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A review by caringcatiecary
A Distant Magic by Mary Jo Putney
4.0
What an interesting and ambitious novel.
Mixing historical romance with magical fantasy, time travel with the story of the abolition of the slave trade, it's a complex tale that ignores genre boundaries and brings together the stories of two couples, African and European who use magic to support the growth of the abolition movement. The historical elements are handled well and most readers will learn something about the history of slavery - thankfully the subject is handled seriously and with respect. The magic is also well-depicted with the contrasts between European and African systems. And the story is a page-turner.
It's not entirely successful - the chopping around of the narrative between the different participants gets annoying at times. In true romance series fashion, many of the secondary characters are HEA couples from previous novels - at best this leads to bland, skippable passages - at worst so much perfection can make a person puke. And at times the language is awkward - I don't care for business talk in the mouths of fantasy characters so, for instance, I wince when a bunch of mages "schedule a meeting" and then there are cliches - could it be arranged for any author typing the term "Scottish Witch" to receive a little electric shock?
These are minor points. It was an intelligent gripping read and it has its heart in the right place.
Mixing historical romance with magical fantasy, time travel with the story of the abolition of the slave trade, it's a complex tale that ignores genre boundaries and brings together the stories of two couples, African and European who use magic to support the growth of the abolition movement. The historical elements are handled well and most readers will learn something about the history of slavery - thankfully the subject is handled seriously and with respect. The magic is also well-depicted with the contrasts between European and African systems. And the story is a page-turner.
It's not entirely successful - the chopping around of the narrative between the different participants gets annoying at times. In true romance series fashion, many of the secondary characters are HEA couples from previous novels - at best this leads to bland, skippable passages - at worst so much perfection can make a person puke. And at times the language is awkward - I don't care for business talk in the mouths of fantasy characters so, for instance, I wince when a bunch of mages "schedule a meeting" and then there are cliches - could it be arranged for any author typing the term "Scottish Witch" to receive a little electric shock?
These are minor points. It was an intelligent gripping read and it has its heart in the right place.