Devon Monk

Allie Beckstrom — (2008-2012) Publisher: Using magic means it uses you back — and every spell exacts a price from the user. Some people, however, get out of it by Offloading the cost of magic onto an innocent, then Allison Beckstrom's job is to identify the spell-caster. Allie would rather live a hand-to-mouth existence than accept the family fortune and the strings that come with it, but when she finds a boy dying from a magical Offload that has her father's signature all over it she is thrown back into the world of his black magic.

Magic to the Bone

Magic to the Bone is a breath of fresh air in the urban fantasy genre, in much the same way that Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series is a breath of fresh air. Instead of the same tired werewolf/vampire soap opera that so many novels perpetuate, Magic to the Bone is more concerned with the ramifications of adding magic to modern society and exploring the realistic consequences. Magic, in Devon Monk's universe, has been recently discovered, and along with it, the price of its use. Every time someone uses magic, there is a backlash of sorts: the caster might suffer a days-long migraine, lose memories, or gain a scar. Of course, the next thing humanity researched was how to Offload a spell's cost onto someone else. (There's a chilling offhand line about how one of the legal, sanctioned methods of doing this is to redirect the backlash to the inmates of a penitentiary.)

The story begins as our heroine, Allie Beckstrom, discovers a child near death from an illegal Offload, and senses her father's magical "signature" in the spell that is affecting the boy. Allie is the black-sheep scion of a great business/magic empire, and confronting her father about the spell means speaking to him for the first time in seven years. It goes badly, and when Daddy turns up dead, Allie is the prime suspect.

What follows is an exciting and often poignant story that follows Allie as she attempts to stay alive, deal with a suddenly complicated love life, and solve a mystery. Along the way, she learns far more about magic and its uses than what is taught in the official magic schools. We meet several delightful secondary characters that I'm looking forward to seeing again, and unlike many other urban fantasy writers, Devon Monk doesn't set up Allie as the only worthwhile female character in the book. She allows Allie a wonderful best friend and a fascinating woman who might become another good friend someday.

It was perhaps a bit too easy to figure out whodunit, though I must admit I didn't figure out why, though it should have occurred to me. I do wonder why it took Allie so long to figure out that if one magical signature could be forged, so could another magical signature that was left at another crime scene, but that's a small quibble.

I have mixed emotions about the romantic plot. On the one hand, I'm not sure whether I believe that Allie would open up to Zayvion as quickly as she does, but on the other hand, the circumstances are weird enough and harrowing enough that it might just work. I have to admit that I groaned a little when Monk introduced a plot device that both draws the couple closer and gives both of them a "power-up," but it's not Monk's fault that I'm a little weary of the "magical sexual synergy" type of plot. And for what it's worth, it's done well. I thought the sex scenes were perfect, in that they focused more on the flow of energy between Allie and Zayvion, and less on the tab A-slot B stuff.

I also have to applaud Monk for not forgetting about a small "Chekhov's gun" that she introduced early in the story. Allie, knowing she's prone to memory loss due to magic, carries a notebook with her to keep track of important things. I kept noticing throughout the book that she wasn't writing in it, and thought Monk had just forgotten to incorporate the notebook into the story. I should have had more faith! Allie's absentmindedness has consequences later.

Magic to the Bone isn't completely perfect, but Devon Monk shows the potential to be a standout writer in the subgenre. Most importantly, I could not put this book down; I read it in two nights, with only work and sleep coming between me and the pages. Well done.
—Kelly Lasiter

Magic in the Blood

I complain sometimes about urban fantasy heroines who keep racking up more and more improbable powers over the course of a series, eventually becoming such spectacular demigoddesses that it would take a small army to give them so much as a black eye.

That's one problem Allie Beckstrom doesn't have. I'm beginning to think Allie needs more powers to deal with everything Devon Monk is throwing at her. Monk is great — maybe a little too great — at describing the agony of trekking all over Portland in the rain with a blinding migraine, and by the time I'd followed Allie through this ordeal a couple of times, I found myself wishing she'd start trusting Zayvion again just so he could Ground her.

