I had to re-read a little bit to figure out what just happened. And watching the relationship between Ravirn and Melchior evolve over the book was great.

The secondary characters are entertaining, and some are far more complex than they first appear. There's a love story that has just the right amount of tension. (But hey, neither are mine.) So what? Some of us also read for pure enjoyment. Is it a work that applies the shock paddles to the heart of American literature? Maybe not. But the closest we get to 'urban' is Ravirn's time on his college campus. There's an urban fantasy feel to the cover that made me think I was opening up a more serious book. I'll also say that the cover art for the series threw me off. I'm still not completely clear on the whole magic system, but it's a heck of a lot more sensible than spouting random pseudo-Latin and waving your wands around.

The tech-heavy nature of magic and spellcasting was hard to get into at first, but only for the first few pages. He spends the rest of the book trying to stay alive, and learning that this conflict goes far deeper than he ever imagined. Ravirn takes exception to this, a decision which puts him in direct opposition to the aspect of fate responsible for cutting the threads of life. So skilled that he's brought in to assist with one of Atropos' pet projects, a spell to eliminate free will. Ravirn, a descendent of the Fates, is a skilled hacker and spellcoder. The gods have learned to manipulate the magic of the universe through computers and programming code. (Though goblins do make everything better.) The book blends Greek mythology and modern-day computer hacking. What's with these crazy fantasy authors writing fun, lighthearted reads rather than worrying about the development of western literature? Besides, we already know Americans can't write literature anyway.Īnd not just because the main character, Ravirn, has a magical webgoblin named Melchior who changes into a laptop.

Most of the reviews were good, but what fascinated me were several of the negative reviews (we all get them), which said things like, 'it doesn't delve into deeper issues', 'it doesn't introduce any great new ideas to literature', and 'it could be a decent read if you read it for what it is: fantasy pulp.' Horrible, another season of The Tick, and WebMage, by Kelly McCullough.Īfter I read it, I was glancing at the GoodReads entry for the sequel, Cybermancy. Jimhines My brother-in-law drew my name for the gift swap this Christmas, and turned to my Amazon wish list for inspiration.

Cybermancy by Kelly McCullough