Not quite what I was expecting. But as imaginative and detailed as anything else they have written.

Slightly varying cast as the rulers try to keep their society alive. Everybody has magic, and those who have none are Dead, even if they're still moving. As the numbers of Dead increase some are smuggled outside of the civilised world to the Outlands where many remnants from earlier magical wars still exist. There's even an enclave of the feared Ninth Circlysts who have reverted to using Technology, and have both the wheel and the forge (although the magicians who do everything with magic, do still have books, a technology that requires much to support it). One day the only heir is born and also found to be Dead, to much consternation. Many years later the a scribe is sent to the borders on a secret mission to locate he technologists before they can ally with a neighbouring kingdom.

This is perhaps not the greatest fantasy of WandH but its' still intriguing and inventive. ( )

It's not a bad story. I just got bored along the way and realized I no longer cared what happened next. As someone else commented, it wasn't getting worse, it just wasn't getting better either. ( )

Did not finish: Got 80% of the way through

I was recommended this book as one that was doing something interesting with the magic/technology distinction. The book is populated by the descendants of witches and warlocks from this universe, who fled to another world to escape persecution during the (possibly) middle ages. In their new world, magic works and nearly everyone is born with at least some magical ability (called Life). Initially, technology and magic co-existed, but after a major conflict called the Iron Wars, technology (The Ninth Magic) was forbidden. There is also a prophecy about someone who will be born Dead and die again and will wreck the whole system somehow.

Naturally, our novel starts when the Queen births an heir with no magic. The heir is declared Dead and, by law, is left out to die. We also meet a mathematical genius monk who is greatly tempted by The Ninth Magic. Then other babies also start being born Dead, specifically among the upper classes. Dun dun DUNNN... So far, so good. We also have an evil scheming Bishop, which is fun. As expected, the Dead prince is spirited away and raised as a peasant. He learns to conceal his lack of magic through sleight of hand. At the age of 17, he is discovered and flees into the Borderlands, where he is captured by a group of rogue technologists. The Bishop sends the mathematical monk to get him. And here we go.

I have no problem with the overall plot. It's pretty bog-standard High Fantasy: The exiled prince, raised as a peasant, is prophecied to break the status quo, which is starting to break down anyway. I was interested in the book because the conceit of technology being feared and unusual, like magic often is in these kinds of books, seemed cool. Unfortunately, the treatment of technology is where the world-building starts to show holes. Technology is defined very broadly- a spoon, for example, is technology. People build their houses by using magic to persuade trees to grow in house-like shapes. Using magic on "dead" things (like rocks) is forbidden. There is a cool bit where our mathematical monk first sees a table that was built rather than grown- he's horrified by its Frankenstinian crudeness. Yet despite spoons being forbidden, people eat out of bowls, have teapots, and wear clothes.

The other problem I had is with the magical system itself. People are divided into two broad categories, Catalysts and Mages. Catalysts can't do much magic themselves, but they can absorb magical energy (Life) from the environment and pass it on to Mages. Mages can't absorb energy from the environment and are limited to their own life-force and what they are given by Catalysts, but can use that energy to do all sorts of cool things. What was never made clear to me is why Catalysts couldn't use their magic. It is mentioned that Catalysts can do some magic (like access existing magical Corridors for fast travel throughout the land) but not others (Catalysts wear shoes because they walk everywhere, Mages go barefoot because they float). But if Mages have limited magic, why waste it by floating? And what, exactly, prevents Catalysts from using theirs? Is magical knowledge inborn and some people have it while others just don't? It doesn't seem like this is a question the authors are interested in answering, though this is first of a trilogy so maybe they get to it later.

Continuing the theme of violating the rules of their magic, we have Simkin, a fool-like figure who may be a spy for the Bishop, may be on the side of the Technologists, or may be in it for himself. He can do all sorts of things that are called out as against the rules of magic- he can transform himself into a teapot, for example, which is a) supposed to be impossible from an energy requirements perspective, and b) seemingly would require a catalyst or two to provide the energy if it were possible. There's a phantasmagoric scene where Simkin pulls the mathematical monk into a fairy ring and they get abducted by fairies, who use magic endlessly and incessantly. Perhaps the catalyst/mage division is societally created to keep the more powerful catalysts in line, but how would they keep catalysts from realizing they could do magic?

Which is to say, I have lots of questions, mostly about the magical system, but the narrative is more interested in the Technologists and our very sulky prince hero. If I had faith my questions would eventually be answered, I might read on, but then again maybe not- this isn't the imaginative play on normal fantasy tropes I had been hoping for. Instead, it slogs along exploring something I already understand (Technology) through a point of view character who though a mathematical genius just isn't all that bright otherwise. The monk tends to accept the explanations he is given and not look for new information, and he is easily cowed and manipulated by more powerful people. Which again, could be interesting in the right hands, but as it is we're left with a lot of "The prince scowled when the monk looked away. This man was so easily to manipulate! He scorned this Life-filled Catalyst who society declared was better than him..." and so on.

Given the authors are prolific and generally have a good reputation, I expected better writing. Perhaps this is an earlier work. ( )

This was one of my favorites when I was growing up. Rereading though it came upon average. Merely like turning someone's d&d adventure to life. And at that time I was really into that. ( )

I certainly enjoyed this more than Weis's [b:The Lost King|317383|The Lost King (Star of the Guardians, #1)|Margaret Weis|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333286274s/317383.jpg|29051]. I think she can do fantasy very well.
It was a little confusing as the story kept jumping from one character to another at the beginning, but it then settled down on one of the priests".
The world is based on magic but there are people who are born without magic, and they are ritually killed after their birth to protect the gene pool. Barbaric.
There is a prophecy about a "dead" king who will completely change the world.

Overall, an enjoyable read but nothing spectacular. Good enough that I'll be reading the next book however." ( )