By the Pact

Pacts Arcane and Otherwise #1

by Joanna Maciejewska

High mages lied: Veranesh, the demon who destroyed the continent is still alive. And it's up to their former student to expose the truth—even if it means another Cataclysm.

When Kamira, a once high mage student turned arcanist, discovers an imprisoned demon in underground ruins, she is forced into a pact that grants her powerful magic, but also ties her to the very demon that once devastated the continent… and Veranesh wants his freedom.

With one friend by her side, Veelk, a mage killer bound on protecting her, Kamira will have to outwit the archmages, other demons, and possibly her own demonic benefactor to survive. Her chances are slim, but with Veelk’s ever-present sarcastic repartee, Kamira might just pull through.

Plots and schemes, power and means—sometimes the price for victory is choosing which friend will die, but when you only have one friend, the choice is… easy?

Genres: Fantasy, Demons, High Fantasy, Amazon, Magic

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 2021

About the author

Joanna might be a bit too cautious to do anything even remotely daring or dangerous herself, so she writes about daring adventures and dangerous magic instead. Yet, she found enough courage to abandon her life in Poland and move to Ireland, and then some years later, she abandoned her life in Ireland to move over to the US. She’s determined to settle there, once she finally chooses which state to reside in.

When she’s not writing or thinking about writing, she plays video games or makes amateur art. She lives the happy life of a recluse, surrounded by her husband, a stuffed red monkey, and a small collection of books she insisted on hauling across two continents.

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Reviews

[Joanna Maciejewska]

Get By the Pact: now free!

It might be for you if:
- you’re on a low-grimdark diet at the moment - this book contains about 0% grimdark.
- you want main characters who really are just friends: they don’t harbor secret feelings for each other, and they won’t suddenly discover the depth of love they have for each other.
- you like multiple POV stories.
- you enjoy more mature characters who aren’t on their first adventure, but who already have a good idea how the world works, even if they’re about to discover that not everything is as they thought it was.
- you enjoy multifaceted intrigues in which no faction is black or white.
- you enjoy fantasy series in which the story spans across the books rather than being a collection of loosely connected standalones you could read out of order.
- you like friendly banter rather than constant fighting between the main characters.
- you like demons (the non-Christian kind) but want a world that has no gods to meddle in the matters of mortals.

[S.J. Higbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll be honest, it can be tricky business when a fellow writer, blogger and friend produces their first book and I open it. Because… what if I don’t enjoy it all that much? Worse – what if the reason why I don’t enjoy it all that much is because the writing isn’t any good? It quickly became apparent that all those worries were entirely superfluous. I quickly bonded with prickly, wary Kamira as she copes with a highly dangerous situation in the opening scene. Then forgot I was reading a friend’s book and became immersed in the story.

This could so easily have been a rather grim, unrelenting tale of vengeance and bloody murder, as old scores are settled and the demons involved – being demons – aren’t forgiving, compassionate types. However, throughout this adventure we have the strong friendship between Kamira and Veelk that mostly runs on snark and teasing – I liked the fact that their relationship isn’t a romantic one, rather a brother/sister bond. Both are charismatic characters, with a varied, eventful backstory and both are capable at looking after each other. They are also good at handling trouble – just as well, really – because the pair of them are disaster magnets.

While the strong characterisation and relationship between the two main protagonists sets the tone, ensuring there is always the fun of their interchanges in amongst the battle scenes and magical mayhem, there is also the wider story. I particularly enjoyed the magic system in this world. It makes complete sense and accounts for the presence of demons, as well as providing the historical backdrop – with the inevitable winners and losers and giving Kamira a solid reason for walking away from the more reputable career that had once been lined up for her.

Any niggles? Well I was a bit taken aback, when I turned another page – only to find I’d reached the end of the book, because while the initial narrative arc was satisfactorily dealt with, there are a handful of other plotpoints that have been left dangling. However, I am reassured on learning that the next book in the series, Scars of Stone, is due out later in the year. Highly recommended for fans of sand and sorcery fantasy.
9/10

[Clarissa Gosling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! So many twists and turns and love the snarky characters and relationships

[Alex Stargazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling and original story, but not without flaws.

Note: this is a review of books 1–3 of the series. At the time of writing, book 4 has not been published.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever read a fantasy book with one of the following:

+ An old band of mercenaries/heroes get back together to defeat an ancient evil/rescue somebody.
+ One street urchin or farmer boy is destined to defeat the Evil Empire.
+ Prophecy.
+ Mindless monsters have to be defeated by heroes.
+ Wise wizard teaches young man.

