I have started this review four times now and never managed to do it any justice. Humor me, it simply blew my mind. I have always been fascinated by Stacia Kane's writing-style and the world she created. Her characters are some of the most complex I have come across in my reading career, so to say that I was excited (while wary) is one big understatement.
For those here who do not know the series (and please remedy that as soon as humanly possible), the Downside Ghosts books are set in a kind of futuristic, slightly dystopian/post-apocalyptic world. At one point (called Haunted Week, which happened in 1997) ghosts suddenly filled the earth and attacked humans, until The Church, the now highest institution, stepped up and saved humanity with their magic, thereby gaining the place on top of the food-chain.
Chess Putnam is a woman with a horrible past and many issues, who takes drugs to be able to function, and would probably kill herself if it wasn't for the fact that she knows what the afterlife looks like and is terrified of this place, also called the City. She works for the Church as a debunker but unlike most other employees she is not balanced or healthy or in any way happy about her life. With one exception, that is.
From this point on I will spoil you. I will talk about her past relationships and so on, so maybe just stop reading now and just know that if you don't buy the first one (Goodreads, Amazon, Bookdepository) you are missing out on brilliance!
Sacrificial Magic was a dealchanger, and Chess is in the middle of Lex, her former lover, and Terrible, her everything, fighting about Downside. The whole plot was very satisfying, because Chess became more self-aware and made her choices.
1. The Littlest Things.
Yes, I am listening to Lily Allen as I am writing this. So, there are those many small things in the series, in this novel, that made me want to just cry in excitement. We all know the noises we make when we read a particularely good novel. This one made me cry because I simply KNEW it would take forever for me to find anything that could compare, because I loved pretty much everything about it and because.. well, just because. Examples:
The world is screwed up. It's all about power and lies and make-believe, but screwed up as this world is, being gay is normal. There is one of the Church's Elders who has this wonderful scene with Chess where he tells her he has someone, and then says he'd like her to meet him. And that's it. There is no big BANG, no raised eyebrows, no talk about NO raised eyebrows and that's just perfection.
2. The aftermath. Muahahahargh!
In Sacrificial Magic many things happened, one of them being that Lex became the new boss of one side of Downside. The side that Terrible works against, which makes them *makes dramatic voice* enemies! The thing is, Lex asks Terrible if he wants to join the other side. Terrible doesn't. So Lex plans to kill him.
""Aye, I dit it." Lex stood up and took a few steps toward the kitchen, stopping just beyond where Terrible stood so he could face both of them. "Ain't can say I ain't give it a try, though. You remember that one, aye? On the later. Gave it a try, I did."
He was talking to Terrible-it seemed as if he was, anyway. But as he finished he looked directly at Chess, right into her eyes, and cold spread through her chest because she knew what he meant. What he was really saying to her, to them both.
He was planning to have Terrible killed."
And Chess feels responsible.
3. Terrible.
I love this guy. He is incredibly intelligent and I think Kane did a nearly impossible job with him. He talks like the dude he is, someone without a real name, someone who kills and beats people to pulp for his boss. He might not even be able to spell "grammar", but he is so freaking intelligent and tough and loveable, that every of his scenes is downright addictive. I think he had some darker moments in this one than in the other books.
4. Their relationship. Oh boy.
But it's not really their relationship. It's them. They both have issues. Things they don't want to deal with and because they both know it, they have a connection. They know how horrible the world can -and most of the times will- be, but they have eachother and say what you want, but I think they are magnificent together, especially because it doesn't come easy to them. They have to fight and work things out.
In the last book Chess had trust issues, and Kane did a magnificent job at pointing them out, portraying them realistically and making this novel feel even realer.
"His hand squeezed hers; a slight twist of his arm turned her to face him, standing not quite a foot away with his face in shadow. "Shit. You so f***in pretty, Chessie. True thing. So ... ain't even can breathe sometimes.""
This book also addresses Chess' drug-addiction in a new way, which is probably something many people wanted. While it was never a secret that Chess was a broken person, Chasing Magic went to some dark places and outshined all of the prequels. We can't expect Chess to suddenly stop using, and I think it is amazing how she and Terrible deal with their issues.
"This was the best thing about the drugs, really; she could still think, still be coherent, still use her brain. She just didn't have to if she didn't want to, and it was so much easier to keep that brain from wandering into all those playces she didn't want it to go.
And she had so f***ing many of those places."
5. Chess
When I read the prequel I saw that Chess slowly learned to live with herself. No, she will probably never be Miss Sunshine who feels happy about herself, but her struggle is so believable that I can believe the novels when they make it appear as if there are things she's finally coming to terms with.
"All that time, this was what she'd been scared of. And as she stood there looking into his eyes, seeing the dampness of hers echoed there, she understood - fully understood for the first time (..)"
Terrible and Chess made some serious progress in Sacrificial Magic and it shows, but there was still a long way to go. I think in Chasing Magic they actually prove to the reader that they are able to work everything out. There was one scene (which I cannot quote for it would spoil you all to death) that broke my heart a little with it's perfection. Everything about this book was unique.
I really am not sure if there was any scene that did not feel perfect to me. I truly don't.
