Gunmetal Magic

Gunmetal Magic (2012) Ilona Andrews

And now I reach the conclusion of my binge reading of Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels (& World) series. We end with Andrea’s book: how Andrea puts herself back together after being thrown out of the Order. Except there’s lots of monster fighting and shooting (this is Andrea) so it’s not the supernatural equivalent of Eat Pray Love.

In case you were worried it might be.

Of course, she also has to spend time around the office with Kate’s latest juvenile delinquent, Ascanio.

Ave, Andrea! Ianitori te salutant!
…Kate was forcing Ascanio and Julie, her ward, to learn Latin, because a lot of magic texts were written in it and apparently it was an essential part of their education.

Obviously, Kate is doing a pretty good job, if he can come up with that off-the-cuff.

But this remains post-shift Atlanta, and it’s not a safe place.

To the right, a large sign nailed to an old telephone post shouted DANGER written in huge red letters. Underneath in crisp black letters was written:

IM-1: Infections Magic Area
Do Not Enter
Authorized Personnel Only

A second smaller sign under the first one, written on a piece of plastic with permanent marker, read:

Keep out, stupid.

That’s actually a really fascinating area, the Glass Menagerie. I particularly appreciate Andrea’s reaction(s) to the creatures in that area.

There’s also another fascinating idea, that I think would be quite likely, in the world they inhabit.

(Andrea is explaining the Internet to Ascanio)
“Well, when it became obvious that magic as going to wreck the computer networks, people tried to preserve portions of the Internet. They took snapshots of their servers and sent the data to a central database at the Library of Congress. This project became known as the Library of Alexandria, because in ancient times Alexandria’s library was said to contain all human knowledge, before some jackass burned it to the ground.”

I like the idea that if civilization crashes, humans would work to salvage information.

We also get to spend some time with Roman, the Dark Volhv. Who is not what he seems on the surface.

There was something so joyous about Roman. It was as if part of his life was so bleak and dark that he felt the need to live the rest of it to is fullest, squeezing every bit of fun and happiness out of it.

Yeah, I get that. I really get that.

But, as I said, this is Andrea’s story, and since this is also a romance, you know she and Raphael are going to work things out in the en. But it’s nice to see how they get there, and how Andrea comes to terms with the changes in her life that followed leaving the Order.

And it’s good, because I really like Andrea, and it’s good to see her end up happy.
Rating: 8.5/10

Published by Ace

 
 

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