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avocadoeverything's review against another edition
Dnf. This was an ARC and I try really hard to always read ARCs I’m given, but I just couldn’t plow through.
truestorydesu's review against another edition
4.0
You can read the whole nonsensical review on my ridiculous blog here. It has gifs!
So the city of Amicae is built with a Minas Tirith-like tier system and exists in a world that seems an awful lot like Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle, complete with blob-slime-monsters called “infestations” that happen if you don’t keep your amulet plugged in or…something. I’m not 100% certain how the whole magic-infestation-system works here, but, to be fair, neither do any of the characters, so there’s that.
Anyway, it’s hard to pinpoint the time period Amicae is supposed to be reminiscent of - the city has trolleys, phones, radios, but is also very down with enforcing traditional gender roles for men and women. Also, there’s the foxtrot, a dance that came about in the 1910s, so…anyway I just started imagining Amicae as being if Studio Ghibli made Howl’s Moving Castle but with Minas Tirith.
Anyway. So, our heroine, Laura Kramer, is a “sweeper” in Amicae: a person who deals with infestations of these magical blob Studio Ghibli monsters. Laura is one of only two sweepers in the whole of Amicae - it’s just her, and her prickliest of the prickly pears, Clae Sinclair. Clae (pronounced Cly, and not Clay like I assumed for the first 20 or so pages) was once part of a whole family of sweepers - only, being a sweeper is a dangerous job, most of Clae’s apprentices have been killed on the job, and the higher-ups of Amicae are so desperate to avoid acknowledging the magic-blob-monster infestations that they’ve provided the sweeper department with almost no support. As a result, the sweepers have dwindled to literally just Clae and Laura. While dealing with a magical infestation at the mansion of a rich douchebag, Clae liberates one of the household servants, Okane, who, as it turns out, is a magi - no, he didn’t sell his watch to get a comb for his wife and his wife didn’t sell her hair to get him a watch chain, coordinate your Christmas gift-giving, people - a magi is someone who has more magic to them than normal people. Magi have, of course, been treated like shit throughout history, so most of them hide who they are, and sometimes rich douchebags will keep them in their houses as slaves, because they’re rich douchebags.
Anyway, Okane has the ability to sense infestations, but so far as sweeper training goes, he’s really, really bad at it.
So while Amicae is hell-bent on avoiding the infestation problem, Clae has been fighting to get more recognition for his department, Laura is stuck between societal expectations from her as a woman vs what Clae says is a natural talent for sweeping, and Okane is slowly but surely overcoming a lifetime of enslavement and abuse to become a somewhat adequate sweeper.
But while all this is going down, there’s a massive infestation taking root in Amicae. Like, supermassive. Like, No-Face from Spirited Away after he ate all that food levels of massive. So massive that it could destroy the whole city and kill everyone in it.
And the only people left to deal with it are Clae, Laura and Okane.
I struggled with City of Broken Magic - I really liked the characters, especially prickly-pear Clae, but the worldbuilding seemed a bit shaky - as City is first in an intended series, we may have more to learn about the world around it, but much of this first book felt like the world was being built as the story was written. I could get over that, though, because I wanted to know more about Laura, Okane and Clae. To add more to the Ghibli-esque feel of the story, there are a lot of Japanese-inspired terms for the monsters. Okane’s name is mentioned, in-story, to mean “money” - which is does in Japanese (お金 , it’s considered the more polite form for “money” - for someone who spent four years learning Japanese, I’ve retained…uh…practically none of it).
So, to make a long story short: I really liked the characters. I want to know what happens to them. I can ignore some of the glitches in worldbuilding because I actually do want to know what will happen next to the Amicae Sweepers.
So the city of Amicae is built with a Minas Tirith-like tier system and exists in a world that seems an awful lot like Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle, complete with blob-slime-monsters called “infestations” that happen if you don’t keep your amulet plugged in or…something. I’m not 100% certain how the whole magic-infestation-system works here, but, to be fair, neither do any of the characters, so there’s that.
