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dawnvogel's review against another edition
4.0
(This review originally appeared at Mad Scientist Journal.)
J. P. Jackson’s novel Magic or Die is a novel that explores the dark side of how people with enormous and uncontrollable magical power might be handled by governments and society. It’s an urban fantasy novel with compelling characters and fast-paced action throughout.
The main character, James Martin, is pulled back into teaching at the Center for Magical Research and Development by his former employer who reminds him that his contract still requires his service for one more year. The small class he’s presented with is five of the most powerful and most uncontrollable magically talented adult students the world has ever seen. James finds that things at the CMRD have changed for the worse, and he takes it upon himself to get his students out from under CMRD’s thumb.
Despite being told in the first person, the novel has something of an ensemble cast, though a couple members of the ensemble are less fleshed out than others. Jackson does a great job of making you root for his protagonist, whether it’s in fighting the corrupt CMRD or James’s burgeoning romance.
As one bit of warning, this book ends on an enormous cliffhanger. There’s a sequel planned for 2019, but the release date isn’t available yet. So while I encourage people to check out Magic or Die if you like grittier urban fantasy with a gay protagonist, be warned that you may finish the book by shaking your fists and wondering when the story will conclude!
The author provided us with a free copy of this novel in exchange for review consideration.
J. P. Jackson’s novel Magic or Die is a novel that explores the dark side of how people with enormous and uncontrollable magical power might be handled by governments and society. It’s an urban fantasy novel with compelling characters and fast-paced action throughout.
The main character, James Martin, is pulled back into teaching at the Center for Magical Research and Development by his former employer who reminds him that his contract still requires his service for one more year. The small class he’s presented with is five of the most powerful and most uncontrollable magically talented adult students the world has ever seen. James finds that things at the CMRD have changed for the worse, and he takes it upon himself to get his students out from under CMRD’s thumb.
Despite being told in the first person, the novel has something of an ensemble cast, though a couple members of the ensemble are less fleshed out than others. Jackson does a great job of making you root for his protagonist, whether it’s in fighting the corrupt CMRD or James’s burgeoning romance.
As one bit of warning, this book ends on an enormous cliffhanger. There’s a sequel planned for 2019, but the release date isn’t available yet. So while I encourage people to check out Magic or Die if you like grittier urban fantasy with a gay protagonist, be warned that you may finish the book by shaking your fists and wondering when the story will conclude!
The author provided us with a free copy of this novel in exchange for review consideration.
wart's review against another edition
3.0
Things I Find While Shelving
I received a free ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review
I enjoyed Magic or Die for the most part. It's an intense story with twists and turns and more than a little creepy magic-y goodness. I love the way that Jackson has crafted the magic in this world and discovering more about the characters' powers along with them was very interesting.
There were a few things, however, that just didn't work for me.
The main one was, unfortunately, Isaiah and James's relationship. It felt like they went from attracted to each other to feelings for each other immediately and I felt like I was left trying to figure out exactly how they got there. This was an issue I had in a few other places in the book, things happening too quickly and feeling jerky and sudden instead of organic. Rushed isn't exactly the right word, but it's a similar feeling.
The other thing that bothered me was Miriam. I rolled my eyes a lot when James and Miriam interacted. Miriam felt too over the top for me. Not quite cartoonish but definitely a little too much. I think this was exacerbated by how James thought of Miriam which honestly was probably realistic but I was already having trouble with Miriam the character and then James's vitriol towards her just added to that and made it harder for me to take it all seriously.
This might also have been because of that too-quick sudden feeling in some of the writing. I didn't feel like any of the characters - Miriam especially - developed organically. It felt like when the story wasn't skipping to the next segment of their days at the CMRD, it was bogged down in moving the plot forward.
It didn't always feel like it had a good balance between character development and plot.
Overall, however, I really did enjoy this book. I liked the world, I liked the characters for the most part and while Isaiah and James in a relationship doesn't work for me, I did like their friendship. And the ending was absolutely phenomenal and I'm very much looking forward to the second book in the series!
I received a free ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review
I enjoyed Magic or Die for the most part. It's an intense story with twists and turns and more than a little creepy magic-y goodness. I love the way that Jackson has crafted the magic in this world and discovering more about the characters' powers along with them was very interesting.
There were a few things, however, that just didn't work for me.
The main one was, unfortunately, Isaiah and James's relationship. It felt like they went from attracted to each other to feelings for each other immediately and I felt like I was left trying to figure out exactly how they got there. This was an issue I had in a few other places in the book, things happening too quickly and feeling jerky and sudden instead of organic. Rushed isn't exactly the right word, but it's a similar feeling.
The other thing that bothered me was Miriam. I rolled my eyes a lot when James and Miriam interacted. Miriam felt too over the top for me. Not quite cartoonish but definitely a little too much. I think this was exacerbated by how James thought of Miriam which honestly was probably realistic but I was already having trouble with Miriam the character and then James's vitriol towards her just added to that and made it harder for me to take it all seriously.
This might also have been because of that too-quick sudden feeling in some of the writing. I didn't feel like any of the characters - Miriam especially - developed organically. It felt like when the story wasn't skipping to the next segment of their days at the CMRD, it was bogged down in moving the plot forward.
It didn't always feel like it had a good balance between character development and plot.
Overall, however, I really did enjoy this book. I liked the world, I liked the characters for the most part and while Isaiah and James in a relationship doesn't work for me, I did like their friendship. And the ending was absolutely phenomenal and I'm very much looking forward to the second book in the series!
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