an unkindness of magicians by kat howard

Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice-for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Strong characters and a captivating revenge plot make this a fun, absorbing read for those who like their magic, and their magicians, dark and twisty.Īre we not men? We are-well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z (2006).Ī zombie apocalypse is one thing. The sickness at the heart of this world is presented in stark and compelling terms, and the many magical battles keep the stakes high, although some of the big moments feel a little rushed. Sydney is a fascinating character, and her drive for vengeance propels the plot forward. Meanwhile, Harper is desperately trying to get a glimpse inside the Unseen World and avenge her best friend’s death.

She aims to do nothing less than disrupt the fundamental ways the Unseen World works, exposing its secrets and punishing those responsible for the injustice at its heart.

That outsider, Sydney, an unusually powerful magician, has big plans for this Turning. Grey, the disinherited son of House Prospero, expelled for “pushing boundaries” with his magic, will attempt to found his own new House, as will his friend Laurent, who’s hired a champion to fight for him-an outsider nobody knows. Old Houses, like House Prospero and House Merlin, the current ruler of the Unseen World, will try to get ahead-or stay on top. A dark tale of revenge and battle magic among New York City’s secretive elite.Įveryone in the Unseen World gets the message: another Turning has begun, which means all magical Houses must once again compete to become the head of New York’s magical world.

An unkindness of magicians by kat howard