Reviews with content warning for Violence - Notorious Sorcerer

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Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

10 reviews

imds's review

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Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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bluejayreads's review

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4.0

This was one of my less-researched picks. It made it onto my reading list somehow, but by the time I grabbed it from the library I’d forgotten what it was really about or why. The only thing I knew about it was there was some kind of magic involved (obvious from the title) and the protagonist was queer in some capacity.

So I went in with very little context. But to be fair, I don’t think more context would have necessarily helped with my primary complaint – I had no idea what was going on with this world. The names were all long and hard to keep straight, especially since most characters had a first name, a last name, and a title, each of which could be used for the same character in different contexts. I got better at it as the story went on and I spent more time with the characters, but almost every name in the book at some point gave me a moment of “wait, do I know this person?” And the worldbuilding was clearly detailed and done with a lot of care and thought, but I also had a really hard time figuring things out. Part of the city fell into the sea, but I think it’s still around just a couple hundred feet lower than the rest of the city? I don’t really understand how the Bravi tribes work or what their role actually is in the city. There’s a huge class divide between the azatani and everyone else, but I’m not clear what defines an azatani or even whether it’s a racial category or a title. The magic system is fascinating and complicated but there’s a clear difference between alchemy, which is acceptable but regulated, and sorcery, which is very illegal (and I think “magic” is a separate third thing, maybe?).

So while the world was quite detailed and vibrant, I really didn’t have any idea of how it worked, or the rules of the magic system, or anything. (Although part of the plot of the book is figuring out that hte old rules of the magic system didn’t work anymore, so I’ll forgive that one.) But the weird part about the story, and I guess what best illustrates how enjoyable it really is, is that I didn’t mind all that. Sure, I wasn’t really sure how all the pieces of the world fit together, but even the confusing parts were just relentlessly cool. Daring street gangs getting up to hijinks, plucky underdogs who happen to be really good at what they do, and of course a whole lot of high-stakes magical shenanigans – it was a ton of fun. I enjoyed Siyon, I enjoyed the magical adventure, I enjoyed that it felt like a “protagonist has a big goal but accomplishing it is way more complicated than initially thought” plot and an “I only wanted to do this one small thing how did it get so out of hand” plot at the same time. I even in some ways enjoyed trying to fit new pieces of information into the story and the world.

This is a hard book to review because it absolutely has some pretty major flaws. Normally I wouldn’t even finish a book where I felt like I couldn’t get a handle on the world. But somehow this book managed to be so absolutely stellar in every single other aspect – plot, characters, romance, descriptions, the writing itself, coolness factor, being just plain fun and interesting to read – that it downgraded “I have no idea how this fantasy world works” from a dealbreaker to a minor annoyance. Which says a lot about the quality of the book itself, I think. This is also the author’s debut novel, so I have extremely high hopes for future books overcoming the worldbuildling issues. I fully intend to read book two.

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blewballoon's review

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adventurous funny tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is an excellent book and a great fantasy story. The world that Davinia Evans creates feels unique and lived in. The characters are interesting and charming. The overarching plot is suspenseful, with high stakes. The writing quality was fantastic. There are so many great things about this book, and yet I found myself having a hard time getting into it and being enthusiastic to pick it up. I'm honestly not sure why, perhaps I just wasn't in the mood? I still had a good time, but it took me a lot longer to get through than I expected. I would recommend this to fantasy readers, either adult or young adult. I do plan on picking up the next book in the series (eventually).

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kylieqrada's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was such a fun surprise! I got it as a gift, having never heard of it. It ended up being a queer fantasy with an intricate setting and a diverse cast of characters.

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lbelow's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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lanid's review

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adventurous mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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mjwhitlock18's review

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

The four planes of the universe are falling apart. Siyon is a Dockside-born, inter-planar errand boy and amateur alchemist who accidentally achieved the impossible. Can he do it again to harness the power of the Mundane and save the universe?

Pros: Complex world, political stratification of society with commentary on the ability of the rich and powerful to skirt the law. A reluctant hero with a slow burn queer romantic side plot. A Should-be debutante who instead hangs out with the lower classes and gets her eyes opened to social and class injustice. Also I might do anything for Anahid, a woman who learns to find her own joy and wield her privilege for the protection of those who need it.

Cons: It takes a bit to understand what’s going on, because you get thrust into the story with not a ton of explanation. Also so many plot lines, some of them left feeling unfinished. So many threads to hold onto, it’s easy to get lost and tangled up. Wish I got more background on more of the characters, some of them feel quite shallow.

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lastblossom's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advance copy!

tl;dr
Powerful world building and a well-defined magic system set the stage for a likable hero and some strong supporting cast as they try to save the world. The front part of the book can be difficult to get through due to pacing and the number of terms.

