  | Book Details Title: Spellhacker |
Book DescriptionReview “A humorous mix of SF and fantasy with a diverse cast of strong personalities … [and] action that carries on right to the end.” (Booklist)”Joyfully queer. Buckle in for this high-speed, bighearted sci-fi/fantasy adventure.” (Kirkus Reviews)“A bold and futuristic thrill ride with a dazzling blend of magic, mayhem, friendship, and heart.” (Jess Rothenberg, author of The Kingdom)“Fresh, inventive fun.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)Praise for The Disasters: “This laugh-out-loud sci-fi action-adventure will leave readers wanting more.” (School Library Journal)“Much to recommend: nonstop cinematic action, strong feminist messages, and great diversity of characters.” (ALA Booklist)“If humankind requires saving, then this is the crew to do it.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)“An action-packed, entertaining blend of space hijinks, humor, and romance.” (Kirkus Reviews)“An explosion of edge-of-your-seat twists and high-stakes danger that leaves you glued to the page and rooting for these lovable misfits. I wanted a snarky romp across the galaxy, and M.K. England delivered with the force of a supernova.” (Ashley Poston, author of Geekerella and Heart of Iron)“A clever, cosmic thrill ride packed with nonstop action and starring a motley crew that won me over from page one. Just too much fun!” (Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author of A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue) Read more About the Author M. K. England is an author and librarian who grew up on the Space Coast of Florida and now calls small-town rural Virginia home. When she’s not writing or librarianing, M. K. can be found drowning in fandom, rolling dice at the Dungeons & Dragons table, digging in the garden, or feeding her video game addiction. She loves Star Wars with a desperate, heedless passion. It’s best if you never speak of Sherlock Holmes in her presence. You’ll regret it. She is also the author of The Disasters. Visit her at www.mkengland.com. Read more Customers Review: England’s sophomore novel features a fantastic group of teens fighting against something big, much like their first novel, The Disasters. Spell Hacker is set in a fantasy world where magic and technology have been blended, and the society is futuristic compared to ours. A planet-wide spellplague that happened a decade ago free magic dangerous to use, and currently everyone uses the ‘scrubbed’ version provided by MCC, a corporation that has a lot of power. Our group are a set of blackmarket siphoners, who steal the magic, called ‘maz’ from MCC’s supply lines; when they come across a new strain of maz on what was supposed to be their ‘last job ever’ they get caught up in something that upends the way their current society functions.Firstly, yes, it’s a heist novel and the character cast is quite entertaining as a group so that part is solid. Our protagonist, Diz, can’t use maz, but can create tech to use maz, which Ania uses, while Remi is a spellweaver, and Jaesin is their muscle. Diz is also their resident hacker and tech genius, and while the others want to move to another city for better education/job opportunities, she wants to be in Kyrkarta, and because they don’t, she resents them for it. Hoping that taking a highly lucrative job might sway some decisions, she unwittingly gets them into a risky job. As they become fugitives, and have to prove their innocence, they learn Some Things about the spellplague that destroyed their own families.Diz’s character is snarky, and seems ebullient, but also hides insecurities and vulnerabilities behind a wall. This is the main thing that makes her fight with her friends, and is a primary obstacle in her relationship with Remi. Now, while I like their dynamic on the whole, I couldn’t entirely believe that as the thing standing between her and them, primarily because they have known each other continuously for over a decade; their friendships are not a couple of years old where they would have that sort of problems. In fact, hers and Remi’s will-they-won’t-they sort of became tiresome after a while, because they both know about each other’s feelings so it was like bravery or not wanting to change friendship (the usual obstacles in a standard childhood-friends-to-lovers trope) was the main problem here. Diz being all ‘I’ve closed that door’ over and over had me rolling my eyes, TBH.As for the world-building, it took a little while to familiarize with the strains of maz involved, but it was helped by the ‘periodic table of maz’ in the start. The conspiracy was pretty obvious, and pretty much standard dystopian fare, but what I liked was the fact that it drew parallels between maz and petroleum in our world, and how it affects the climate of their world. The strains of maz were interesting, but I wish we got some of Remi’s perspective to understand how they see the maz and how spellweaving works actually.Overall, it is pretty entertaining, has a likeable set of characters and while the mystery is not that much of a mystery, it is a fun read. | |
12 reviews