Robots and Vamps

Reviewed by Matt

Disclosure: This novel was purchased by the reviewer’s own hard earned cash.

This is the third book in the Allie Beckstrom series by Devon Monk. I was very lukewarm on the first book, Magic to the Bone, but I really enjoyed the second novel, Magic in the Blood. So I decided that Magic in the Shadows would be the deciding novel if I will continue on with the series. The first quarter of this novel was alittle slow but the rest of the story was very fast paced and really held my interest. In addition, Ms. Monk continues to build on events that make the overall story interesting and has me wanting to come back for more. So yes, I will be looking forward to the next novel in the series, Magic on the Storm.

As with the previous novel, the events of this novel take place over several days.  Allie and Zayvion are back together and trying to set up the ground rules in order to establish a possible long term relationship. This is the beginning parts that did not hold my interest all that well. I am not sure I really like these two together as they are somewhat a boring couple. Again, there is a lot of discussion of Allie and Zayvion being soul complements. Ms. Monk does better job this time around building on the mythos of soul complements but it is still kinda corny.

Allie is also receives a visit from Nola. Nola is her friend from the first book that lives in the country and away from magic. Nola is on mission to adopt Cody. Cody is the boy from Magic to the Bone that caused alot of havoc and Nola believes that she needs take care of him and move him away from the city. We also learn some interesting tidbits about Cody’s lineage at the end of novel.

Detective Paul Stotts and his MERC squad are lightly touched upon along with Allie taking over the protection of the Hounders as she had promised Martin Pike in Magic in the Blood. This novel focuses more on Allie’s initial introduction into The Authority. The Authority is an ancient group that has put themselves in charge of overseeing magic use in society. For thousand years they had kept magic a secret but when Allie Beckstrom’s father invents a method to allow the general population to have easy access to magic then it becomes common knowledge. The Authority is now regulated to taking care of the more horrific magical users and beasts that are starting to crop up.

Lastly, Allie still has her father’s voice inside her head and he is able to control her actions at times. This seems as it would put a crimp in your sex life?

I am now effectively sold on this series as it is getting more and more interesting with each novel. I like the fact Ms. Monk made Allie  a neophyte in the ways of magic when compared to the long standing members of The Authority. Allie has a lot of raw power but has never been properly trained to use her talents and this really becomes a burden when attempting to fight off demons.

Ms. Monk is also very adept at juggling multiple story lines during the course of her novel. She introduces numerous problems for Allie at the beginning of the story plus some left over from the previous novels. Ms. Monk is a talented enough writer to rap of some these plot threads or combine them with others seamlessly without interrupting the flow of the story.

I really like the direction of this series and feel it has a very bright future. This will sound corny but as I finishing up this book there was a huge magic battle scene and a strange thought came into my head, this is like Harry Potter but for adults. This is series is becoming that good  and easily becoming one of my favorites.  Again, I highly recommend this series in every way possible.

Author’s website: Devon Monk and Deadline Dames.