Review: Great real-life fantasy!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 25, 2013
Oregon housewife Kat retrains ex-familiars and tries to keep her magically-talented children safe, mostly from themselves. Having to stop an evil sorcerer just makes her life a little harder.I picked up this book free during an Amazon giveaway. Many people have tried to set a fantasy tale in the modern-day world and failed utterly, especially when they try to introduce humor. Cottrell, to my amazement, succeeds. Kat is a completely believable wife and mother, who would sell her soul for a well-stocked diaper bag when her toddler has a stinky diaper. She is happily married to college professor Richard and has trouble with the neighbors over her animals. Richard's grad students are always around, wanting to be helpful but often getting in the way. Cottrell adds a unicorn as her best friend (and no, her children are not adopted), gryphons, dwarves, and of course evil sorcerers. She also manages to incorporate animals that aren't unbearably cutesy, even a ferret that acts like a stuffed toy and teleports and a bear pelt. She also avoids all the new-writer pitfalls: no putting the story on hold while she introduces characters, no long flashbacks to Kat's apprenticeship with a sorceress, no over-explaining elements that aren't critical to the story, no long explanations at all - she's a positive wizard at conveying needed information concisely. Those of you who read my reviews (and it's kind of scary how many of you there are) know that I rarely award 5 stars. To me, a 5-star rating should be reserved for interesting stories that are not only technically good but have something special. Unicorn on Speed Dial (and what a perfect title!) is a very special story indeed. I can't wait to read more of Cottrell's work.