Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2)
by Ilona Andrews
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Book Reviews of Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2)
Book Review: Best World-Building in the Biz
Summary: 4 Stars
Good news, everyone - Book 2 in the Kate Daniels series (MAGIC BURNS) is better than Book 1 (MAGIC BITES). The first had its charms - solid world-building with no need for romance, and the fascinating idea of upir. But I read it over the course of several days while going through personal stuff, so I don't remember much.
This sequel, however, is much more memorable, and starts off really well. The writing is smooth, and the story is easy to follow. But as it delves deeper into magic, mythology, monsters and swords (sorry to ruin the alliteration), it becomes more complicated and further out of the realm that my tiny brain can comprehend.
I love the world-building. Atlanta has two stages in time - tech (when life is as we know it) and magic. But the transitions between the two are getting faster, and Celtic mythology comes to life. (That sounds vague, I know, but I didn't really understand it.)
Kate Daniels still has her almighty saber Slayer, but also has a new companion: teenager Julie, whose wannabe witch mother is missing.
I've read enough reviews, interviews and blogs to know that people are really pushing for Kate and Curran to get together. But I don't like Curran. Had he simply been called an Alpha, I would've accepted that. But no: he's a Beast Lord. Yeah, bit over-the-top, and he has the up-himself mentality to match.
So other than Curran's smug personality, what's not to like about him? He breaks into Kate's house...and she doesn't kick his arse for it. For a supposed Kickass Heroine, this is disappointing.
Parts of the story veer dangerously into trash territory. Kate's mortified when people see her underwear, and its adornments. I would've been more concerned about people seeing leg hair or..."hair down there", shall we say.
And Kate pervs on Curran working out. Not for me. I prefer Raphael.
But the author has fabulously intriguing ideas: like the shapeshifter caught between forms. The Lycos Virus is a fascinating, painful thing as demonstrated within these pages. Also interesting is the bouda, a werehyena - now she's a nifty character I'd like to read more about.
Then there's Corwin. You've read enough of people shifting into animals, but Corwin is the opposite - an animal who Shifts into a human. This is why Ilona Andrews is one of the best world-builders around with some truly new ideas to add to the urban fantasy genre.
But be warned: Curran has a speech that tries to be "Braveheart", but comes across more as an American high school football coach. Coming from a culture where we have no school spirit, I found that kind of lame. But I take my humour where I can get it.
So if you want to read some of the best world-building in the biz, Ilona Andrews writes it. Just ignore Curran and the confusing fight scenes, and you'll find this quite to your liking - I know I'll be back for more.
Book Review: Fantastic second installment and still the best in Urban Fantasy
Summary: 5 Stars
Magic Burns, the second installment in the Kate Daniels series, steps up the action, friendships, romantic tension, and magic several notches. After successfully working with the People (Vampire riders) and the Pack (shapeshifters), the Order of Merciful Aid has decided to bring on the financially struggling Kate Daniels as a liason in junior capacity while she still has her mercenary job on the side.
The story starts out in very humourous fashion with Kate helping her shapeshifter friend, Jim, bring back a stolen magical weapon as well as the thief who took it, only to have the thief killed during the capture by an unknown entity. As Kate looks into the mystery of the mysterious killer, she discovers that he is also responsible for stealing the shapeshifter Pack's maps and agrees to help the Pack get them back. What seemingling started as a simple day turns into a mixture of people and chaos that anti-social Kate is ill-equipped to deal with. Tied into an insignificant events from the first book, Kate, during her quest for the maps, also ends up looking after an 11 year old girl, Julie, who's lost her mother. Unbeknownst to Kate, however, is that there are magical undead creatures backed by a powerful deity looking for Julie and in doing so, Kate is attacked in her home and almost killed. Luckily for her, Julie is a pretty tough street wise kid and ends up picking up the phone, hitting redial, and calling for help. That redial leads Julie to the Keep where the shapeshifters live, and <sigh>, Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta comes to her rescue.
