Fundamental Magics

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By Alex Evans

Publisher Description

In a world where magic is returning after centuries of absence, Professor Adrienne Imlay has been able to balance her secret shamanic abilities with her academic career. But when she becomes entangled with Philidor Magnus, a charismatic inventor with a dark secret, she is drawn into a deadly plot involving demons, rival industrialists, and shadowy magical authorities. When rifts to other dimensions threaten to tear her city apart, she must confront her own abilities and the ethical quandaries they pose.

A special note for readers: this book contains a lot of different characters and a lot of worldbuilding. If you prefer your settings conventional and your story focused on a few heroes and villains, you probably won't enjoy this novel.

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3 Reviews

3.5

mira

Created about 1 month ago

Alyson

Created 3 months ago

“Demons running rampant, colleagues disappearing, and experiments involving magic, Professor Adrienne has her hands full. Just days after her lab neighbor goes missing and a demon is seen running around a department store, Adrienne finds herself acquainted with Philidor Magnus, an obsessive inventor, eager to bring magic back for a special machine that can create anything. Instead of exciting magic experiments, Adrienne finds herself in more danger than she thought she could be in. The magic in this was more of a scientific system which is always a breath of fresh air as well as makes me feel really dumb sometimes. I’ll admit, I don’t think I understand all the technical philosophy of this book, but I was able to grasp the other concepts and I was really hoping for more. The worldbuilding felt like it could have been explained in a better way or expanded on more. There wasn’t much to the relationships in this and I really felt like the FMC could have been replaced by anyone else and the plot wouldn’t have changed. The first 50% was super slow and it wasn’t until 50% that the readers met Philidor Magnus. Being in the blur I would have thought he would be the MMC, but I’m not sure I can call him that. It didn’t feel like he was important enough to the story. The last 15% or so was definitely my favorite as things were being revealed. I really enjoyed the twist of it all which is why this is a 3 star rather than a 2. Had there been a little more backstory to everything instead of the slightly less important reveals just being matter-of-factly said, it would have been a pretty good story. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC ❤️”

Christina C

Created 3 months ago

“(3.5 ⭐ - ARC) I really enjoyed the story and the steampunk/Arcane magical science vibes of this book, but it definitely needs more editing. I'm having a hard time summarizing my thoughts so I'll break it down a bit: Characters - I really love our MC, Adrienne, a dedicated scientist who is essentially studying the niche equivalent of magic theoretical physics. Her life is formulaic and mundane and she's content with that - until her niche abilities are suddenly very sought after by some powerful people. She has her work and her handful of acquaintances, and couldn't be bothered by socializing or wearing corsets or courting a man. It's not until she finds someone who is as deeply dedicated to research as she is where her interests are piqued, though that doesn't change who she is. She's just a huge nerd (kind of reminded me of Bones or Elizabeth Zott), love that about her and enjoyed reading her POV. "To me, a man was just a waste of time. Not that I was completely devoid of experience in this area. I had tried a few things during my second year of college , more out of scientific curiosity than lust. I had concluded that sex was a complicated, uncomfortable, slimy business, much less interesting than what we were led to believe. No comparison with the exhilarating thrill of research or the sharp pleasure of discovery." Some other characters were fun, but a lot were introduced and we don't get to see enough development or spend enough time with each one to see their impact. World - we are introduced to a large world that has many places, cultures, political strife, religions, differing tech, and war. And then there's magic or "the Power", which isn't well understood, and even other planes where magical creatures like demons, jinn, and unicorns preside. It's hard to get the full picture from a short book, but it felt like a rich lore is there ready to be explored. It maybe needs to be called a bit in this first introduction, though, to focus more on building where the story takes place. Writing - another reviewer said this was translated from French, and it is self published, so what is here is impressive. I do think it needs more help in terms of editing, though. There are misused words, repeated paragraphs that seem like rewrites that weren't deleted, and other various typos. I think with some more serious polish, it would be a great read.”