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Schooled in Magic #12
Fists of Justice
The war is over. But the scars remain.
Emily’s New Learning has been good for Beneficence. In the years since she arrived on the Nameless World, the city has been at the forefront of technological advancement and social development. Thousands of newcomers are moving to the city, railways span the gorge and drive into Zangaria, the first steamboats are plowing the ocean wave and a whole new banking system is reshaping national and international trade. A true golden age appears to be on hand.
But all is not well. The city’s largest businessman may be on the verge of collapse, the city guilds are weakening, religious fanatics stalk the streets, and there are rumors that one of the Great Gods has returned to judge everyone. The streets are on edge. No one knows which way to turn.
Emily returns to Beneficence for Casper’s funeral before she goes back to school. But, as she is drawn into a political, social and religious meltdown, she finds herself dealing with the darker consequences of her innovations, people who blame her for the problems facing the city, religious fanatics, her boyfriend’s family...
...And a deadly plot from the dark past that may lead the Nameless World to utter ruin.
Emily’s New Learning has been good for Beneficence. In the years since she arrived on the Nameless World, the city has been at the forefront of technological advancement and social development. Thousands of newcomers are moving to the city, railways span the gorge and drive into Zangaria, the first steamboats are plowing the ocean wave and a whole new banking system is reshaping national and international trade. A true golden age appears to be on hand.
But all is not well. The city’s largest businessman may be on the verge of collapse, the city guilds are weakening, religious fanatics stalk the streets, and there are rumors that one of the Great Gods has returned to judge everyone. The streets are on edge. No one knows which way to turn.
Emily returns to Beneficence for Casper’s funeral before she goes back to school. But, as she is drawn into a political, social and religious meltdown, she finds herself dealing with the darker consequences of her innovations, people who blame her for the problems facing the city, religious fanatics, her boyfriend’s family...
...And a deadly plot from the dark past that may lead the Nameless World to utter ruin.
389 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 21, 2017
331 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
July 16, 2018
Firstly, an apology for not writing a review of The Sergeant's Apprentice which I read last week. It had a big battle and was fun. This book is fun too, but it's a bit different as it involves economics and religious fanatics.
The economic problem is a perennial one: every now and then a sort of fever seems to grip share buyers: the South Sea Bubble in Britain, the railway fever that affected Britain, America and a number of other countries, turning some men into millionaires overnight and in some cases turning them back into paupers. In more recent times we have seen mining bubbles (check Poseidon) and tech bubbles, so legislation doesn't seem to control it. I don't think Emily's solution would work in our world.
The religious problem is scary. It does seem that monotheistic religions are the most warlike, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, although Hindus and Buddhists have been involved in fighting too and the latter don't even have a god officially. The Fists of Justice are scary.
At the moment, I can't obtain the next book in this series in book form, and I'm not going to spoil my collection by buying the ebook, so I'm taking a rest for a while with other authors.
The economic problem is a perennial one: every now and then a sort of fever seems to grip share buyers: the South Sea Bubble in Britain, the railway fever that affected Britain, America and a number of other countries, turning some men into millionaires overnight and in some cases turning them back into paupers. In more recent times we have seen mining bubbles (check Poseidon) and tech bubbles, so legislation doesn't seem to control it. I don't think Emily's solution would work in our world.
The religious problem is scary. It does seem that monotheistic religions are the most warlike, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, although Hindus and Buddhists have been involved in fighting too and the latter don't even have a god officially. The Fists of Justice are scary.
At the moment, I can't obtain the next book in this series in book form, and I'm not going to spoil my collection by buying the ebook, so I'm taking a rest for a while with other authors.
January 20, 2018
20.1.2018 - 4,5*
Přijít s dějem, který nejen zaujme, ale dosáhně až na laťku nastavenou předchozími, možná i trumfne ty předcházející, muselo být zatraceně těžké a komplikované. Ale autor dokázal celý náhled na věc otočit o sto osmdesát stupňů a napsat knihu, která je zajímavá zase úplně jiným způsobem, takže si čtenář přinejmenším nemůže stěžovat, že se děje stále to stejné.
