By Tanya Huff
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Recently I tried to read The Incandescent by Emily Tesh because I loved the idea of a magical academy told from the perspective of the adults that teach the kids, instead of from the kids themselves. It was a fantastic idea, but despite the critical acclaim, it was cold, boring and revolved too much around the inner monologue of the teacher protagonist. I feel like Tanya Huff read this novel and said, “I can do this, but also keep the readers actually interested in the story!” And that’s exactly what she did.
Huff is no stranger to this genre and was writing fantasy before many Romantasy readers were even born. She knows how to craft a novel that is funny, that is full of action and has heart making the reader fall in love with all the characters. She really understands what it’s like as an adult to interact with adolescents but also how to capture teenagers with all their drama and enthusiasm, their passions and their ability to be both adult and child simultaneously. Those of us that work with teens, or have raised teens, or even remember being a teen but enough time has passed that you can recognize and embrace the energy of adolescence, will delight in the cast of characters that make up the Canadian regional high school for magical arts.
The novel takes place in modern day Southern Ontario, where magical abilities are a way of life. Some people are gifted with magical powers, some people have no magic, or not enough to cause trouble. Grade 8s are tested and if they score high, they will be admitted to one of the exclusive magic schools around the world where they will learn to hone their skills in a way that is safe for themselves and the rest of the world. This being a Canadian school, their magic classes are mixed in with the usual curriculum, which means reading a lot of Atwood, which is personally a hardship, but our protagonist claims that Atwood is NOT a magic user. (I bet Robinson Davies was, though) . The book is littered with inside jokes and amusing Canadiana. Everyone knows the apple fritter is the best donut from Timmies.
Of course, the use of magic introduces concepts like fate and other esoteric forces that like to interfere in people’s lives. And every so often, to push the narrative along, to counter oppression or entice humans to make the right ethical choices, a hero is born. A hero is a magic user that has that innate ability to save others, inspire people and lead them towards greatness. A hero is from unlikely beginnings but with unbelievable power, who tends to bring out amazing and unique powers in their cohort. A hero has appeared in our protagonists grade 9 class. And therefore it falls on Abigail, homeroom teacher, to mentor , prepare and protect her hero as they do the heroic things they have been fated to do. And with every hero, comes a villain that is determined to thwart their every move. And so, beyond the usual stack of essays and assignments, supervision and clean up of magical accidents, Abigail must also help her burgeoning hero fend off the, as yet unknown, villain.
This premise has the ability to get absurd rather quickly and turn this novel into a satiric and silly novel, where the characters are mostly two dimensional and introduced to support the joke But Huff never stoops to this level. The kids are real and the humour is heartfelt and warm, not slapstick or ridiculous. Our protagonist understands that this is a high stakes issue with big world problems, but she never loses her sense of humour.
I recommend this to anyone who wants a strong, action first, well paced novel, from a writer who can write a standalone novel without sacrificing characters or solid world building. It proves that a satisfying, but full story can be written in under 400 pages. Tanya Huff is a fantastic writer and here’s to a new generation of readers discovering her work.
