For Love of Magic

by Simon R. Green

History isn’t what you think it is. It’s been rewritten to remove all the magic. Together, two people decide to put things right. A new novel of magic, history and true love from Simon R. Green.

When they fall in love, it’s magic!

History can change and has changed. Magic was and is real.

Once upon a time, there was a forgotten era of magic and monster. But the remnants—and all memory—of the old world have been replaced by the sane, the scientific, and the rational. But sometimes the magical past isn’t content to stay past. That’s where Jack Damian comes in. It’s his joy to protect our present from the supernatural remnants of an earlier time, a different history. It’s his job to make the past safe.

Jack is called to the Tate Museum, where dozens of people have disappeared beneath the surface of a painting. While investigating, he finds himself smitten with a mysterious art expert Amanda Fielding. But Amanda has plans of her own, and soon the two are traveling through time—back to the Roman Empire and then forward through history, from King Arthur’s court to Sherwood Forest. As they explore histories past as written and overwritten, the balance of magic and science shifts, and the choices the two make could change the world forever.

At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).


Praise for the Ishmael Jones

“[A] brisk, breezy mystery series . . . With convincing supernatural twists [and] witty chapter titles . . . readers will be anxious for sequels.” —Publishers Weekly

“A new book from Green is always a treat for SF and urban fantasy fans, because they know that in his fictional worlds things are never quite what they seem until it’s too late. His first foray into more traditional crime fiction (albeit with an otherworldy flavor) will delight mystery readers, especially those who relish a bit of genre blending.” —Library Journal

“Without a doubt, this is one of the best books the author has ever penned down.” —The Gatehouse

“I really enjoyed the book. If anything it was over too soon. The author captures the English Country Manor Murder Mystery feel very well, as he sets up pretty much everybody as a suspect . . . I look forward to finding out more in future volumes.” —British Fantasy Society

“Ishmael is a wonderful character, an extraterrestrial living among humans, and the series (this is the third installment) is a clever mixture of thriller and SF-horror genres. Green is best known for the Deathstalker space operas, but give this one a few more installments to develop, and it could well become Green’s masterwork.” —Booklist, Starred Review

“Lovers of high-quality fantasy and science fiction should make it a point to seek this guy out, if they haven’t already.” —Booklist

“This relatively new series is a wonderful balance of murder mystery and urban fantasy with a sci-fi twist . . . If you enjoyed Green’s previous books or if you are looking for a classic mystery with a modern twist, this is the series for you!” —That’s What I’m Talking About


Simon R. Green is the New York Times best-selling author of more than sixty science fiction, fantasy, and mystery novels.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Time Travel, Fiction, Magic, Paranormal, Mystery

291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 2, 2023

About the author

Simon Richard Green is a British science fiction and fantasy-author. He holds a degree in Modern English and American Literature from the University of Leicester. His first publication was in 1979.

His Deathstalker series is partly a parody of the usual space-opera of the 1950s, told with sovereign disregard of the rules of probability, while being at the same time extremely bloodthirsty.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great start to January Book Challenge 📚

This book was epic, absolutely loved the places the characters and the time travel was brilliant.

I think if you loved the Gideon Sable series you will definitely want to read this book 📘

Happy Reading 📘📕📙📗📓📚📒📘📕📙📗📓📚📒📘📕📗📙📕📘📒📚📒📓📗📕📙📘📒📚📖

[Uttara Srinivasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful, joyful little book this is.

The very familiar story of a hero and his mentor on a journey to right some wrongs. The hero with his heart in the right place and the will to do the right thing, the mentor with grudging admiration for the hero but motivations and secrets of her own, an obstacle course through history meeting famous people of legend and fiction, villains very real and very very dangerous, portals and time travel and Hell and Heaven (well almost)

Utterly delightful, easy, quick reading. If you are not cynical enough yet to dismiss fantasy and fairy tales, pick this one up now.

