Jolly Fish Press, 2014
B
(I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)
The Basics:
Lys has recently developed a disquieting compulsion to rip people's eyes out of their sockets. She’s been confined to a hospital bed, restrained for her protection and others', when a mysterious new doctor arrives, claiming he knows what's happening to her and how to help in his secluded facility. It turns out Lys is a magic user who hasn't learned how to deal with magic's dangerous and addictive properties. There are multiple schools of thought as to what should be done with magic users, and Lys and her new friends, met at the facility and later on the road, must decide which organization to place their trust in.
The Downside:
Origin story-itis. Large sections of the book are devoted to explaining the complicated nature of magic in this universe and contrasting it to anything similar in existing works, all without quite achieving clarity. This version of magic is an addiction it's impossible to break oneself of, and it's never established what the right thing to do about that is, or even what viable options there are to choose from.
Most of the rest of the text is spent on constant action, always with our heroes being attacked by whichever group they don't currently trust and somehow escaping, which becomes a bit monotonous.
The Upside:
If you thought that description of the basics sounded awesome, well, I concur, and that is still what the book is about. The opening and the introduction to the mysterious rehab facility have a great feeling of anticipation to them, and the guts promised by the premise carry through to the story. All that action is real, with few metaphorical rubber bullets. People get hurt, they get maimed, and the ones we do get enough non-magic-explaining downtime with to get attached to, well, they're not safe, so keep a few tissues on hand.
Schneider is clearly well-versed in the genre, and both the magic and action are well described and very visual. Should there ever be a sequel I like to imagine that the setup provided by New Sight would leave room for a lot of good adventure.
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