(I když mně to rozhodně ještě vadit nezačalo. Autor byl příliš kreativní a psal o tolika věcech, že jsem zatím neměla důvod.)
Nuttall toho byl schopný jen proto, jak silné a dobré základy pro svůj svět položil, jak logicky a chytře vývoj jeho příběhu a děj vedl - a teď z toho může těžit naplno.
Dobrá práce. :)
Přijít s dějem, který nejen zaujme, ale dosáhně až na laťku nastavenou předchozími, možná i trumfne ty předcházející, muselo být zatraceně těžké a komplikované. Ale autor dokázal celý náhled na věc otočit o sto osmdesát stupňů a napsat knihu, která je zajímavá zase úplně jiným způsobem, takže si čtenář přinejmenším nemůže stěžovat, že se děje stále to stejné.
(I když mně to rozhodně ještě vadit nezačalo. Autor byl příliš kreativní a psal o tolika věcech, že jsem zatím neměla důvod.)
Nuttall toho byl schopný jen proto, jak silné a dobré základy pro svůj svět položil, jak logicky a chytře vývoj jeho příběhu a děj vedl - a teď z toho může těžit naplno.
Dobrá práce. :)
May 26, 2017
12 Books in and Still Interested
This plot is pretty predictable because the plot points are explained by the characters point by point - nothing too surprising. It also was a pure filler book in my mind. It's a side story for Emily between re end of the war and her return to Whitehall. Having said that I enjoyed the story. Day
SPOILER-ish:
I like that it introduced new aspects of the world we have previously not heard much about, religion, more family dynamics, info of the railways and other cities. My favorite was the end where Emily becomes "free" again at the end for a possible future with Void (I'll leave it at that). Sets up a future story that I've been waiting a while for - a story with the mysterious Void.
This plot is pretty predictable because the plot points are explained by the characters point by point - nothing too surprising. It also was a pure filler book in my mind. It's a side story for Emily between re end of the war and her return to Whitehall. Having said that I enjoyed the story. Day
SPOILER-ish:
I like that it introduced new aspects of the world we have previously not heard much about, religion, more family dynamics, info of the railways and other cities. My favorite was the end where Emily becomes "free" again at the end for a possible future with Void (I'll leave it at that). Sets up a future story that I've been waiting a while for - a story with the mysterious Void.
May 23, 2017
It never seizes to amaze me the universe that Nuttall has built within this series. Each book builds upon the previous making a world so believable that it draws readers in causing them to immerse themselves in each book until its five hours later and the book is finished in their hands and yet still wanting more. Luckily for all of us, Nuttall is great at getting the books out quickly so the wait is only slightly unbearable. In this book, the subjects of religion and economics within the Unnamed Lands comes to the forefront of the plot, making a new and unique read. A fantastic read and I can't wait for the next.
May 24, 2017
This is a good edition to the series though I was a little disappointed that there was no epilogue, It could have link back to the character in the sim 5 or 8 epilogue
July 27, 2017
The start was quite slow, but the last part was good, with an ending I liked and promising future.
July 18, 2025
After the events of the previous book in the series, Emily travels to attend a funeral with the family of her boyfriend. When she arrives in their home city, she finds that an entrepreneur is trying to build an extensive railroad network, but he may not be entirely on the up-and-up. And there is some sort of godlike being killing people in the city as well.
Excellent, high-tension magical action highlights this book. The difficulty of balancing an imminent financial panic with an existential magical threat, and relationship issues (of course) makes for a compelling plot. That said, the resolution is a bit hand-waved. I don't think it would be quite so simple to untangle the mess left at the end of the book.
The character work isn't Nuttall's best. The conversations between Emily and her boyfriend's mother are cringy and don't feel like they are believable for actual people. The romantic relationship, likewise, doesn't really ring true.
In many ways, this book feels like a sidequest from the main series, presented at least in part so that the author could show off his feelings about religion and business. But the problems are strawmen, not in the sense that they're easy to solve, but in the sense that they don't address the complexities of the situations they raise.