Anyway, it’s hard to pinpoint the time period Amicae is supposed to be reminiscent of - the city has trolleys, phones, radios, but is also very down with enforcing traditional gender roles for men and women. Also, there’s the foxtrot, a dance that came about in the 1910s, so…anyway I just started imagining Amicae as being if Studio Ghibli made Howl’s Moving Castle but with Minas Tirith.
Anyway. So, our heroine, Laura Kramer, is a “sweeper” in Amicae: a person who deals with infestations of these magical blob Studio Ghibli monsters. Laura is one of only two sweepers in the whole of Amicae - it’s just her, and her prickliest of the prickly pears, Clae Sinclair. Clae (pronounced Cly, and not Clay like I assumed for the first 20 or so pages) was once part of a whole family of sweepers - only, being a sweeper is a dangerous job, most of Clae’s apprentices have been killed on the job, and the higher-ups of Amicae are so desperate to avoid acknowledging the magic-blob-monster infestations that they’ve provided the sweeper department with almost no support. As a result, the sweepers have dwindled to literally just Clae and Laura. While dealing with a magical infestation at the mansion of a rich douchebag, Clae liberates one of the household servants, Okane, who, as it turns out, is a magi - no, he didn’t sell his watch to get a comb for his wife and his wife didn’t sell her hair to get him a watch chain, coordinate your Christmas gift-giving, people - a magi is someone who has more magic to them than normal people. Magi have, of course, been treated like shit throughout history, so most of them hide who they are, and sometimes rich douchebags will keep them in their houses as slaves, because they’re rich douchebags.
Anyway, Okane has the ability to sense infestations, but so far as sweeper training goes, he’s really, really bad at it.
So while Amicae is hell-bent on avoiding the infestation problem, Clae has been fighting to get more recognition for his department, Laura is stuck between societal expectations from her as a woman vs what Clae says is a natural talent for sweeping, and Okane is slowly but surely overcoming a lifetime of enslavement and abuse to become a somewhat adequate sweeper.
But while all this is going down, there’s a massive infestation taking root in Amicae. Like, supermassive. Like, No-Face from Spirited Away after he ate all that food levels of massive. So massive that it could destroy the whole city and kill everyone in it.
And the only people left to deal with it are Clae, Laura and Okane.
I struggled with City of Broken Magic - I really liked the characters, especially prickly-pear Clae, but the worldbuilding seemed a bit shaky - as City is first in an intended series, we may have more to learn about the world around it, but much of this first book felt like the world was being built as the story was written. I could get over that, though, because I wanted to know more about Laura, Okane and Clae. To add more to the Ghibli-esque feel of the story, there are a lot of Japanese-inspired terms for the monsters. Okane’s name is mentioned, in-story, to mean “money” - which is does in Japanese (お金 , it’s considered the more polite form for “money” - for someone who spent four years learning Japanese, I’ve retained…uh…practically none of it).
So, to make a long story short: I really liked the characters. I want to know what happens to them. I can ignore some of the glitches in worldbuilding because I actually do want to know what will happen next to the Amicae Sweepers.
cheyannelepka's review against another edition
3.0
*** Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with a free eARC of this book ***
I loved the idea of this book. It sounded different and interesting, but was sadly disappointing for me. I’m still in love with the ideas of sweepers and magic going wrong, and having to clean it up. I even loved Clae as a character.
But unfortunately the presentation just didn’t quite cut it for me. Just when I would start getting into the story, and really want to know what was happening, I would be ambushed with a massive info-dump, usually in forced dialogue. The worst part is that I’m still a little confused about some of the world-building. Perhaps it was because I tend to skim info-dumps, but mostly I couldn’t seem to get grounded in the world. It was like I was groping for a time-period or something familiar to grab onto and would only get glimpses of things. Which I’m fine with, but I then need to be supplied with the necessary information to figure it out (which for me, is quite little information usually). I guess it just didn’t feel like the world-building was coherent at all, like it was a list of facts the author created, but didn’t weave into the world.
The other thing that was a huge issue for me was the pacing - it was described as fast-paced and it’s not. Rather it’s somewhat episodic with big breaks to explore world-building and lore among various other things. Which is fine, but not what I was expecting and I definitely found myself getting frustrated with it. And I feel obligated to mention that the blurb that was attached to the book didn’t represent it well, and actually contained a spoiler, which minorly ruined the book for me.
