Schizo Fun

I read, like, and often admire a lot of urban fantasy, but sometimes those books, even the very best ones, just aren't that much fun to read. I'm not sure how you can put together spells, wild magic, faeries, sprites, other worlds, demons, and so on and come up with something grim and heavy, but there it is. Happily, that's not really a problem with this book.

Rather, we just sort of jump in to the deep end of the pool and paddle around. The Deavy siblings have different skills, abilities and attitudes. One of them isn't always entirely there. They kvetch and tease and joke and whine, but they are a team and they are on a quest. Their conversations about "what just happened", "what's going on", and "what should we do next", have a Hardy Boys or even Enid Blyton feel, which is what makes this an especially appealing middle grade early YA sort of book.

They are non-Ordinaries who have access to a magical world, and that frees the author to make up just about any coincidence, power, artifact, thingy, spell or creature that suits the plot, such as it is. And the plot is basic - The Truth has been stolen by a monstrous villain and the Deavys have to track him down in New York City and recover the magical object. They have to overcome obstacles, explore dangerous places, confront menacing creatures, and so on.

Here's the interesting schizo part. On the one hand the Deavys' magic is rather gentle and natural. Many of their allies are kind, crisply conceived, and charming, (forest floor denizens, water sprites). The Deavys themselves are pretty mellow and unconflicted, with a sort of "gee whiz" vibe. On the other hand the villains are monstrous and the confrontations are hyper-violent and extended. You get pages of worms, claws, teeth, blood, broken bones, chopping and slashing and tearing. The result is that sometimes you get "Alien v. Bambi" scenes. At first I was put off by these hot/cold shifts, but then I decided to just go with it, and to think more like a middle grader.

The upshot is that this book is stuffed full of action, creatures, derring-do, mellow magic, enough dei ex machina to power a dozen Greek plays, some good jokes, some strained jokes, and a bunch of stout-hearted engaging kids. And there's a deadpan funny magical cat. I'm good with that.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)