So many things are happening at once and new characters as well as old play a prominent role in the story. Every 7 years or so, Magic trumps Technology in this world and while the magical flare is at it's highest, things go more than crazy in post apocolyptic Atlanta. Kate finds herself in the middle of a battle of the divine and has to find a way, with help from the Pack, the People, and a sexy new seducer, to stop an ancient evil from returning to her world.
I can say that even though many things are happening and the plot is complex, the story pulls together extremely well and the dots are connected in a way that's easy to understand, is tense in it's direness, and laugh out loud funny where you need it to be. The story, is balanced and well crafted, and even though it's told in a first person account, you genuinely feel and see what's taking place. The story comes to a stellar climax where I kept thinking, WOW, when I was reading it, and you really start to feel how powerful Kate really is, even though she's always hiding it. The best part is that the team of Ilona Andrews really knows how to grow her characters in a way that's believable and their endings are spot on. You're left satisfied without a cliff hanger, but very hungry for more. There's simply no better series in the genre and well worth the read.
Book Review: Magic Burns Simply Rocks
Summary: 5 Stars
A sophomore book is probably one of the most daunting things for a writer to face. Can they pull it off? Will they be able to transition what happened in the book before in short quick bursts without seeming like they're writing a book report? Can they keep true to the characters that they've established in the first book?
Will the cover art suck? Will the book suck? Will anyone remember the first book and pick up the second?
I'm sure these are questions that Ilona asked herself. No worries, Ilona. You did more than fine.
The Amazon blurb for Magic Burns is like a grain of sand in a sand storm. It describes that little bit of silicon that exists, a hint of colour and maybe a bit of its hardness. You can imagine the sand but not the wind and fury that carries it. That's the kind of book Ilona writes.
I was lucky enough to read this book prior to its release. I took my time reading it because I wanted to revisit the flavour of the world and the characters. Ilona kept them true and in fact, enhanced the spiciness of the relationships she established in Magic Bites. The writing is tight, always keeping the reader on the edge of the thrill and within a few short pages, I care about characters that I've just met.
You can tell that there's research done. Not because it's spooled out into a feed of information but rather, tidbits are woven in expertly until the story comes alive for you. Ilona gives a good treatment of the mythology she's tapped into and opens up legends just enough to be real. It's very imaginable to have a god walking into Kate's world. It's also very imaginable to see the chaos that the god has wrought.
What I like about Kate Daniels? She's a flawed character. Kate's not perfect. She sometimes gambles with her relationships, compromising herself unknowingly and risking herself for seemingly little. Ilona knits this personality into a tight story filled with twists and turns. She doesn't go for rote or cliché. There are people in these words. Tempers that flare as hot as the magic and sometimes even a small break between friends. Personal conflict ride with the plot and to me, that makes a good story. Magic Burns isn't just about the fate of the world that Ilona has created, it's also about the people that inhabit it. All told in with a half-smirk, half-heroic voice of a woman who sometimes is in over her head and probably wouldn't want it any other way.
Kate grows as a character in the books. Her relationships develop and her life goes to crap. She worries about rent as well as worrying about saving the people she cares for. The story is good. The characters are great. The voice of the book is solid. There are no sophomore worries here. A reader can pick up this book and read it without having to go back but honestly, that reader should.
So yeah...Magic Burns... rocks.
Book Review: Lions and mermaids and shaman, oh my!
Summary: 4 Stars
Magic Burns is the second book in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Kate is a mercenary in magic-torn Atlanta, eliminating the magical anomalies that surface each time a wave of magic hits. In Magic Bites, she investigates the murder of her guardian and ruffles a few important furs and feathers in the process. In Magic Burns, we revisit Kate's uncanny ability to attract danger from all sides as she works to investigate the disappearance of a young girl's mother. She must work cooperatively with The People (vampires) and The Pack (shapeshifters), though this alliance is frequently strained.
