Small Magics

Thomas Flarety #1

by Erik Buchanan

In a world where no one really believes in magic, one man is stealing all that's left... Erik Buchanan's first novel introduces Thomas Flarety, whose first visit home from school in four years brings him face to face with a juggler who can create a ball of light from air, a Bishop who can control men with his voice, and a plot to steal what magic is left in the world. Before long, Thomas is thrust into a nightmare of betrayal and murder, where all that he has is threatened by a power he does not understand, and where learning to master a power he did not know he had may be the only way he can survive.

Genres: Fantasy

328 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

Reviews

[Leo Valiquette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small Magics is the kind of fantasy that I find engaging and compelling because it features a cast of likeable characters who are not, at least on the surface, epic heroes. Instead, these are ordinary people caught up in a series of events beyond their control, who show their mettle by finding the courage to stand up and do what's right. It's the same theme that's woven through Tolkien's works with the Hobbits, drawn from his own hellish experiences in the trenches of the First World War.

And while at least one of our band of reluctant heroes does prove to have rare powers of his own that make anything but ordinary, it's the fact that the plot remains rooted in a conflict against a powerful flesh and blood enemy who seems to hold all the cards that kept me reading to find out how it would all end up.

The strength of this book was definitely the character development and character interactions. My only complaint is I would have liked to have had a stronger sense of the villain, Bishop Malloy, and what motivated him to betray his own faith and embark on his quest for power.

[.adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was delightful, inspiring and fun.

Erik captured the spirit and angst of youth very well, i honestly could not put this book down, and was very sorry when i got to the end.

I felt his approach on the subject of magic was refreshing, as was his approach to grief and guilt. Truly a book worth reading, and i cannot wait to read another of Erik's books.

[M.J. Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. Thought this was some self-published, low-fi, colour-by-numbers romp but it's better. So much better.

The author can really write, authentic and realistic with believable dialogue, motivations and character action ramifications.

Set in a Three Musketeers-like milieu (albeit initially rural), Small Magics is like Seb de Castell's Greatcoats series without all the OTT Gary Stu 'greatness'. This story has a slow-burning fuse -

*Spoiler alert: The MC doesn't cast his first spell until three-quarters of the way through the book. — and the first half is slow-going, bucolic episodic ala Huckleberry Finn.

The MC Thomas Flarety is a scrawny half-starved scholar, with a rapier—if not the wit to go with it.
His sidekicks are local yokel lummox George the Blacksmith and his late-blooming sister Eileen aka Alex.
Yes, romance is in the air but doesn't taint it too much because the characters are so well drawn and consistent.The threesome have a series of Tom Sawyer bonding adventures before they finally hit the city and the shit hits the fan, but not before we meet Flarety's fantastic flat-mates Lord Henry and Friar Benjamin.

Remarkably for a book where not a lot happens, the tension is palpable throughout—through excellent expository technique and charactersation.

The style is thankfully not Dim Dark or Steam Junk. Nor 'tis it High Fantasy or Epic. It's not really a fantasy at all, more like a Noir thriller crossed with swashbuckling Whodunnit.

Small Magics may seem small potatoes, but stick with it, it's worth it— Author Eric Buchanan dug deep and laid a really strong foundation for a promising series.