Review: Good Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2011
This was a fun read.The basic plot isn't particularly original:  the main character, essentially unaware of his talent for magic, winds up attending a magic academy where he learns about his powers.  While there, he discovers that there is an entire hidden/parallel society throughout the world that consists of magic users.  Also somewhat expectedly from a plot perspective, a branch of the magic users appears to have initiated a civil war that has enmeshed the magic academy and our hero into various forms of violence.So plot-wise, think Harry Potter, I suppose...but with college-age characters with adult perspectives.But while not an original plot, the book is still a good read.  The writing is well done, with excellent description, narrative, and character development.  Especially well-done is the dialogue.  The writer employs a first-person perspective with the hero's internal thought processes well described.  Throughout, the author's wry, witty internal and external dialogue really made the book for me.  As I read the book, the hero's viewpoint portrayed by the author reminded me most of all to Robert Heinlein's writing style...high praise from me.One of the most interesting story elements concerns Rei, a full blooded "pure" vampiress who also attends the magic academy in a somewhat anomalous capacity.  As a character, Rei is by far the most intriguing.  The hero encounters Rei when she is assigned as his escort to the magic academy and as the story progresses we get hints that a future relationship between the two may occur.My only "complaint" about the book is that it ends fairly abruptly with somewhat of a cliffhanger.  Yes, I know its Book 1 of a series (the title kinda gave it away), yet I still would like to see authors' write books that close story-lines "naturally" while leaving plenty of room for future story development.  As it is, the book stops like it is simply the end of a chapter.  I don't really appreciate authors taking a single book, splitting it up for marketing reasons, and calling it a "series".  Minus one star from me because of this.Lastly:  the book is well edited with no egregious spelling/grammar errors. (No guarantee these days with self-published Kindle books).