Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

[lightreads]

Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It’s hard to know what to expect from an urban fantasy series which has previously delivered hilarious interludes of werelion sex, and then on a separate occasion driven me to review in haiku. This installment was . . . you know what? It was actually pretty good.



There aren’t rules for writing, obviously, because the minute I come up with one, someone comes along and busts it in the best possible way. But here’s one that’s almost always true (and incidentally one of the ways literary narratives are like TV narratives): things are way more interesting when the protagonist has someone to talk to. I do not know why urban fantasy authors persist in fielding these lone wolf, communityless protagonists. These guys and girls cannot sustain a narrative all on their lonesome, with occasional interludes of snarky banter. They’re inner lives are just not that rich. Including the heroine of this series. So good job, Andrews, on finally giving her a more permanent sidekick and someone to ping-pong off in nearly every scene. Just that one thing kicked the book up from pleasant to pretty damn fun.



And the other thing is I love how violent this series is. No, really. I love that Kate slices and dices her way through her enemies, that there are literal rivers of blood at various points. And does she get all emo about it? Nope. I don’t like it as violence qua violence, you understand, I like it because it’s so rare to find a female protagonist who doesn’t wangst about the exercise of her power. Who doesn’t do the urban fantasy equivalent of the oversocialized woman’s apology game – I’m sorry I brushed by you from eight inches away, I’m sorry I’m taking up space your manly shoulders need in this elevator, I'm sorry I cut your intestines out with my badass sword. Just for some random examples.



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