Customer Reviews

A Distant Magic (Thorndike Core)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The third book in the Guardian series has moved away from pure romantic fantasy with a touch of history to more historical romance with a touch of fantasy. If you expect more scottish castles and unicorns, you may be disappointed. I read this book first, and went back to read A Touch of Magic and Stolen Magic because I liked the author's style. A Distant Magic is my favorite because it is more complex. I also think time travel, when used well, is a great plot device. Very entertaining!

Props for combining romance, time travel, paranormal activity AND the beginnings of the anti-slavery movement, but what an odd mix! The "lighter" and more fantastic elements in the novel (the legendary cosmic lust between the leads and the hokey time travel) seemed trivial and quite silly really, against the historical backdrop of slavery. Not only must the hero and heroine jump forward in time, "quantum leap"-style, to render assistance to anti-slavery proponents so they can continue to further the cause, they must "mate" to augment their time traveling powers. Did I mention that the hero is a pirate and his kidnapped heroine just happened command a battalion at the Battle of Culloden? It's a shame because it seemed to me that the author really did her homework, and had a very interesting and unique angle with her emphasis on the efforts by some parliamentarians in Britain to end slavery over a forty year period. I was disturbed a bit by the focal nemesis of the novel as well. The hero and heroine, along with other masters of western and african magic, fight the ultimate battle in the novel against a super powerful african mage (magician) who presumably wants slavery to flourish so he could continue in his elevated position as assistant to a white slave trader. Of all the antagonists that could exist in a slavery novel, this is the evil that had to be magically contained in order for the anti-slavery movement to be a success? I know, I know-- I'm peevishly refusing to suspend my disbelief but this is just odd. In fairness to Putney, I had just finished reading Toni Morrison when I picked up "A Distant Magic" quite randomly in the library, and the contrast just about did me in.

I wish that I could strongly recommend this book. After all the premise is original, there's magic involved and the characters are likable. But the latter half of the book is mired in abolishing slavery and going through time to fight the unseen evil that is promoting slavery.

Not exactly romance material and it really detracted from the story. It almost felt like a story about slavery instead of romance. Not a good mix at all. I think the intention was to make it an epic love story that spanned ages but it failed on that front.

I just gave up on this book. Never having read one of the Guardian novels, I was not prepared for that aspect of the story, expecting another pleasant romantic escape. But that was not a problem. What became a problem was the convolution of story strands. I hung in when she introduced Adia and her story, but when she time travelled to hook up with Jean and Nikolai, I lost the continuity. Finally, when the mission of the book turned to a morality tale on slavery, I totally lost interest. Why slavery? The story of Adia would have been a great book. The story of Jean and Nikolai would have been a great book. A story on slavery would have been okay as well. But the mish mash that came of trying to combine all of that did not work for me.

Ms. Putney is on a mission. She takes the theme "Slavery is bad" and pounds it into the ground. I have read all of her books, and this is not her best one. She is, as usual, an excellent writer and the book is well written. I just got tired of being preached at, although of course, I agree with her premise.

Mary Jo Putney, a wonderful writer of romance and fantasy, has set herself a challenging goal. In A DISTANT Magic she weaves together the romance and fantasy of her GUARDIAN SERIES with the history of the abolition of slavery plus a bit of time travel.

The Guardians series (A KISS OF FATE and STOLEN MAGIC) is set in the mid 1700's with main characters who are members of the British and Scottish aristocracy and whose families have, for centuries, wielded magical power drawn from nature. These families have banded together vowing to use their powers to help others rather than for personal gain.

While the prior books in the series did touch on particular historical events, they were first and foremost about romance. A DISTANT MAGIC is first and foremost about abolition but the story is told in a fascinating way through its framing within the Guardian world. It is a thought provoking tale and revels some things about this time in history which startled me.

In Marseilles Jean McCrae, a fiery Scottish Guardian, is kidnapped by Captain Nikolai Gregorio, a Maltese ship owner who seeks revenge against the McCrae family for a wrong he believes the MaCrae family did him. Nikolai, who was once captured by pirates and spent time as a galley slave, has dedicated himself to freeing as many galley slaves as he can, sailing the Mediterranean to find them. He is appalled to find an irresistible attraction to Jean. Through a fantastical set of circumstances, Nikolai and Jean join forces to travel through time supporting the key moments of the abolition movement.