Chances are you raised your hand, because some clichés have become so prevalent in fantasy that you can tell the plot of a book without even reading it. Well, what attracted to me By the Pact is that it tells a refreshing story, with minimal clichés, and it subverts both the evil demon and the wise old wizard tropes. In this story, the wizards are cunning and duplicitous, without being cartoon villains. The demons, likewise, are constantly plotting against each other—and they bear humans no ill will, though they hold no special love for them, either.

What emerges is a fast-paced, compelling story that constantly keeps you on your toes. There is abundant mystery and intrigue; the author always retains the capacity to surprise you. And this, dear reader, is very important to me—because I have gotten bored of cookie clutter fantasy.

This is not to say that the books are flawless. In terms of characterisation, the main characters—Kamira, Veelk, Koshmarnyk and Veranesh—are interesting and generally likeable. The stoic and brave Kamira is easy to admire, while the enlightened intelligence of Veranesh is something I appreciate, even if he is a demon. The antagonists—Yoreus, Irtan, and the demons—are also well-drawn.

But while the main characters are strong, the secondary characters are quite weak. This is unfortunate, since the narrator spends a lot of time telling the story through the eyes of boring characters, which makes me impatient to read through their sections. Ryell started out with a lot of potential but didn’t really go anywhere. Jalyn’s life and death was pointless. (It’s not even a spoiler to tell you he dies, since he is so unimportant.) The Devanshari prince has tons of unexplored potential, but lacks agency.

The issues don’t stop there. The writing is… rough. The possessive pronomial adjectives, his/her, are often mixed up, leading to gender confusion. Generally speaking, the writing felt like it needed the attention of a good copy-editor.

In short: this would be a 5 star series if it had been properly edited, so I settled on 4 stars.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read an adult fantasy and I'm so glad I picked up BY THE PACT (book 1) by Joanna Maciejewska. I enjoyed the extensive world-building without feeling bombarded. Author Maciejewska has created a world of magic and demons, woven in political intrigue, sprinkled in some humor, and given readers a strong, smart, and capable female lead who grew even more likable as the story progressed.

BY THE PACT kept me turning pages; Kamira, a high mage turned arcanist, strikes a deal with an imprisoned demon. With her closest friend and mage killer at her side, Kamira will embark on a journey to unravel the twisted lies and deceit that have been perpetrated for years by the archmages. The action scenes are aplenty, filled with heart-stopping moments, the magic is grounded, and Kamira's flaws just may be her greatest asset.

I particularly liked the relationship between Kamira and Veelk, her friend and loyal companion. Their banter was fun and I loved that they did not have any romantic entanglement with each other -- it really worked. I also liked the imprisoned demon; he's interesting and a good reminder that there is always more than one side to a story.

Overall, BY THE PACT sucked me into its world giving this reader a pleasant escape from the daily grind. Definitely pick it up if you're a fan of an action-packed fantasy filled with magic, demons, duplicity, and a touch of humor. Book 2 is now out and I'm anxious to see where Kamira's going to take me as her story moves forward.

[CM Schofield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the magic system in this, and the world building was great. Really vast feeling world and I loved how the demons worked into everything. Second book is an instant buy, can't wait to see what happens next

[Heather - Just Geeking By · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
There is a lot of blood, death, violence and some gore in this book. There is also a war that takes place off page, with a few flashbacks, however, the devastation and consequences are seen throughout the book. While there are no scenes of sexual assault there are references to it. A race of people suffer withdrawal from a form of magic, and it is very similar to drug withdrawal. There are numerous cases of prejudice towards people of other races, classes, and professions/factions.

By the Pact starts out with the events that the synopsis tell us about; Kamira and Veelk uncovering the secret that the demon Veranesh is alive. It’s an action packed start to the book, and things cool down for the next ten percent as Maciejewska takes a step back to introduce other players and locations. I was worried that this was going to be one of those books where there were too many moving parts, however, everything quickly begins to move into place and neatly connect. That’s when the action picks back up again, and it doesn’t really stop from then on. I wouldn’t say that By the Pact is a fast-paced novel though. Everything felt as though it moved evenly, and there were times of rest intermingled with moments of action.

The dynamic between Kamira and Veelk is easily one of my favourite things about this book. It’s great to see a friendship between a woman and a man that has zero indication, or intention, of becoming a romance. Not that there’s anything wrong with friendships that do develop into relationships, I love those books too, but it’s also nice when you get ones where authors remember that the opposite sex can actually just be friends (and without one of them being gay). The banter between them is on point and gave me lots of giggles while reading By the Pact.

Overall there is a great mix of characters, and I liked that there were particularly a wide range of grey characters. There are layers upon layers in this book, and it’s great to see a protagonist who’s has no qualms about getting her hands dirty. Too often I find that fantasy authors hold on to the Tolkien style of fantasy where their characters must be good and true, only killing when they have no choice or to slay evil. Kamira and Veelk are pragmatists; the world they live in is one where survival depends on what you’re willing to do. You don’t let someone who attacked you go with a stern talking to or a slap on the wrist because they will come back with their buddies and try again. It was refreshingly realistic.