About
Siyon Velo makes a living collecting alchemy ingredients from alternate planes of existence. It's dangerous, and lawfully dubious, work, but the wealthy alchemists of the city are always willing to pay. Siyon hopes to one day earn enough money to join the ranks of the alchemists himself, but one of the rare items he sells might put an end to that dream - and the entire city along with it.

Thoughts
Reading this book feels like watching someone playing with dominoes. The first half is dedicated to precise and meticulous world building. Characters, laws of magic, culture, politics, geography, and alternate universes are all placed carefully in line, and there's an almost overwhelming amount of things to collate and learn. But then the first domino tips and there's no place to catch your breath as everything falls into place in an fast-paced finale. I confess, it was definitely hard to get through the first part of the book for this very reason. There are a LOT of threads to hold on to. But every single one is stitched into the ending, for a decent payoff. Supporting cast are given a good deal of attention, with some winding up more complex that the lead himself. The author's notes mention Izmirlian was the most challenging character to get right, and I think the extra attention spent on him really shows. He's easily my favorite character of the bunch. The world building is probably the strongest part of the book - details about all aspects of the city and the people in it are thoroughly documented. This book should appeal to anyone looking for a fantasy with some hard world building and alternate plane adventures for a determined young man who finds himself out of his depth.

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bookishpriest's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If you're interested in a new adult fantasy series with a creative, detailed world, characters with complex motivations, and a plot with some real twists and turns, then Notorious Sorcerer, the debut novel from Davinia Evans releasing on 13 September 2022, might be just the thing for you!

From the publisher:

In a city filled with dangerous yet heavily regulated alchemical magic, a man from the slums discovers he may be its only hope to survive certain destruction in this wickedly entertaining fantasy.

Welcome to Bezim, where sword-slinging bravi race through the night and rich and idle alchemists make magic out of mixing and measuring the four planes of reality.

Siyon Velo, Dockside brat turned petty alchemist, scrapes a living hopping between the planes to harvest ingredients for the city’s alchemists. But when Siyon accidentally commits an act of impossible magic, he’s catapulted into the limelight—which is a bad place to be when the planes start lurching out of alignment, threatening to send Bezim into the sea.

It will take a miracle to save the city. Good thing Siyon has pulled off the impossible before. Now he just has to master it.

A dazzling fantasy bursting with wild magic, chaotic sword-fighting street gangs, brazen flirting, malevolent harpies, and one defiant alchemist.

In short, Notorious Sorcerer is a fantastic read.

The worldbuilding in this book is excellent. Bezim is a fascinating city filled with complicated social structures, people from all over the world, a history of political revolution and magical disaster, and the opportunity to fall into other planes of existence. The setting feels at times like a little bit of Pratchett's Discworld, Schwab's Londons of the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy, and Chakraborty's Daevabad but definitely has a character all its own. As more of the world is revealed, it becomes clear that it is interconnected in deep and profound ways that most of its inhabitants don't understand.

The reader is thrown into the deep end from the outset and I spent the first 20 pages or so wishing I had a glossary and wondering if I'd missed a subtle explanation about some of the terms I was reading. The fine writing and attention to detail means that most of this understanding clears up quickly in context. I found the experience of being dropped into what felt like a living city to be like watching a flower bloom on a time lapse photo, slowly revealing its petals, or rather like visiting another country for the first time. I was a foreigner, learning the local customs and practices and having a great time doing it.

The characters in Notorious Sorcerer are a varied bunch, all with something to offer. Some of the characters are thoroughly unlikable, but that's their personalities and not Evans's writing. The point-of-view in the storytelling moves between four different characters over the story. This is used to good effect, giving us insight into the different characters' motivations, fears, ambitions, and hopes without derailing the overall plot. Several of the characters have motivations that are rather more complex and philosophical than I generally anticipate from fantasy novels and this was an enjoyable surprise.

The major arc of the plot begins slowly and I wondered at first if the book was going to move at a pace slower than I'd enjoy. What I soon realized was that instead of a truly slow pace, this was simply the roller coaster ticking up that initial climb. Once Notorious Sorcerer crested the hill and began its descent, I was treated to all manner of loops and whirls and a roaring ride through Bezim, other planes, social classes, family drama, romance, and magic.

I was delighted to read more than one LGBTQ+ character in the story. These are full characters with stories, agency, motivations, and lives all their own. They are not simply excuses to see "unconventional" couples kissing, but representation of full characters doing so much more than marking off a diversity checkbox. There's even a little bit of flirting with extraplanar beings, taking the possibilities of human sexuality in Bezim to places we on Earth can't venture!

I had a great time reading Notorious Sorcerer and would encourage anyone who's interested in a trip to a new world to pick it up and give it a read when it is released next month. Engaging characters, a beautiful world with a clever magic system, a great story with a satisfying conclusion and enough loose threads to leave you looking for the next one. This book's a winner for me!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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