![the magicians s01e02 kat the magicians s01e02 kat](https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/gwEUawYcTPPwJ4WxmGG903D05O2.jpg)
![the magicians s01e02 kat the magicians s01e02 kat](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/517589/SFTVRartwork.jpg)
There was, as I said earlier, so much potential. And the thing is, most magicians are aware their magic is being cut out of tortured people? And it would’ve served as an excellent commentary on privilege, for those who ignore the suffering of others just because it doesn’t affect them. It is as creepy as it sounds, and it is a House that takes human beings and cuts up their shadows and bodies to provide magic. The villain is a murderer who was attacking women and killing them to remove their finger bones (as, in this novel, magic is cast primarily through the hands, so finger bones have the most residual magic, which is actually pretty cool.) Similarly, the magic in the novel is quite dark – instead of sourcing magic through themselves, most magicians choose to take magic from the House of Shadows. On this note, there were parts were the book were actually quite gruesome. He lacked the complexity that would’ve made him intriguing, however, and as such he was just a sad immature man. I don’t think the author was trying to make him “cool” anyway Howard seemed to be quite aware, and wanted to make the readers aware too, that the villian was a shitty human. He was a privileged white boy who just seemed to be throwing a tantrum because he couldn’t get what he wanted, and I have no sympathy for those kind of men – whether they be characters, or in real life. The villain was, unfortunately for me, dull. There is a large possibility this is me being picky, however, and she certainly was not a bad heroine, by any means. She displayed kindness towards her friends, and this is something I did value in her, her friendship with her friends, whilst also displaying relatively badass fighting skills, so she wasn’t completely flat, but she could’ve been much more. She could’ve been someone I would’ve easily rooted for (powerful female characters are my jam), but I didn’t. She was certainly cool, but I didn’t feel emotion for her. Sydney, the main character, verged on being an overpowered but bland heroine. I felt the characters needed more development too. In fact, the book overall was just a bit too bare. The whole idea of it is really cool, and as you can tell, it had floods of potential, but I found that the worldbuilding was a bit bare and certainly could’ve benefited from a little more fleshing out, with more facts and details being included in the book. The book is set during a period called the Turning, where the magical world refreshes itself, and Houses may challenge each other for dominance, which is simple enough. The worldbuilding I’ve outlined here isn’t so clearly outlined in the book, and I started it with vague confusion that slowly cleared up throughout, but I’m still not entirely sure on some things. It’s also a bit like Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires, except instead of Houses of vampires, there are Houses of magicians. Sound familiar? It’s a bit like Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments, minus demon-hunting Shadowhunters and Downworlders. This book was good, but it could have been so much better.Īn Unkindess of Magicians is set in modern-day New York, where magic thrives in the hidden Unseen World populated by magicians who mostly belong to Houses. Okay, so first of all I have to admit this one was a total cover buy for me, and I don’t regret it, exactly, though it does remind me of the fact that every single time I choose a book solely on cover I end up a smidgen disappointed in some way. Sydney comes from the House of Shadows, which controls the magic with the help of sacrifices from magicians. No one knows what is happening, except for Sydney-a new, rare magician with incredible power that has been unmatched in decades, and she may be the only person who is able to stop the darkness that is weakening the magic.īut Sydney doesn’t want to help the system, she wants to destroy it. In New York City, magic controls everything. She was, between one heartbeat and the next, all of magic.” Green and spring were blood in her veins, air in her lungs. “Sydney was, all at once, an entire forest.