Anyway, moving onto things I enjoyed. First off, I loved Clae. Great character with an interesting back story. Couldn’t help but adore him. Probably cause I’m also a surly, salt-factory of a person. And second, I thought the fight scenes were bang-on. The use of technology and the creative way that they work things at the climax (I won’t say more cause spoilers), loved it all, and the action definitely reads excellently.
Anyway, this book really wasn’t for me. But I would suggest giving it a try if you’re okay with info-dumps (I know some people like them!), are generally a fan of urban fantasy/steampunk, and don’t mind a bit of a slow-build.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
I loved the idea of this book. It sounded different and interesting, but was sadly disappointing for me. I’m still in love with the ideas of sweepers and magic going wrong, and having to clean it up. I even loved Clae as a character.
But unfortunately the presentation just didn’t quite cut it for me. Just when I would start getting into the story, and really want to know what was happening, I would be ambushed with a massive info-dump, usually in forced dialogue. The worst part is that I’m still a little confused about some of the world-building. Perhaps it was because I tend to skim info-dumps, but mostly I couldn’t seem to get grounded in the world. It was like I was groping for a time-period or something familiar to grab onto and would only get glimpses of things. Which I’m fine with, but I then need to be supplied with the necessary information to figure it out (which for me, is quite little information usually). I guess it just didn’t feel like the world-building was coherent at all, like it was a list of facts the author created, but didn’t weave into the world.
The other thing that was a huge issue for me was the pacing - it was described as fast-paced and it’s not. Rather it’s somewhat episodic with big breaks to explore world-building and lore among various other things. Which is fine, but not what I was expecting and I definitely found myself getting frustrated with it. And I feel obligated to mention that the blurb that was attached to the book didn’t represent it well, and actually contained a spoiler, which minorly ruined the book for me.
Anyway, moving onto things I enjoyed. First off, I loved Clae. Great character with an interesting back story. Couldn’t help but adore him. Probably cause I’m also a surly, salt-factory of a person. And second, I thought the fight scenes were bang-on. The use of technology and the creative way that they work things at the climax (I won’t say more cause spoilers), loved it all, and the action definitely reads excellently.
Anyway, this book really wasn’t for me. But I would suggest giving it a try if you’re okay with info-dumps (I know some people like them!), are generally a fan of urban fantasy/steampunk, and don’t mind a bit of a slow-build.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
kaisermatthias's review against another edition
4.0
A very strong first outing from an author I hope writes quite a bit more. As both the introduction to a world, and a debut novel, there is a very long build-up to the plot. That said, I felt it was completely worth the payoff. Every answer raised another question, and once the action began, 250 pages melted away in a matter of hours.
If you're looking for a different way to think about magic and those who live with it - consider a trip to Amicae.
If you're looking for a different way to think about magic and those who live with it - consider a trip to Amicae.
clarag's review against another edition
2.0
This book was so similar to the Lockwood & Co books that I felt this author was walking a thin line of plagiarism. There were times I felt like I was again reading one, and I think Jonathan Shroud may want to look into this. It did NOT read like an adult, more like a middle grade.
Here are the similarities I noticed:
1. There is a relatively new apprentice.
2. There is a very grumpy and unfriendly boss that won't get close because he lost too many apprentices before her
3. There is a newer apprentice that the old apprentice feels jealous about and fears they will be replaced
4. They work for an organization that was once in huge favor but now local politicians want to end through any means necessary, but mostly through false narratives and lies
5. A shady business man that wants to destroy the safety net so they can make more money
6. There are only a handful of them so when the shit hits the fan, suddenly the city has to look to them to save the day!
7. Almost forgot: the boss has a deep family tragedy that is hinted at by the empty rooms in his living space, but he won't talk about it. Personally, I felt that the mystery could have been kept for another book, but at the end all answers are handed to you in a nice little box leaving no need to continue with the series.
It is also clear this author loves Japan judging by the map and the whole "evil people from the main land wanting the island, and trying to destroy local natives who are 'magical and mystical' peoples.
