Magic on the Storm [Mass Market Paperback]

Number four in the Allie Beckstrom Chronicles - what's not to love? We have a continuation of Zavion and Allie's relationship (thankfully not too mushy), continued friendships with one of my favorite new characters Shamus.\, and the gargoyle Stone remains in the story. I love the gargoyle - I enjoy his quirks and all the little things that Devon Monk describes him doing. He (She?) is a great addition to the series. Almost makes me wish I had my own magical gargoyle. And Stone is very protective of Allie.

Big things happen in the fourth book - Not only does Allie and the Authority have to prepare for and deal with a magical storm (full of wild magic), there is a huge faction rift (between the magic users) that Allie is learning about while she's dealing with still hosting her father's spirit in her brain. Devon inserts just the right amount of squickiness into that story line - it would be so weird feeling your dad's emotions and lust in your own head. Very disconcerting. The continued subplots (the Hounds, dad in the head, pregnant stepmommy, Zayvion, the Authority's division in the ranks) as well as some hints of Allie's past, and the dialogue between the characters (especially Shamus and Zayvion, and Shamus and Allie) are all wonderful parts of great book. Once in a while I read something in the book, that makes me wonder if we're going to find out the Zayvion has really know Allie for a lot longer than she thinks. Sometimes there's a look described between other characters when they're discussing the memory loss, or something in the narrative that just makes me wonder.

The cliffhanger ending - Devon Monk is excellent at using this. Definitely have a lot to look forward to in the next book - which, thank goodness, is coming out in November of 2010. That's one of the books that I'm not having any doubts about buying.

I loved the first two books in this series, but felt like the last one just sort of treaded water and might have been better as a novella (seriously, book three took place in the space of about two days!?). Book 4 is great, though, and is firing on all cylinders.

The pacing was noticably better than in the other Monk books in the past (though the author really doesn't ever give poor Allie a second of privacy - we're in her POV all day long from start to finish). The heroine's personality shone through a little better, and she seemed to use her brain a little more. I'm loving how the relationship between Allie and her Dad is playing out. If you're new to the series, I'd say read in order: 1, 2, 4, and then go back to 3 if you want something to tide you over to the next book.

This is another excellent installment in the Allie Beckstrom saga. I was worried from the editorial description of the book that it would be one of those treading-water transition books that many of the UF series seem to have, but I had no need to worry. The epic story that Devon Monk began in book 1 continues to build very satisfactorily in this book and along the way we learn a lot more about the Authority, the secret group of magical users Allie joined in the previous book, and we learn a bit more about Allie's father and his plans for Allie, the Authority and himself. Although the plot is a bit slow in the first few sections of the book, it really picks up towards the end. The climax is totally absorbing. Devon Monk really knows how to do endings! The end of Magic in the Shadows was really good too. I didn't think she could repeat that level of intensity in another book but I was wrong. She does it again here.
For anyone who read and enjoyed the earlier books, you really should read this installment too. I would also recommend this series highly to anyone looking for a new urban fantasy world (although you should go back and read the Allie Beckstrom books from the beginning before reading this one; the plot is complex and Monk doesn't always fully clue the reader in to what came before). The way that Devon Monk plays with the relationship between magic and technology --and the way in which she uses magic as a metaphor for technology -- is really, really interesting. Monk is also good at writing believable and emotionally complex characters. I found the development of Allie's relationship with her father in this book to be quite moving. Monk shows Allie's love for her father as well as her distrust of him, and she gives the reader a lot of clues about the complexity of Allie's father's feelings towards Allie as well.
The one quibble I have with Magic on the Storm --and with the series in general-- is the Allie-Zayvion relationship. Or maybe its just Zayvion himself, who for some reason doesn't come across as believably as do all the other characters in the book. Maybe Monk is trying to show us Zayvion from Allie's lovestruck perspective, but I continued to find him here, as in the earlier books, a bit too good to be true. I never really understood why Zayvion loves Allie SO much. I also find Allie curiously unreflective about her relationship to him. Given how interesting Allie's relationship with the other people in her life are --particularly with her dad, but also with Violet, her stepmom, with Shame, Zayvion's friend, even with Chase, Zayvion's ex-girlfriend--the flatness of her relationship with Zayvion is noticeable and a shame. Nonetheless I love this series and can't wait for the next installment in the fall.

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