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A review by lanko
American Craftsmen by Tom Doyle
3.0
Never read a military fantasy, specially one set in the present day. The premise is really interesting: some of the oldest families that founded (?) the US were and are magic users and set up secret dynasties that serve the government. That are two rival families, the Mortons and Endicotts. Think of Gryffindor and Slytherin, but with soldiers, guns, secret ops and the like serving the British government.
I really liked the House here. It's the mansion where the Morton family lives, and it's actually a living house. Or a conscious ghost house. It has moods, traps, ghosts, etc. I think it was the most creative aspect of the book. And some other curious things like Gideon bibles used as trip wires.
I think characters could have used a little more polish as I felt I only got to know the surface.
The Dale-Scherie love relationship also felt a bit wonky and awkward. Specially how they coincidentally stumble upon each other and inevitably fall in love almost right away (despite some doubts later).
And also the fact she is an untrained civilian who Dale has no problems keeping around despite being against the US military magical department, no less. And then she just happens to have the right powers for the right situations at the right time.
The backstory of the antagonists was top notch. Imagine magic molding the outcomes of the Civil War, the Normandy landing, Hoover in the FBI and I can only imagine, of course, Richard Nixon.
Their fall to dark magic, specially one for of the antagonists, was pretty impressive.
Maybe seeing those historical events through the craftsmen magical approach would have been more cool or just my preference for darker stories, but at some point I wished that the antagonists were the protagonists.
Probably at some point the military theme of the story faded to the background as swords, staffs and magic became the main focus. I wished a bit more tactics, more guns (real guns) and technology involved and interacting with or boosted by the magic.
There are probably a lot of references to American culture or famous families inside. For example, Poe is often cited and his Red Death is actually a character in the story.
Overall, a creative approach and a combination of elements I haven't seen before.
I really liked the House here. It's the mansion where the Morton family lives, and it's actually a living house. Or a conscious ghost house. It has moods, traps, ghosts, etc. I think it was the most creative aspect of the book. And some other curious things like Gideon bibles used as trip wires.
I think characters could have used a little more polish as I felt I only got to know the surface.
The Dale-Scherie love relationship also felt a bit wonky and awkward. Specially how they coincidentally stumble upon each other and inevitably fall in love almost right away (despite some doubts later).
And also the fact she is an untrained civilian who Dale has no problems keeping around despite being against the US military magical department, no less. And then she just happens to have the right powers for the right situations at the right time.
The backstory of the antagonists was top notch. Imagine magic molding the outcomes of the Civil War, the Normandy landing, Hoover in the FBI and I can only imagine, of course, Richard Nixon.
Their fall to dark magic, specially one for of the antagonists, was pretty impressive.
Maybe seeing those historical events through the craftsmen magical approach would have been more cool or just my preference for darker stories, but at some point I wished that the antagonists were the protagonists.
Probably at some point the military theme of the story faded to the background as swords, staffs and magic became the main focus. I wished a bit more tactics, more guns (real guns) and technology involved and interacting with or boosted by the magic.
There are probably a lot of references to American culture or famous families inside. For example, Poe is often cited and his Red Death is actually a character in the story.
Overall, a creative approach and a combination of elements I haven't seen before.