An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard

It went from beautiful and mystical to brutal and gore

Credit: Pinterest

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Page Count: 352
Date of Publication: 26th September, ’17
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

New York City, present day. There is a hidden community of magicians in the mundane city, known as the Unseen World. Ruled by the most powerful House and its head. Every once a decade or so, the Fortune’s Wheel spins and Turning, competition amongst the representatives of houses is orchestrated to find and honor the most powerful magician of all — one who has defeated others in mortal battles again and again.

Story

The book starts with all of the magicians being informed of the Turning via magically guarded emails and text messages. Ian Merlin, heir apparent to the current ruling House — House of Merlin, has decided not to accompany his father, Miles Merlin, but join and fight as the representative of another oldest and prestigious house of the Unseen World — House of Prospero. Grey Prospero, heir of the House of Prospero was disinherited from the property and rights because of some non-negotiable, concealed reason. Grey wants to win the competition and establish a house of his own, to show it off to his mother, Miranda Prospero.

Laurent Beauchamps is an outsider, a black magician who was discovered by Grey Prospero, brought to the Unseen World, and taught there. Since then, they’ve been best friends. Laurent wants to establish a house of his own, one which is the House of all the outsiders who are conventionally not recognized in the Unseen World. For him, Turning is an opportunity he can’t miss and he hires a magician who was unheard of in their world before, Sydney.

Sydney has plans of her own, a plan to disintegrate and reconstruct the present way of functioning of the Unseen World, a change from its very core.

Over the surface, the competition comes off clear as a crystal, even with a sword hanging over the competitors as they duel in the battles. Except that the Turning is anything but fair. The established houses and the one ruling have powers over the competition to modify and sculpt some rules as their pleasing. And in the heart of it all, there is one evil, a necessity for all, that demands to be heard and recognized as the head of their foundations. With Sydney’s forthcoming, some major, drastic, and remarkable choices and decisions are to be made, and none of them are upright.

He hadn’t won because he was the best magician — he allowed himself no illusions on that score. He won because he was able to see weak points and exploit them.

Some Insights

1. Cover: The cover of the book is absolutely stunning, with the text etched on it. Although the barks and leaves of the tree weren’t making sense when I first saw it, after reading the book, it does justice to the plot.
2. Writing: The writing of the book is delicious, you can start it nibbling through the pages at first, enjoying the richness of it. The first couple of chapters may take time to register with the readers because, I believe, best cards take time to unfold in the most anticipated matches. To overcome the obstacle, my simple advice would be to continue and remember at least the names of some of the characters that are being introduced then. Slowly, the writing grows on the reader and he feels rather compelled to proceed.
3. Narration: Change in the points of view is frequent in all of the chapters, covering a wide set of characters and their take on the proceedings with the Turning. The frequent change in the narration may seem obstructive but it also reduces the expected monotonicity that might occur while following only one character throughout and being in one’s mind all the time. For me, the plans and perspectives of all of the characters have been well put, avoiding any confusion which usually, becomes harder for the authors to achieve. Here, the flow remains uninterrupted. Dialogues and setting seem real, even when there’s magic surrounding them and causing the outcomes.
4. Story: Above all and the most crucial part of all is the plot of the book. If that fails to touch readers, rest crumbles with it. The plot of the story is intricate and majestically praiseworthy. The Magic system of the world is new, gruesome, and unforgiving. The story is crisp and never loses focus, hence demanding the same from its readers. Even the side plots of the novel which are introduced are given enough page-time, stretching them out would’ve resulted in sailing with the wrong wind. Even the most definitive secrets fail to break the flow and the reader has to take a moment to understand and reflect on what had just dropped on him. Though, the rules of the magic and their world are never clearly stated, but that only keeps the reader going. It adds up to the reason to continue with the book, since it doesn’t take too long to complete it. By the end, when all of the secrets are unveiled in the story, they all fit like lost pieces of a puzzle, coming together to form a vivid picture. A picture not in white and black, but grey.
5. Characters: There are at least 10 characters in the story, all well-built and strong. The characters are all morally flawed, in seek of vengeance and superiority over others. Though the plot begins with Sydney and is the major driving force at first, as the book progresses, all of them come together to form one, unified organism, a world built for magicians that need remolding and soon. Some characters I’d be willing to have as friends in real, if possible and some, I loathe them just fine. In a bunch of people, all thrown together from the very beginning, none of them fail to stand out in the ambiance and leave their mark on the readers.
6. End: The climax of the book came highly unexpected to me and got me. What I’d assumed to be the climax, everything settling down to become a reformed place for them, I was taken aback and didn’t see it coming at all. The end does a phenomenal and sure justice to this spellbinding novel.

Recommendations

Frankly, I’d want every bibliophile out there to at least dip his toe in this ocean of phenomenal magic, but I know everyone can’t. Even with all of the praising points mentioned above, I can’t hide the fact that this book is rather brutal in its aspect. Demands a lot of readers by the time we’re not even a quarter into it. For a first-time reader of gore and bloodshed at this level, there were a few moments when I’d take a break from continuing and focus on neutral things of life. The fast pacing of the novel helped me a lot to go through it, not indulging too much into the grotesque of the scenes, but focusing more on what came afterward, the conclusion, and the aftermath.

Magic, at its heart, starts with sacrifice. You have to give up something to get something, and because magic is big, with all that it allows you access to, what you give up has to be big. It has to be meaningful.

This is a book for people who are comfortable with bloodshed and gore scenes, and people who are willing to try their first one. If you aren’t still ready, I’d recommend avoiding it and carry on with other great novels out there. For people who love strong but deeply flawed characters, intricate plotlines, and an unexpected but a climax that can keep you hooked, I highly recommend this book.

Final Thoughts

This is a book about revenge, where death is just another name of victory — to win is to kill. A reflection of what society really has become, a bunch of masterminds in the power, exploiting the ones who are beneath them. Some of the people who are capable of changing things, amplifying an unheard, unpopular voice turn blind eyes and fake the perfection of the situation. People who do want to bring a change are left to begin from the very core of it all, be that at the sake of one’s own desires, wants, likes. Often, their lives too.

I didn’t know that it would be a book I could enjoy, with all of the deaths and brutality of the circumstances. There were points when I’d to tune down my imagination and let the text flow. Some incidents are etched in my mind and I intend to carry them with me. From the moment I read the first page, I was determined on seeing the end to it, even if it turns out to be out of my comfort zone of reading. Well, it did. It proved to be one of the best books I’ve read so far and I enjoyed it through and through. This is book of multiple re-reads and to be enjoyed every time.

I hope this review helps. Till then,

Happy Reading!