Reviews

A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry

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sillypunk's review

4.0

https://blogendorff.com/2020/09/13/book-review-a-declaration-of-the-rights-of-magicians/

I have very mixed feelings about this book.

To begin positively, I thought that the world building was very intriguing and had a lot of potential. The magic system was very well thought through and it's a shame that not much of it was shown - more tell than show. I felt that the characters had good dynamics with each other and individually could have had compelling narratives and stories to tell had they been focused on and given the time. There were moments in the book that I found interesting and propelled me onward, however they didn't last long and I found they were only in the beginning segment of the book despite all the real 'action' happening towards the end.

That being said, I found this book very dull and boring. Rather than being able to see the world unfold and see what the characters felt properly, there was a lot of info-dumping and talking. While I like learning of historical periods, I picked this book up thinking it would focus in more on the fantasy and magic. It had the world to do so, but fell flat and the magic wasn't used to the full potential.

Overall, it had its moments and if you like politics and history with a hint of magic this is the book for you. There were several statements within the story where the message was compelling. But, it did make reading a chore and I found myself zoning out through a lot of it and needing to go back and re-read the page/s.

(Spoilers)
I don't remember a whole lot about specific moments during this book because it all blends together. Every time someone's story looked like it was about to take off and go somewhere, it swapped perspective.

I felt that the relationships between the main cast and their friends such as Pitt with Wilberforce, Robespierre with Camille, and Fina with Toussaint were interesting and compelling and I found myself rooting for the friendships to build and to be able to watch it happen. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Towards the end, I felt that the parallels between each narrative fell flat such as the "get out" line used in each betrayal of trust. - Camille and Robespierre before Camille's execution, and Pitt with Wilberforce after the concord vote.

mk64's review

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

jpnichols134's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

taylortotorp's review

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I am basically DNFing this book. I have been reading it veryyyy slowly since July, and we will see if I can finish. I love the context and idea surrounding this, however I found that in the middle it has become incredibly slow and hard to get through.