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alyssaarch 's review for:
The Last Magician
by Lisa Maxwell
*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher at ALA Annual 2017. This is an honest review.*
The Last Magician is a story where some people are born with magical abilities, and they have all been trapped in New York by a group of people who want to harness magic themselves, but think that natural mages are a danger to society. It’s an interesting alternate history that weaves ideas of magic and time travel in the setting of New York city. Simon & Schuster dropped this at ALA Annual, and I almost didn’t pick it up because my bag was so full, but the cover was gorgeous and after I read the description, I just had to read it, and I’m glad I did!
This novel is long, but it’s a page-turner. I love how Maxwell switches between different people’s perspectives so that the story is portrayed as a whole — it made it incredibly immersive, and I felt like I was part of the world she created. The characters are amazingly complex and wonderful; even after taking a break or putting the book down, I felt as if Esta and “The Magician” were right there with me, which I haven’t experienced from a book in quite a long time. (Admittedly, that was partly due to the characters and partly due to the amazing worldbuilding in the story.)
The time travel aspects were interesting, because Esta comes from a modern day time, but most of the plot takes place in turn-of-the-20th century New York, so she has to face sexism and that gives her a bit of a challenge in trying to prove herself to some people. I like how that issue was brought up, since it was definitely a problem during this time, but the protagonist is smart enough not to confront it directly; she tries to fit in and doesn’t make a spectacle of herself.
While I genuinely enjoyed this book and think that the worldbuilding and characters were fantastic, the ending disappointed me; I felt like the story was working up to this incredible climax and resolution, but unfortunately, both of those fell flat. It wouldn’t have been such a letdown if this book weren’t so long and if the story didn’t take its time getting to the finale. I’m for sure hoping for a sequel, because I think that there is far too much development not to have more action or story attached to these characters. It’s definitely still worth a read for fantasy and time travel lovers, but try not to set your expectations too high.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
The Last Magician is a story where some people are born with magical abilities, and they have all been trapped in New York by a group of people who want to harness magic themselves, but think that natural mages are a danger to society. It’s an interesting alternate history that weaves ideas of magic and time travel in the setting of New York city. Simon & Schuster dropped this at ALA Annual, and I almost didn’t pick it up because my bag was so full, but the cover was gorgeous and after I read the description, I just had to read it, and I’m glad I did!
This novel is long, but it’s a page-turner. I love how Maxwell switches between different people’s perspectives so that the story is portrayed as a whole — it made it incredibly immersive, and I felt like I was part of the world she created. The characters are amazingly complex and wonderful; even after taking a break or putting the book down, I felt as if Esta and “The Magician” were right there with me, which I haven’t experienced from a book in quite a long time. (Admittedly, that was partly due to the characters and partly due to the amazing worldbuilding in the story.)
The time travel aspects were interesting, because Esta comes from a modern day time, but most of the plot takes place in turn-of-the-20th century New York, so she has to face sexism and that gives her a bit of a challenge in trying to prove herself to some people. I like how that issue was brought up, since it was definitely a problem during this time, but the protagonist is smart enough not to confront it directly; she tries to fit in and doesn’t make a spectacle of herself.
While I genuinely enjoyed this book and think that the worldbuilding and characters were fantastic, the ending disappointed me; I felt like the story was working up to this incredible climax and resolution, but unfortunately, both of those fell flat. It wouldn’t have been such a letdown if this book weren’t so long and if the story didn’t take its time getting to the finale. I’m for sure hoping for a sequel, because I think that there is far too much development not to have more action or story attached to these characters. It’s definitely still worth a read for fantasy and time travel lovers, but try not to set your expectations too high.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.