Friday Review, West Coast Edition, 8/14/10

So, I'm in the Sonoma region, just north of San Francisco. We've been running around, looking at really big trees and the like, which hasn't left much time for reading. So, only one book today. (And it's late! I know!)

K.E. Mills - The Accidental Sorcerer


So, this was billed as comedic fantasy, and there was some funny stuff in it. The premise is a modern world (not our world, but there are cars and telephones and such) where magic works. The hero is a minimally magical civil servant who accidentally finds himself imbued with considerable magic power, and then becomes the royal magician for a small kingdom (somewhat analogous to Australia, perhaps). The prince seems feckless, but is actually power crazed, his sister projects a frumpy and ditzy facade, but is actually quite bright, and cleans up quite well.  There is plenty of potential for a laugh riot here, but about 5/8 of the way into the book, it becomes quite dark - an exploration of evil and what it does to normal people.

I quite enjoyed the book - it was well written, and the characters were well developed - but I don't know that I would have started it if it were clear that it was as dark as it turned out to be. That being said, I will probably pick up the second book when I'm back home.