The Magicians (The Magicians, #1) by Lev Grossman

Quentin is miserable in the real world, but he’s unsure why. When he is suddenly recruited for a secret school and realizes magic is real, he thinks it will bring him happiness.

“… you will be a magician, Quentin. It is not the obvious career path, I know. … No one will know what you’re doing here. You would be leaving all that behind.” pg 37, ebook

When his training, new friends, and experiences fails to bring Quentin joy, he looks even further into magical theory and stories. What he discovers, the existence of other worlds, is more fascinating and terrifying than he ever could have imagined.

“Most people carry that pain around inside them their whole lives, until they kill the pain by other means, or until it kills them. But you, my friends, you found another way: a way to use the pain. To burn it as fuel, for light and warmth.” pg 216, ebook

This was my second time reading The Magicians. I first read it about ten years ago and loved it then.

It stood up to the test of time for the most part, but I think I enjoyed it more the first time around because of the small reveals written into the story.

“Nobody wanted to admit they were frightened, so they took the only other option, which was to be irritable instead.” pg 298, ebook

I still loved Lev Grossman’s homage to The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I also loved his magic system.

The magical students all have different strengths and that affects how they are able to use magic to change the world around them.

The worlds Grossman has created are both fascinating and scary to explore. As you move through the book, you have a sense of uneasiness because you have no idea what is going to come next.

And when you juxtapose that feeling with reading The Chronicles of Narnia or the Harry Potter series, this story becomes something else.

Some readers have shared they couldn’t connect with Quentin. He was too moody and unlikeable for them.

I liked Quentin because he feels authentic like someone I could possibly know in the real world. Don’t we all sometimes wish there was more to life than there appears to be on the surface?

Don’t we all wish some of our favorite stories were real?

Highly recommended for fantasy readers. It doesn’t get much better than The Magicians.

Moonheart by Charles de Lint

That was what Sara liked best about Tamson House: that it didn’t seem to be a part of the world outside its walls. Stepping over its threshold was like stepping into a place where everything you knew had to be forgotten to make way for new rules.” pg 25

Moonheart is a story about magic, myth, and how one special house connects it all.

There are many characters in Moonheart, so many that I won’t list them here. But they are easy to keep up with in the story because they are so different.

For as old as this book is (published in 1984), I felt that it had a lot of modern urban fantasy elements to it. Charles de Lint could be considered as one of the creators of that genre.

His story goes from this world, to other worlds, and back again. I enjoyed it a lot.

“There is no such thing as chance in the workings of the world,” he replied, repeating something he’d told her the second time they’d met on the shore. pg 309

That being said, the plot drags in places. This is a book for readers with solid attention spans. I struggled a little to stay interested until the ending, which comes quickly. But once you’re in the ending, you race to finish the book- because it is that good.

Recommended for urban fantasy readers. Thanks for reading!

Battle Ground (The Dresden Files, #17) by Jim Butcher

I saw her study my face and then ask, “How bad does it have to be for you not to be making jokes?” pg 3

The last book in the series, Peace Talks, set up the epic battle for Chicago between the wizard Harry Dresden and his various allies against a relic of the old world and her vassals.

Jim Butcher delivers that battle in a very major way in Battle Ground.

“I hadn’t even seen what was coming for Chicago, and I was already bloodied and exhausted. This was going to be a long night.” pg 17

As per usual, Butcher is heavy on the puns and pop culture references, but I thought he did a fantastic job with this installment. Long-time readers of the series get to enjoy scenes from characters who haven’t made an appearance for awhile.

There are also some serious consequences from this book which, I thought, would have made an epic conclusion to the whole thing. However, Butcher teases more to come at the end of the novel, so I suppose it will continue.

“But whatever happened, after tonight there would be walls coming down between the mortal world and the supernatural one that had stood solidly for centuries. Stars and stones, I didn’t think anyone knew what that might mean.” pg 72

Which I’m not opposed to. You’d think I’d be sick of Harry Dresden and his constant, and ever increasingly powerful, problems. But I’m not. I enjoy this urban fantasy series very much.

Part of that is because of the writing and the characters. Despite the fantasy setting, Butcher manages to make everybody feel very real. I like to imagine that if magic were real, that it would function similarly to how Butcher has crafted it in his books.