There were only a few elements of this story that were interesting such as the source of the original infestation and the secrets about the city. But not much more, and the characters aren't all that likable.
Would not recommend, if you are looking for a fun mystical and supernatural adventure I would recommend the Lockwood &Co by Jonathan Shroud.
Here are the similarities I noticed:
1. There is a relatively new apprentice.
2. There is a very grumpy and unfriendly boss that won't get close because he lost too many apprentices before her
3. There is a newer apprentice that the old apprentice feels jealous about and fears they will be replaced
4. They work for an organization that was once in huge favor but now local politicians want to end through any means necessary, but mostly through false narratives and lies
5. A shady business man that wants to destroy the safety net so they can make more money
6. There are only a handful of them so when the shit hits the fan, suddenly the city has to look to them to save the day!
7. Almost forgot: the boss has a deep family tragedy that is hinted at by the empty rooms in his living space, but he won't talk about it. Personally, I felt that the mystery could have been kept for another book, but at the end all answers are handed to you in a nice little box leaving no need to continue with the series.
It is also clear this author loves Japan judging by the map and the whole "evil people from the main land wanting the island, and trying to destroy local natives who are 'magical and mystical' peoples.
There were only a few elements of this story that were interesting such as the source of the original infestation and the secrets about the city. But not much more, and the characters aren't all that likable.
Would not recommend, if you are looking for a fun mystical and supernatural adventure I would recommend the Lockwood &Co by Jonathan Shroud.
sevenacrebooks's review against another edition
5.0
City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender is an action packed magical ride of monsters and mobsters.
Laura Kramer is a Sweeper apprentice working hard to keep her city safe from the magical infestations that are killing residents. Her boss and Head Sweeper, Clae Sinclair, grew up in a Sweeper family and has been battling manifestations his entire life. Together they make up the entire Sweeper force of the city of Amicae and work alongside the police department in an uneasy alliance.
When Laura and Clae are hired by the wealthy wife of a notorious mob family, they find more than malevolent amulets. They find a mysterious young man enslaved by the Sullivans who appears to have magical abilities. Clae, ever clever, rescues the young man under the guise of payment in exchange for ridding the Sullivan house of evil amulets. Now the young man, Okane, is free from the torture and enslavement of the Sullivans and free to begin training as a Sweeper apprentice.
Now a team of three, the Sweepers have a ritual to prepare for, a city to protect, and evil manifestations getting their way.
This book was so good! It’s fast paced, full of action, and the characters are fantastic. Clae is prickly and unsociable but as the story goes on, you completely understand why. There is more than one skeleton in his closet and a long line of deceased Sweeper apprentices. With mysterious parts of his shop completely off limits and a quest for lasagna, he has the mysterious boss persona down. Laura is young, smart, and wants only to prove her worth. Growing up unwanted by her parents, she is raised by her single aunt and lives in one of the poorer parts of town. Longing to learn more about the world outside her walled city, she snatches up scraps of movie posters found along streets and alley walls. And Okane. Poor Okane. Born with magical abilities and tortured his whole life by the Sullivans, he lives his life in fear of everything.
I really enjoyed the city of Amicae. It’s one of several cities mentioned in the book but is the setting for the bulk of the book. The city is contained by high walls that the residents believe keep them safe by preventing evil magical infestations. Unfortunately for the residents, that is completely false. There is a complex system of magic and amulets that can be both helpful and harmful depending on their creation. It takes place 500 years ago but I don’t think it ever tells where that 500 years ago was-and it doesn’t matter. You get dropped into this amazing world and everything fits perfectly.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
Laura Kramer is a Sweeper apprentice working hard to keep her city safe from the magical infestations that are killing residents. Her boss and Head Sweeper, Clae Sinclair, grew up in a Sweeper family and has been battling manifestations his entire life. Together they make up the entire Sweeper force of the city of Amicae and work alongside the police department in an uneasy alliance.
