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Magic Tides
by
Ilona Andrews
arcanepunk fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by Nancy Yost Literary Agency (NYLA) on January 17, 2023 and has 163 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Must Love Hellhounds, Dark and Stormy Knights, Angels of Darkness, Hexed, Fate's Edge, Hex Appeal, An Apple for the Creature, "Magic Gifts", Gunmetal Magic, Innkeeper Chronicles, Steel's Edge, Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, Magic Bleeds, Magic Slays, Magic Rises, Magic Bleeds, Burn For Me, Night Shift, Magic Shifts, Magic Binds, White Hot, Wildfire, Iron and Magic, Magic Triumphs, "Gerard Demille and Helen Meet", "Diamond Fire", "Sweep with Me", Clean Sweep, Sweep in Peace, "A Mere Formality", Blood Heir, "The King of Fire", Sapphire Flames, "A Misunderstanding", Emerald Blaze, "The Cool Aunt", One Fell Sweep, Sweep of the Blade, "Silent Blade", Fated Blades, On the Edge, Bayou Moon, "George and Jack in School", Sweep of the Heart , Small Magics, "The Wilson Building", "Conlan’s Birthday Text", "Dabwaha", "Don't Fight with Fate", “A Bit More of Roman”, “Getting Distracted”, "Sgt Munoz Had to Go", Ruby Fever, "Regina", Magic Tides, "The King of Fire", Magic Claims, "Sandra", "No Heroes", "Purpose", "A Mere Formality", "I Will Explain Everything"
First in the Wilmington Years arcanepunk fantasy follow-on series, a continuation of Kate Daniels in the Kate Daniels World revolving around Kate, Curran, and Conlan’s move out of Atlanta. (Supposedly it’s 10.5 in Kate Daniels and 12.5 in Kate Daniels World.)
If you’re interested, there is a chronological listing of the Wilmington Years books on my website.
My Take
Andrews is using first person triple protagonist point-of-view from Kate’s, Curran’s . . . and Conlan’s perspectives, and it was too short! And too funny with that “low-profile” Kate is planning on. Rimush sums it up well, that Kate is too much of a good ruler to not rule. She doesn’t want it, but she can’t resist protecting people, lol. And Curran knows exactly how low profile his wife will be, lol.
Thomas is thoroughly confused and discombobulated by Curran’s attitude about his wife going off to subdue fifty gang members, ROFL. Poor Jim. And screw Jim. Curran sums up the truth about Jim, one he hadn’t realized. And it’s just sad.
Poor Kate. And it doesn’t end, as the school, well, one of the administrators, is illegally probing for more information. It’s amazing how diplomatic Kate is in shutting her down, lol. I can’t wait to see Conlan in school now! As for Kate’s and Curran’s future dealings with the school — it should be fun!
I loved Kate’s reasons for sending Conlan to school! As for Conlan’s manipulating his mom, well, Curran calls him out on it. Then there’s Kate’s reasoning as to why you let your enemies live. True. I never thought of it that way. Of course, it’s easier to deal with the bad guys in this version of earth.
Andrews included an interesting bit of back history on what we expect an Apocalypse to be like. Nope, it wasn’t at all like that. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy Kate’s world, for I do. Not for the hassles of it, but for how creative the world is and the problems with which it must cope. Andrews did a nice summing up of how the world has changed to survive what magic and the monsters have wrought.
Nice touch reminding us of Kate’s dad and how Roland and Curran differ in their ideas of ruling. I gotta appreciate that Kate and Curran do not forbid Conlan visiting his grandfather, keeping Roland from being a forbidden “treat”. Kate does provide more back history on why Roland created the People.
Whoa, Kate’s reflection on Dad keeping her behind the curtain as the “lost heir” had a lot of ramifications for those who were at the Swan Palace that day.
Religion-wise, Kate provides interesting insight into how gods manifest and why the major gods like Jesus can’t appear. It’s Rimush who provides a heartening counterpoint in that he wants to be a true hero.
I must confess, I’d’ve thought at least Curran would know better when his fortress is under attack. There are at least four sides to any building.
Andrews makes good use of Magic Tides to introduce the main characters going forward in the Wilmington Years, and it’s action-packed, snark-packed, and character-driven. It’s a bit slow in parts, but on the whole, it moves right along. I found myself eagerly anticipating each new scene, and Kate never disappoints.
Yeah, bargaining with gods . . . Don’t do it.
The Story
In the interests of providing Conlan with a normal childhood, Kate and Curran have moved out of Atlanta, fully intending to keep a low profile.
Until a child needs rescuing.
The Characters
Kate Daniels-Lennart, the former Consort and the Sharratum, has moved with Curran Lennart, the former Beast Lord and lionshifter, with their son, Conlan. Grendel, their mutant black poodle, is still with them. Kate still has Cuddles, her mammoth jenny (donkey). Roland is Kate’s father and the creator of the vampires. Aunt Erra (Roland’s sister) has reformed and is secretly working for the government. Namtur appears to be part of Erra’s staff.
