7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very Uneven, February 8, 2009
This review is from: Magic's Design (Mass Market Paperback)
I find books like this one painful to read because of all the logical inconsistencies in the characters' behaviors. Mila, the heroine, was ostensibly memory-blocked, so cannot remember how to perform the healing that she was once trained to do by her "baba" (the Ukrainian sterotypes are pretty tiresome also), but immediately after she is told this she is able to heal someone without any instruction at all, and also recollects somehow that it is illegal in the world(s) she inhabits to block someone's memory in this manner. In addition, two strange men, dressed in inappropriate garb for Mila's world, arrive at her house in time to try to keep her roommate from being dragged away by a (sigh) Evil Wizard - and then all the ladies who belong there flounce off and leave the two intruders to snoop about all on their own after the attempt to save the roommate fails. Yes, that's something any rational person would do, leave ominous strangers to rifle through their personal possessions unsupervised. Oh, and Mila has been having seizures ever since her mother blocked her memory, evidently, and yet her so-powerful Baba didn't figure out it was the memory block causing this over a period of years? Say what? And this is all in the first 50 pages of the book!
The authors have facility with language and the rudiments of an interesting plot, so this could have been a decent read. The gaping holes in that plot, however, and the inconsistencies between the information given about the characters and the actions they take, make it impossible for me to suspend disbelief to the extent that would have been necessary in order to enjoy this book. Too bad.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
More like 2 1/2 stars, April 9, 2009
This review is from: Magic's Design (Mass Market Paperback)
I won't give a synopsis of this book as others have done so quite sufficiently. As to whether I liked it, it was okay. I liked the main characters, Mila Penkin, suppressed mage and egg artist, and Talos Onan an otherworld police officer. I had more of an emotional feel for Mila's character as she was strong and capable. Talos didn't come through as clear. I wasn't really drawn to him. The romance was nice and slow but there was entirely too much detail. One whole chapter is dedicated to Mila going to her job as a paralegal and filing a motion or brief and involved finding a computer and getting the brief typed and getting it signed and getting a partner to approve it and dictating changes and it was way too much. The story was bogged down too many times by infinite detail and pointless dialogue. I did finish it as I have read all of the other series, the Sazi and the Thrall, but this book did not excite me or give me any inclination to want to read more if there is more in this series. I can only say I was glad when I was through with it.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
2.5 stars!, February 20, 2009
This review is from: Magic's Design (Mass Market Paperback)
Talos Onan is a midlevel commander in the Overworld Police Agency (OPA). The agency is tasked with the duty of protecting Earth from all magicians intent on doing crime. Talos, born into the mage guild of firecrafters, is one of three officers who attempted to halt a secret underground prison break. When they fail, Grand Master Vegre escapes. Vegre is an infamous fire mage. He is the only Guilder known to control the Creeping Darkness. It is a spell that removes heat and light so completely as to achieve total darkness over an area. Vegre and his minions intend to totally change the world to fit his desires and rule over all people, whether they can utilize magic or not.
As for magic, it has become scarce. The Sacred Tree of Life is the source of all magic in the world and it is dying. The only guild house able to heal it is the Parask, the soul-conjurers. However, all magicians in this generation were told that those of the Parask Guild betrayed them and doomed millions of humans to death. The Parask were shunned, outcast. Many were executed.
Mila Penkin works for a law firm. New Year's Eve is approaching and she has booked the office party at the Palace Hotel. Mila has always had the gift of healing, but her memories have been blocked. She recalls nothing of magic or her training. With the help of her grandmother, Baba Nadia, Mila must somehow break the mental barrier and remember her soul-conjuring training. Then they and the attractive constable, Talos, must save the world and heal the Sacred Tree.
*** Lots of "verve" in this story. It has a wonderful plot, but the story does not flow smoothly at all. There is A LOT of background information that readers must wade through. (Magic history, Parask Guild history, Mila's history [before her mental block, as well as after it], the Sacred Tree... the list continues.) That does not leave much room for the trust to grow, romance to bloom, or for taking action. The trust and romance felt very rushed to me. Mila's block was overcome too easily, too quickly. I do not believe she should have been able to work magic at all, much less well, before her block crumbled.
If this is a stand alone tale, my opinion is that it is good and worth your time to read, but nothing special. If this is the first of a new series, my opinion is that the story makes a solid foundation, but all the background information did not have to be stuffed in the first book. It could have easily been spread out to the next couple of stories. I could find no "series title" listed at the web site of Cat Adams (a.k.a. C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp) or the online book stores I visited. ***
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
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