When Laura and Clae are hired by the wealthy wife of a notorious mob family, they find more than malevolent amulets. They find a mysterious young man enslaved by the Sullivans who appears to have magical abilities. Clae, ever clever, rescues the young man under the guise of payment in exchange for ridding the Sullivan house of evil amulets. Now the young man, Okane, is free from the torture and enslavement of the Sullivans and free to begin training as a Sweeper apprentice.
Now a team of three, the Sweepers have a ritual to prepare for, a city to protect, and evil manifestations getting their way.
This book was so good! It’s fast paced, full of action, and the characters are fantastic. Clae is prickly and unsociable but as the story goes on, you completely understand why. There is more than one skeleton in his closet and a long line of deceased Sweeper apprentices. With mysterious parts of his shop completely off limits and a quest for lasagna, he has the mysterious boss persona down. Laura is young, smart, and wants only to prove her worth. Growing up unwanted by her parents, she is raised by her single aunt and lives in one of the poorer parts of town. Longing to learn more about the world outside her walled city, she snatches up scraps of movie posters found along streets and alley walls. And Okane. Poor Okane. Born with magical abilities and tortured his whole life by the Sullivans, he lives his life in fear of everything.
I really enjoyed the city of Amicae. It’s one of several cities mentioned in the book but is the setting for the bulk of the book. The city is contained by high walls that the residents believe keep them safe by preventing evil magical infestations. Unfortunately for the residents, that is completely false. There is a complex system of magic and amulets that can be both helpful and harmful depending on their creation. It takes place 500 years ago but I don’t think it ever tells where that 500 years ago was-and it doesn’t matter. You get dropped into this amazing world and everything fits perfectly.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
marziesreads's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
Getting a debut novel to publication is a long process for an author and I try to be sensitive to that fact. Finding a debut with a fresh take is always a plus. But sometimes the execution of a good idea seems elusive. Having great editorial direction can lead an author to a better story but that, too, is a hard thing to find. In the past year I've read more than a few debut novels in which better editorial direction might have taken a potentially great book and smoothed pacing issues, removed inconsistencies, and built more compelling characters. This is one such book.
In City of Broken Magic we have a novel magic system, of amulets trapping spirits, and sweepers (who in spite of the blurb, are possessed of some magical abilities) who dispose of dangerous monsters who emerge from broken amulets, or who can even prevent those monsters from escaping them. The only time I've read anything similar is in Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus series. World-building like this is a treat, but we have to have characters who make us enjoy this world, and a story arc that is paced to keep us well engaged. Bolender almost has us there, but I just never warmed to Laura Kramer, a young woman apprenticed to sweeper Clae (a man with a dubious family history), and I found the manner in which Clae's other apprentice sweeper, Okane, joins the band to be awkward and rather implausible. The characters felt a bit flat and I didn't feel very engaged in their battles. The overall story arc, which features a world in which the powers that be lie and cover up the ongoing presence of these monsters, minimizing an ugly reality, claiming that sweepers and monsters are a cipher in their society, is a great storyline to explore, especially in the era of claims of fake news and media/social media distortions of truth. Thus, I'd definitely pick up the next book in the series to see where Bolender goes with this story. I just hope that she gets editorial direction worthy of this story's potential.
I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from Tor via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Getting a debut novel to publication is a long process for an author and I try to be sensitive to that fact. Finding a debut with a fresh take is always a plus. But sometimes the execution of a good idea seems elusive. Having great editorial direction can lead an author to a better story but that, too, is a hard thing to find. In the past year I've read more than a few debut novels in which better editorial direction might have taken a potentially great book and smoothed pacing issues, removed inconsistencies, and built more compelling characters. This is one such book.