Nuttall would have done well, IMO, to have spent some time researching the Credit Mobilier scandal revolving about the 19th century construction of the transcontinental railroad in the US. The situation could have been much more interesting than it was, particularly had the religious problem not been used to shortcut the financial problem.
I like this series, and I even enjoyed reading this book, but it could have been much more entertaining with more attention paid to character and less to veiled political screeds. I don't regret my time with this book, but would not recommend it to anyone not already committed to the series.
Excellent, high-tension magical action highlights this book. The difficulty of balancing an imminent financial panic with an existential magical threat, and relationship issues (of course) makes for a compelling plot. That said, the resolution is a bit hand-waved. I don't think it would be quite so simple to untangle the mess left at the end of the book.
The character work isn't Nuttall's best. The conversations between Emily and her boyfriend's mother are cringy and don't feel like they are believable for actual people. The romantic relationship, likewise, doesn't really ring true.
In many ways, this book feels like a sidequest from the main series, presented at least in part so that the author could show off his feelings about religion and business. But the problems are strawmen, not in the sense that they're easy to solve, but in the sense that they don't address the complexities of the situations they raise.
Nuttall would have done well, IMO, to have spent some time researching the Credit Mobilier scandal revolving about the 19th century construction of the transcontinental railroad in the US. The situation could have been much more interesting than it was, particularly had the religious problem not been used to shortcut the financial problem.
I like this series, and I even enjoyed reading this book, but it could have been much more entertaining with more attention paid to character and less to veiled political screeds. I don't regret my time with this book, but would not recommend it to anyone not already committed to the series.
October 28, 2017
This is a very good book indeed. However, although it follows nicely in the timeline of Emily’s adventures, it did feel a bit like a interlude, a little adventure story before Emily continues her education and moves on with the main story arc.
Nothing wrong with that but, personally, I do prefer the books where Emily is back at Whitehall getting on with her development. Also, a god chunk of this book is devoted to Ponzi schemes and the badness of these. As usual the angle is that Emily is, indirectly, responsible by introducing modern technology and ideas into the Nameless World.
Mr Nuttall does manage to evolve the story to one where magic plays the main role but I am afraid that, with a good chunk of the book a bit outside of my cup of tea, I’m not going to give a full set of stars on this one. There is nothing wrong with the book or the writing, which is excellent as usual, but it is just a personal preference of mine.
As I wrote the book starts of with Emily coming to Benefice and starting to learn that one of the largest businessmen in town is busy with a Ponzi scheme that, of course, is about to come crashing down. Some reviewers have claimed that the book is a bit preachy. I would not agree to that. It depicts a Ponzi scheme and its consequences fair and simple.
Around halfway into the book there is an interesting turn of events that moves it more into my own personal comfort zone. This is where magic and Emily’s real skills starts to become useful. From there on the book is as good as any of the books in this series which means it is pretty damned good.
After various adventures, betrayals and so on and so forth we, not surprisingly, arrive at the obligatory show down between Emily, her friends and the bad guy(s). Unfortunately things are complicated by the actions of her boyfriend. I have to say that I think he was a big arse both during and after the action. I am not really unhappy about how things turned out in the end.
So, the verdict is that this is a very good book. I would have rated it as great if not for some personal preferences of mine. As usual with this book series I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Nothing wrong with that but, personally, I do prefer the books where Emily is back at Whitehall getting on with her development. Also, a god chunk of this book is devoted to Ponzi schemes and the badness of these. As usual the angle is that Emily is, indirectly, responsible by introducing modern technology and ideas into the Nameless World.
Mr Nuttall does manage to evolve the story to one where magic plays the main role but I am afraid that, with a good chunk of the book a bit outside of my cup of tea, I’m not going to give a full set of stars on this one. There is nothing wrong with the book or the writing, which is excellent as usual, but it is just a personal preference of mine.
As I wrote the book starts of with Emily coming to Benefice and starting to learn that one of the largest businessmen in town is busy with a Ponzi scheme that, of course, is about to come crashing down. Some reviewers have claimed that the book is a bit preachy. I would not agree to that. It depicts a Ponzi scheme and its consequences fair and simple.
