M. D. PresleyRezensionen

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader, as did a Q&A with the author.
---
WHAT'S RITES OF PASSAGE ABOUT?
Teenager Corbin James escapes from the cult he was (largely) raised in just as the FBI's raid begins. Weeks, miles, and multiple states later, Corbin's still running when he encounters someone who seems to know a lot about him. Too much for a random stranger to know.

This stranger (we later learn he's called Mister) recruits/tricks/entices/entraps Corbin into joining him for a task. Mister and Corbin join up with some other members of the Inner Circle (a group of magicians found in most of the major cities in the U.S.) to hunt for a missing magician. Corbin has the magic ability to dowse—and for much more than water (although maybe he can find water, too, it never comes up)—he can find whoever and whatever he needs to.

Obviously, there's something about the search for this particular missing person that is going to take a little more than one session with Corbin and his dowsing rod (or it'd be a short story, not a novel)—and Corbin's introduction to the Inner Circle, to the reality that there are all sorts of people who can do magic, and all sorts of magic, and a world beyond his cult isn't going to be easy for him. Or all that safe, either.

WORLDBUILDING, MAGIC SYSTEM, AND SO ON
Okay, you'd expect that someone who's written books on worldbuilding would know what he's doing when it comes to it (or at least, you'd hope he would). In this case, you'd be right—which doesn't make it less impressive.

This very clearly takes place in a version of our world (joking references to "muggles" make that clear), and magic users are underground. But, as UF readers often see, that doesn't mean that there isn't a strong culture of rules, mores, customs, and whatnot. There are essentially two ways that magicians organize themselves—in local associations or in a major association that covers the nation (it's hard to explain briefly—think of a regional fast food chain and McDonald's). Due to the circumstances around this novel's events, we get a pretty good idea—but not exhaustive—about how they both function, are organized, and recruit members.

The variety of magic abilities is pretty great. The closest comparable series I can think of on this front is Jacka's Alex Verus books. And I know this book only scratched the surface of that. It's one that I can't wait to explore in future books.

When it comes to The Dresden Files, The Hollows, or The Iron Druid (for example), by the end of the first book, you have a pretty solid understanding of how magic functions in their universes (even if that understanding will grow and expand over the course of the series). With Rites of Passage, we don't get that. But you never have the impression that Presley's making it up as he goes along. I have a vague understanding of how my smartphone works, but I know there's a lot that I don't understand—but I can use it and understand that it does work. The same thing goes for the magic here—I can see these people use it, and I understand that it does work. I don't need to know all the ins and outs.

Some authors beat you over the head with the details (I'm not suggesting that Butcher, Harrison, or Hearne did that)—showing their work like it's a math test. Presley doesn't do that—he just shows it working and gives you a sense that there's a methodology afoot. The reader will slowly (over a few books) piece it together—or not, because they really don't care about the details—as we see more. Just knowing that there's a structure is enough.

IS IT ME?
Is it just me, or are there a lot of books being written lately about people escaping from cults? I'm not talking strict religious families/cultures—but out-and-out cults. Maybe I'm not seeing as many as I think I am and it just feels that way.

I'd say I'm starting to get tired of it—and I am—but Presley does such a good job of showing how Corbin's life and thinking have been shaped by the cult, and how even after getting away from them (and how he did it)—he still reflexively thinks like a member. Sure, he's skeptical about some of it, and can see through some of what the leader had done. But it's not something you can just switch off, and Presley demonstrates that with skill. So, I'll wait until the next time I come across this phenomenon to complain about it.

THE PLAYLIST
Presley has assured readers that once he gets enough online reviews for this book, he'll release the playlist for this book. This playlist is going to be a doozy. At some point along the way, Corbin gets his hands on an enchanted iPod that helps him navigate the events of this novel. Given his sheltered upbringing he doesn't recognize most of the songs it plays for him—he'll give a description of some of the songs, so the reader can guess some/many/all of what he's listening to (depending on the reader).

Getting this playlist will actually help round out your understanding of the book (it won't be essential, but it'll be a nice bonus)—and I'm pretty sure it'll be fun to listen to, too.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT RITES OF PASSAGE?
I've talked about worldbuilding already, so what about the characters, arguably the most critical component in getting me (and other readers) to want to keep reading? Presley gives his readers a lot to here. It'd be easy to create a series with almost every magician we encounter in this book as the central character—and that's not something I can say too often. Corbin is likely the best choice—the way he has to be introduced to this world and other forms of magic is a major plus, so any info-dumping for the reader has a natural outlet in teaching Corbin. But I can see myself really getting into at least a duology with every other magic user (including the villain of the piece).

While writing this post, I went back and read one of Presley's answers to remind myself what character he mentioned here:

In screenwriting it’s understood that supporting characters are more fun to write because they can be over the top, since they’re not carrying the show. They can be outlandish and weird because not nearly as much is riding on them, which is why they have the freedom to become fan favorites. And I have a feeling that in Rites of Passage Kirin will be this character for me.

