The Master Magician

Book Title: The Master Magician

Author: Charlie N. Holmberg

Series: The Paper Magician #3

Date Started: October 23rd 2019

Date Completed: October 21st 2019

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

The Master Magician is the final instalment in an easy, enjoyable series of books. Magical, adventurous and cute (but kinda sickly sweet, you know), it's the kind of thing you pick up when you just aren't feeling up to a 600-page epic that's going to try and trick you and have you on the edge of your seat. I just wanted some magic, some mystery, and pretty metaphors.

Holmberg's triumph with this series is its magic system, and she absolutely dives into it. From the things you can do with each discipline of magic (paper, smelter (metal), polymaker (plastic), gaffer (glass), excisioner (blood), more that I'm sure I've forgotten), to the ways in which magic affects 18th Century London and the authorities governing it. I'll admit, sometimes things don't make sense; a trick with paper that was conveniently used earlier now doesn't occur to the characters, or something that could've completely solved a problem earlier is introduced without comment later on. But for the pure creativity of the magic system and how exciting it is to see everything develop, it doesn't really matter. Holmberg pulls something new out of the bag for practically every page you turn.

Let's be honest, each one of these books is basically the same formula when you think about it, but it's done in a way that you don't really notice unless you do sit down and think about it. Ultimately, that's what all stories are anyway. I will say that what annoyed me slightly was the collection of side stories that were very easily solved, to the point it made me wonder why they were there at all. But, oh well. What I'm basically saying is that The Paper Magician series isn't going to be winning any awards for its writing, but we need to remember that books and stories are just as important as entertainment as they are pieces of literature.

I do wonder how Ceony is still alive at this point when her instincts and ability to stay out of trouble are practically non-existent - and knowingly so - for the plot's sake. Yes, you need a way to get her into the middle of the danger for tension but this girl has the best luck at not dying when she really should be dead I have ever come across. The other characters are also incredibly irresponsible when they tell her anything to do with the plot considering her track record, but where would the fun in that be.

The Paper Magician trilogy has been a nice, pretty series wrapped up in a nice, pretty bow. It's not always my thing, but it's been fun, I've had a good time. I fully support easy, enjoyable reads, especially since we all need those simple stories to pull us away from the real world every now and then.