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A review by bookshopcat
Spellspam by Alma Alexander
5.0
Alma Alexander fuses together magic and technology in this great sequel to gift of the unmage. I love the facets of the alternate universe she creates, set in a world much like our own, yet one in which magic conexists along with modern technology with out touching. Well, except in the case of the protagonist, Thea. The concept of using magic through technology, like sending curses through the email for instance, was so different from the way magic works in the other books I've read that after reading the first few chapters, I was hooked. I also loved how the story incorporates magic in everyday circumstances from those that can happen in reality (like parking a car) to things that we still dream of like instant transportation using technology. We also get to meet creatures from other world which they call "polities", an interesting take on the whole alien contact idea.
The plot was pretty interesting too, though not as exciting as I had hoped it would be. The whole thing seemed to lead up to a confrontation and a decision for Thea, that came and went so quickly. Also, most of the story occured within the school or the Professor's house, so while I was able to catch glimpses of the magical world, which is what had initially garnered my interest, it was severely limited. I wished for a more extensive foray into the outside world. I also sort of wished for more of a conflict, as the problem and its resolution seemed to go way too quickly.
Overall the book was pretty good, but it became one of my favorite books because it introduced such a new idea of magic use. I actually picked this book up after reading the Harry Potter series and craving a new type of fantasy series and this book became a great find. After reading this I wanted to see the first book (which I hadn't read yet) and enjoyed that too. It offered a new perspective on magic and actually put magic in the modern day without having to put it in such a medieval like setting (like Harry Potter). I wished that it was longer and we could see more of Thea's world, but I loved reading it, and still do, and so in my biased opinion, gave it 5 stars.
The plot was pretty interesting too, though not as exciting as I had hoped it would be. The whole thing seemed to lead up to a confrontation and a decision for Thea, that came and went so quickly. Also, most of the story occured within the school or the Professor's house, so while I was able to catch glimpses of the magical world, which is what had initially garnered my interest, it was severely limited. I wished for a more extensive foray into the outside world. I also sort of wished for more of a conflict, as the problem and its resolution seemed to go way too quickly.
Overall the book was pretty good, but it became one of my favorite books because it introduced such a new idea of magic use. I actually picked this book up after reading the Harry Potter series and craving a new type of fantasy series and this book became a great find. After reading this I wanted to see the first book (which I hadn't read yet) and enjoyed that too. It offered a new perspective on magic and actually put magic in the modern day without having to put it in such a medieval like setting (like Harry Potter). I wished that it was longer and we could see more of Thea's world, but I loved reading it, and still do, and so in my biased opinion, gave it 5 stars.