[Alexander Draganov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Джак Даймон е Външния човек, този, който ти трябва, когато трябва да елиминираш свръхестествена заплаха. Джак смята, че всички реликви от миналото трябва да бъдат унищожени, защото не се знае какво зло може да се крие зад тях. За разлика от него красивата Аманда е убедена, че светът на магията е бил по-добър и ние сме го унищожили с науката. Двамата ще се съберат в музей, където картина поглъща хора и ще започнат пътуване из историята на Англия – от древността, където келтски и гръцки богове са се разминавали по улицата през двора на крал Артур, Шеруудския лес на Робин Худ, Шекспировия театър, в който ги чака кралица Елизабет. И накрая Джак ще трябва да направи избор – между магията и нейната непредвидимост и науката, сковала човечеството като в затвор с ясните си правила…

Цялото ми ревю може да прочетете в Цитаделата:
https://citadelata.com/for-love-of-ma...

[Ogre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad to see Simon R. Green do a new book that is a one-shot. Although I enjoy his writing, I must say I've come to dread his starting up a new series and never finishing any of the others he has written. This one is a self-contained world, with no likely connection to any of his others. The characters are likeable and fun, as one would expect, and it's a great take on some classic British folklore characters within these pages. Nothing groundbreaking in the sense of twists or turns of plot (although I will admit the identity of the final big bad guy did surprise me considerably) but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2, the first 2/3 of the book carried me along, but the final portion of the book felt both rushed and slight. Still an entertaining read.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful and goofy fantasy that is as whimsical as the cover. Good for fans of Kevin Hearne's Tales of Pell and Elliot James's Charming series.

[Beatrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fantasy fan, reading the recently published recommendations on the Bookstagram tables at the bookstore can turn into a Groundhog Day-type situation; formulaic plot devices, overly complicated and broody character stereotypes, settings that are so worn out they’re practically threadbare, the list goes on. This book, however, manages to feel contemporary without falling into any of those overused tropes. With witty dialogue and a near-constant stream of plot-driven throwbacks to fantasy greats of the past, reading this was an almost nostalgic experience for me which is funny because I’ve never read anything by this author before! Imagine for a moment that the world’s history was overwritten to destroy all traces of magic in order to promote logical and scientific reasoning as the driving force for humanity’s future. Now imagine you’re the one obligated to erase those traces; that’s Jack Damian’s job as the Outsider, a once-in-a-generation enforcer for the side of science and reason. But after meeting an intriguing woman at a disappearance case and letting her take him on the adventure of a lifetime, Jack begins to question everything he thought he knew. For fans of Jim Butcher, Tanya Huff, or Seanan McGuire.

[Marty Tool · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seems to be a standalone, not sure if anymore of this series as he basically wraps the whole story. It's a fun ride through history and mythological adventures, and leaves us wondering what was real history and what was only myth, or was it. Green has his signature stamp on this with the snarky dialog and strong characters, he always has a strong male but also at least one badass female who isn't a strong if not stronger character. Enjoyable ride through history.

[Luke Sauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly Phenomenal

From an author who has written some of the very best of all time…comes another riveting tale told with such magic. This is one of those books where I am jealous of people who get to read it for the first time. Enjoy and note you may miss some sleep because you won’t want to stop reading.

[David Lemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of vaguely connected vignettes - not his best work

[Groucho42 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Travesty. I'm reading another right now that also is a parody with humor. However, it has story and plot. This piece of trash is just an excuse for the author to write what he thinks are funny scenes. Also, somehow the world's magic depends on what happens in a few places in the backwater that is England.

Jack is the Outsider, the guy who has to find magic. His travels with Amanda to multiple places in history for no other reason than to please the author. Take one, Sherwood Forest. They go there because it "matters." After all, the last elf, vampire and giant are there and must be saved. Wouldn't it be a bit more important to save a time when there were more of each, so they could breed? After all, after they're saved, they're still the last and on the way to extinction.

Individual scenes and a few good lines don't make a reasonable book.

