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Sara Henry

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imPerfect Magic (The imPerfect Cathar, #1)

by C.N. Rowan (Goodreads Author)

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Sara Henry said: " I am writing this review as I read this book. I am finding this a... wildly inconsistent ride. We keep bouncing back and forth in time, for things that are hard to think are worth telling in that back and forth way. The main character seems kind of u I am writing this review as I read this book. I am finding this a... wildly inconsistent ride. We keep bouncing back and forth in time, for things that are hard to think are worth telling in that back and forth way. The main character seems kind of unpleasant actually. It's like he's trying too hard to be surly and sardonic, without being... all that... likeable. Like, he feels like a charicature of the author telling themself to "write something witty but jaded".

Keep in mind, in this excerpt, that "the runes of persuasion" have been literally carved into the main character's flesh, as you read this:
"As he continues to rant and rave at me, trying to get me to tell him what he wants to know, wondering why the runes of persuasion aren't working (simple answer-- because he's a shit wizard), I temporarily zone out. An inner debate as to what is a worse form of torture--being physically sliced to ribbons or having to be this close to his body odour-- distracts me. It's a tough call to make. The continued screaming up in my face brings me back to the situation at hand. While the rancid breath accompanying it is a painful reminder of the importance to brush after every meal, as well as being evidence that cleanliness was an early offering on the altar in his quest for power."

I also feel like the author is trying a little too hard to make things as dark and evil and gross as possible. Like... it is kind of unpleasant to read because the emphasis is on making it clear that circumstances are worse than you could otherwise possibly imagine, but then we are whipping back and forth through time without getting a sense of... closure or finality on that bit before moving on to the next thing like it. And all with everything, the voice we are hearing about everything from being so... unpleasant all the time. I am actually having to force myself to read this story--it came to me so highly recommended. And I have HATED trying to parse anything being said by Franc. And we had to have two Franc sections back to back because the main character is literally pointed out as being too dumb to think to ask some important and relevant questions the first time. He's hard to like and shown to be either dumb or making dumb choices. Not a redeeming quality, actually.

The most likeable character in this story is probably Aicha so far, and that's mostly because she is what I expect her to be. And she is the one who points out the stupidity, which helps too.

"Aicha shrugs. [...] 'Let's concentrate on finding the shithead. I'm sick of dancing along to his tune. I bet he's got shit taste in music, probably doing a version of 'Cotton Eyed Joe' on the fucking harp or something.' She pauses, considering. 'A techno remix of 'Cotton Eyed Joe'. The fiend.' She sits back, satisfied with the strength of the imagery. I wish I could do the same."

The villain, "Phone Penis" as he is dubbed by Isaac, because he doesn't want to use the version Paul originates (and neither do I, really), is like the absolutely most evil version of Columbo with the "oh and one more thing" of it all. Just... get on with it man. We know, you're evil and you're going to do evil stuff if you don't get your way. WE GET IT. MC even makes a call-out to Columbo, it is so incredibly "oh and one last thing" it literally gets referenced in the book!: 'The offhand words don't match with the loaded intent, and honestly? It terrifies me. This isn't Columbo. The "one last thing" isn't going to break open the case. I am more concerned it might be something to break my heart.'

At the end of the Evil Columbo/Phone Penis phone call, we have our MC wondering why this guy doesn't like him in particular, of the group, and ruminating on all of his mistakes for the last 800 years. Then we get a flashback to disaster about 800 years ago. With like 3 characters even mentioned. Which one is Phone Penis? It's gotta be one of them. I imagine the author *wants* that in our heads, since it cuts to that immediately after ruminating on the self-seen failures of our MC over "the last eight hundred years". Will it be a good thing, or a bad one, for the author to be this direct in speaking to us about foreshadowing? Who knows?

I feel like my problem with this book, my biggest problem, is that the characters feel more like charicatures than real people. Take this excerpt, with Paul talking about Aicha, who I still find more tolerable than him, even with this bit of grating 'flavor'.
"She's parked by the Canal de Brienne, and to my surprise, she's still got the Alpine. Aicha's got a low boredom threshold for vehicles and a penchant for stealing them off arrogant over-privileged arseholes. Considering how many of those there are in the world, she switches out cars more often than most people change clothes. [...] Her casually possessive pat on its hood is the equivalent of a kneeling declaration of undying love. I contemplate casting an illusory scratch down its side just to mess with her. But we don't have time for her to hunt that non-existent someone down to cause their painful and protracted death, so I resist the urge."

Who is a real person anywhere in what I just read? Or likeable? I do prefer to not dislike the main characters in books that I read, but this guy is a dick. And not even, like funny or otherwise endearing. He's always trying too hard to be colorful with his descriptions to be real I just don't like him. And that summation of Aicha irritates me too. Because she doesn't get to be a real person either, with that kind of a description. (50%)

Some of the banter between Paul and Aicha gets better. And we finally have a moment I can just enjoy that takes advantage of the MC's age.
"We pay the exorbitant rate at the tollbooth, and I chuckle, remembering what I paid to various brigands while travelling these roads centuries back to cover distances we now do in less than a morning. Convenience comes with a price that often suddenly seems worth paying when compared to the past." ...more "

Nov 20, 2024 11:15AM · see review