Magic in the Blood begins as Allie is recovering from the events that took place in Magic to the Bone. The reader remembers everything that happened, but as a result of a magical backlash, Allie doesn't. Specifically, she doesn't remember much about her relationship with Zayvion. The fragile trust that had just been developing between Allie and Zayvion is in a shambles now, and she's back at square one, trying to figure out whether to let him back into her life. She also doesn't remember meeting her stepmother, Violet. (An aside: I'm beginning to think Violet is my favorite character in this series. I'd love to see more of her. If Devon Monk were to write a spin-off book telling Violet's story, I'd be in bookworm heaven. I'd love to get inside her head.)

Further complicating Allie's life, she is being threatened by a crime boss just released from prison, haunted by the ghost of her dead father, and stalked by a horde of terrifying beings who are drawn to the magic she carries in her body. Every time Allie uses magic, she attracts these creatures, and has to use more magic to fight them off. As a result, she spends most of Magic in the Blood suffering from one magic-induced ailment after another.

The principal villain of Magic in the Blood is truly creepy. This character has mastered a horrific magical art, and to make things worse, it's such an obscure skill that everyone thinks Allie is hallucinating when she describes what's going on. I did figure out pretty quickly that this character was bad news, but I wasn't able to put all the pieces together until Allie did.

I'm giving Magic in the Blood 3.5 stars, since I gave Magic to the Bone 4 stars. Magic in the Blood didn't grab me quite as insistently as Magic to the Bone did. When I try to put my finger on why, I think maybe it's just that it feels like Blood is treading some of the same ground again, both in terms of the romantic subplot and in terms of the sequences in which Allie travels around the city while feeling ill. I think this "retread" feeling was probably inevitable, though, given Allie's amnesia and the way magic works in Monk's world.

I look forward to seeing what happens in the next Allie Beckstrom novel. Allie's growing alliances with other Hounds promise to be interesting (as long as she writes them down and makes sure to remember them!), and I always enjoy an urban fantasy heroine who develops more friendships as her story progresses rather than becoming more standoffish. And the cliffhanger ending! I can't wait to find out where this is going. —Kelly Lasiter

Magic in the Shadows

"All I had wanted was a frickin' cup of coffee. Couldn't a girl go downtown without having to deal with undead mutated murderers on the way?"

When that girl is Allie Beckstrom... no. As Magic in the Shadows begins, Allie is hoping for a nice, normal date with her boyfriend Zayvion. Unfortunately, her father's ghost has taken up residence in her head, and then there's that grisly crime scene she and Zayvion find on the way to the restaurant...

Things only get more complicated from there. And, fortunately, this time we don't have to suffer as much vicarious pain as we follow Allie through her adventures. There's a lot less focus on the physical after-effects of magic in Magic in the Shadows than there is in the two previous books, and there's no amnesia. In fact, Allie learns a chilling fact that just might explain why her magic use has so often resulted in memory loss. I think this trend (away from the focus on physical pain) will continue, since Allie is learning to control her magic and planning to enroll in good old-fashioned non-magical self-defense lessons.

Magic in the Shadows, like previous installments, incorporates several important plotlines. There's the paternal possession issue and the aforementioned mutated murderer, along with Allie's encounters with the Authority and developments in her relationship with Zayvion. Some of these plots are resolved here, and some promise to return in forthcoming books. Magic in the Shadows also provides a lot of character development for Allie, Zayvion, and Allie's father, Daniel Beckstrom. You know you have a dysfunctional father-daughter relationship when being possessed by Dad's ghost actually improves your rapport!

Devon Monk fills out Allie's world with plenty of delightful secondary characters. Zayvion's friend Shamus is lots of fun, and then there's Stone the gargoyle. I want one! In addition, we see more of Nola, Detective Paul Stotts, Davy Silvers, and others.

