A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of A Far Wilder Magic in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Gist
This is the second book I have read that decided to throw historical fiction and modern day elements together without any thought of how that could affect the reader. Like me. I swear, I felt my brain get all hot as I was trying to figure out when this story is suppose to take place.
Seriously, my desire to shout “When are we?” followed by “Where are we?” was very strong.
I’m not sure if this is a new thing when writing “historical” fantasy to just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, but it’s not working.
The Details
From the book blurb, I was under the impression that A Far Wilder Magic is suppose to be a historical fantasy story. You know, maybe set during Victorian times or Medieval times.
Nope, in chapter two the reader gets introduced to a character that travels in a taxi. But alchemy is still practiced. I’m so confused.
Let’s backtrack for a bit and discuss the characters. I’m afraid this review is a little chaotic, just like the story.
Margaret, the protagonist, is kind of a flat character. The first chapter introduces her and I did not get much from her. Truth be told, she couldn’t capture my interest at all and I almost forget she is part of the story. This is bad, because she is the protagonist!
Also, I find that one description of the interaction between her and her dog rather unsettling. She likes “tormenting” the poor thing. Like seriously?
Weston, the second protagonist, if you want to call him that, is just as blah.
I don’t even know what to say about the plot. I am aware that I sound extremely dismissive, I think I’m just kind of disappointed. Was the plot supposed to be about a hunt of some mythical creature? Because that didn’t really happen until very far into the story.
Speaking of this mythical creature: it is called three different names. Is it a hala? A fox? Or a demiurge? What is going on?
There are words thrown around that are not explained and are supposed to help create this world, even though the author is just replacing one term for another. For example “Katharists” instead of “Catholics”.
I need to stop.
The Verdict
Overall, it’s a pass for me. My head hurts from all the questions I have. I’m agitated and need to move on.
