Fantasy
Some urban fantasy tries very hard to be clever before it remembers to be tense. This one does the opposite.
The setup is blunt in a way I respect: a job, money, a mage powerful enough to make the whole arrangement feel slightly unwise. That’s usually enough to tell you the book knows what kind of trouble it wants to get into.
I like that sort of thing. No fuss, no pretending the stakes are delicate. Just a sharp hook and the sense that everyone involved is probably making a bad decision for practical reasons.
The setup is blunt in a way I respect: a job, money, a mage powerful enough to make the whole arrangement feel slightly unwise. That’s usually enough to tell you the book knows what kind of trouble it wants to get into.
I like that sort of thing. No fuss, no pretending the stakes are delicate. Just a sharp hook and the sense that everyone involved is probably making a bad decision for practical reasons.
A blunt setup does a lot of work here. If the book is going for action first, that usually suits urban fantasy better than the overdesigned, wink-at-itself kind.
The title makes me expect something meaner than glossy, which is a good sign. I’m more interested in whether it keeps the tension tight once the job starts, rather than whether the magic system has a neat brochure.
The title makes me expect something meaner than glossy, which is a good sign. I’m more interested in whether it keeps the tension tight once the job starts, rather than whether the magic system has a neat brochure.