An Unkindness of Magicians (The Unseen World, #1)

by Kat Howard

“A remarkable writer.” —Neil Gaiman, bestselling author of American Gods

An Alex Award Winner

There is a dark secret that is hiding at the heart of New York City and diminishing the city’s magicians’ power in this fantasy thriller by acclaimed author Kat Howard.

In New York City, magic controls everything. But the power of magic is fading. No one knows what is happening, except for Sydney—a new, rare magician with incredible power that has been unmatched in decades, and she may be the only person who is able to stop the darkness that is weakening the magic. But Sydney doesn’t want to help the system, she wants to destroy it.

Sydney comes from the House of Shadows, which controls the magic with the help of sacrifices from magicians.

• ISBN10: 1481451219
• ISBN13: 9781481451215
• Publish Date: 26 September 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[mitabird]

1.5 stars

[Beth C.]

Was unprepared for how much I liked this. It's dark, but inventive - and the characters are very well written. Part mystery and party urban fantasy, there really might be something here for fans of each.

[tweetybugshouse]

I saw the cover for this book floating around on Instagram and i was like another magician book how did i miss this.  Much to my surprise the book was all ready out and it had slipped my radar.  So i checked the library thinking i could just get it that way and luck was with me they had an audiobook copy ready to check out.  

I love stories about Magicians, The Crowns Game is most favorite recent one.  This was no exception. this is a story about a group of magicians living in New York City, who are divided into magical “houses.” They live and thrive in the Unseen World, a secret world where magic is commonplace and hidden from “mundanes.  Something is happening to the magic in NYC. No one understands it, except Sydney, a young magician with more power than has been seen in the city in decades. But Sydney doesn’t want to restore the city’s power – she wants to destroy it. 

This story is unique in the world building of the houses that are living breathing entities who take the magic of their owners and are their servants providing whatever is needed for those who occupy the house.  Ya also have magical duels which is this book are called the turning.  Magicians gather to watch these duels and determine who wins by voting.  Losing could mean death.  

Underneath all of this you have Syndney who knows more then everyone else in the story.  She comes from the House of shadows where she was abandoned as a child.  She knows the cost of magic and is out to prevent it from happening and she packing a lot of power.  This is a must check novel.