Around halfway into the book there is an interesting turn of events that moves it more into my own personal comfort zone. This is where magic and Emily’s real skills starts to become useful. From there on the book is as good as any of the books in this series which means it is pretty damned good.
After various adventures, betrayals and so on and so forth we, not surprisingly, arrive at the obligatory show down between Emily, her friends and the bad guy(s). Unfortunately things are complicated by the actions of her boyfriend. I have to say that I think he was a big arse both during and after the action. I am not really unhappy about how things turned out in the end.
So, the verdict is that this is a very good book. I would have rated it as great if not for some personal preferences of mine. As usual with this book series I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
December 10, 2017
Casper, Caleb's older brother, died a hero in the recent war against the necromancer. Emily decides to accompany Caleb's father and the casket back to Caleb's home city for the funeral.
Many more of Emily's chickens come home to roost in Book Twelve. The man responsible for building the railway turns out to have engaged in a vast Ponzi scheme. Emily, being the only one from Earth, is also the only one who realizes that ruin is just around the corner.
Emily also learns more about siblings in family relationships (remember she was an only child from an unhappy home). Plus, Caleb now has gone from a second son with relative freedom to the Heir, with responsibilities.
Just to make it more interesting, Justice comes to town. Justice is a mysterious entity who appears to be a god and smites people by turning them into statutes. This is no ordinary transfiguration (like being turned into a frog as a prank). The people die in agony and there is no bringing them back.
Fortunately, Caleb's mother is a powerful combat sorcerer in her own right. Caleb's father has no magic but is a very capable human general who takes charge of the city's defense.
Emily has defeated necromancers but can she defeat a god?
Many more of Emily's chickens come home to roost in Book Twelve. The man responsible for building the railway turns out to have engaged in a vast Ponzi scheme. Emily, being the only one from Earth, is also the only one who realizes that ruin is just around the corner.
Emily also learns more about siblings in family relationships (remember she was an only child from an unhappy home). Plus, Caleb now has gone from a second son with relative freedom to the Heir, with responsibilities.
Just to make it more interesting, Justice comes to town. Justice is a mysterious entity who appears to be a god and smites people by turning them into statutes. This is no ordinary transfiguration (like being turned into a frog as a prank). The people die in agony and there is no bringing them back.
Fortunately, Caleb's mother is a powerful combat sorcerer in her own right. Caleb's father has no magic but is a very capable human general who takes charge of the city's defense.
Emily has defeated necromancers but can she defeat a god?
December 10, 2017
I have generally enjoyed the Schooled in Magic series but I have to say I am a little tired of Emily being so wishy-washy with her life. She want to make changes for the better in the world and had a real change to have authority to do that in Cockatrice as Baroness to really influence policy and set a high standard for the world, but spends a lot of time thinking that she does not want that. As if she expects medieval lords to do whats good for their people out of the goodness of their heart. Or in this book she loves Caleb but cannot commit to their relationship and is unsure about the courtship. She gets off the hook each time either with her banishment or now ending the courtship. I know part of the appeal of this type of book is the angst felt by the protagonist and I know in Emily's case she is still a sung woman with modern world sensibilities and is unsure about herself but how come she can be decisive in a tense moment but cannot do that for herself in a personal moment. I would love for her to be a little more assertive and show some personal growth in addition to her phenomenal magical growth.
November 23, 2018
Breaking up with Caleb, Freda's jealousy over their relationship, Freda's cussing, Emily's overall meekness, Void's offer of apprenticeship. This book brought me to an emotional turmoil, mostly because I connected with the story of the downfall of Beneficence to a large scale scam. The whole Justice line of story was also interesting.
But this book also highlighted how there have been so many lines of plots that were explored and hinted in past books that have not ever been brought up since. Who were the dark figures that appeared after Emily defeated Shadeye. A supposed dark-haired man that saved her? What about the oath she'd given to the fairies? The demon prophecy from Mountaintop?
