The Other Magic

This book started of slow, dangerously slow. Of the four main characters we were introduced to at the beginning, only one had a storyline that really hooked me in, and I nearly threw in the towel. However, as has happened a fair few time now, I stuck with it and am so glad that I did, because by the halfway mark I was entertained and by the end I was engrossed.

So what happens in this book? Well, the backdrop is the story of how a nation of religious fanatics are trying their damnedest to destroy all other forms of magic while also planning their massive invasion to spread their particular brand of bigotry to all corners of the world. Our four main characters fall into this story with one being a prophesised saviour sent to destroy the evil empire, another being the high priest sent to track and kill said saviour, an ex-priest who wants to capture said saviour for her own personal reasons, and finally there is a prince of a neighbouring kingdom who is being sent off to study at university. Of the four, it was the prince’s storyline that I found engaging enough in the beginning to keep me listening, but as the story progresses, so too does the action, intrigue, and entertainment.

The writing style is solid. Derrick Smythe neatly avoids the sin of blathering purple prose whilst crafting an engaging universe with a deep history that all adds up to set a solid foundation for the rest of the series, neatly providing enough information that everything in the book makes sense. I was never lost in this book despite a lot of info being fired at me at times. It takes genuine talent to walk that fine line, and Smythe appears to have done it well. There are also couple of other standout aspects of the book which I think are worthy of drawing some attention to.

First are the chapters from our mage-hunting high-priest. The portrayal of a fanatic that isn’t just some tropey caricature of your generic religious nutjob was wonderful. This is a three dimensional person whose motives and objectives are neatly explained, meaning that when he does the horrible things that he inevitably will do, we understand his justification and, although being unlikely to agree with him, we can relate at least to some degree as to why he is doing them. One of the other standout moments of the book that I have to mention is (without giving too much away) a fairly small part that tickled my personal preferences no end. So many times in other books, something bad will be happening to a character and we as listeners/readers (or at least me personally) will be left wanting to scream at said character not to just sit back and take the bad thing lying down, to do something about what is happening even if it ends up way worse for them down the line. There was one such moment in this book, a moment where I was left thinking that there was no need for said character to meekly take the beating he was about to get just because everyone else was, only for my wish to be wonderfully fulfilled as if said character could hear my inner yearning. Refusing to take the beating may have worked out poorly for said character in the end, but by god it was glorious to listen to. The single greatest aspect of a book that I can personally look for is producing within me a sense of satisfaction, and this reversal in the beatdown was one of the most satisfying payoffs I’ve ever listened to. Bravo.  

Now for some of my pet peeves. As I said, slow start, and then throughout there isn’t a whole bunch of action. I know that my craving for action is an entirely personal preference, but I love a good fight scene and there were very few until the end of the book. And after all the build-up of armies massing and what not, we aren’t even given a decent battle. Missed a trick there I think. Next is the length of the chapters. I know, this is really pedantic, but because every time the character perspective shifted there was a new chapter, I was left thinking multiple times that some of these chapters couldn’t have even been a page long. I think Smythe should have just bitten the bullet and had a couple of perspective shifts in the same chapter. The characters are well written enough that it would take little effort to ensure that the audience knows there has been a switch, and it would make the whole novel flow just a little easier.

In summation, not a wild ride of a book but (at least by the second half) it is more than engrossing enough to keep you listening and listening and listening. I loved the world that Smythe has built and, as is the ultimate seal of approval in these matters, I will definitely be buying the sequel as soon as it is released, mainly because the book up and ends just as it is getting to the really, really good stuff. A book well worth a listen.

As for the narration, well, I actually wasn’t all that keen on this one. I don’t want to be disparaging, because the level of talent it takes to voice so many characters to really high standards is astounding, but I just didn’t gel with Greg Patmore’s performance. It often sounded like his characters were unable to open their mouths fully, like they had a small collection of pebbles in their cheeks that they were desperate to keep concealed. And often it seemed like the only difference between some of the character voices was the quantity of said pebbles within their cheeks. There were some brilliant voices in this book, however this only drew even more attention to those that were, at least in my opinion, a little sub-par. By the end I had grown accustom to all his portrayals, but it took a long time and did reduce my overall enjoyment of what was otherwise a very entertaining novel.

Personal Score: 4.0 stars

Professional Score: 4.0 stars