[Laura Akers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of the author’s Nightside, Deathstalker, and other series. Because I’ve read most of his books, perhaps this was predictable. I enjoyed exploring King Arthur’s court, Robin Hood, and others, each with a twist. I listened to it on Audible.

[Katie T]

Dnf 38%

[Madeline Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not terribly written, but I’m giving up 28 pages in. This is a new book in 2023, and the male gaze is still this bad? *gag*

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just NOT my cup of tea. It was predictable with all the time travel, meeting someone historically famous, fighting a monster, onto the next. Lots of rules that don’t follow any logic, tons of exceptions and explaining away everything. I went into reading this completely blind from a random recommendation and I could’ve done without this book entirely- cheesy and hokey, very disappointing.

[John Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world the way it could be

What would it be like if all that could be was. If would be an amazing joy filled place. Throw out the secret masters and live with all the magical things. Yes please...

[Lara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. Seemed like this book was trying to be all the things. Urban fantasy, historical fantasy, humorous fantasy, cozy fantasy…there was “a little of everything” and not in a good way.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fun of For Love of Magic begins with the title, as there are SO MANY possible interpretations. And all of them are applicable and all of them are fascinating.

In the beginning, Jack Daimon doesn’t love magic. In fact, his job is to eliminate whatever bits of it sneak into our rational, scientific world. But he does fall head over heels in love with Amanda Fielding the moment he meets her – in the middle of closing up an abyss to an extremely nasty and highly magical place. And there’s more magic in that meeting – and in Amanda herself – than initially meets the eye.

Jack Daimon is the Outsider, the one person who exists outside of magic AND the various and sundry organizations and armies that are attempting to stamp it out. His job is to eliminate the chaos of magic whenever it appears.

He’s very, very good at his job. But his job requires that he have an open mind about pretty much everything. The people who don’t believe in magic tend to become gibbering wrecks whenever it appears – which in Jack’s line of work turns out to be frequently and often.

What Jack doesn’t know when we first meet him – and he first meets Amanda – is that magic is dying. Not of natural causes, but by being ruthlessly stamped out by some very mysterious secret masters of the universe who plan to control everything and everyone.

For fun, profit and their own benefit, of course.

Jack is magic’s – and Amanda’s – one last chance to set things right before it’s too late. But first he has to learn a lesson. Or two. Or ten. Whatever it takes to stand up and hold his ground in the face of everything he’s ever believed – and every force that has ever tried to remake the world in its own dry, humdrum, ruthlessly rational and utterly tyrannical image.

There’s supposed to be magic in the world. It’s Jack’s job to stand his ground so that Amanda has the chance to bring it back. If he can. If he decides he should. If he can make up his mind – and his heart.

Escape Rating A-: I had a great time with For Love of Magic, but whether you will or not probably depends on how much you like snarky characters with even snarkier commentary – even though this Jack isn’t filled with nearly as much of the snark as some of the author’s previous protagonists.

Jack isn’t nearly as snarky as Gideon Sable or Eddie Drood, because Jack needs a sense of wonder to make his way through the magical mystery history tour that Amanda takes him on. Her plan is to convince Jack, or use Jack, or a bit of both, to bring the magic back before it – and she – are gone forever.

That’s where the fun of the whole thing comes in, as she takes Jack to the times and places where magic made life, well, magical – before the forces of rational science rewrote history for their own purposes.

She doesn’t work through logic, because that’s the enemy’s strategy. She grabs for the heart, both Jack’s and the reader’s, by going back to times and places that were filled with wonder. She makes this adventure a tour of what rational science has reduced to mythical Britain, and draws Jack to Camelot and Sherwood Forest. Not to show him that magic will make things perfect – because human beings are NOT perfectable. But by showing him that some things are worth fighting for and that one of those things is a world that is not reduced to humanity only.

So she gives him a dream – and she gives it to us too. All the better because it hits a few contemporary issues squarely on the nose – and promptly punches them several times.

