Notorious Sorcerer
Ratings10
Average rating4.1
In a city filled with dangerous yet heavily regulated alchemical magic, a man from the slums discovers he may be its only hope to survive certain destruction in this wickedly entertaining fantasy debut. Ever since the city of Bezim was shaken half into the sea by a magical earthquake, the Inquisitors have policed alchemy with brutal efficiency. Nothing too powerful, too complicated, too much like real magic is allowed-and the careful science that's left is kept too expensive for any but the rich and indolent to tinker with. Siyon Velo, a glorified errand boy scraping together lesson money from a little inter-planar fetch and carry, doesn't qualify. But when Siyon accidentally commits a public act of impossible magic, he's catapulted into the limelight. Except the limelight is a bad place to be when the planes themselves start lurching out of alignment, threatening to send the rest of the city into the sea. Now Siyon, a dockside brat who clawed his way up and proved himself on rooftops with saber in hand, might be Bezim's only hope. Because if they don't fix the cascading failures of magic in their plane, the Powers and their armies in the other three will do it for them.
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3 primary books#1 in The Burnished City
The Burnished City is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2022 with contributions by Davinia Evans.
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This book had a lot of potential and is a solid 3.5 for me. I have a feeling the sequels will improve would her higher rankings from me. The worldbuilding was fun and a I liked the way social strata was handled. The bravi were one of my favorite parts. I also appreciated the way women were treated for the most part. Clothing etc. was described but it never felt gross.
Things done well:
-worldbuilding
-relationships, though sometimes it felt like too much tell and not enough show
-The magic system has potential and feels more unique than some I've seen recently.
- The MC struggles and the first thing he tries doesn't always work. Yay troubleshooting!
Things that got a meh:
-The cast size combined with some people having multiple names was hard for me because I am bad with names.
-Certain world building things got repeated too much. I know, the characters know. Please chill
-The MC got mighty close to chosen one territory, which I do not enjoy
Overall: a decent book that doesn't feel like a retread. There are far worse things my father could have checked out from the library.
Full disclosure: I've known the author for a bajillion internet years (this is an actual measurement of time) and she sent me an ARC.
I can't even tell you how fun this was - cosy tropes encased in beautiful language and FEELS, because obviously. Mage from the slums who can do ‘impossible' things, because he hasn't been taught they're impossible. Should-be debutante who instead hangs out with the lower classes and gets her eyes opened to social and class injustice. A fight against prejudice and authoritarianism.
BUT ALSO, inter- and extra-planar shenanigans, a cracking pace, a delicious romance (FEELS), and a sidekick I did not see coming.
This was the most fun I have had reading a book in a very long time. Years, probably. This book is a thrill-ride in all the right ways. The characters are often charming and witty (the good ones, at least), and the antagonists are properly threatening. It's a high stakes adventure that keeps a mostly fast pace that keeps you interested. Definitely one of my favorite books from 2022 and will probably be one of my favorite reads from 2023.
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