Month: August 2015

The Master Magician

She Ain’t No David Blaine (The Master Magician)

The Master Magician (Charlie N. Holmberg, 2015) is the final novel in Holmberg’s The Paper Magician trilogy. In the same vein as its predecessors, The Master Magician tells a tale of Ceony Twill, apprentice paper magician with a secret that would rock the foundations of magic. But will she spill the beans? Or will she take it to her grave, helpfully being dug by vengeful blood magician Saraj? And most importantly, will she pass her magician’s exam and finally be free of the fear that her forbidden relationship with master Emery Thane (total dreamboat) will be discovered? Unmarked spoilers for the prequels, ahoy! Continue reading →

The Demolished Man

How To Kill Your Rivals and Influence People
(The Demolished Man)

The Demolished Man (Alfred Bester, 1951) is a science-fiction inverted detective story, equal parts Ocean’s Eleven and Death Note. The novel tells the story of business monolith Ben Reich’s mission to murder rival conglomerate owner Craye D’Courtney in a world where psychics (or espers, ‘extra-sensory perception’-ers) form a significant proportion of the population and a pre-meditated murder hasn’t gone undetected or unsolved for over seventy years. Ben’s primary foil is the police prefect Lincoln Powell, top-class esper who is able to ‘peep’ through even the strongest mental blocks that a suspect can put up. Continue reading →

Pride and Prejudice

Or, Rich People Have It So Tough
(Pride and Prejudice)

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen, 1813) is a romance novel set in 19th century England. Ultimately, it aims to ask and answer the question of whether pride and prejudice can be overcome to give way to love and affection. Also, it spawned a TV mini-series starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle in the lead roles with scenes that weren’t in the book. Most people remember the bits that weren’t in the book, namely Colin Firth’s wet shirt scene. Yeah. Anyway, on with the novel. Continue reading →