Like much of this author’s work, it does borrow a bit from his vast canon, but not in any way that’s overt or requires previous familiarity. Personally, I saw elements of Shadows Fall and Hawk and Fisher, as well as the Nightside. But then I also felt like I was seeing bits of the Iron Druid’s perspective, and Amanda was often referred to by some of the same terms that that series uses for the Morrigan.

By throwing King Arthur and Robin Hood, Boudicca and Gloriana, Frankenstein and Faust, into the mix, it stirs up a heady brew of the possibilities of where magic in the world might take us – if we still have the chance to let it. And that always makes for a fantastic read!

Originally published at Reading Reality

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jack is The Outsider, a person with sight that allows him to see, and subsequently deal with, magical remnants from the past intent on harming humanity. When he is called to the Tate to deal with a painting that has been eating people, he runs into Amanda Fielding, apparently an assistant curator, but when she asks him out for a drink, he learns that she's much more than meets the eye. She tells him that the world used to be magical, but that history has been erased, and is erased further every time he destroys an artifact or piece of art. She wants him to bring magic back, but Jack isn't sure that's the best thing to do, so Amanda sets about convincing him by taking him through Britain's magical history, where he meets Queen Boudica, slays the monster Grendel, and fights alongside King Arthur and Robin Hood. Will Jack decide that humanity is better off without magic, or will he be able to become the hero he insists he isn't?

I really liked the premise of this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. Amanda is by far the most interesting character in the book, yet she is reduced to Jack's magical guide/love interest. I would have much preferred a book from her perspective (and written by someone who wants to make 3D female characters) because Jack's perspective was pretty... meh. The only other woman in the story is evil (obviously) and also in love with Jack? (she says she is, but the author does a pretty poor job giving the reader any reason to believe that) and this book absolutely does not pass the Bechdel test. It is also completely England-centric, which doesn't really make a lot of sense if magic has vanished from the whole world - there are gods and legends and magic from most cultures around the world, and you're telling me Hercules or Gilgamesh or any other number of heroes wouldn't have been helpful in a pinch? The romance was also completely non-existent between Jack and Amanda. They literally kiss once then declare their love for each other; I guess Jack's "macho hero who saves the day and keeps insisting he isn't a hero" is enough for a crazy-powerful, ancient-beyond-belief being? Ooooooookay, sure it is. Overall, cool premise but I was pretty let down by the execution.

[Sean McDonald · Rating 1 out of 5]

I flashed through huge sections of this because frankly, it's bubblegum rubbish, book flavoured candy floss. I SHOULD give you a detailed review but honestly there's very little to say. There's the hero who heroes at the right point in the story because that's his job, there "perky sassy witchy mysterious female character that everyone in history knows and the author is DESPERATELY trying to make the character sexy because she's female question mark". There's "Grumpy boss of secret organisation" who is grumpy I guess and there's "Tough female character with gun" but don't worry about her because she only gets a few scenes but she was totes into the hero because she was like super tough and sexy right.....The two main characters go on a time travelling adventure because the script required it and we meet the REAL Boudicca who is badass because she's female, smelly and has an axe and TOTALLY subverted your expectations yeah because she's got an axe and has no table manners SUBVERSION DUDE!! *mic drop in front of confused reader* and then we meet Beowulf who's like super awesome dude who kills monsters except he doesn't but he's there when 'Definetly not Harry Dresden' kills a werewolf so that sexy perky witchy time traveller can say "See, that's why I brought you here.....i bet you feel silly now for not getting why I had you do that" and then we meet Frankensteins monster who is all "AH HAH, NOW DO YOU SEE MY EVIL PLAN MWAHAHAHAHA" to which everyone replied "Who the f*** are you and why are you here and what on EARTH is going on" and then I got a coffee and threw the book into the pile of others to return. It's just rubbish.

[Robert J. Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but the story has a lot of flaws.

The biggest challenge I had reading the book was trying to connect to the characters and the plot. Except for the beginning of the book, I cannot recall the protagonists stopping for normal activities such as eating or sleeping. Dramatic events such as character deaths, are quickly resolved with little to no emotional impact. Dialogue seemed stilted at times - I kept getting the feeling the author was trying to make every conversation filled with witty dialogue. Plot elements often resolved into basic conflict between the protagonists and antagonists. The characters were quite shallow.