Maciejewska is very good at drip feeding us information about the characters pasts to keep the mystery and intrigue going. We know that Kamira used to be a high mage, and gradually we learn bit by bit why she left her studies. It’s the same for other characters, who I won’t name for spoiler reasons, who at first glance seem very obviously one thing and as we learn more about their story we begin to realise that there’s something else going on.

The world building is interesting and fun, with two types of magic users (high mages and arcanists) facing off against each other until one of them used a power play tactic to win. They then used politics to ensure that everything went their way. Kamira and Veelk have stumbled upon what that power play was and while that gives them power it also puts a huge target on their back. Add demons from another plane of existence and things get even messier. I was impressed with how many ways Maciejewska connected all the different players to each other. It’s what I loved about fantasy books like this, and Maciejewska has done an excellent job of creating a web of intrigue in By the Pact.

This is book one of the Pacts Arcane or Otherwise series, a name which I now find extremely fitting upon completing By the Pact. It’s a good start to a series, offering a full story that felt completed while also leaving just enough unanswered questions to draw readers in for book two. This is an intriguing new fantasy series that you do not want to miss, and I’m definitely going to be checking it out further.


For more of my reviews please visit my blog!

[Sedigitus Swift]

Well conceived, but hampered by the author's non-native command of English. Although the story is good, the main characters are engaging, and the magic system is interesting, this book is marred by frequent grammatical mistakes (e.g., "didn't turned," "may lay [i.e., lie] in ruins," "she better made sure") and unidiomatic usages (e.g., "in search for trinkets," "inventions of torture over tired people", "such insults were beyond [i.e., beneath] her"). Writing in a second language is a difficult task, and Maciejewska should subject this book to a professional copyedit by a native speaker and release a new edition, because her work deserves a wider audience, and the errors in this volume will dissuade some from reading more of it.

[Pedro Bedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great idea demon magic channelled from another dimension via pacts through arcanists like Kamira, the heroine of the story. Along with Veelk (I can't read that name it comes out Vleek🤨) Tricked by Veranesh and given great magic she has to reveal and defeat his enemies and find a way to free him from his containment at the same time suspecting his motives are not really in her and the world's best interests. Imaginative writing with humour and adventure and not much schmalz I have enjoyed reading this book. A bit of proof reading would help, sort out the difference between "that" and "than" as it happens a few times but that's easily ignored.

[Shannon Knight]

By the Pact has a very traditional fantasy feel to it made fresh by the character dynamic of two adults, a man and a woman, with a close working relationship and no sexual interest in each other. Yes, there's political scheming and a magic system with secrets behind it. Yes, that magic system involves (non-Christian) demons. However, the best part is two competent adults working well with each other and acting like adults in their interactions with others. Due to the various point-of-views, I'd call this medium paced and suggest it would best appeal to those who enjoy traditional fantasy without a romantic focus and with straightforward exposition.

[Paul Zareith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly loved this fun, fast-paced fantasy series with an intricate plot, sprawling world building and a large cast of characters. After experimenting with a few books outside my comfort zone over the last few months, it felt good to return to something that fit my comfort zone so well that it might as well define it.

While Kamira remains the focus of the story, we also see events unfold from the perspective of many different characters. Between the high mages competing for positions of power, the Devanshari people struggling to deal with their addiction of magic and demons unhappy with the precarious power balance in their society, this relatively short novel covers a lot of ground, weaving in many closely related tangents.

While it needs some effort to keep track of all the ongoing tangents, and the many characters, I found the presentation and pacing to be fun and enjoyable. I picked this book on a whim, but it was great to discover an author who cares about all the things that I have come to enjoy in a work of fiction.

Read full review on SFF Insiders.

[Kamila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept putting this book off after reading about a page a day, I just could not get into it. There were too many names and I could not follow along. The plot and descriptions felt ever so slightly better than fanfiction, but I can see that there is potential for the rest of the series, thought I do not think it will be something that I am choosing to continue with. +1 star for Polish author tho.

[Sergio Nafarrate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, was the first book i read from Joanna and ive since become a huge fan of her work…
She’s a very talented writer and this book shows it
I couldnt put it down since page one…

[Jc Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice read!

This is a well paced , well told tale of friendship and adventure. The battle scenes worked too. On to book 2, Scars of Stone.

[Walt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of Pacts Arcane and Otherwise is one of the best fantasy series of read in quite some time. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed this series. Well written, with interesting characters, a strong plot, and a unique magic system. I really hope the author continues to expand on this series and the world she has created.