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A review by barb4ry1
Magpie's Song by Allison Pang
4.0
Magpie’s Song defies easy categorization. It mixes elements of steampunk, dystopia, coming-of-age, and dark fantasy into a singular blend.
BrightStone, ruled from above by the technologically advanced Meridians, is a dangerous city rife with crime and poverty. Its citizens struggle with everyday life, lack of perspectives, and a rampaging and lethal plague known as Rot. Only Moon Children, Meridian half-breeds, seem immune to the devastating effects of the disease, and that makes them useful, but only to lead Rot victims into the dreaded Pits, a place no one returns from.
While you’ll find snippets of humor here and there, the story goes into dark places and has a serious tone overall. Titular Magpie, a Moon Child known as Raggy Maggy, is a half-breed caught between two worlds–the run-down city of BrightStone and the floating city of Meridion. When she’s framed for a crime she didn’t commit, she has to trust exiled Meridian doctor and a clanless Moon Child named Ghost to discover the cause of the Rot and the secret behind her own lineage.
Mags is a great character. An outcast who doesn’t belong anywhere. She cares for one person. She finds freedom in rooftop dancing and her prowess in climbing, leaping, gliding through the city would put most traceurs to shame. Only Ghost does it better than her.
She also has a clockwork heart, and it seems a clockwork dragon found by a Meridion’s dead body likes and follows her. An intriguing combination of the mysterious past and tenacious behavior won me over. I like Mag’s voice. Sure, she makes bizarre decisions and trusts wrong people, but hey, she’s just nineteen.
Magpie’s Song starts in the middle of the action and never slows down. Things happen, characters die, and at times I wasn’t sure where all of this was going, but I felt engaged throughout. The addition of a few subplots makes the narration unfocused in places, but at the scene level, it never disappoints.
I liked Magpie’s Song a lot and plan to follow the series.
BrightStone, ruled from above by the technologically advanced Meridians, is a dangerous city rife with crime and poverty. Its citizens struggle with everyday life, lack of perspectives, and a rampaging and lethal plague known as Rot. Only Moon Children, Meridian half-breeds, seem immune to the devastating effects of the disease, and that makes them useful, but only to lead Rot victims into the dreaded Pits, a place no one returns from.
While you’ll find snippets of humor here and there, the story goes into dark places and has a serious tone overall. Titular Magpie, a Moon Child known as Raggy Maggy, is a half-breed caught between two worlds–the run-down city of BrightStone and the floating city of Meridion. When she’s framed for a crime she didn’t commit, she has to trust exiled Meridian doctor and a clanless Moon Child named Ghost to discover the cause of the Rot and the secret behind her own lineage.
Mags is a great character. An outcast who doesn’t belong anywhere. She cares for one person. She finds freedom in rooftop dancing and her prowess in climbing, leaping, gliding through the city would put most traceurs to shame. Only Ghost does it better than her.
She also has a clockwork heart, and it seems a clockwork dragon found by a Meridion’s dead body likes and follows her. An intriguing combination of the mysterious past and tenacious behavior won me over. I like Mag’s voice. Sure, she makes bizarre decisions and trusts wrong people, but hey, she’s just nineteen.
Magpie’s Song starts in the middle of the action and never slows down. Things happen, characters die, and at times I wasn’t sure where all of this was going, but I felt engaged throughout. The addition of a few subplots makes the narration unfocused in places, but at the scene level, it never disappoints.
I liked Magpie’s Song a lot and plan to follow the series.