The book is easy to follow, is a quick read quick, and was fun. The writing was mostly fine. Descriptions were good. The plot was lighthearted and full of optimism along with a dash of romance.

In conclusion, I think the book is fine if you are looking for something fun and quick to read to pass some time. While I found the story a little basic and trite, I also enjoyed reading a lighthearted book. I give the book some leeway because I don’t think the author was really going trying to create a deep or serious book.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I was predisposed to like this because of the author, the book was a big disappointment for me. The antagonists were one dimensional, and the main protagonist appeared to sleep-walk through the whole book.

However, my main grievance with the book is mainly philosophical. It totally ignores the advances of Man and Civilization through science (and order) for the chaos of Magic. I just could not swallow the the last chapter where "dinosaurs roam the hollow earth" (with less mass, what about gravity?), where everything is sunshine and rainbows (are there any real humans left on Earth?), and there is life on Mars (and very likely the Sun revolves around the Earth). When magic is real, nothing is real.

[Sheldon Wiebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon R. Green is a prolific writer of F&SF whose work is consistently entertaining and, occasionally brilliant (his Nightside series rivals Jim Butcher's Dresden files for quality urban fantasy).

For Love of Magic is a one-off about a man whose job it is to fix problems associated with magic in modern world. The problem is that in so doing he is removing the last bits of magic from the world - at least until he's made aware of the situation and rebels against his former employers.

This a fast-paced, fun ride through mythologies and legends that take on new meaning in this context.

Well worth your time.

[L & J Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous urban fantasy. Jack Daimon is an Outsider; his is job to protect humanity by "defusing the supernatural equivalent of unexploded bombs left behind by forgotten civilizations." His latest mission begins with a rescue of innocent bystanders who've been sucked into a cursed painting. There he meets Amanda, a supernatural being with a special agenda since the world's history is a palimpsest. with its magical history was overwritten by those secretly in power who wish to have science predominate while looting magical treasures from the past.

[Tammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I have enjoyed Simon R. Green's writing for a long time. There have been some books that I have like more than others. This book however, feels like he plucked random thoughts from my head as writing prompts and wrote a book just for me. This is a book that I have wanted to read for a very long time and just didn't know it.
It makes me wonder how much magic the author has honest access too. Lol
I would recommend this book to anyone who still half wonders if there could be fairies in the back garden and is in search of a good stand alone read.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Help me read more books

I've read many books by Simon R. Green, and every one of them I've enjoyed. This one is no exception. It took a while to get there, but the story is pretty good, and the ending is unexpected. Love unexpected endings. Parts of the story do tend to drag, but for the most part, the story progresses well, and there's never any doubt which path the main character will take, (right up to the end). Great fun.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun, easy-going, easy to read romp. Blasting through British myths and folklore whilst twisting it all slightly to create an entertaining fantasy melting pot.
It'd make a perfect beach read, fans of Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid, Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus series would enjoy this.
It did strangely remind me of a sort of one off episode of something the team would have encountered in Stargate SG-1 too. It's got that type of vibe to it.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for anything written by Mr. Green. This was no exception. 100% his style. A fast fun read. I have always found his books delightful. He uses expressions and ideas that surprise me, and sometimes take a while to wrap my head around. Not deep thoughts, just a view askew of the world. He turns ideas on their heads at times and I just adore that.

[Sydney Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not what I expected. It wasn’t terrible. But it wasn’t great either. The goings-on at the museum only occur in chapter 1. The character of Miriam is very over the top and pointless. This is really more of a collection of chronological short stories with a chapter at the end that tries to connect them.

[Tim Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun palate-cleanser, and I suspect that's all Green was trying for, so let's not criticize all the things it isn't. It left me with the feeling that four of us spent a drunk evening playing "what-if" with magic and history, and in the morning one of us was semi-sober, remembered most of it, and happened to be a capable writer.