The other reason I probably enjoy it so much is because I’m a big nerd. Whenever Harry gets into a bind and makes a cheesy joke to relieve his tension, I always get the feeling that I’d do something similarly silly. When the end of the world is staring you in the face, what else is there to do but smile?

Battle Ground is a must-read for fans of the series. If you haven’t read any of the other books yet, please do yourself a favor and start from the beginning.

Thanks for reading!

Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, #16) by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden’s life has become infinitely more complicated since the beginning of The Dresden Files. He constantly struggles to balance his responsibilities as a member of the Winter Court, the White Council, and familial concerns.

Not to mention his role as a warden of an island that protects the world from dangerous magical creatures.

“I slung the weighted vest over my shoulder and started trudging back to the car. I had that sinking feeling that things were about to get hectic again.” pg 8

He’s developed a little bit emotionally since his carefree days of “wizard for hire,” but, in other ways, his personality has remained exactly the same.

“…you can’t ignore things that are real just because they’re uncomfortable.” pg 4

The Dresden Files is a fun escape into a fantasy world of magic (one could call it ‘book candy’) but part of the problem with the series is that it has built to a major crescendo. What can one person really do against powers of the universe that are so strong that they can be described as “gods”?

“I think someone you don’t expect is going to stab you in the back, Hoss.” pg 30

Another issue is how often the “winter mantle” takes over Harry’s mind so that he’s constantly thinking about strutting his stuff in front of the opposite sex. I get that it’s a reoccurring problem for him, but it gets repetitive after the first half dozen incidents.

It doesn’t help that he hangs out with a literal queen of the succubus, but I digress. 🙂

Some of my Goodreads friends pointed out that the start of this book is somewhat ridiculous- hanging on the idea that the fairies always repay their debts though readers aren’t given the reason why a debt was needing to be repaid. I agree the setup could have been more carefully constructed.

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That being said, I read the entire book in two days. (Book candy strikes again!) So there’s something very enjoyable about the whole thing even with the balance of power problems, repetitive sexual fantasies, and suspension of belief required to get in to it.

Highly recommended for readers who have enjoyed the previous books in the series or folks who like urban fantasy reads without too much complexity.

Thanks for reading!

Cairo by G. Willow Wilson

Cairo is an urban fantasy graphic novel set against the backdrop of the desert city of the same name. It has magical creatures, confused young men, drug dealers, magicians, Israeli soldiers and more.

Everyone in this story is looking for something. If it’s not a magical hookah, it is a search for love, truth, their higher self or more power. I suppose the entire story could be used as a reminder that “wherever you go, there you are”.

“I wanted to do something. Get away from self-obsessed first world crap. I felt like the monoculture was suffocating me. I didn’t want to get stuck where I was. You know that feeling?” “I know it. But I do not think you’ll find what you are looking for in Cairo.” “Why’s that?” “Because a lot of us are stuck here.”

I was drawn to this graphic novel because of the teasers that promised mythology mixed with fantasy. It does contain that, but everything felt so rushed. Readers didn’t get the context of any of it. We’re just thrust into a world that doesn’t make much sense and spend much of the story grasping at straws of understanding.

In a way, it is much like real life. However, I prefer my graphic novels to be more of an exercise in escapism than a mirror for real life.

Give me layered worlds, complex story lines, nuanced characters and deep-seated meaning. I felt Cairo reaching for those things, but not quite getting there.

We do have quite a number of main characters, which, by its nature, makes the story more complex. But, in this case, I felt that more was not better because all of the characters felt so one-note.

The exception to this classification was Shams, the jinn. We get glimpses into his millennias-long life, relationships to other storied characters, guardianship of a sacred object and spiritual leanings. Even then, I wanted more.

“Welcome to your new home, oh jinn. We’ll talk again when you are more reasonable. Take all the time you need.”

The illustrations are done in black and white, and feel rather gritty. I imagine the whole thing could have taken on a completely different character with a couple good punches of color.

My favorite part was when one of the main characters reaches for a hero’s sword in a test of faith. G. Willow Wilson, the author, uses a poem by Hafiz to put words in the hero’s mouth as he strives to touch another reality and lay claim to the magical blade.

“The place where I am right now… was circled on a map for me.”

Though the translation Wilson used varies from the version I am familiar with, which reads: “This place where you are now, God circled on a map for you.”

Still, it is a beautiful sentiment. Rather like the intention, if not execution, of this graphic novel.

Thanks for reading.