Did I miss something? There is just something wholly unsatisfactory about following this story through to nearly a dozen book despite how much I hated it at first, but never ever finding out what happened with these potholes. What about what the dragon said to her when it sent her to Whitehall? What about WHY Void chose to send her to Whitehall at all? I don't know if the next book is going to give resolution to any of these or just more questions. Gah.
But this book also highlighted how there have been so many lines of plots that were explored and hinted in past books that have not ever been brought up since. Who were the dark figures that appeared after Emily defeated Shadeye. A supposed dark-haired man that saved her? What about the oath she'd given to the fairies? The demon prophecy from Mountaintop?
Did I miss something? There is just something wholly unsatisfactory about following this story through to nearly a dozen book despite how much I hated it at first, but never ever finding out what happened with these potholes. What about what the dragon said to her when it sent her to Whitehall? What about WHY Void chose to send her to Whitehall at all? I don't know if the next book is going to give resolution to any of these or just more questions. Gah.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2017
All I can say at this point, I guess, is that I continue to love this series. Utterly fascinating and constantly engaging. I am amazed at Christopher Nuttall's ability to weave such a complex ongoing tale through various story arcs and across multiple backgrounds and landscapes. His world building and character development are among the best I've encountered. I especially appreciate his mastery and understanding of economics, politics, military tactics, and other societal structures, including the dynamics of personal relationships, which he brings to bear in compelling and realistic ways within the fictional (and fantastical) realm he has woven. Not for children, though not racy or risque. But I recommend enthusiastically adults who enjoy fantasy science fiction. Well done, Christopher! Bravo!
November 27, 2024
Solid entry in the series. Nothing spectacular but enjoyable none the less. A bit linear and predictable but that's the formula.
It took me a while to figure it out but what really bothers me about this series is the portrayal of Emily. I know in book 1 she was still a kid and i think that was portrayed well. Learning power but still needing guidance.
By this book, she's been in the nameless world for 5 or 6 years now. She's 18 or so. But he still writes her like a child. Going between supreme and moderately annoying confidence in her skills and suddenly she's a mouse again. There's no middle road and no apparent growth in her character after all this time, except in power. And that annoys me.
Still, it was an enjoyable if not excellent read and I'll continue the series eventually.
It took me a while to figure it out but what really bothers me about this series is the portrayal of Emily. I know in book 1 she was still a kid and i think that was portrayed well. Learning power but still needing guidance.
By this book, she's been in the nameless world for 5 or 6 years now. She's 18 or so. But he still writes her like a child. Going between supreme and moderately annoying confidence in her skills and suddenly she's a mouse again. There's no middle road and no apparent growth in her character after all this time, except in power. And that annoys me.
Still, it was an enjoyable if not excellent read and I'll continue the series eventually.
April 16, 2018
An excellent and highly absorbing tale of Emily....the parts I loved and found so immersive was the family life, especially the mother of her "host" family--hope to see more of her. Actually, the younger brother intrigued me, too, and I thought he might be a future ally of Freda's. I felt the end of the book wrapped up extremely well. I don't want to spoil anything though :). I held off reading this until the next was available so that I could have a double dose. I love this series and Mister Nuttall's finesse at fantasy-world-building, and ability to plot as well as develop characters. Well-done, indeed!
July 5, 2017
Another satisfyingly different setup and plot with very satisfying character stories. There are a few editing problems, with some statements moved around causing some repetition. They are growing up, with all that entails. Swearing is creeping in now which feels weird (I think it started in the previous book) and some of the "adult" language is couched in odd indirect yet somehow bluntly direct terms, still trying to be YA. She's 20 or 21 now. Probably so are any young readers that started with the first book. I sensed some hesitation at letting her grow up a bit, but perhaps I'm projecting.
June 30, 2024
This was very different than what I was expecting but still very good! Still feel bad for Emily and how things played out with everything that happen. Though I'm not surprised as I questioned the relationship from the beginning as I felt that Caleb was someone to bond with after Jade was with her best friend Alassa. Though it seemed like this was the easy way out for them as how the story changing for them. Good but still sad to see it happen. Still loving this series and still highly recommend it.