Fans of the series should not be disappointed by this new installment. This reads like a separate episode - while it does help to have some prior knowledge of the universe, it may not be required for you to enjoy this second book. The romantic fans will be titillated by Magic Burns as Kate's relationship with Curran really starts getting interesting and a rival enters the battle.
Books like this are typically not my "thing," but I have to give the author credit for a work that I finished at a break-neck pace. Magic Burns is full of action, adventure, mystery, humor, and a touch of romance. The emphasis of Magic Burns is the action - the dark qualities aren't quite as strong as they were in Bites, and the mystery is a little rushed. Humor in a book like this is a delicate balance - alternating between comedy and dark adventure is tricky, especially while keeping up the momentum of the plot. Overdoing the one-liners can turn a book into pure schlock or a belly-laugh. In Magic Burns there are some phrases that are a little overused ("In your dreams!"), some reactions that seem unreasonable or cartoonish. But overall, the funny bits are very well done and elevate the series from interesting to endearing. The snark suits Kate well and creates a thoroughly entertaining read.
All of your favorite characters from Magic Bites make a reappearance in Magic Burns, almost without exception. These characters are typically well integrated into the story, but some of them make cameo appearances that are not really part of the story, and a few of the characters undergo a personality shift between Bites and Burns.
The world is intriguing and well researched, integrating Celtic mythologies and new facts about shapeshifters, vampires, and the urban fantasy landscape. Magic Burns takes place during a magic flare, where the abilities of all magical creatures are enhanced: for better and worse. We also get a short, satisfying, and revealing glimpse into Kate's origins. Now that we have answers, here's hoping that the next book will explore the inevitable confrontations.
Magic Burns is a tease and a page-turner. Peppered with furry, sticky violence and rapier wit, the whirlwind tour of Atlanta is far from over.
Book Review: The magic sizzles! The future is bright for Ilona Andrews!
Summary: 5 Stars
Futuristic Atlanta: magic wreaks havoc in the city and citizens, human and supernatural alike, prepare for the dreaded phenomena when magic and technology refuse to co-exist and continually fight for dominance. It is a world where you wake up each day not knowing if you'll be able to start your car due to the magic fluctuation or, for those who possess magical powers, your spells will fail when the technology is up and running. It's all part of the citizens' daily life except every seven years, the magical waves intensify and all the complexities associated with it culminates into a build-up called a flare. As all hell breaks loose in Atlanta, greater forces like gods and goddesses battle it out for supremacy. And death to anyone who stands in their way...
Once again, our Kate Daniels is knee deep in supernatural drama as she finds herself helping the local Pack retrieve some stolen maps. As Kate goes map-hunting, she comes face to face with the impertinent culprit who takes delight in confounding her and the local Alpha, Curran. More obstacles are thrown her way when she unexpectedly becomes a babysitter to a young girl whose missing mother may be the key to unravelling the chaos surrounding her. And with two powerful gods vying for the chance to step into the human realm, Kate may be out of her depth. Tough as this mercenary is, she knows that she needs all the help she can get even if that means going to the very man who gives her the chills... in a good and (mostly) bad way.
MAGIC BURNS is a tautly written action thriller filled with supernatural creatures galore! The author conveys the intricacies of this alternate universe with drama and flair. Magic leaps off every page and characters come to life. I thought Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1) was an excellent read, but this book totally exceeded my expectations. Ilona Andrews' world is utterly bewitching, captivating the reader right from the start. Kate's character is continuously evolving; the same goes for the secondary characters. Every individual has their place in Andrews' magical world. No secondary character is wasted, everybody is given an opportunity to react and interact and prove their purpose. Indeed, the author has given us such intriguing characters leaving you hanging on to see what she has in store for them.
A word of caution though that the violence and mayhem in this book equates to splatter horror. It is graphic and horrific and Andrews doesn't gloss over the details. If you don't mind these, then I guarantee that this is a great reading experience that packs a terrific punch.