Hang Wire by Adam Christopher

Hang Wire is an urban fantasy novel with a half dozen characters, some immortal, some every-day people, who come together to face a threat of a magnitude that humanity has never known.

In between flash backs to the villain setting up his ghastly scheme, readers get to follow the trail of a killer in San Francisco who garrotes his victims with thick cable and then hangs them by their necks in a grisly display.

“When the second surge threw him up to the surface, and the third pulled him down, he knew something was wrong. When he surfaced again he could hear it, a moaning, like a deep wind howling through a canyon a million miles away.” pg 10

It’s actually a rather complex plot between the flashbacks and the modern day with nearly constant back and forth skips in time, almost like waves in an ocean.

“You are the master of every situation.” pg 45

Which leads to my main complaint about this book. Similar to other urban fantasies I’ve had the privilege of reading in the past, it felt like the plot either needed to be simplified or fully fleshed out. By zipping over so much in so few pages, I felt like we only got part of the story.

“Of course it had happened before. Several times. San Francisco, like an unfortunate number of other cities across the United States, knew what it was like to have a serial killer in their midst.” pg 47

I guess the lesson I took from Hang Wire is that less is more when it comes to storytelling. And Hawaiian gods of death are incredibly cool.

Recommended for readers who don’t mind multiple flashbacks in their urban fantasy.

Thanks for reading!

Kill the Dead (Sandman Slim, #2) by Richard Kadrey

“Subtle hunting, acting like a grownup, I really miss Hell sometimes.” pg 4

First of all, don’t read the Goodreads description of Kill the Dead before you read it. It gives far too much away!

Here’s a Heidi-no-spoilers blurb that should serve you just as well: James Stark, the half-angel, half-human and one hundred percent pissed off anti-hero is back. Keeping an apartment in Los Angeles doesn’t pay for itself, so Stark is on the hook for contract work for a variety of agencies including Vigil (a super secret department of Homeland Security) and Lucifer, yes that Lucifer.

Because of a small saving-the-world situation in the last book, Stark has become an underground local celebrity, which has its ups and downs. Part of the perks includes a upsurge in customers at the Bamboo House of Dolls, Stark’s favorite local dive.

“It’s good to have one thing that hasn’t changed much. We need a few anchors in our lives to keep us from floating away into the void. Like Mr. Muninn said the one time he came in. “Quid salvum est si Roma perit?” What is safe if Rome perishes?” pg 28

Trouble brews when people start to go missing in Los Angeles’ underground and some of the members of its leading magical families turn up dead. Looks like Stark is going to have to save the day again and he’s not happy about it.

“I didn’t save anyone. I just killed the bastards who needed killing. Get it? I don’t save good people. I murder bad ones.” pg 39

Why can’t the world just save itself? Hasn’t Stark suffered enough? But what’s a nephilim to do if not save the world while holding tightly to his fracturing sanity with both hands.

“You came back to get the people who hurt you and Alice and you did it. Great. Now you need to find the next thing to do with your life.” “Like learn the flute or maybe save the whales?” pg 57

Suffice to say, Stark finds a few new motivational factors in this book and we are treated to some fairly serious zombie action.

I enjoyed the second entry in the Sandman Slim series, but less than the first book. To start, I felt it was less focused. There’s a heck of a lot going on in Stark’s life and he doesn’t stop to ponder things. He’s always on the go. It makes for a book that you can’t put down, because if you do, you’ll forget who is doing what.

We see less of some of my favorite side characters, which was another bummer. Stark is so intense. He needs more comic relief than just his literal talking head roomie who is perpetually drunk and watching garbage on his computer.

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“I know whose side I’m on. Mine.” pg 236

And there’s the darkness factor. Again, this is urban fantasy with a heavy dose of pessimism. No one is coming to save our intrepid hero. There may be angels in heaven but they couldn’t care less about what goes down on earth. At least Lucifer can be bothered to visit and throw some cash around to his favorites. How depressing is that.

That being said, of course I’m going to pick up the next volume. This is a revenge story primarily, but it is also a love story. I feel like, somewhere in the cosmos, Stark is going to find his Alice and they’re going to get the time together that he was denied. Won’t he be pleasantly surprised…

Thanks for reading!

Sandman Slim (Sandman Slim, #1) by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim is a dark, urban fantasy read about a magician who was given to demons by people he considered his friends. Now, James Stark’s back for revenge.

Because, what does he have to lose. He’s already been to hell.

