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A review by kellshaw
Magic Time by Barbara Hambly, Marc Scott Zicree
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I ordered this book as it had one of my favorite tropes - magic returns to a modern day setting and the involvement of one of my favorite fantasy writers, Barbara Hambly.
The book is written like a disaster movie—lots of quick cuts between a wide variety of characters as they adjust to the slowly changing world.
There are three major story lines:
In New York, Cal Griffin works at a legal firm with his malicious ‘dragon’ of a boss, Ely Stern. When the magic hits, Stern changes into a dragon, and Cal’s sister, Tiny, changes into a translucent (perhaps fairy) being. Cal’s storyline is about survival in a New York that’s falling apart without technology. He dreams of a magic sword (and finds one in a junk heap later). When the draconic Stern kidnaps Tina, Cal challenges Stern to get her back.
There’s a government plot line when touches on how the magic returned because of experiments with ‘The Source’. The President McKay isn’t sure what’s going on, and needs information held by CIA agent Jerri Bilmer, who vanishes after her introductory chapter. Later on, the government plot line is picked up by Agent Shango, searching for Bilmer’s secret notes from a crashed plane.
In West Virginia, a group of miners start to transform into troll-like beings while in the mines, and on the surface, a cat-lady develops cat powers.
All the stories would be interesting in greater details, but the sheer volume of characters, and the quick-cut style of jumping between made it hard for me to engage. I’d have preferred to stay in New York with Cal’s plot line (hero vs dragon in the crumbling New York would have been amazingly iconic, especially when contrasted with the battered employee versus arrogant boss in their mundane lives.) I did like the peeks of magic returning, such as farmer growing magical crops and people spontaneously getting telekinesis and fireball powers.
Overall, the book entertained me and I didn't set it aside at the first quarter mark. I'm also interested to see how the next book reviews the source of the magic, but it's nothing I'll rush out to get.
The book is written like a disaster movie—lots of quick cuts between a wide variety of characters as they adjust to the slowly changing world.
There are three major story lines:
In New York, Cal Griffin works at a legal firm with his malicious ‘dragon’ of a boss, Ely Stern. When the magic hits, Stern changes into a dragon, and Cal’s sister, Tiny, changes into a translucent (perhaps fairy) being. Cal’s storyline is about survival in a New York that’s falling apart without technology. He dreams of a magic sword (and finds one in a junk heap later). When the draconic Stern kidnaps Tina, Cal challenges Stern to get her back.
There’s a government plot line when touches on how the magic returned because of experiments with ‘The Source’. The President McKay isn’t sure what’s going on, and needs information held by CIA agent Jerri Bilmer, who vanishes after her introductory chapter. Later on, the government plot line is picked up by Agent Shango, searching for Bilmer’s secret notes from a crashed plane.
In West Virginia, a group of miners start to transform into troll-like beings while in the mines, and on the surface, a cat-lady develops cat powers.
All the stories would be interesting in greater details, but the sheer volume of characters, and the quick-cut style of jumping between made it hard for me to engage. I’d have preferred to stay in New York with Cal’s plot line (hero vs dragon in the crumbling New York would have been amazingly iconic, especially when contrasted with the battered employee versus arrogant boss in their mundane lives.) I did like the peeks of magic returning, such as farmer growing magical crops and people spontaneously getting telekinesis and fireball powers.
Overall, the book entertained me and I didn't set it aside at the first quarter mark. I'm also interested to see how the next book reviews the source of the magic, but it's nothing I'll rush out to get.