STORY MAGIC

Twelve-year-old Kaya sets out to rescue her older brother, imprisoned by the Story Magicians Guild.

In the village of Verdan, with worldbuilding details reminiscent of a Renaissance Faire along with a few unimaginative made-up terms (dirt-doves for pigeons, for instance), olive-skinned Kaya lives with her 19-year-old brother, Hob. Hob, luckily, is apprenticed to the powerful Story Magicians Guild. It’s a bit of much-needed security in an insecure world, since rumors are circulating that the listeners—magical beings who dispense favors to guild members whose stories they appreciate—are refusing to help anymore. Females are not supposed to use story magic, but Hob has taught Kaya a few basics. When Hob is arrested by the guild, Kaya believes it is her fault and determines to rescue him. While journeying to the city where Hob is imprisoned, Kaya continues to chastise herself for precipitating his capture by performing magic, but she nevertheless has no qualms about trotting out the story magic (mishmashes of standard folk/fairy tales that are tediously relayed in full) whenever obstacles occur. Between story-magic tales, the narrative trudges along, annoyingly repeating basic narrative points over and over: The city of Prima is far away; Hob is a prisoner; Kaya blames herself. While the premise of story-based magic is intriguing, the novel suffers from unimaginative worldbuilding, an inconsistent and improbably dense main character, and a flat-footed delivery.

An interesting premise marred by a bumpy presentation.