I'd forgotten to look for Kirin as I was reading to see if I could pick that up—it's just as well that I did, so I can say that Kirin is this fan's favorite. I'm also a bit relieved—we didn't definitively say goodbye to Kirin here, but the way things ended, there was no guarantee we'd see her (or many other of the surviving characters) again. But knowing she's got an arc that will be developed over several books helps build my own anticipation for further books (nothing against Corbin, but I knew we'd get more about him).

I'm not as enthusiastic about the plot as I am the other aspects of this novel. It's not bad by any means—I was engaged and curious throughout. It wasn't too hard to follow or anything else negative, either. I just think there was so much going on in establishing characters, the world, the magic, the associations, and so on that there wasn't enough space left over for the story. Your results may vary, of course—but for me everything else overshadowed the story. I do fully expect that in future installments I won't have this complaint as Presley has established enough here that he can focus more on the plot.

Regardless, I heartily encourage Urban Fantasy readers to try this. You're not going to find your typical UF mainstays here, but you're going to find a world that you're going to want to spend more time in with characters you're going to want to get to know better. This series has the potential to become a favorite.½

If it hadn't been for the annual spfbo contest, this book would have sadly been left in the pits of obscurity among the ever increasingly huge array of quality self-published fantasy books out there.

I had this book on my TBR list for quite a long time and I always try to read spfbo books whenever I have the chance. I can instantly see why so many readers wanted to spread word of mouth for this novel.

The basic premise occurs in an Earth-like world during an archetype civil war USA era, where the initial war was due to religious differences instead of slavery. Our protagonist named Martha Childress was born into the affluent and extremely well-connected Cildra Clan, who pride themselves in the huge rate of gifted children with super powers over the regular population. Instead of having a 5% probability of being blessed with one of 5 different special abilities (Render, Weaver, Whisperer, Listener, and Shaper), the Cildra enjoy a whopping 80% rate of blessed among their children. Of course, they keep this knowledge a deeply guarded secret, and train their children from a young age to become spies.

After discovering she can turn her aura into different shapes and break her brother's nose, Martha and Carmichael are summoned by their father, expecting to be berated because she used her newly found Shaper ability in front of an outsider. Instead, he praises her talent and warns Carmichael never to pick a fight with a stronger opponent. The words were a haunting warning.

We are then told two separate timelines of Martha's depressing life: her youthful upbringing and her adventures where she gleefully rejects marriage proposals from countless male suitors of the Auld Lands (aka Europe), and her present ruined self as a bitter social outcast with a maimed body who was ordered to rescue a mysterious girl named Caddie and bring her to a city in her native Eastern lands, a place where if the locals discovered her identity, would ensue a guaranteed death sentence.

We are not entirely sure why Martha is both hesitant and eager to follow this strange mission, and if she should trust two mercenaries named Luca and Isabelle who seem equally annoyed to help her accomplish this task. The mysteries of Martha's current behavior are responded from the chapters that delve into her discovery as an Easterner spy upon her return to the capital of West Newfield, and her life as a Prisoner of War.

I would not like to spoil everything that happened to Martha during the war, I think her fascinating and bitterly sad tale should be left as a secret for the reader. I can guarantee that the story will not leave people disappointed, and I am certain that the sequel will be equally good.

If there was anything that sadly kept me from granting this book 5 stars was because there are multiple areas of the story with confusing paragraphs that diverted from the enjoyment of the story. I never really understood the difference between Glassmen and Render hunters, which has a certain importance in the plot. Furthermore, some phrases here and there were grammatically correct, but sounded clunky: make to make, where to there, etc... I think with a revision with a copyeditor and a rewrite of the confusing pieces of text, this book would easily be a 5 star read. I hope it gets picked up by a trad publisher sometime, because it was a fabulous read.

This is a great tool to have around, learn from, and use as a writer. I'm always on the lookout for writing aids and this is one I think I'll be referring to and using often. Even though this is a second book, you can easily read and use it without having checked out the first book. In this workbook, it covers everything to do with fantasy worldbuilding, it's very detailed and extensive and chock full of so much information. This is one of those kinds of books/workbooks that is more like an ongoing activity that can and should be used more than once with all your ideas. If you're looking for an amazing resource and workbook as a writer/fantasy writer I would recommend checking this out. Thanks so much to Goodreads for letting me read and review this fantastic book I received from one of their giveaways. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While the beginning feels fairly amateurish, with lots of info-dumpy exposition and some very clumsy Civil War pastiche (that can seem in poor taste at times), the story picks up in the middle and can be quite interesting. The characters are interesting, and the "magic" unique, though it clearly is a lot to Sanderson.

There are a lot of typos, and some more strict editing would do a lot of good to flow, time and style.