In City of Broken Magic we have a novel magic system, of amulets trapping spirits, and sweepers (who in spite of the blurb, are possessed of some magical abilities) who dispose of dangerous monsters who emerge from broken amulets, or who can even prevent those monsters from escaping them. The only time I've read anything similar is in Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus series. World-building like this is a treat, but we have to have characters who make us enjoy this world, and a story arc that is paced to keep us well engaged. Bolender almost has us there, but I just never warmed to Laura Kramer, a young woman apprenticed to sweeper Clae (a man with a dubious family history), and I found the manner in which Clae's other apprentice sweeper, Okane, joins the band to be awkward and rather implausible. The characters felt a bit flat and I didn't feel very engaged in their battles. The overall story arc, which features a world in which the powers that be lie and cover up the ongoing presence of these monsters, minimizing an ugly reality, claiming that sweepers and monsters are a cipher in their society, is a great storyline to explore, especially in the era of claims of fake news and media/social media distortions of truth. Thus, I'd definitely pick up the next book in the series to see where Bolender goes with this story. I just hope that she gets editorial direction worthy of this story's potential.
I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from Tor via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
tazian's review against another edition
3.0
This review isn't going to be very helpful, because I can't figure out what I didn't like about the book. Everything about this book are things that I normally like, but I continually had a hard time picking this book back up to continue reading it. About half way through I just ended up skipping to the last 50ish pages or so. Even though it was obvious I missed things, it didn't really feel like I missed anything important. I don't know, I just had a hard time getting into this world.
thoughtsonbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I really am not that great at predicting which books I will adore. I was so sure I would love this because at the surface it does so many things I appreciate in books; but I also found its pace fairly slow and, more importantly, some of the narrative decisions when it came to the characters unfortunate.
Set in a partly industrialized fantasy setting (something I happen to really enjoy), this story follows Laura, newly employed Sweeper working for what is basically a bomb-squad but for monsters (awesome, right?). The world and the premise are brilliant - but the way this story is told might have worked better in a different medium - I would love this as a video game for example. Laura and her boss have to banish different monsters, always trying to find new ways to do so. These scenes, while exhilerating in the beginning, did start to feel a bit stale fairly soon. When the newest team member arrives, the story lost steam for me even more. I found Laura's reaction to him deeply troubling in its lack of empathy and also not quite fitting for her character who before has not displayed this much selfishness.
I did really love the world but did not always appreciate the world building itself. There were many super interesting ideas floating around but they never felt organically integrated into the story. Ultimately the world building happened mostly through info-dumping and slowed down the pacing even more.
While I in theory appreciate the commentary on women's roles in this society, I found its discussion in the text fairly obvious and not all that original. Laura is quick to assume everybody's reaction to her is down to them being sexist and while that may well be the case the reader was never shown the way sexism is integral to the society but is rather told so. One major problem I had in this context was that while we were told that women were only allowed certain jobs, we were shown many women in powerful positions without anybody reacting to that at all, indicating that this is in fact normal for the society. This made Laura seem particularly thin-skinned and her reaction often overblown.
I received an arc courtesy of NetGalley and Tor Books in exchange for an honest review.
You can find this review and other thoughts on books on my blog.
Set in a partly industrialized fantasy setting (something I happen to really enjoy), this story follows Laura, newly employed Sweeper working for what is basically a bomb-squad but for monsters (awesome, right?). The world and the premise are brilliant - but the way this story is told might have worked better in a different medium - I would love this as a video game for example. Laura and her boss have to banish different monsters, always trying to find new ways to do so. These scenes, while exhilerating in the beginning, did start to feel a bit stale fairly soon. When the newest team member arrives, the story lost steam for me even more. I found Laura's reaction to him deeply troubling in its lack of empathy and also not quite fitting for her character who before has not displayed this much selfishness.
I did really love the world but did not always appreciate the world building itself. There were many super interesting ideas floating around but they never felt organically integrated into the story. Ultimately the world building happened mostly through info-dumping and slowed down the pacing even more.
While I in theory appreciate the commentary on women's roles in this society, I found its discussion in the text fairly obvious and not all that original. Laura is quick to assume everybody's reaction to her is down to them being sexist and while that may well be the case the reader was never shown the way sexism is integral to the society but is rather told so. One major problem I had in this context was that while we were told that women were only allowed certain jobs, we were shown many women in powerful positions without anybody reacting to that at all, indicating that this is in fact normal for the society. This made Laura seem particularly thin-skinned and her reaction often overblown.
I received an arc courtesy of NetGalley and Tor Books in exchange for an honest review.
You can find this review and other thoughts on books on my blog.
difelicj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5