Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by judyc_elementz_mj
Death by Fire by S.C. Muir
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A solid read with an interesting magic premise.
This world exists with 4 types of Mages ... life, death, fire and water. They don't mix their bloodlines because of something in their history that went very bad. This story follows Mari, a death mage, and Zahir, a fire mage, who have been, more or less, forced to marry by their parents.
Now, why they were forced is not super clear until close to the end, so I won't give it away, but I did find that a bit weird, if I'm being honest.
The characters of Mari and Zahir are easy to like, and they both take to their situation quite easily considering how young they both are, 21 and 25, respectively. At times, their immaturity does come out, mostly in Zahir, but I think it's age-appropriate. They are both trying to make the best of their situation. I also liked that the author kept their intimate contact to a minimum. It really wasn't the meat of the story. To me, the romance was second to the plot, which I enjoyed.
What threw me a bit was the attempt to make the city of Brahn almost "urban" but not really. It's hard to explain, but they had things like refrigeration, whisky, wine, etc. but there was no explanation about electricity, they had no transportation other than by horse, and overall, it felt like a weird setup. And then where Mari came from was like she lived off the land in the woods like a pioneer of old days. Where she came from seemed very poor, yet her father was still the King of the death mages. It just was a bit hard to imagine and threw me.
Beyond that, the understory of the rebels looking for a dual mage (meaning a mage with two of the magics, which was supposed to be non-existent) and several battles that ensued made the story much more interesting, and the final chapter ended with a bang.
I picked up book two and will continue on with Mari and Zahir's story, although I think the second book might focus a bit more on Mari. We shall see!
This world exists with 4 types of Mages ... life, death, fire and water. They don't mix their bloodlines because of something in their history that went very bad. This story follows Mari, a death mage, and Zahir, a fire mage, who have been, more or less, forced to marry by their parents.
Now, why they were forced is not super clear until close to the end, so I won't give it away, but I did find that a bit weird, if I'm being honest.
The characters of Mari and Zahir are easy to like, and they both take to their situation quite easily considering how young they both are, 21 and 25, respectively. At times, their immaturity does come out, mostly in Zahir, but I think it's age-appropriate. They are both trying to make the best of their situation. I also liked that the author kept their intimate contact to a minimum. It really wasn't the meat of the story. To me, the romance was second to the plot, which I enjoyed.
What threw me a bit was the attempt to make the city of Brahn almost "urban" but not really. It's hard to explain, but they had things like refrigeration, whisky, wine, etc. but there was no explanation about electricity, they had no transportation other than by horse, and overall, it felt like a weird setup. And then where Mari came from was like she lived off the land in the woods like a pioneer of old days. Where she came from seemed very poor, yet her father was still the King of the death mages. It just was a bit hard to imagine and threw me.
Beyond that, the understory of the rebels looking for a dual mage (meaning a mage with two of the magics, which was supposed to be non-existent) and several battles that ensued made the story much more interesting, and the final chapter ended with a bang.
I picked up book two and will continue on with Mari and Zahir's story, although I think the second book might focus a bit more on Mari. We shall see!