2020; 250 pages. Book 1 (out of 9) in the “Death Before Dragons” series. New Author? : No. Genres: Humorous Fantasy; Dragons; Urban
Fantasy. Overall Rating: 9*/10.
Meet Val Thorvald. She works for the government as a bounty
hunter, specializing in eliminating magical beings. But it’s all top secret, so don’t go telling
anyone about this. Val is half-human and
half-elf, which is a definite asset in this business. She can learn spells and detect magical
creatures when they’re nearby.
She’s also got some way-kewl
weapons. One is a long sword she’s named
“Chopper”. Another is a submachine pistol called “Fezzik”.
But her most lethal weapon is Sindari. He’s a giant-sized tiger from a magical otherworld, whom she can summon telepathically.
So if you’re a rogue magical
creature here in this dimension, you better beware of Val and Sindari. Go back to the magical realm and be thankful
you still exist. Unless you’re a
dragon. They can easily whup Val and
Sindari simultaneously with one wing tied behind their back. No one in their right mind messes with dragons.
Heh. Guess what kind of creature just crossed
Val’s path this morning. And it was also doing
bounty hunter work, in fact chasing after the same wyvern she is. Professional jealousy is about to reach a new level.
What’s To Like...
Sinister Magic
is the first book in Lindsay Buroker’s 9-book, Humorous Fantasy “Death Before Dragons” series. It is set in the Pacific Northwest, mostly in
the Seattle area, which was also true of the other book I’ve read by this
author, Marked By Magic. I suspect this is Lindsay Buroker’s stomping
grounds.
If you like your Fantasy reads
to feature a wide variety of beasts and magical beings, you’ll enjoy Sinister Magic. In addition to the ones mentioned above, there are werewolves and trolls, vampires and golems, a
kraken and a manticore, and elves aplenty.
The human population is aware that some of magical critters are traipsing around in this
world, although their numbers are grossly underestimated.
The storyline is a nice break
from the standard “gotta save the world”
trope. Val’s bounty-hunting efforts are
temporarily supplanted by the need to find a cure for, and the cause of, her
employer’s cancer. Val is also
undergoing therapy sessions with a shrink, which so far are having mixed
results. And now there’s a small matter of
getting her jeep down from the top branches of a 40-foot tree.
I loved the interaction between
the two main protagonists—Val and a shape-shifting dragon nicknamed Zav. Dragons usually get portrayed as evil
creatures, but here Zav and Val both ethically “gray”. Indeed, at one point they debate as to
the proper handling of captured criminals.
Should they be incarcerated for rehabilitation purposes or summarily executed? Guess who favors rehab.
The ending is exciting, yet not
over-the-top, and I liked that. The main
plotline are tied up, but some of the secondary ones, such as Val’s therapy and
her relationship with Zav, are left open, presumably to encourage the reader to read the
sequel, Battle Bond. I have it on my Kindle, and I’m eager to read
more of this series.
Kewlest New Word…
Obstreperous
(adj.): noisy and difficult to control.
Ratings…
Amazon: 4.5*/5, based on 9,676 ratings
and 897 reviews.
Goodreads: 4.12*/5,
based on 11,611
ratings and 1,046 reviews.
Excerpts...
Nin returned with a brochure and several
business cards. “Please give these to
Zoltan and let him know that if he needs any weapons made, or if any of his
fellow vampires need them made, I can accommodate him. Also, I am thinking of branching out into
magical armor.”
“If he doesn’t try to bite my neck the
instant we meet, I’ll give these to him.”
“Of course he will try to bite your
neck. You are the hated Mythic
Murderer. But please also give him my
brochure as a favor to me.” (pg. 132)
“Here.” I set the containers of bath beads
down beside Zav’s foot. “Throw some of
those down when you get a chance.” I
backed away slowly, not wanting the dark elves to notice. “And try to keep them distracted. Keep saying arrogant things.”
Zav looked over his shoulder, pinning me
with his glare. “I do not take orders
from law-breaking mongrels who do not acknowledge the supremacy of dragons.”
“Yeah, say stuff like that.” I gave him a sarcastic thumbs-up. “You’re a natural.” (pg. 217)
Kindle Details…
Sinister
Magic presently sells for $0.99 at Amazon. The next two books is this series cost the
same amount; books 4-9 go for $4.99 apiece.
Books 1-3 are also available as a bundle, which inexplicably goes for $9.99
right now. Lindsay Buroker has many
other individual e-books and bundles for your Urban Fantasy reading
pleasure. The discrete books are
generally in the $0.99-$4.99 range, the bundles are mostly
priced at $9.99.
“You hatched
backward from your egg, you one-winged gimp.”
(pg. 16)
There’s a moderate amount of
cussing in Sinister Magic; I noted just 14
instances in the first 25%. An f-bomb made a later appearance. I don’t recall any “adult
situations” cropping up in the storyline, nor any typos. Kudos to whoever does the editing for this book.
I gather that this is not the
first Lindsay Buroker series to feature Val.
The protagonist in the other book I’ve read by this author was Arwen
Forester, so now I’m curious as to how many other books have Val in them.
Val’s age is given as
“40-ish”, and one Amazon reviewer had doubts about a middle-aged heroine being
physically up to the challenges of crossing bounty-hunting paths with
formidable magical critters. But I think
the answer to that is that Val’s blood is half-elven, and a 40-year-old elf is
physically in her prime.
Sinister
Magic thoroughly entertained me The action starts
immediately, there’s plenty of thrills-&-spills, and the snarky banter
definitely kept me turning the pages. I highly
recommend this book to anyone in the mood for a lighthearted
Harry Dresden-type fantasy.
9 Stars. One last thing. A one point, Val is forced to add some Epsom salts to the concoction she’s making. She correctly recalls that the chemical name for the is Magnesium Sulfate. CHEMISTRY comes to the rescue once again!
