I enjoyed the roller coaster ride of action and emotions in Brad Abraham's debut novel, Magicians Impossible. There were twists and surprises in the plot; exceptionally diverse cast of characters; relationships of all types tested.

At one point while reading this book, all I could think was there was nothing original here. It's like the author took a whole bunch of ideas from several different books, movies and TV shows and cobbled them all together and bam! I did not like this book. I did not care for the characters. I thought the writing was klunky. I predicted several important events, so I was unimpressed when they finally happened. I really had to force myself to finish it. And this genre of book is right in my wheelhouse, so I was excited for it.. Very disappointing.

Magicians Impossible is an action packed story that takes place in a complex world of magic. At the surface, the author presents the story of a young man discovering his magical family legacy. He then further develops this concept building up a world of classes of magicians and warring magical gangs. Very creative and interesting world building. This book provides good material that would make a really good movie. It's saturated in cinematic action sequences. Unfortunately, I felt like it had too much going on at times. I had a hard time keeping track of all the minor characters and twists. It wasn't clear to me what the main character's ultimate end game was in terms of the Good versus Evil concept. Needed a little less distraction. Overall, very inventive, action-packed take on a world of magicians.

Review goes live on Butterfly-o-Meter Books on Sept 6 2017 at 00.00 am gmt+2 and will show up on Goodreads sometime later.

In a Flutter: Nuanced and action-packed
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: Wow! A New York world of mages, sorcerers, lies, magic, and mayhem. The Invisible Hand and their Citadel – what a cool concept! – versus the Golden Dawn made for a nuanced and intriguing world full of tension and unexpected twists. The journey took us to Cold Spring, and even Paris and the Louvre. Very fun!
Characters: I loved Damon King from the first two lines of the novel. He’s badass and charismatic, all calm and deadly. There’s something so cool about his deck of cards xD
After Damon’s entrance in the spotlight, Jason appeared sweet and harmless by comparison. He was vulnerable, yet there was a vibe about him that said hes strong and has a lot of potential. He’s lost a lot and my heart went out to him. But there’s a naivete about him, as the good guy who wants to see the good in people. As life tends to teach us, these kinds of people are in for a big disappointment. But I liked how he handled himself, how he stuck to his values and morals. He grew as events unfolded, but still kept those core values, and I loved him for it.
Plot: The intrigue of the power struggle between order and chaos was very gripping, and very nuanced as things came to light. I love the ambiguity Brad Abraham unleashed upon us unsuspecting readers, lol. The story had a very active tempo, and the stars of the novel were the battle scenes – absolutely cinematic and highly immersive.
Writing: Third person, past tense narrative, mostly Jason’s POV. I liked his voice (though less than Damon’s irreverent one, hehe) and his sense of humor was ofc a plus.
Curb Appeal: Fabulous cover, hooking blurb- impulsive buy material for my UF cravings.

I recommend Magicians Impossible to fans of immersive magic battle and cool plot twists. I’m really looking forward to more in this world and refuse to consider the fact this might not be the first in a series.

A 31 year old Bartender could possibly save the world. Jason Bishop is adrift in the world, afraid of forming relationships because of the early death of his mother, and his presumes abandonment by his father. Little did he know that his father was a member of something Big, and now he is dead. Jason is then thrown into the world of Magic. He learns fast--maybe a little too fast to be believeable, but then he is his father's son. The plot of Good vs Evil becomes murky, more about Balance and then more about Good becoming Evil. Where does Jason fit into this? The people he thought were Good were pawns in a hidden agenda, and the people he thought were Evil...were not really. The end really leaves you hanging, there's no true resolution or even a decent cliffhanger. But the book was just good enough to leave me wanting more. Very entertaining.

This book is brilliant...a MUST read. You can try to put it down and go to sleep, but......the hand just sucks you in!

This didn’t go where I thought it would… and the more I think about Abraham’s debut fantasy thriller the more I really like that. I thought this would be a nice fit for the Jim Butcher and Benedict Jacka crowd and in many ways, it is. Jason Bishop is 30-year-old bartender that just hasn’t found his place and he’s marking time more than making a life for himself. But then he gets the news that his estranged father has committed suicide—or has he? A stranger appears at the funeral and then later at his workplace with a story of magic and battles in a long war. And then Jason’s life really goes crazy. But what made this for me was the relationships between family, friends, and enemies—you never quite know where people’s loyalties will fall or who is telling the truth. Fun story!

I want to start by saying that I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book from NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books in exchange for an honest review (thank you!). I am pointing this out because I feel like there are still some revisions to be made, and the content I am reviewing is subject to change prior to release.

I do feel like there could be a four star read in here after some tweaking. The world building was pretty awesome. I loved the idea of the Citadel, the place that exists separate from the "mundane" or non-magical world. I loved Ingress, the hall of infinite doors that can connect a person to any place in the world. I liked how the explanation for magic use in the mundane world was explained by balance, and the hierarchy of mages was described, each with abilities that added on to the previous class.

I also enjoyed the characters. I loved that they all came from different backgrounds/countries and that we were given their backstories. Teo and Kel were wise cracking kids that made me smile in every scene they were in. Allegra was a tough as nails character with a fierce loyalty to her mentor. Jason was okay as far as heroes go, but compared to the myriad of other characters he seemed sort of average.

My main critique of this book is the plot. I felt like I had no idea what was going on most of the time. I still don't know which side is good and which side is bad. In Magician's Impossible, there are two factions: The Invisible Hand which stands for Order, and the Golden Dawn which stands for chaos. The Invisible Hand is comprised of actual mages, while the Golden Dawn is comprised of wizards, (non-magical humans who cast spells). I don't understand why anyone was chasing the Sphere of Destiny or what it's ultimate purpose was.

I don't want to spoil anything because each development/twist in the plot was what drove the book on, but I still have no idea which of the above mentioned factions is good and which is bad. I mean, I have an idea of which is which, but I don't know WHY the good faction is the good one and the bad one is the bad one. I don't know why the book ended the way it did. The last few chapters of the book were all very exciting in terms of action, but it was overshadowed by the fact that I had no idea why any of it was happening. I never understood the end game in this book, the conclusion it was working toward.

I'm a person who really needs to know the why. I like things to make sense and be justified. I think readers who are okay with gray area will really love this book. Both factions have their good points and their bad points I guess. Maybe it was left ambiguous on purpose. Maybe it just needs some revisions like I stated above.

I did enjoy some of the plot, as it kept me guessing. There was one plot "twist" that was really obvious and I saw coming right from the opening of the novel, but there were many other that I didn't see. They were a lot of fun to read, they were all cohesive and they all made sense.

Ultimately, I'm still on the fence about this one. I really wanted to love it. I loved the magic and the world building was solid, but I also read through the entire second half feeling like I was missing something. I would be interested to see if any of this ambiguity is tied up before the release or in future books.

I'm always happy to let people know about some new good fantasy writing.