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A review by fritz_sands
Sinister Magic by Lindsay Buroker
5.0
This book is the start of a new Urban Fantasy series. And it is set in Seattle and the PNW, which brings joy to me.
Val is half-elf. Which is rare and getting rarer, since elves and dwarves left Earth 40 years ago, because it was too crowded. She is basically a bounty hunter/legal assassin of magical creatures who have killed people but who the human justice system has no way of containing or trying.
The book has a sequence of peril/resolution quest arcs. There are a number of foils for Val -- her very regal silver tiger, a VERY snotty dtagon who wants to control her and who disdains everyone, her sharp-tongued boss, and a new quarter-dwarf acquaintance. As with any introductory book, there is a lot of "setting the stage" and "setting up ongoing plot arcs".
All in all, very competently done. The status of the magical as "not really government acknowledged" but also "commonly accepted" is quite unusual. It is also clear that in later books, Val is going to have to make peace with the magical community so they don't reflexively hate her, fear her, and/or want to kill her.
I look forward to reading more of the series.
Val is half-elf. Which is rare and getting rarer, since elves and dwarves left Earth 40 years ago, because it was too crowded. She is basically a bounty hunter/legal assassin of magical creatures who have killed people but who the human justice system has no way of containing or trying.
The book has a sequence of peril/resolution quest arcs. There are a number of foils for Val -- her very regal silver tiger, a VERY snotty dtagon who wants to control her and who disdains everyone, her sharp-tongued boss, and a new quarter-dwarf acquaintance. As with any introductory book, there is a lot of "setting the stage" and "setting up ongoing plot arcs".
All in all, very competently done. The status of the magical as "not really government acknowledged" but also "commonly accepted" is quite unusual. It is also clear that in later books, Val is going to have to make peace with the magical community so they don't reflexively hate her, fear her, and/or want to kill her.
I look forward to reading more of the series.