirty Magic, first person narrator, Kate Prospero is an Adept who grows up in the Cauldron in the city of Babylon. Raised in the Votary Coven under the leadership of a known criminal mastermind who is now locked away in the Crowley Penitentiary, Kate struggles with leaving the coven behind to start life anew by performing reactive police work - chasing perpetrators after the crimes have happened. By a twist of fate, our heroine lands herself in the Magic Enforcement Agency (MEA), a task force that is set up to leverage the magical knowledge of Adept law enforcement officers to fight the dirty magic problem by taking on the most powerful wizards in the Cauldron and whose ultimate mission is to rid Babylon of the dirty magic trade altogether. Being a member of MEA provides Kate the opportunity to feel productive and proactive in building a case to prove her worth as she is finally able to go after the wizards who orchestrate the covens, the master cookers who develop potions and the dealers who make sure cash and money flow through Babylon.
While the idea of magic is commonplace in the urban fantasy genre, the concept of clean versus dirty magic and potion cooking using magic synergies is definitely a very refreshing notion. In Prospero's War book 1, the author lays down the fundamentals of magic: (1) Magic is magic regardless of using it with good or ill intentions. There is no exact black or white as most are smoke-screen gray. (2) Using potions changes who you are in the most basic ways. The real human cost to the potion game - the adepts who cook and sell potions profit off people's misery and desperation, and in the process, ruin people's lives. (3) Mundanes get addicted to portions, Adepts rarely. However, Adepts who dabble and cook dirty magic portion become slaves to its power and profit. These suppositions can the magical aspects ring so true as they apply readily to real life which at the end of it all, boil down to humans and their greed, vanity and fear of pain. These in turn make the telling of Dirty Magic a very matured, engaging and enjoyable experience.
Besides focusing on the alchemy of clean and dirty magic, the author also provides a well-rounded story on the background of our heroine and reasons for the way she behaves and reacts towards her only kin, Danny, her 16-year old brother. It is also very interesting to read about a certain Mr John Volos, a man from Kate's past, who has gone from being her Uncle Abe Prospero's heir for one of the biggest magical crimes syndicates in the city to a well respected community leader and successful businessman in little more than a decade. I cannot wait to find out more about this intriguing and arrestingly charismatic character in the next book.
Overall, Dirty Magic is a fantastic start to a brand new series. I am really glad to have come across this book 1 and sincerely hope that the subsequent instalments do not disappoint.
Publisher: Orbit
Publication date: 21 Jan 2014
@}--->>--->>-----
The Prospero’s War series combines the action of police procedurals with the speculative elements of urban fantasy. It’s a world where cops and wizards are fighting a war over addictive, dangerous, and illegal dirty magic.
Kate Prospero knows a lot about dirty magic. Before she became a cop, she was raised in a coven that ran the Arcane criminal underworld of Babylon, Ohio. Her history helped her land a spot on a Magic Enforcement Agency task force, but as she works to bring down old friends and family members, she’ll have to face her own dysfunctional relationship with magic.
*Blurb from author's website*
Add to:
Links to purchase:
No comments:
Post a Comment