“.. I’m lucky that way. Always have been. Otherwise, I might have crawled back into this world and ended up a charcoal briquette in my first five minutes home. And wouldn’t those black-hearted bastards down under have laughed when I ended right back in Hell after slipping so sweetly out the back door? pgs 1-2

James is not just claiming revenge for himself. While he was with the demons, someone killed the love of his life. That someone is going to have to pay.

I’ve been gone eleven years. I was nineteen when I went Downtown. I’m practically an old man now. pgs 11-12

Meanwhile on earth, someone or something has been causing more chaos and destruction than usual. Los Angeles, though never particularly a “city of angels”, seems to be something much worse now. But why should James care — he’s not going to be around long enough to figure out what’s going on anyway.

I really enjoyed Sandman Slim. James Stark is brooding, angry and you can’t help but hope for him to succeed.

Revenge is never what you think it’s going to be. There’s no pleasure or glory, and when you’re done your grief remains. pg 54

The world Richard Kadrey has created has levels and different forms of spirituality and magic. Angels, demons and monsters walk the streets, in plain view but hidden from those who don’t know what they’re looking at.

There’s an alchemist named Vidocq who accidentally made himself immortal. A mysterious doctor who helps those in the magical community but doesn’t charge for his services. And readers are also introduced to Allegra, a beautiful young woman who runs a video shop and wants to learn more about magic.

“Where was God when I was stuck in Hell?” I ask her. …. “Maybe God thought you were where you belonged. pg 228

Recommended for readers who don’t mind their urban fantasy reads filled with some profanity and angry heroes.

Thanks for reading!

The God Hunter (Field Ops #1) by Tim Lees

An interesting science fiction novel about a company that captures gods and transforms their energy into a commodity.

“The official view is, all we’re dragging up are imprints. Worship at a certain site for long enough, you charge it up. The power gets compressed, like coal.” pg 11, ebook.

When something goes wrong, as one would expect it to, the results are pretty bad. Chris Copeland is called in to clean it up. But there may be no stopping what happens next…

This book was like the film Ghostbusters, except instead of containing the ghosts like in the movie, they’re transmuting them somehow. Well, and the film has ghosts instead of gods. But, you see the similarities.

It’s an interesting idea. Everyone is looking to develop new, clean and renewable energy. What if we could mine that from emotions or other planes of existence? Would such a thing be possible? And what would be the costs?

“I don’t believe in premonitions. You only see them looking back, once the mind’s had the chance to make up shapes and patterns, and give form to random data. And yet now, in retrospect, it seems those days were full of omens, all trying to tell me something, circling me like softly-whispered threats.” pg 28

Chris is an interesting character. He embodies the “over-worked into absolute nonchalance” type. Chris and his coworkers are literally capturing gods and he’s like “so what?”. I imagine you could get used to anything after awhile, but his attitude was amusing to me.

Especially when you put him next to professional detectives later in the book. They have the exact same attitude except about criminals rather than spirit energy. It makes for a fascinating juxtaposition.

“It’s manna,” Martin Klein announced, matter-of-fact. “The stuff that fed the Israelites.” “Wrong desert,” I said. “You’d have to be a thousand miles east for that.” “Well.” He shrugged. “It gets around.” pg 74

Like any business that can generate enormous profits or be controlled by the government, the god-into-energy racket has attracted some unsavory and cutthroat characters. But the stakes are higher than simple wealth or power. A misstep could mean the end of the world.

I wanted this book to be more mystical, with more conspiracies, and more romance. I enjoyed the premise and the questions the story raised about people being people, no matter their level of technology. I also liked the character of Anna Ganz, the strong female detective.

I did not like how the author Tim Lees gave us very little context. I also didn’t like how he didn’t develop the characters much beyond the main two.

Recommended for science fiction readers who like their stories thick with questions and a bit thin on the answers.

Thanks for reading!

The Help Desk Book Blog

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Category: Urban Fantasy

The Magicians (The Magicians, #1) by Lev Grossman

Moonheart by Charles de Lint

Battle Ground (The Dresden Files, #17) by Jim Butcher

Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, #16) by Jim Butcher

Cairo by G. Willow Wilson

Hang Wire by Adam Christopher

Kill the Dead (Sandman Slim, #2) by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim (Sandman Slim, #1) by Richard Kadrey

The God Hunter (Field Ops #1) by Tim Lees

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