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kazli's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
1.0
The premise was exactly what I was craving for but the actual execution left a lot to be desired. Many of the characters are underdeveloped (I’ll give this the benefit of the doubt because it is the first book), the plot is near nonexistent, and the world building just fell flat.
aname's review
Very under developed characters and not very exciting plot, wh ch develops slowly and with gaps
atagarev's review
1.0
I couldn't finish it but I struggled to about halfway through and it was definitely a struggle.
On an elevator pitch level, this book is exactly right up my alley- teenagers in a magical school, a protagonist with a big secret, modern day setting with programming-assisted spellcasting. Either traditional or interesting ideas. Unfortunately the text is garbage. Its even difficult to decide which part to criticize first because its bad on every level.
The author seems to have fundamental trouble using the English language to express even the most basic of ideas and also has absolutely no understanding of programming or software development. Imagine my shock upon reading that they're actually a native speaker studying computer science. I can only assume Purdy never attended any classes because not only does he know nothing about writing or coding but the classes in this magical college have no relation to how anything works.
The narrative flow is virtually nonexistent. We get treated to repetitive short sections describing each single individual lesson the character attends (five lessons per day, six days a week) but most of them are completely pointless. No one, not the protagonist or the other students or the teachers, ever acts like a real relatable person for even a moment, they are paper-thin cutouts going through the motions except there isn't even any plot for them to act out. Every remotely meaningful bit of information in the first half of the novel could easily fit in ten pages.
I usually try to write balanced reviews but this is one of the rare books I have literally nothing good to say about.
On an elevator pitch level, this book is exactly right up my alley- teenagers in a magical school, a protagonist with a big secret, modern day setting with programming-assisted spellcasting. Either traditional or interesting ideas. Unfortunately the text is garbage. Its even difficult to decide which part to criticize first because its bad on every level.
The author seems to have fundamental trouble using the English language to express even the most basic of ideas and also has absolutely no understanding of programming or software development. Imagine my shock upon reading that they're actually a native speaker studying computer science. I can only assume Purdy never attended any classes because not only does he know nothing about writing or coding but the classes in this magical college have no relation to how anything works.
The narrative flow is virtually nonexistent. We get treated to repetitive short sections describing each single individual lesson the character attends (five lessons per day, six days a week) but most of them are completely pointless. No one, not the protagonist or the other students or the teachers, ever acts like a real relatable person for even a moment, they are paper-thin cutouts going through the motions except there isn't even any plot for them to act out. Every remotely meaningful bit of information in the first half of the novel could easily fit in ten pages.
I usually try to write balanced reviews but this is one of the rare books I have literally nothing good to say about.
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