Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: storm rods, smarter part, magic pouring, Devon Monk, Zayvion Jones, North Portland (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this clever and compulsively readable debut, set in a magical analog of Portland, Ore., Allie Beckstrom is a Hound, able to trace a spell back to its caster. When a young boy is injured by a spell, Allie tracks it back to her estranged father, Daniel, a ruthless businessman who protests his innocence. Then someone magically disguised as Allie kills Daniel. Allie and sexy corporate operative Zayvion race against time to find the answers. Magic is common in this alternate universe, but using it always incurs a physical or mental cost, rendering it a commodity to be bought and sold, used and abused. Allie's internal and external struggles are brilliantly and tightly written, creating a multifaceted character who will surprise, amuse, amaze and absorb readers. (Nov.)
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Product Description

Devon monk is casting a spell on the fantasy world...

Using magic means it uses you back, and every spell exacts a price from its user. But some people get out of it by Offloading the cost of magic onto an innocent. Then it’s Allison Beckstrom’s job to identify the spell-caster. Allie would rather live a hand-to-mouth existence than accept the family fortune—and the strings that come with it. But when she finds a boy dying from a magical Offload that has her father’s signature all over it, Allie is thrown back into his world of black magic. And the forces she calls on in her quest for the truth will make her capable of things that some will do anything to control...

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Roc (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451462408
• ISBN-13: 978-0451462404
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,166 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, November 11, 2008

By	Kelly L. (www.FantasyLiterature.com) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

_Magic to the Bone_ is a breath of fresh air in the urban fantasy genre, in much the same way that Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series is a breath of fresh air. Instead of the same tired werewolf/vampire soap opera that so many novels perpetuate, _Magic to the Bone_ is more concerned with the ramifications of adding magic to modern society and exploring the realistic consequences. Magic, in Devon Monk's universe, has been recently discovered, and along with it, the price of its use. Every time someone uses magic, there is a backlash of sorts: the caster might suffer a days-long migraine, lose memories, or gain a scar. Of course, the next thing humanity researched was how to Offload a spell's cost onto someone else. (There's a chilling offhand line about how one of the legal, sanctioned methods of doing this is to redirect the backlash to the inmates of a penitentiary.)

The story begins as our heroine, Allie Beckstrom, discovers a child near death from an illegal Offload, and senses her father's magical "signature" in the spell that is affecting the boy. Allie is the black-sheep scion of a great business/magic empire, and confronting her father about the spell means speaking to him for the first time in seven years. It goes badly, and when Daddy turns up dead, Allie is the prime suspect.

What follows is an exciting and often poignant story that follows Allie as she attempts to stay alive, deal with a suddenly complicated love life, and solve a mystery. Along the way, she learns far more about magic and its uses than what is taught in the official magic schools. We meet several delightful secondary characters that I'm looking forward to seeing again, and unlike many other urban fantasy writers, Monk doesn't set up Allie as the only worthwhile female character in the book. She allows Allie a wonderful best friend and a fascinating woman who might become another good friend someday.

It was perhaps a bit too easy to figure out whodunit, though I must admit I didn't figure out *why*, though it should have occurred to me. I do wonder why it took Allie so long to figure out that if one magical signature could be forged, so could another magical signature that was left at another crime scene, but that's a small quibble.

I have mixed emotions about the romantic plot. On the one hand, I'm not sure whether I believe that Allie would open up to Zayvion as quickly as she does, but on the other hand, the circumstances are weird enough and harrowing enough that it might just work. I have to admit that I groaned a little when Monk introduced a plot device that both draws the couple closer and gives both of them a "power-up," but it's not Monk's fault that I'm a little weary of the "magical sexual synergy" type of plot. And for what it's worth, it's done well. I thought the sex scenes were perfect, in that they focused more on the flow of energy between Allie and Zayvion, and less on the tab A-slot B stuff.

I also have to applaud Monk for not forgetting about a small "Chekhov's gun" that she introduced early in the story. Allie, knowing she's prone to memory loss due to magic, carries a notebook with her to keep track of important things. I kept noticing throughout the book that she wasn't writing in it, and thought Monk had just forgotten to incorporate the notebook into the story. I should have had more faith! Allie's absentmindedness has consequences later.

_Magic to the Bone_ isn't completely perfect, but Devon Monk shows the potential to be a standout writer in the subgenre. Most importantly, I could not put this book down; I read it in two nights, with only work and sleep coming between me and the pages. Well done.

