A.M. Dellamonica’s INDIGO SPRINGS features a unique approach to how magic works in the contemporary world. There are enchanters, but very few of them, who are able to harness vitagua, a physically viscous blue goo that can be used to create little magical trinkets.
These trinkets can be frivolous, such as a purse that turns feathers into living geese, or extremely powerful, capable of causing tremendous devastation. Arrayed against these enchanters are a group of magic burners, who want to destroy this force and those who use it. These enchanters and burners go about their lives, never letting on to the rest of us about their battle.
Astrid is one such enchanter, apprenticed in early days into the role by her father. We first encounter her holed up with her friends Sahara and Jacks, with Astrid having lost all her memory of magic and what she is capable of. Eventually, these three tap into a hidden spring of vitagua, Astrid regains her memory, and magic is loosed in our real world. She is a natural for the enchanter role, but the power of the magic and its capabilities begin to insidiously affect Sahara.
The book has a somewhat confusing timeline, as we bounce around back and forth between times before the magic spill, to Astrid’s past with her father, to a time where she is held prisoner by the magic burners, to when the spill occurs and the real world is confronted with the power of vitagua. This narrative choppiness is mimicked somewhat by Astrid, who has trouble keeping time — both past and present — organized in her head. While it does tend to heighten the suspense, I’m not convinced that it’s really healthy for the overall story, as it distracts from the theme of magic as power, and the corruption of same.
Strangely, for a first book in the series (the next to come is BLUE MAGIC), it feels like we’re at the end of a multivolume story arc. I would have appreciated reading more of the origins of Astrid’s talent, and less of the somber segments where the friends are trying to prevent the vitagua from contaminating the real world, or of Astrid’s time in prison, being interrogated by a character who is sure to feature heavily in the sequel. The unusual ending in this tale does hold out hope for the second book, however, so if you love contemporary fantasies, Dellamonica’s brisk style should provide a pleasing read. —Mark Rose
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- Memory and Dream
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- The Prodigal Mage
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m getting mixed messages from your review Mark. You’ve given the plot and what you would have liked done more effectively, but the last line “…if you love contemporary fantasies, Dellamonica’s brisk style should provide a pleasing read” tells me that you liked the book.
What, in fact, did you like about it?
I personally did like the book, and didn’t have the same issues with the time-line that you had. Either way though, I do think this review needs a shot of tequila to help it decide how it really feels.
Fair enough, tequila shot taken. I liked the way the magic was handled, the whole construct of vitagua and how it works in both the “real” world and the magical world, and how it works through the main character. And Astrid is an interesting enough character that I could see more books in a series built around her and her counterpart interrogator. But it wasn’t brilliant, it didn’t loop me into the story in the same way as say, something by Charles De Lint would. So, interesting way of handling magic, three (including Sahara) intriguing characters, but in the end, “a pleasing read” with a fragmented timeline that seemed unnecessary to me.