Devon Monk

Allie Beckstrom — (2008-2010) 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   Comments

Magic in the Blood: Ouch!

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   Comments

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   Comments