James Martin is a teacher, a powerful Psychic, and an alcoholic. He used to work for the Center for Magical Research and Development, a facility that houses people who can’t control their supernatural abilities, but left after one of his students was killed, turning to vodka to soothe his emotional pain. The problem is he still has one year left on his contract.When James is forced to return to … return to the CMRD, he finds himself confronting the demons of his past and attempting to protect his new class from a possible death sentence, because if they don’t pass their final exams, they’ll be euthanized.
James also discovers that his class isn’t bringing in enough sponsors, the agencies and world governments who supply grants and ultimately purchase graduates of the CMRD, and that means no profit for the facility. James and his students face impossible odds—measure up to the facility’s unreachable standards or escape.
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I give this novel four superpowered stars!
This is my first read by this author, and I was thoroughly impressed!
Magic or Die is a novel centering on a man named James who has supernatural abilities. Having a past with the government agency known as CRMD, he is called in to tutor a class of superpowered twenty-somethings. Many things have changed since he’s last been to the CRMD, many disturbing things. If he can’t train his class of superpowered individuals to control their powers they’ll be euthanized. Can James convince the CRMD that they can exist without hurting others, or will he be forced to choose between them and the CRMD?
This was a great read.
First and foremost I really enjoyed the characters. James had some depth to him. Not only is he superpowered and gay, but also an alcoholic. He’s got a lot of issues to work through, and we see a lot of progression in this novel.
I liked the other characters as well. Isaiah, Annabelle, Camila, Ning, and Chris, they each had their distinct personalities, and though not all of them had a lot of character progression, some definitely did and that added to the story. I really felt bad for their situation and wanted desperately for them to escape. Also, Miriam was a Grade-A dragon lady, and she was very easy to dislike and fit her character very well.
The plot had me going from the beginning. This was very “X-Men go to Genosha Island” for me, and that being one of my favorite X-Men stories, the whole concept was a winner for me. The magic/superpowered system was well thought out, and I enjoyed getting to know all about this alternate reality.
There were some interactions I really enjoyed, specifically one between Tonka and Miriam that literally made me laugh out loud. There were also plenty of laughable moments between James and his students that helped the experience not be so serious the entire time.
If I had to pick at anything I’d say the weakest part for me was the last couple chapters. It just felt a bit rushed to me after what we’d built up, and the ending seemed a bit abrupt for me, but I understand that the author is setting us up for the next book, which I’m super excited about.
In the end, this was a great superpowered book with plenty of action, drama, and high stakes. Looking forward to reading more from this author!
This is one of those stories that will grab you and keep you reading until you finish. After reading the first novel by this author I had thought, wrongly, that this would be another ride into the regions of a twisted imagination (not a bad thing). What I got instead was a cross between; Harry Potter, Shadow Hunters, and Lost Girl. There was the right mix of tension, drama, and levity making this a fun read. Don’t get me wrong, it was dark and creepy and there are some images I won’t forget, but mostly it was a lot of fun.
I’m being nitpicky with this story because really I have nothing major to complain about. However, there were two things that bothered me. One, the love and enjoyment of smoking. Okay, I get it, people smoke and people enjoy it, but reading about it in this story and despite the fact that James, the main character, constantly called them cancer sticks and talked about quitting was something that I couldn’t get past to the point where it was a little annoying. Why even have them in the story? I didn’t see the need and James already had an addiction to alcohol, which I felt was more than enough to give him a wonderful character quirk. I know this is a ‘me issue’, but the whole smoking things bugged the heck out me.
Two, as good as the book was, the ending was a bit… I’m not sure I liked it. I understood and I appreciated the set up for the next book, but I don’t think it was really needed. I think the book could have easily ended a chapter sooner and I would have felt much more satisfied.
That all said I will certainly read the next book and whatever else this author has in store for us. I loved the character development and I was rooting for our ragtag group the entire time.
I’ve debated between four and five stars and wish I could give it four and a half stars because I’m really being picky with the story and that might not be fair to the author. Still I loved the book and I can’t wait for the next one.