Ian Barr 2020
This YA adventure novel blends science fiction and magic in a steampunk-fantasy setting with action, political intrigue and romance, all set in a richly developed world. There is an ensemble cast of characters that manages to feel sympathetic and interesting without being overwhelming.
I disagree with many reviews and summaries that try to say this is a story about Avery Adder, because from my reading, it is a story about at least 6 different characters. The extent to which the story is about Avery Adder is that he is the common factor to the other stories, and the things that happen to him drive the story forward. I would not say that he has much agency over how the story progresses, and one of the things I really liked about this book was that the story advances because of the collective actions of all the different characters.
This is the first book in Barr's Bloodless Affairs cycle, and I hope to see more. It's clear that this book only reveals part of a rich lore that the author has planned out. The real strength here is worldbuilding and the ensemble cast, and Barr does a great job of giving each of his characters unique perspectives and motivations. My only gripe with this book is that I would have liked to see at least some of the motivation of the villains; I get the feeling that while the protagonists are humanized for their mistakes and try to learn from them, most of the antagonists are portrayed as pretty one-dimensional and are hard to sympathize with. I think of a villain like Thanos in the MCU: the things he did were clearly evil, but he did them because in his warped perspective, he was trying to save the universe. None of the villains here seem to be trying to do anything more than seize control for themselves, or to destroy the lives of people they dislike.
I recommend Synthetic Magic, and encourage you to buy an ebook or hardcopy to support this young author! https://www.amazon.ca/Synthetic-Magic-Bloodless-Affairs-Vol/dp/177732680X/
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