A review by alicefromwonderland00
Spellhacker by M.K. England
3.0
This review can also be found at my blog: Alice's Books from Wonderland
Given how much I love the Warcross duology and a good heist novel, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, while it was certainly interesting enough to keep me reading, it was a bit of a letdown.
3.5/5 stars
This story follows a group of teenagers living in a city where magic, or maz, was once a plentiful resource accessible to everyone. However, after a major disaster, a corporation profits by charging exorbitant amounts for it. Making a living by smuggling the overpriced maz illegally, the leading cast of characters embark on what is supposed to be their last heist ever. Of course, everything goes wrong from there.
While the premise was very interesting to me, I think I ultimately got my hopes up too high. I had trouble connecting with the characters and found several of the plot twists predictable.
The Setting
The setting of this novel was nothing if not original, and I personally think it was the strongest aspect of the book. While strictly, this novel would be fantasy, M.K. England managed to give it the feel of a sci-fi, contemporary, and fantasy YA novel all wrapped up in one, which I found very interesting. Yes, the magic was strictly fantasy, but the world also includes the advanced technology used to harness it. Furthermore, you don't often see the struggles of kids coming out of the foster system and coping with the impending loss of lifelong friends in novels that are strictly fantasy or science fiction.
I think maybe the "big corporations are evil" message the underwrites the entire novel could have been a little more subtle, but that's a matter of personal opinion. It at least leaves the reader with something to think about.
The Plot
As I mentioned earlier, I love reading about heists. That's probably what kept me from putting the book down a hundred pages in. The plot was interesting, not exceptional, and while parts were predictable, there was nothing glaringly obvious enough to get on my nerves.
The Characters
Ah, the characters. The diversity was great. I don't think I've ever read a novel with a non-binary love interest before, and I liked the romance- England struck a good balance between it and the dangerous heist plot.
Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting with several of the characters themselves. Diz, the main character, has had a very difficult life, and as much as I appreciate a realistic portrayal of a flawed character, she really got on my nerves. I'm not a huge fan of reading a book where I spend most of it being mad at the main character. It seemed kind of like England was making excuses for why she and Remi, the love interest, weren't already together.
I also don't think the other two main characters were as individually well-developed as they could have been, and I think that may have been why I had such a hard time caring about their fates.
One character I did care about was Remi. I loved their character development: chronically ill main characters are pretty rare in YA, and I think England did a good job portraying their struggle with it.
In conclusion...
Clearly, I had some mixed opinions about this book, but ultimately I do think it's interesting and original enough to be worth reading.
Recommendations:
Warcross by Marie Lu: I mentioned it earlier and I'll mention it again- this is a great book that has a very similar feel as Spellhacker, just heavier on the sci-fi.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: The perfect YA heist novel. Also urban fantasy. I think I've said enough.
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston: Fans of Spellhacker's characters and their criminal backgrounds will also love Heart of Iron's squad.
Given how much I love the Warcross duology and a good heist novel, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, while it was certainly interesting enough to keep me reading, it was a bit of a letdown.
3.5/5 stars
This story follows a group of teenagers living in a city where magic, or maz, was once a plentiful resource accessible to everyone. However, after a major disaster, a corporation profits by charging exorbitant amounts for it. Making a living by smuggling the overpriced maz illegally, the leading cast of characters embark on what is supposed to be their last heist ever. Of course, everything goes wrong from there.
While the premise was very interesting to me, I think I ultimately got my hopes up too high. I had trouble connecting with the characters and found several of the plot twists predictable.
The Setting
The setting of this novel was nothing if not original, and I personally think it was the strongest aspect of the book. While strictly, this novel would be fantasy, M.K. England managed to give it the feel of a sci-fi, contemporary, and fantasy YA novel all wrapped up in one, which I found very interesting. Yes, the magic was strictly fantasy, but the world also includes the advanced technology used to harness it. Furthermore, you don't often see the struggles of kids coming out of the foster system and coping with the impending loss of lifelong friends in novels that are strictly fantasy or science fiction.
I think maybe the "big corporations are evil" message the underwrites the entire novel could have been a little more subtle, but that's a matter of personal opinion. It at least leaves the reader with something to think about.
The Plot
As I mentioned earlier, I love reading about heists. That's probably what kept me from putting the book down a hundred pages in. The plot was interesting, not exceptional, and while parts were predictable, there was nothing glaringly obvious enough to get on my nerves.
The Characters
Ah, the characters. The diversity was great. I don't think I've ever read a novel with a non-binary love interest before, and I liked the romance- England struck a good balance between it and the dangerous heist plot.
Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting with several of the characters themselves. Diz, the main character, has had a very difficult life, and as much as I appreciate a realistic portrayal of a flawed character, she really got on my nerves. I'm not a huge fan of reading a book where I spend most of it being mad at the main character. It seemed kind of like England was making excuses for why she and Remi, the love interest, weren't already together.
I also don't think the other two main characters were as individually well-developed as they could have been, and I think that may have been why I had such a hard time caring about their fates.
One character I did care about was Remi. I loved their character development: chronically ill main characters are pretty rare in YA, and I think England did a good job portraying their struggle with it.
In conclusion...
Clearly, I had some mixed opinions about this book, but ultimately I do think it's interesting and original enough to be worth reading.
Recommendations:
Warcross by Marie Lu: I mentioned it earlier and I'll mention it again- this is a great book that has a very similar feel as Spellhacker, just heavier on the sci-fi.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: The perfect YA heist novel. Also urban fantasy. I think I've said enough.
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston: Fans of Spellhacker's characters and their criminal backgrounds will also love Heart of Iron's squad.