30 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Angieville: MAGIC TO THE BONE, November 12, 2008

By	Angela Thompson "Angiegirl" (Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

MAGIC TO THE BONE is set in an alternate America in which magic "came out" to the world rather like vampires did in Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books. Soon after people become users and consumers of magic, much like they use and consume alcohol. And just like a night of hard drinking, any use of magic leaves the user with a monster hangover. This "hangover" manifests itself in a variety of unsavory ways from intense bruising all over the body to a flu that will lay you low for a week. Allie Beckstrom is a Hound--a person with the ability to follow a cast spell back to the caster. Unlike other Hounds, though, Allie is able to house a small amount of magic within her own body. But this increased ability exacts a higher price. After working a particularly potent bit of magic, Allie frequently loses random portions of her memory. Estranged from her power-hungry father, she lives in a hole, barely scraping enough money together to feed herself with anything resembling regularity. When a small boy is almost killed by a spell that leads back to dear old Dad, Allie immediately goes on the offensive to bring her father to justice. She runs into trouble in the form of Zayvion Jones--a stalker/bodyguard who used to work for her father and seems intent on shadowing Allie's every move.

The whole layout of this story held a lot of promise and I willingly immersed myself in Allie's seamy world, eager to see how she handled her manipulative, possibly murderous father as well as the darkly enigmatic Zay. Allie herself is world-weary in a way that mirrors her world, a place ironically sapped of wonder and goodness by the largely unregulated abuse of "magic." I loved the little book she carries around, recording memories against the day they're stripped from her after overstepping herself magically. In fact, each and every character piqued my interest, from Allie's unusual stepmother to her salt of the earth best friend. However, I found that interest flagging fairly soon as the execution did not quite match up to the idea. Zay's and Allie's relationship seemed rather quickly formed. He felt too good to be true while she seemed to fall into a sort of stereotypical urban fantasy composite heroine. I started to lose my sense for what made her unique and felt that they were both smarter than their actions painted them. The tension between them resolved too abruptly for my taste. Throughout the story, a well-conceived idea here or a particularly cool plot development there managed to revive my flagging attention, but the follow-through lacked the level of tightness and cohesion that is a defining characteristic of my favorite urban fantasy series's.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Urban Fantasy, November 8, 2008

By	loonigrrl (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

**** SPOILERS****



I'll admit that I almost didn't buy this book. I've been a big fan of the urban fantasy genre for awhile, but lately my interest has begun to wane just a bit. However, I'm glad I took a chance on Magic to the Bone as I found it to be a compelling and thoughtful read.

Our protagonist, Allie, is a typically strong female urban fantasy character. She has chosen to make it on her own without the help of her rich and morally ambiguous father. Instead, she barely scrapes by, taking the odd job to track down illegal uses of magic to their source. On one such job, she finds a child on the brink of death from a magic unloading. What's worse is that the magic bears her father's signature. She confronts him and demands restitution but he convincingly denies all involvement. Soon thereafter, Allie discovers that her father has been killed. Multiple experts point the finger at her and confirm that it was Allie's magical signature that killed him. Thus begins Allie's investigation to find the real killer while keeping one step ahead of the police and various bad guys.

The world that Devon Monk created is one brimming with magic, a magic that requires a balance of sorts. In other words, magic requires some form of payment for its use. Whether it's physical pain or memory loss, its use has serious consequences. This was perhaps my favorite aspect of this book. Right from the beginning, I found myself drawn into Allie's plight as the magic she uses takes both a physical and mental toll. Magic had taken so much from her that she's forced to carry around a journal to write down life's events and job lessons in the likely event that she loses more and more of her memories. And that fact is that she frequently does lose her memories- both big and small, significant and insignificant. College, birthdays, friends and acquaintances- she has no control over which memories go away forever. The only thing she can control is her decision to wield magic. And unfortunately, her job- meager though it may be- requires such use.

Early in the book, we also meet Zayvion. We quickly find out that Allie is drawn to him but does not entirely trust him. Unfortunately, I didn't feel very connected to him until the very end. I also had trouble with Allie's relationship with him. This may be because both he and Allie are very private people. The two of them are so emotionally guarded that I had trouble feeling attached to or believing in their romance which at times felt a little awkward and forced. And although I also found the book to be a little slow, oddly enough despite the constant action or mobility of the characters, I'm glad I stuck with it. In particular, I enjoyed the ending as it pertained to these two characters and the set up for the next book.

Like many urban fantasy and traditional fantasy protagonists, Allie has an unrealized potential that awakens as the book unfolds. And while I usually become annoyed at the idea that characters are suddenly given vast amounts powers, I was satisfied with Monk's decision due in part to the fact that we see that even those who wield immense power must still pay the consequences. Overall, an enjoyable first book in a new urban fantasy series. I look forward to the next one.