A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians

I am so disinterested in this book that it has taken me over five months to conclude that no, I really am not ever going to want to read more of it. It isn't offensively bad or anything, I just... don't care about it, and being stuck on it means I'm not reading anything else, so into the Abandoned pile it goes.

This story ticked enough boxes to make me curious - historical fantasy with magicians holding the levers of power in the late 18th century France and Britain? It is an intriguing set up. This story takes real historical events, largely around the French revolution and overlays a magical society over them. Robespierre in this sense is able to influence people through his magic and all the famous events have a magical bent to them - the storming of the Bastille, the Terror etc. This is told through several POV characters, in both France and the UK. In the UK we see Wilberforce's campaign against slavery, the rise of Pitt the Younger and the history of the abolitionists. The final perspective is told from the perspective of the slaves in both Jamaica and Sainte Domingue.

This really was a brutal time of history and a lot of that brutality is applied to the story. There is so much happening and the events are so crystalized into modern history that a lot of what is being told is well known. The magical twist is cleverly applied and allows the historical events to work within the magical setting.

The concept and setting are superbly done, but unfortunately the prose fell somewhat flat for me. There is a somewhat ‘victorian' style to the story telling that gives a sense of distance from the characters. In the end I didn't find myself identifying with or fully understanding the motives of most of the characters. There is a very slow pacing to the story, which with the distance from the characters did not help. The second half of the book did pick up well on the pacing, but I can see the start being a bit of slog for many people.

I am left curious enough by the prospect of a sequel that I would be happy enough to try it. I did find the story telling a bit slow and distant for my liking, but the story in there and the way the world was set up was clever enough that I am happy to see past its faults. Overall, if you are a fan of historical fantasy, and of this period in particular this is a worthy read. It is slow paced but well crafted.

This is an alternate history infused with magic that vividly realized the past. But more than that and at its core, this is a story about friendship and ideals. It's about how friendship and ideals can clash in ways both powerful and devastating, and how the choices of a few powerful men can change the lives of many.
Overall, I think this book is strong. It was often fun, definitely interesting, and a read I think people can talk about over drinks with friends. The characters were so richly drawn that I found myself deeply invested in them even when I didn't agree with them, which is a fascinating balance.
It wasn't entirely successful. The middle lulls quite a bit in connecting the beginning which was fun and full of youthful excitement and the end which was full of important consequences. The lull was hard to get through but the end was worth it.
I think the author was also balancing a lot of threads. To write a story about abolition that doesn't read like a white savior novel and to inject magic into the past without absolving very human evil. It was delicately handled, and I think overall worked though it was the part I found myself wanting to talk over with others. I would be curious how other people took these considerations.
Overall, I really liked this book. The beginning as I said was fun, the ending meaningful. If you enjoy a historical fantasy, along the lines of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I would give it a go! I'm certainly going to read the authors work again in the future.