Unnatural Magic

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C. M. Waggoner: Unnatural Magic (2019, Penguin Publishing Group)

384 pages

English language

Published Nov. 30, 2019 by Penguin Publishing Group.

ISBN:
978-1-9848-0584-3
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5 stars (1 review)

Onna can write the parameters of a spell faster than any of the young men in her village school. But despite her incredible abilities, she’s denied a place at the nation’s premier arcane academy. Undaunted, she sails to the bustling city-state of Hexos, hoping to find a place at a university where they don’t think there’s anything untoward about providing a woman with a magical education. But as soon as Onna arrives, she’s drawn into the mysterious murder of four trolls.

Tsira is a troll who never quite fit into her clan, despite being the leader’s daughter. She decides to strike out on her own and look for work in a human city, but on her way she stumbles upon the body of a half-dead human soldier in the snow. As she slowly nurses him back to health, an unlikely bond forms between them, one that is tested when an …

3 editions

Delightful

5 stars

The first time I read C M Waggoner's books I read them in the wrong order. That didn't diminish my enjoyment of either book, though. Because they are both set apart by ~30 years, it is quite easy to read both of them independently of each other. What I enjoyed in this book: - the world building with the various cultures and religions (troll & human) in different cities - the sex scenes - the murder mystery - the idea of magic being like a programming language, so that people without magic energy can still write magic parameters - the gender and race ideas in this world