Cicero James, Miracle Worker by Hal EmersonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is strong. It's the author's eleventh book, or so, and it shows. Very definite Dresden Files vibes, but from the point where Butcher had started to get a good handle on his craft, rather than the less successful early books.
The main character is a wizard-but-not-called-that (they're called "Miracle Workers" or just "Workers"), one of maybe a hundred thousand worldwide, who just wants a quiet life but ends up getting caught up in what amount to cosmic politics. He's snarky and in many ways immature, but whatever his faults, being on the side of evil, or even on the side of ignoring evil when he has the ability to oppose it, is not one of them.
There's swearing, not constant on every page, but in situations in which there would realistically be some. There's also torture, but it's not delighted in (the opposite, in fact), and it's not gratuitous - it's central to the plot.
The editing on the pre-publication review copy I had was good, with occasional small glitches such as might be left over after a skilled editor had gone over an average-quality manuscript (average-quality in terms of editing, I mean, not storytelling; that's excellent). The author covers himself with the fictional frame that this is a book written by an ordinary guy over a few days, so it may have some typos in it.
He also lampshades the fact that the whole scenario becomes reminiscent of the X-Men. There's a clear Magneto character, who I'd identified as such before the lampshade was hung, though I hadn't thought of the narrator's mentor as Professor X until he said it.
It's exciting and action-packed. There are chases and escapes and explosions and fights and monster encounters. There's a heist, or almost. There are emotional ups and downs, and if there are more downs than ups, it still manages not to be too dark in tone, and ends with an appeal for an attitude of hope, cooperation and mutual respect that I wholeheartedly endorse. There's intelligent observation about the state that San Francisco is in these days, without adopting either political extreme.
The worldbuilding is original, and well conveyed; we know pretty well what the magic can and can't do, so when it comes time to use some, the action isn't slowed down with explanations. It doesn't make it all the way to a fully realized "secret history", but it does the job it needs to.
The secondary characters are distinct and memorable, and each has a significant role to play. Their relationships have variety and feel real.
Even though it's not my usual fare (cozy secondary-world fantasy), I enjoyed it considerably, and will be looking forward to more in the series.
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