simon's blog

It wasn't until I finished this book that I realised that it's the same author as Some Desperate Glory. It's very different, but knowing that it was written by the same person I can start to see similarities.

It's a magical school. We've had lots of them already. It's an ancient(ish) magical school in England, in what appears to be a parallel world where magic is normal and acknoweldged and something that you can do a GCSE in. It's yet another magical school, but this time it is written from the perspective of the deputy head. The author is a teacher, writing what she knows, and this shows. She gets it. The best way I can think to describe the tone of the narrative is, paraphrasing slightly,

"No, your squad of demon hunters can't take these children to a place of safety. You don't have DBS checks! In fact you haven't even shown me ID".

There's a good plot, and it was a quick and intense read for me. Beyond that it's about identity. Specifically, identity for a middle-aged woman who has given her life to her job, has excelled, and isn't sure what else is left. It's about trauma, self-awareness, responsiblity, and hubris.

Highly recommended, and special thanks to sfred who recommended it to me.

Tesh has now done great MilSF (or possibly anti-MilSF?), and excellent fantasy. I'm excited to see what she'll turn her hand to next.