While I typically read romance novels for escapist relaxation, I was fascinated by the concepts here: the parrallel worlds, the magical initiation, the importance of individual contributions to historical events, and especially the idea of like-minded people offering each other support across time and space.

I understand that those looking for uncluttered escapism may be disappointed with this book. And I rate it with four rather than five stars because it was impossible for Ms. Putney to fully develop her characters here as in past novels. However, she succeeds remarkably and produces a very satisfying and thought provoking book.

Typically I like books by Mary Jo Putney, but this particular book was very painful for me to read.

It was unbelievable, boring, poorly written and stupid. I've read futuristic books by other authors but they were well written, entertaining and flowed. This one was not/did not.

After torturing myself for days, I finally asked myself WHY was I reading it? The only answer I could come up with is that it by was Ms. Putney. If it had been written by an author I had never read before, the book would have been in the trash by the 3 chapter, and I would never purchased another book by that author again.

I finally had to skip multiple pages at a time just to get through it so I could tell myself that I 'finished' it. It will be donated to a local library so they can sell it to help support that library. They should make lots of money from it because no one will want to keep it and they will get to resell it lots of time. At least it will do some good.

Don't waste your time.

This is more of a fantasy mixed with history. There was nothing romantic about it. I know, slavery was an awful thing and it is good they abolished it, but if I wanted to read about slavery, I would have chosen a different book. There was no chemistry between the heroes. They put off making love until they felt it was the right time, and then they just did it. One boring love scene. And that's it. All the magic was way too over the top. The other two Guardian books made some sense, but this one was just confusing, fragmented, it went in three different directions at once.

I think that if MJP wants to write about history, she should quit writing romance novels and concentrate on some other genre. I'll still buy her books, because I absolutely adore almost all of her previous work, but this one was a total disappointment.

The first half of the book is all about Gregorio and his warped memory for revenge against Macrae. Jean seems to do all the commitment when they do a blood oath. He swears nothing in return. This "hero" is selfish and self-absorbed constantly calling Jean a witch. Only when Adia says they have to come together as mates does he see her sexually. But, again, that's just because he wants to attain his full power, not because he loves her. And Jean considers him sexually because she wants to have a purpose in life. I've read enough of Putney's books to see that she loves telling more about history than a truly romantic story. She's not one of my favorites.

Plot Summary: Nikolai Grigori was just another street urchin in Malta when a Scottish Guardian named Macrae spots his untapped magical powers. Macrae takes the boy as his foster son, but they are separated when Corsairs attack their homebound ship, and Nikolai is enslaved. Nikolai never forgives Macrae for his perceived abandonment, and the boy swears vengeance on his family. Fast forward nearly twenty years, and Macrae's daughter Jean travels to the Mediterranean to attend a wedding. Nikolai kidnaps Jean with evil intent, but she manages to save Nikolai and his entire ship during a storm. As they foster a shaky truce, Jean learns that Nikolai has devoted his life to freeing slaves, and they become united in this goal. The means to abolish slavery arrives in the form of Adia, an African priestess who has come back in time with a mission for Nikolai and Jean.

This was an incredibly ambitious book, and even though it didn't quite gel, I admire the effort and intent. Putney's aim was to trace the anti-slavery movement, from its first whispered beginnings in the mid 1700s, to England's outlawing slavery in the early 1800s. To accomplish this, Putney sends the couple on a leap-frog course through time, plunking them down whenever something threatens to derail the tenuous abolitionist movement.

The first half of the book is particularly strong, and contains all the elements you'd expect in a fantasy romance. In addition to seeing Nikolai and Jean's story, it also breaks off to follow Adia's life as an African slave in parallel timelines. Near the middle of the book, these three characters come together, and Adia is instrumental in preparing Nikolai for the challenges ahead. The strong point in the novel is Nikolai's magical induction under Adia's direction; the ritualistic challenges that Nikolai faced taught him about the danger, control, and wonder involved with wielding magic. I was entranced by the creativity.

Then sadly, here is where it starts to unravel. Nikolai and Jean travel forward in time, and they become either guardian angels or inspirational muses to the people they encounter. It's an effective way to skim over the seemingly small moments in history that lead to huge changes years later. I can see the butterfly effect Putney was trying to illustrate, and it works. What gets left by the wayside is Nikolai and Jean's romance. It was building nicely right up until they start their time travels, and then their relationship becomes an afterthought. At this point, I think most romance fans feel abandoned to the history lessons, and I can't help feeling regret that this strong romance petered out under the social message.