June 24, 2017
I quite enjoyed this story but it wasn’t one of the best in this series. At times the pace was a bit slow and I began to get a little irritated by the number of times Emily intimated that there was something she just couldn’t put her finger on, but when she did she would understand how ‘Justice’ could exist.
December 10, 2017
Great all the way threw then it was over. I got really in to the book and when I finished I was thinking "Man wish this book was a little longer" but it was just a good book with a sudden ending. Don't get me wrong it was a good book but I was thinking okay, now she is going to that cursed light house, nope talk to Void The End. lol Loved the book could not put it down.
December 15, 2017
Christopher Nuttall has a blog and a forum where he interacts with his readers on a regular basis. For a long time now I've been posting / commenting on how I would like to know more about the religions of the Nameless World. Now, I can't really say that this book is a response to those posts, but it certainly does answer many of my questions in that area of lore. Even so, I want more
June 29, 2018
Boring but necessary
I'll keep this short and simple; I really enjoy this series, it's fun, it generally has good pacing, but that falls a bit short in this book. I struggled to read thru the first 2/3rds of this book tbh. I'd still recommend reading this book so far as keeping the series timeline straight is concerned, but I wouldn't blame you for skipping a few pages.
I'll keep this short and simple; I really enjoy this series, it's fun, it generally has good pacing, but that falls a bit short in this book. I struggled to read thru the first 2/3rds of this book tbh. I'd still recommend reading this book so far as keeping the series timeline straight is concerned, but I wouldn't blame you for skipping a few pages.
March 25, 2020
Another excellent work in this series, keeps the arc moving forward and BIG SPOILER HERE
Void is really becoming a great character - hope to see more of him in the future....maybe his own series?
Really enjoying this series and hope it never ends - five well deserved stare
Void is really becoming a great character - hope to see more of him in the future....maybe his own series?
Really enjoying this series and hope it never ends - five well deserved stare
August 12, 2017
An amazing world
This is an excellent addition to the series, even though it covers a relatively short time, it creates a number of possibilities for the author to explore. Looking forward to the next in the series.
This is an excellent addition to the series, even though it covers a relatively short time, it creates a number of possibilities for the author to explore. Looking forward to the next in the series.
August 20, 2017
Great read!
I Love this series of books. This book was worth the long exposition. The climax was easily the last quarter of the book. The author maintained the tension throughout and I found it incredibly hard to put down.
I Love this series of books. This book was worth the long exposition. The climax was easily the last quarter of the book. The author maintained the tension throughout and I found it incredibly hard to put down.
November 28, 2017
Still enjoying this series!!
The exposition inherent in this story provides a clear examination of the flaws of capitalism unfettered. Characters remain interesting and well developed
The exposition inherent in this story provides a clear examination of the flaws of capitalism unfettered. Characters remain interesting and well developed
January 29, 2019
Great
It's a great read except for the pacing in the parts where exciting things are happening, which I skimmed along with the parts explaining pertinent things from the past eleven books. If only there was an omnibus edition 😂
It's a great read except for the pacing in the parts where exciting things are happening, which I skimmed along with the parts explaining pertinent things from the past eleven books. If only there was an omnibus edition 😂
March 10, 2024
Book 11 and 12 could have been a single book
Book 11 and 12 could have been a single book. It was a forced addition with unnecessary reminder of past happenings every few pages. Quarter of the book was references to previous books
Book 11 and 12 could have been a single book. It was a forced addition with unnecessary reminder of past happenings every few pages. Quarter of the book was references to previous books
May 28, 2017
Worthy installment.
May 23, 2017
Fantastic
Fantastic loved every word great book lots of shocking events and a roller coaster of emotions and suspense leaving you wondering where it'll all end.
Fantastic loved every word great book lots of shocking events and a roller coaster of emotions and suspense leaving you wondering where it'll all end.
May 23, 2017
good job
May 25, 2017
Not as good.
Not as good as the earlier ones. Hope the next one is better. Do like his books overall. Thank you
Not as good as the earlier ones. Hope the next one is better. Do like his books overall. Thank you
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews