Hard Magic Larry Correia 2014-06-21 2014-06-26 ***1/2
2014-06-26: Slow going as I’m alternating books and I took a reading break for day or two. I like it very much BUT…. with a lot of caveats. First is the big cliché of the good vs evil secret organizations fighting for dominance. Can authors today really not come up with anything else? Then there’s the veiled secret that Madi is Jake’s older brother . Again, having your hero related to the villain is a cliché. And of course there’s the ultra powerful evil sorcerer with the dooms day device. It’s very entertaining and well written, I’m just kind of tired of the clichés. But that’s okay, I’m certain that it won’t come down to the final life and death struggle where Jake is nearly defeated but then figures out a new twist on his power and comes out victorious though beat to shit for the umpteenth time. Oh wait, we’ve already had one of those beat downs so I guess that is what will happen.
2014-06-27: Despite the cliches it did manage to somewhat break the mold. Having Faye turn out to be the hero was cool as ey was by far the most interesting character in the book. The reveal on Madi was also done in an interesting way and earlier than I expected. Hopefully book two will feature more of Faye, Jake is optional in my opinion as he’s too much in the Harry Dresden mold to be interesting (I tired of that series after about book five). I’m tempted to give this four stars as it definitely grabbed me and was an engrossing read. Even when I was bored with the Jake/Madi thing I kept skimming to get back to other characters. Too bad about Delilah. Jane was likable but boring as was Dan. Francis and Heinrich were interesting and I’d like to see more of them. I liked that Correia had an explanation for where the magic comes from although I’m not interested in the thing that’s chasing the magic maker and that conflict. I liked that the Tokugawa wasn’t a cut & dried villain. As in the real world, he thought he was doing the right thing, even though he was a rat bastard. Overall, quite good in a action movie kind of way.