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A review by kevinscorner
Innate Magic by Shannon Fay
3.5
Innate Magic is a queer historical fantasy set in an alternate 1950s post-war London. It follows Paul Gallagher, a newly trained cloth mage with a secret illegal power.
I enjoyed Innate Magic, but this is indeed a strange book. It tells two separate stories that are entirely unrelated and do not intertwine at all—they are just happening at the same time to the same person.
Paul is bisexual, quippy, and doesn’t know when to shut up. I quite liked his personality and voice, but the way he is written makes him come across as a really shitty friend and also a promiscuous flighty man that is oddly religious. Now that’s another thing that’s strange about the book—the weird fixation on Christianity. There are so many (what I felt like) unnecessary insertions of religion that it makes me think the author is likely Christian and is weirdly using this book to proselytize (somewhat inappropriately). The book also touches on a few issues about class, race and sexuality, but never really goes too far into them.
The characters, wit, and banter are what made me like Innate Magic, but the structure still needs some work.
I enjoyed Innate Magic, but this is indeed a strange book. It tells two separate stories that are entirely unrelated and do not intertwine at all—they are just happening at the same time to the same person.
Paul is bisexual, quippy, and doesn’t know when to shut up. I quite liked his personality and voice, but the way he is written makes him come across as a really shitty friend and also a promiscuous flighty man that is oddly religious. Now that’s another thing that’s strange about the book—the weird fixation on Christianity. There are so many (what I felt like) unnecessary insertions of religion that it makes me think the author is likely Christian and is weirdly using this book to proselytize (somewhat inappropriately). The book also touches on a few issues about class, race and sexuality, but never really goes too far into them.
The characters, wit, and banter are what made me like Innate Magic, but the structure still needs some work.