I do wish Allie had taken Tomi's threats more seriously and passed on a stronger warning to Davy. Davy, being stubborn, would probably have taken the same actions anyway. So, Allie comes off as a little unnecessarily clueless in this one scene.

Overall, Magic in the Shadows was enjoyable. I found it superior to Magic in the Blood, and roughly tied with Magic to the Bone. There's a lot of set-up here, but it's interesting enough that I didn't mind. Monk now has plenty of plot hooks to explore in future books. Best of all, Allie is developing into a character who is more able to withstand the trouble that lies ahead. I recommend the Allison Beckstrom series to urban fantasy fans who want something fresh and original, with a snarky sense of humor. —Kelly Lasiter

Magic at the Gate

I haven’t read Magic on the Storm, the fourth book in the Allie Beckstrom series, but I gather it ended on a massive cliffhanger. The opening of book five, Magic at the Gate, finds Allie in the land of the dead. She has ventured into death to find the soul of her boyfriend, Zayvion, who is in a coma after the events of the previous book.

I normally love to read about underworld journeys, but this one falls a little flat. The problem, I think, is that Allie lacks agency during this sequence. Daniel Beckstrom, her dead father, is calling most of the shots and giving Allie a lecture about magic. When a difficult decision is placed in Allie’s hands, the story instantly becomes more vivid.

The scenes set in the death realm only occupy the early portion of Magic at the Gate. The plot can be roughly divided into three parts. The second, dealing with Allie’s return to the “real” world and the consequences of her journey, may strike some readers as slow. Devon Monk gives the characters time to recuperate and have a few “here’s what you missed” conversations. Since I missed the last book, this was extremely useful to me. I suspect at least some of the information will be new to readers who did read Magic on the Storm; some important events occurred after Allie, the point-of-view character, left the scene of the battle and walked into death.

Then, Monk unleashes the action again in the third section — and it’s terrific. Allie faces several hard choices as she realizes she can’t protect everyone she cares about at the same time. Crises pile up one after the other. The story builds to a big climactic battle, filled with suspense and beautiful writing. One doesn’t expect beautiful writing in a combat scene, but it’s there, and it works. The only trouble with this scene is that it, like the beginning, has Daniel Beckstrom in the “driver’s seat” a little more than I’d have liked.

Magic at the Gate is a good book that gets better the further you read. There’s plenty of action, further insights into some of the secondary characters (particularly Shamus), a couple of hilarious lines, and some wonderfully touching moments between Allie and Zayvion. Monk leaves plenty of plot hooks for future installments. I have no idea where this story is headed, but I’m looking forward to finding out. I only hope that, when the series’ big climax comes, Allie gets more time to shine than her dad. —Kelly Lasiter

Magic on the Hunt

Magic on the Hunt begins with a cute domestic scene; Allie and Zayvion play rock-paper-scissors in bed. The loser has to get out of the nice warm bed and make breakfast for the other. It’s such a sweet moment, and the two characters are so constantly in crisis mode that we don’t get nearly enough of these.

Unsurprisingly, the idyll doesn’t last very long, and it’s business as usual for the embattled magic users of Portland. And by business as usual, I mean “mortal peril.”

Devon Monk moves the series forward by leaps and bounds in this installment. The amount of development in the overarching plot is fantastic. First we learn more about something that was hinted in Magic at the Gate: Allie’s memory losses aren’t just side effects of magic use, but something more deliberate and sinister. Then, there’s a very welcome development on the Dad-in-Allie’s-head front. From there, we move to the main plot of this book: Leander, the legendary undead sorcerer, is wreaking havoc in the city in his quest to gain a physical body and reunite with his Soul Complement, Isabelle.

A huge revelation follows. This is the kind of revelation that will rearrange the whole series in your head after you read it. I’m seriously tempted to do a reread of all six books — including the fourth one, which I missed before — and experience the story again, this time in light of the new information we’re given here.

