Good Guys

December 18, 2017
In this underwhelming paranormal procedural, a trio of investigators working for the Foundation, a secret organization that regulates and monitors magic, set out to find a magic-using hit man. Donovan, Marci, and Susan must figure out the connection among the victims while dodging attempts on their own lives and contending with the Foundation’s bureaucracy and a possible traitor somewhere in the organization. Brust (the Vlad Taltos series) has a clever and complicated take on urban fantasy. The use of multiple viewpoints, including a first-person thread from the killer’s perspective, livens things up somewhat, and the plot takes some unexpected turns, leading to a satisfying if vague conclusion. But the story is hampered by a focus on the mundane details of the investigatory process, including lengthy Skype chats and requests for reimbursement. The detached, almost dispassionate narrative voice and the clichéd nature of the Foundation and the serial killer give the impression that Brust might be intentionally drawing out the details to deconstruct genre tropes, but the book doesn’t succeed either as commentary or as a mystery.

February 1, 2018
Three operatives work to solve a string of murders committed by sorcery, but their investigation leads them to question both their own secretive employers and the ethics of using magic, in this novel by fantasist Brust (Vallista, 2017, etc.).Donovan is a skilled investigator, and legally dead. He leads Marci, a sorcerer who specializes in charms and picking up the lingering signatures of spells cast, and Susan, a gifted martial artist, as an investigative team for the Foundation, a mysterious society that recruits and trains sorcerers and whose mandate is to make sure "civilians" don't learn about magic's existence. But when seemingly random people start being killed by magic, the trio must call upon all their gifts to discover the common thread connecting the victims. In doing so, they're frequently frustrated by their own minimum-wage pay and the Foundation's penny-pinching internal bureaucracy...a conceit that is cute the first time but wears thin as the Foundation's full power becomes clear (it seems like our heroes earn minimum wage for no deeper reason than allowing them to gripe about it). Their investigation raises more questions: what's the connection between the Foundation and their ancient rivals, the Mystici? Is there a mole in the Foundation--perhaps their own enigmatic supervisor? Most importantly, do sorcerers have a moral obligation to use their powers well? Some questions get answered satisfactorily and others less so; the moments of climactic confrontation are often shunted off-screen in favor of reflections after the fact. It's telling that after experiencing personal loss and delving into the Foundation's secrets, the characters' biggest change at the end is simply getting a bonus.An engaging cast can't entirely save this novel from the leaps it asks readers to make. The story often fizzles where it should bang.

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February 15, 2018

Donovan, Marci, and Susan all work for the Foundation, using their magical powers to solve supernatural crimes and defend the innocent from attacks by the Mystici. Their latest case involves a series of increasingly violent murders carried out with the aid of mystical objects. The victims all had done despicable things, but it's unclear what else they might have in common. Donovan's team has a chance at stopping the killer, if only their penny-pinching supervisor would approve their expenses--because sometimes you need to take a pricey magical short-cut instead of flying commercial to get to the crime scene in time. In his first stand-alone in two decades, Brust ("Vlad Taltos" series) does a solid job of creating complex, likable characters and a world with consistent rules of magic. The rapidly changing points of view can be challenging to follow, but they add to the dramatic tension as the author builds his story. VERDICT Brust fans and admirers of Connie Willis and Jim Butcher will appreciate this twisty and clever urban fantasy.--Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2018
The Foundation is a huge bureaucracy dedicated to keeping folks who use magic from doing bad things or leaking the idea of magic to the general population. Donovan Longfellow was recruited by the Foundation and leads a team that investigates crimes involving sorcery. When a series of magical murders threatens to upset the Mystici, a rival group to the Foundation, Donovan and his team jump into the fray to find those responsible. Brust thrusts readers right into the action, but the characters' conversationsand some comical interrogationsfill in backstory and the workings of the Foundation. Some of the most humorous passages occur as Donovan is navigating the red tape of the Foundation, the minimum-wage pay, and the penny-pinching accounting. Best known for his ambitious Vlad Taltos fantasy series, veteran author Brust crafts an amusing and campy urban fantasy with fast-paced action and witty narration. Though it's not as ambitious as his other secret-society novel, The Incrementalists (2013), fans of quirky characters and offbeat stories will find themselves at home here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)