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A review by sonanomander
Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip
4.0
What I thought would be about cute and whimsical magic, the story ended being magical fascists vs. a gardener. In short, the premise is a Kingdom of Numis where an ancient magician Od had saved them from a catastrophe and was given leave to start a school of magic, but the centuries old Od was prone to wandering the world so was just a mythical figure in the school. In the time of the story, the King of Numis has become paranoid and sanctioned a strict itinerary for wizards who swear only to serve under him, and enforces this with a fascist squad. The principles of magic fascism comes under assault when Od invites a simple gardener to work for the school and a traveling troupe of performers come to town.
Od Magic is peculiar. I didn't feel it had as much of the ephemeral prose I love reading from McKillip, it was actually a bit more direct and clear. I'm not sure if this is an adequate comparison but it felt like watching the British film of wonder like Hugo. Multiple plot threads, two of them involving finding love in strange places - though it is not the main plot thread or even the main subject of those plot threads. There's a woman facing marriage with a man unwilling to listen to her. There's a gardener caught up in all this mess.
Od Magic is peculiar. I didn't feel it had as much of the ephemeral prose I love reading from McKillip, it was actually a bit more direct and clear. I'm not sure if this is an adequate comparison but it felt like watching the British film of wonder like Hugo. Multiple plot threads, two of them involving finding love in strange places - though it is not the main plot thread or even the main subject of those plot threads. There's a woman facing marriage with a man unwilling to listen to her. There's a gardener caught up in all this mess.