When THE HIGHFIRE CROWN: Blood Magic Book 1 by JT Krull went on sale on Kindle after I’d seen it in so many FB ads, I figured what the heck, why not? Yes, famous last words.
Protagonist Jax is a wizard in Johannesburg, which in urban fantasy fashion includes elf suburbs, orc mafia, goblin amusement parks and other stuff to which the mundane masses are oblivious. Magic draws on pain and most wizards inflict that on someone else; Jax dredges up suffering from her rough life to fuel her magic (that’s inspired). Her cop BFF alerts her to the murder of a woman who looks just like Jax but before she can investigate (that plot is Book Two) she’s hired by a wealthy elf to acquire an important McGuffin. Then she gets a second case, protecting the “orc godfather” of organized crime from a hit (which would plunge the magical community into vendetta, power struggles and chaos). And a third, involving a missing woman. That’s a lot of cases — be funny if they all tied in, wouldn’t it? Though that’s a common enough twist I don’t mind it.
I like Jax’s magic and the magic ferret she winds up adopting. But urban fantasy settings with this much magic and magical beings don’t do it for me, particularly when they have to live among the rest of us unnoticed. And I can’t help wondering how all this plays out in a country that ended apartheid a little over 30 years ago. More broadly, Johannesburg doesn’t feel any different from any US city.
And while “orc mafia” is a reasonable phrase, like “Russian mafia,” it’s odd that the orcs take titles like Godfather and eat Italian, as if they were the real Mafia. Did the first orc crooks imitate the Godfather movies in the style of Star Trek: A Piece of the Action?
The biggest weakness is that while Krull knows the beats of hardboiled wizard-detectives and down-on-their-luck PIs, it feels like she’s just ticking off the beats without any sincerity (this is a subjective assessment — I don’t claim to know what was in her head). In any case, this wasn’t for me.
My friend Samantha Bryant wrapped up her Menopausal Superhero series with Change for the Better — and while she is a friend, I really did like this one. Typically for the series, it’s less about the action and more about the personal drama (which doesn’t always work for me, but does here). Patricia the Lizard Woman and her new partner are having spats but are they a relationship killer? Is Jessica becoming addicted to the energized emeralds that help her control her powers? Is the flamethrowing Helen ready for rehabilitation?
On top of which the “Liu-van” metahumans discover their organization has a traitor in it, old foes are resurfacing and something sinister they can’t figure out is behind it all.
I think the Big Bad needed more backstory (or at least an origin) but that’s my only complaint. Samantha asked me a while back if the ending worked and it does — it’s a “the series ends but the adventures will continue” ending but that’s fine. And enough of the emotional arcs get resolved to feel satisfied (I must remember to tell her that).
Cover by Melissa McArthur, all rights to image remain with current holders.
