Review: Magic Without Mercy by Devon Monk

Magic Without Mercy (Allie Beckstrom # 8) finds our protagonist, Allison Beckstrom, hunted by the Authority (the secret council that enforces magic’s laws) after she killed Bartholomew Wray. She’s wanted by the police for supposedly embezzling money from her own company which was fabricated by the Wray in an attempt to destroy her own father’s work and to keep Allie in check.

Magic has taken a severe toll on Allie’s body from years of abuse and being closed by her own father one too many times to count. Now, she can’t use magic unless she wants to find herself unconscious and in extreme pain. Allie isn’t alone in running away from the Authority. She is joined by Shamus Flynn, Zayvion Jones, Terric Conley, Maeve Flynn, Victor and Hayden after they were given orders by Wray that went against everything they believed in.

If that weren’t enough to keep Allie and crew busy, Portland's magic has been poisoned and the Veiled are infecting and killing people at an alarming rate. Lastly, Davy, her friend and Hound, lies dying after being infected by a Veiled one and the only person capable of finding a cure is a Doctor that was once Closed (Had his memories erased) after being involved in some nefarious circumstances.

The creepiest part is that Daniel Beckstrom, said decease father of Allie’s, is still taking up part of her brain and Allie has all but stopped asking him questions about her past and her memories. There are a bunch of mysteries surrounding Daniel’s choices when it comes to Allie and why he continued to have her memories erased from her. Can you serious trust him now, or was Daniel creating a way have Allie pick up on his secretive plans which still haven’t exactly been brought into the spotlight after eight books in this series?

Now, as we wait Magic for a Price (November 2012), we have the worst of villains (Isabelle and Liander) on the loose and wanting Allie and Zayvion dead for being Soul Complements and supposedly having a way to stop the couple in their tracks toward world domination. What power they supposedly hold that can stop the nasty duo still hasn’t been revealed.

*Thoughts*

The first thing that came to mind after reading this book was that absolutely nothing has changed for Allie and crew. They are still technically outside of the Authorities jurisdiction and still trying to figure out a way to cure the magic ills that have allowed the Veiled to roam freely.

Even though there was a huge battle at the end of this book which pretty much reintroduced and included each and every character that has ever made an appearance in this series (including some supposedly dead), nothing changed. Sure there was a so called armistice of sorts put into place after Allie and crew battled the Authority to a winning proposition and came out alive after exposing yet another megalomaniac in Jingo Jingo. However, the magic is still poisoned, people are still dying, Allie is still unable to use her own magic except to see what others are doing with it, and the bad guys still want to her dead.

My positive(s) include the fact that the Hounds played a pivotal role in this book. They really came to Allie’s rescue and defense when it appeared that all the chips were sitting on the dealer’s side of the table and Allie and crew were in deep kimchee after the Authority finally caught up with them. I liked that choices were made and that Shame and Terric understood that they are Soul Complements and can work magic together like nobody’s business. I liked that no major character fell, even though some experience painful situations that they really didn’t mind as long as things work out in their favor in the end.

My negative(s) include the fact that again, nothing has been settled. Yet another megalomaniac falls by the wayside yes, but, the two characters that started all this chatter are still roaming around free and killing anyone who stands in their way. Also, why is Allie in charge of this group when she can’t even do magic, and she has her father keeping more and more secrets from her that he refuses to reveal to her? Whose side of the fight is Daniel Beckstrom really on?

Overall, even with the negative connotations that I’ve outlined, this book was enjoyable to read. I’m glad that there was a huge fight between the two sides that pretty much showed why the Authority was in the wrong when it came to the magical imbalance affecting Portland.

I’ve heard that Magic for a Price is the last book in the series? I’m hoping I can get either an acknowledgement of that fact, or a rebuttal. Then again, after 9 books in a series, it’s time to wrap things up in a bow and deliver it to the readers who have followed this series from the first book forward.

Author: Devon Monk
Title: Magic Without Mercy
Publisher: ROC
Released: April 3, 2012