Modern Magic
Anne Cordwainer
Reviewed by Tom Morton
Modern Magic (Clotho Press, 2008) a
story cycle by Anne Cordwainer is quite literally a he said/ she said
novel.
The book centers on John and Liz Prospero, siblings from a long line of
magical
renegade hunters. John is a powerful sorcerer, while Liz was born
mundane.
Taking place in modern times (thus the title), whose population remain
mostly
unaware of the raging magical conflicts, the siblings take on a
powerful
sorcerer with a mad scheme to destroy the hunters.
The chapters
mostly take turns centering on either the brother or the sister,
allowing us to
get an up-close look at both. We can see John’s lack of will at times
to
continue battling renegades. He knows he is powerful, but at times
regrets that
it has to be him that fights the bad guys.
Liz we see in a
different light. Motivated, headstrong, willful, and lacking even a
spark of
magic. Yet she is placed in danger just for her family name, and must
fight her
way through it while trying to still have a social life.
Each chapter,
whichever sibling it is centered around, is filled with action and will
make
you want to keep turning just one more page before you put it down.