Paul Barnhill is the Lennart’s building contractor for their new “house”, Fort Kure. Jason is Paul’s nephew and Conlan’s new friend. Thomas is Jason and Darin‘s desperate dad.
The Red Horn Nation is . . .
. . . a local gang that runs a human trafficking ring and drugs. Jace, Dewane, and “Lantern Jaw” are some of the gang members. Their two wereboars were the cursed Buck and Grady. Their prisoners include Kody “Copper” and his sister Nika. Caiden, who has a dog, Yeti. Rylee is Nika and Cooper’s oldest brother with his German shepherd puppy, Kenobi.
The Order of Merciful Aid is . . .
. . . not so much merciful as cheaper than others. It’s a knight order that’s a private law enforcement organization that takes on the monsters. The Wilmington Order has three knights with Claudia Ozburn, Knight-Protector, a.k.a. “the Badger”, in charge.
Nick Feldman, a.k.a. “Uncle Nick”, is the Knight-Protector in Atlanta.
The Farm is . . .
. . . the Peoples’ training facility for vampires, a.k.a. utukku-dami (blood demons), and their handlers. Barrett Shaw, a.k.a. Gator Mouth, is the director. Malone. The weak Onyx; Zhou, who is a team leader; and, Edwards are all necromancers and journeymen. Masters of the Dead are a step up from journeymen. Rimush, a son of Akku and Saile, is the Seventh Blade and a Master of the Dead.
Ghastek is the People’s leader in Atlanta and a friend of Kate’s. Ryan Kelly is a Master of the Dead in Atlanta.
Luther Dillon is the director of Biohazard in Atlanta and a friend of Kate’s.
Shinar is the kingdom Roland had built. Jushur, a.k.a. Akku the Owl, had been one of Roland’s first trusted assistants with an interesting skillset. The Golden Legion is one of the Peoples Armies composed of the best Masters of the Dead. Hugh d’Ambray had been the Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, another army. Now he’s married to Elara (Iron and Magic, 1 (9.5))
Aaron is the evil “god” on the Emerald Wave, a wrecked cruise ship with its own magical nexus. Garvey is Aaron’s CFO. Leslie is the cook. There are four families that are part of Aaron’s cult, including the Allens, the Lipnicks, and the Rios. The trafficked include Antonio, Darin, Elaine, Solina, and Mark — and had included Kostya, Chandi, and Ari.
Other gods included Asul, the Revered One, who was the first Sharratum, and the Morrigan and her Hound (Magic Burns, 2). The Children of Lyr are four Swans, including Fiachra, a child of Manannán, the Over-King of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the god of the sea. Mucca Mhannanain are Manannán’s eternal swine. Cormac mac Airt had been a High King of Ireland.
Ms Vigue, the Vice Dean of Students, is probing for more about Conlan. Illegally. Scully is the larcenous ferry man, who gets his comeuppance, *laughing*. Lunar Crown is a casino.
The Pack is . . .
. . . one of the strongest pack of shapeshifters in North America and is based in Atlanta, run for the last nine years by the current Beast Lord, Jim. Dali, a vegetarian tigershifter, is his mate and the current Consort. Desandra is the Alpha of Clan Wolf. Doolittle, a.k.a. Dr Cole, the Pack medic, and one of the Wilmington school’s patrons, has recommended Kate and Curran.
Keelan, a.k.a. Caolan Comerford, is a wolfshifter and descendant of the werewolves of Ossory, who had been a thorn in Jim’s side and he sent him to Wilmington where the combat renders are trained. Selina and Hakeem are the newbies. Jynx is a bouda. Troy, a jackal, is a medmage who trained under Doolittle. Helen is also a werejackal.
Fifty years ago, the Shift was the first magic wave that came and went. Three years ago there was a Night of the Shining Seas magic wave. Will-o’-wisps are hard to catch and worth a mint. A Tinh Ðỉ is originally from Vietnam. I think it’s the juvenile Sargasso Sea kraken. Simo Häyhä is the deadliest sniper in modern history (in Kate Daniels’ world). The Labyrinth in Crete is similar to Unicorn Lane in Atlanta. Neig had been the dragon in Magic Triumphs, 10.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a lot of deep, brilliant blues in its night sky, and wave action. There’s a pale blue moon from which Curran’s lion head is emerging from behind Kate with her long black hair, Slayer on her back, and her black tank top and blue jeans, her hands on her hips. Hips which disappear into the misty waters revealing the chest of gold coins on the right. At the very top is an info blurb in white. The author’s name is below that in a pale gold with the title in a muted yellow at Kate’s waist. Below that is the series info and the warning, ahem, that this is a novella in white.
The title is what Kate’s up against, those Magic Tides.