It’s increasingly clear, too, that Allie and Zayvion court danger every day by being together; not just because murderous magic users are always after them, but because their Soul Complement bond comes with a high risk of insanity. Three Soul Complement couples in their lives illustrate the danger: two of the pairs have gone horribly wrong, while the third is trying desperately not to. I hope Allie and Zay won’t have to part ways to stay sane. They’re an interesting couple and I’m rooting for them.

The Allie Beckstrom series consistently delivers tension and excitement, and Magic on the Hunt is one of its strongest books, what with the plot bombshells and the increased degree of free will accorded to Allie. I look forward to book seven, Magic on the Line. And, having visited Multnomah Falls, I have to say that — if magic existed — there would absolutely be scads of it there. Absolutely. —Kelly Lasiter

Magic on the Line

I’ve got to hand it to Devon Monk: she scares the daylights out of me, in a really good way. Earlier this year she sent chills down my spine with the blood-and-steam magic of Dead Iron. The latest ALLIE BECKSTROM installment, Magic on the Line, is just as chilling, for at least three reasons:

One, something has gone terribly wrong with magic. Allie gets sick every time she tries to cast spells; and worse, one young acquaintance has died and another has become deathly ill from a mysterious ailment connected to the ghostly Veiled.

Secondly, the Authority is cracking down on the magical community of Portland after the chaos of the last few books. Monk creates a terrific vibe of paranoia and persecution as the new Portland overseer, Bartholomew Wray, begins a reign of terror.

Finally, the holes in Allie’s memory come back to haunt her when she hires the services of a mad scientist/doctor, and he seems to know her. Very well. Even though as far as she knows, she’s never met the man before.

In addition to being a spine-tingling read, Magic on the Line is a turning point for the series. Allie changes, becoming more hardened. Zayvion changes, as he weighs the letter and spirit of his oaths against the new Authority policies. And by the end of the book, Allie and her friends face a whole new set of challenges, without a lot of the advantages they previously had. It’ll be a very different series from here on out.

Magic on the Line is a great addition to the ALLIE BECKSTROM series; it advances the plot dramatically… and will have you looking over your shoulder for Veiled and creepy Authority goons. —Kelly Lasiter

Magic Without Mercy

At the end of Magic on the Line, Allie Beckstrom killed the head of Portland’s Authority — who was ignoring a magical plague in the city for his own ends — and now she is a fugitive, along with her lover Zayvion and a handful of her closest friends who have now broken with the Authority as well. In Magic Without Mercy, Allie and her small band investigate the poisoning of Portland’s four magical wells and try to find a way to cleanse magic before the problem can go worldwide. But the Authority is against them now, led by the creepy Jingo Jingo, and a confrontation is inevitable.

It’s becoming difficult to review the ALLIE BECKSTROM books, what with Magic Without Mercy being the eighth installment in a series where the books are heavily linked rather than episodic. If you’ve been reading them all along, you’ll of course want to read this one, and it’s a solid addition to the series. No sharks were jumped in the making of this book. And if you haven’t read the previous books but think they sound intriguing, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to Magic to the Bone and start there or you’ll get lost.

Allie, for reasons that are still mysterious, is affected more strongly by the taint in magic than most people are; she can’t cast spells without getting sick. This doesn’t stop her from playing a large role in events. Here, she’s the leader and the liaison between several disparate groups; one character tells her she’s the only person they all listen to, and he’s right. But to me the strongest story in Magic Without Mercy is Shame’s and Terric’s, as they learn to work together as Soul Complements and make great sacrifices to save one another.

Magic Without Mercy introduces some new developments and some more intriguing questions about Allie’s father, and culminates in a climactic battle with meaningful casualties. Overall, it’s not my favorite of the Allie Beckstrom books, but it’s a good book and adds some new twists to the series. One more book is planned: Magic for a Price, due out in November 2012. I look forward to seeing what happens but will be sad to see the series end. —Kelly Lasiter