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3.5 

Notorious Sorcerer

By Davinia Evans
Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

"Vibrant, explosive, deliciously dangerous, and impossibly fun." —Tasha Suri

"A brilliant alchemical recipe!" —Olivia Atwater

"I loved getting lost in this dazzling debut." —Shannon Chakraborty

A wickedly entertaining fantasy debut bursting with wild magic, chaotic sword-fighting street gangs, brazen flirting, malevolent harpies, and one defiant alchemist. 

Welcome to Bezim, where sword-slinging bravi race through the night, and where rich and idle alchemists make magic out of mixing and measuring the four planes of reality.

Siyon Velo, Dockside brat turned petty alchemist, scrapes a living hopping between the planes to harvest ingredients for the city’s alchemists. But when Siyon accidentally commits an act of impossible magic, he’s catapulted into the limelight—which is a bad place to be when the planes start lurching out of alignment, threatening to send the city into the sea.

It will take a miracle to save Bezim. Good thing Siyon has pulled off the impossible before. Now he just has to master it.

The Burnished City
Notorious Sorcerer
 

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116 Reviews

3.5
Slightly Smiling Face“At the start, this book was sitting around a solid four stars. I like the characters, the politics, the magic, and the setting. The conflict and plot eventually became kind of muddy with the limp subplots that are sprinkled in and the more complex parts of the magic system that felt almost a bit too big for the story laid in front of me. It became boring at times and I feel like it does a disservice to these great characters and what/who they could be. Obviously since this is the first book in a trilogy and we are only just beginning and the plot will develop and maybe it'll make more sense in time. I'll be reading the sequel, but I'm not frothing at the mouth to get there immediately. ❤️‍🔥✨️”
“The pacing is glacially slow but the world building is beyond rich. This novel throws you in and asks you to swim. Eventually you come to learn, but I’ll admit that I found the rotation of names, proper nouns and made up words dizzying at first. I think perhaps the reason this is rated lower than I might anticipate is that it’s being marketed as general fantasy when the world building and stylization is more similar to Dune. It’s vast, rich, and requires the reader to push through initial lack of understanding. The implications of this world are fascinating. There is a clear caste/class system with limited mobility. The bravi bracken are street performers/ a brotherhood of sorts that operate throughout the city; the nobility does as they please despite the government; the government has outlawed sorcery and appears to be a military state. Alchemy and sorcery transpires regardless, but your social rank alone protects you. The society, and its intricacies, leaves you wanting to live in the world longer. This story has interesting social commentary on class systems, rule of law and how it interweaves with class, feminism, and social and gender roles. I thought one of the most powerful aspects of the story was when the inquisitors began rounded up alchemists/sorcerers (at first by social class, but later regardless of class), presumably for execution, and the underground movement of the bravi bracken to smuggle people out of the city that followed. At first I thought “but why would they kill them like this?” — then I realized, it does not have to make sense because something like this never will. It happens suddenly and swiftly, and although it’s mentioned in the story earlier, and the signs were there, it was still unexpected. Siyon, our protagonist, spends the majority of the novel in hiding. He is unable to traverse freely in the society in which he lives, yet able to traverse freely between realms. He may be “the chosen one” but by every societal metric, he is absolutely a pariah. Siyon is an intriguing main character — he’s relatable, funny, and overall a well rounded protagonist. He’s in the lowest social class, and is a bit of an underdog. You get the sense he was adopted by the bravi bracken at age 14 after having swum across the harbour. His character arc goes to show that you can become a “notorious sorcerer”, yet still not receive approval from your blood family. However, trying to do the impossible ‘alone’ is not attainable, and he ultimately must lean on those around him. Izmirlian is a study of passive suicidal idealization. He’s in no rush to go, but he cannot imagine staying where he is. Yet, he does not want to die. His request to be sent “beyond” the four realms is one not questioned by Siyon, but his willingness to try — and lose himself entirely in the process — is one of a man with nothing left to lose. He’s detached himself entirely from this reality, and in many ways, the only thing tethering him is Siyon. I wish the romance between Siyon and Izmirlian was just slightly more developed before we banished Izmirlian to super hell, but hey, what can you do. The portals or “delving” into other realms are so fascinating. The idea that you can only practice alchemy in the city (there appears to be a geographical element to it?) is also interesting. There’s a lot of symbolism and literary elements to unpack (I.e. the tether Siyon uses, and how it connects him physically and spiritually to others as well as what makes him human, among other things). As a bonus, this novel is funny. It’s a very deadpan humour, but if you are in the swing of it, it’s hilarious. I’m very much looking forward to the next book!”
“I loved this book - fun and fast-paced, but still nicely written in wording that really appealed to me. While I agree with other reviewers that the worldbuilding wasn’t anywhere near as intense as in many other fantasy books, I quite enjoyed it. It felt like a bit of a whirlwind that sweeps you up and drags you along, and you just have to go with it and enjoy it. The characters were fun and likeable, and I liked the magic system too. While not necessarily a short book, it was a quick read and I’ll certainly grab the next in the series soon!”

About Davinia Evans

Davinia Evans was born in the tropics and raised on British comedy. With a lifelong fantasy-reading habit and an honours thesis in political strategy, it was perhaps inevitable that she turn to a life of crafting stories full of sneaky ratbags tangling with magic. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with two humans (one large and one small), a neurotic cat, and a cellar full of craft beer. Dee talks more about all of that on Twitter as @cupiscent

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