Reviewed by celinenyx on
In the world of Kate Daniels, magic and tech alternate. The times between magic and tech are getting shorter though - a flare is coming. During a flare, magic rises dramatically and it seems like some evil beasties are using the flare for their own nefarious purposes. Can Kate stop them before it's too late?
It has been over four years since I last read Magic Bites, the first book in the Kate Daniels series. Needless to say, I was pretty rocky on my lore. Though I apparently completely forgot about the plot of Magic Bites, I could still remember our protagonist and her world very well.
Because of the tech/magic fluctuations, Kate's world is a vaguely apocalyptic one. During a magic wave, skyscrapers crumble, and technology fizzles. Which means that cities turn into these messed up landscapes you usually see in disaster movies. It also means that the most reliable source of transportation is a horse and carriage. Hell yeah. The world has such fabulous details and has great internal coherence. It presents all of these interesting possibilities that Andrews uses to their fullest potential.
Magic Burns is one roller coaster adventure filled with funny, weird, and some downright scary characters. Kate herself is the archetypical urban fantasy chick - down to earth, can hold herself in a fight, slightly snarky. What I love about Kate is that she's a responsible person. Sure, her big mouth might get her into trouble, but she owns up to it. She's not too big of a bitch to apologise when she crosses a line. Unlike some (annoying) urban fantasy heroines, Kate behaves very much like an adult.
A perfect blend of mythology and paranormal, I flew through Magic Burns in two days. I can completely see myself falling in love with these characters and for the Kate Daniels books to fight their way into my favourite series.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 26 February, 2015: Finished reading
- 26 February, 2015: Reviewed