Official Review: The Other Magic by Derrick Smythe

[katiesquilts]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Other Magic" by Derrick Smythe.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The Other Magic by Derrick Smythe is the first book in the Passage to Dawn series and is the author's debut novel. It is a fantasy epic that takes place in a world of magic and follows several characters from different walks of life that just happen to intertwine. At 600+ pages it is definitely a hefty novel the likes of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.

Some of the main characters include Kibure, a slave whose origin is unknown. He begins to have strange nightmares that draw the attention of his slavemaster, who fears he has magic and is a minion of evil. Sindri, a priestess, is called in to strip Kibure of his magic, but she soon realizes that Kibure is not what he seems. On the other side of the world, Prince Aynward is banished to a university in a far-off city for disappointing his father one too many times. While his banishment is supposed to teach him a lesson, Aynward finds himself getting into even more trouble. This trouble lands him straight in the path of Grobennar, a high-ranking cleric who personally serves Magog, the demonic king of another country who is prophesized to start a war that will leave chaos in its wake.

Smythe does an absolutely wonderful job of worldbuilding. His descriptions are vivid and paint pictures for the reader, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the story with the characters. His characters are also very personable and familiar, with some that are easy to empathize with and others that you love to hate. The trials they are pitted against force them to grow and learn. It was fascinating for me to think about how much each of them had changed when compared to the very beginning of the novel.

Although I truly enjoyed the story and its characters, the book overall had a few minor issues that are typical of debut novels. The first was that there was a bit of "fluff" that definitely could have been removed from the novel. I noticed that some areas dragged more than others, especially the chapters about Aynward getting used to his new university. The second issue was the number of minor errors I found that seemingly slipped through the editor's cracks. I did find over 10 errors, but many of them were so subtle that I had to look twice before catching them. I honestly don't think that it was an overwhelming number of errors for a book this long and even the most anal-retentive of readers would be able to overlook them to enjoy the story.

If the issues listed above were fixed, I'd have no problem giving The Other Magic 4 stars. However, in its current state, I can only give it 3 out of 4 stars. I would highly recommend it to readers who enjoy fantasy settings with convoluted and involved plots. It's very interesting to see how the characters' lives intertwine and how plot pieces come together through Aynward's studies at the university and Sindri's journey in understanding her and Kibure's magical abilities. It is definitely on the slower side starting out, but by the end I was fully engaged and ready to move on to the second book in the series.

******
The Other Magic
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[adamgreenrock]

For a novel that has that many pages, its first impression must be impressive. I'll definitely read a sample of it. Thanks for your review!

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

This sounds like an exciting premise. With the book being so long, I am glad the author was able to adequately develop worlds within the novel. Thanks for the great review!

[tygerlyllyrose]

I would definitely recommend this to friends and family. It seems very exciting and intricate.

[Amy747]

This sounds like a fairly interesting book but way too long for me unfortunately.

[NetMassimo]

I don't mind a slow start when it's used to properly build a fictional world and its characters. This seems a strong fantasy novel that has possibilities of developments in its sequels. Thank you for your review!

[SunVixen]

I really may like a lengthy book with good word-building and a complex plot. With vivid language, it’s even better. Anyway, thanks for the wonderful review.

[FEislandqueen13]

Okay. This book is going on my shelf. Must read.

[Jezebelle84]

This book sounds like it's right up my alley! Thank you for the review!

[katiesquilts]

Okay. This book is going on my shelf. Must read.

Awesome! When you finish, please come back here to let me know what you thought of it!

[AstridAlpha18]

My husband and I are suckers for high-fantasy novels like this - will definitely have to read this! Sad to hear about how many errors there were, but glad that the characters and story mostly make up for them.

[katiesquilts]

My husband and I are suckers for high-fantasy novels like this - will definitely have to read this! Sad to hear about how many errors there were, but glad that the characters and story mostly make up for them.

It's so nice that you have someone you can share great books with! My husband and I have totally opposite interests when it comes to books and TV series. I would never be able to bribe him into reading a 600+ page fantasy novel with me!