http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2006-01.html#mckillip ( )

Strange things happen after Brenden Vetch arrives to be a gardener at a wizarding school within a repressive kingdom. A mysterious wandering magician appears in the capital; a princess balks at royal restrictions; a scholar uncovers peculiar details about a wizard's labyrinth; a soldier falls in love; one wizard contemplates rebellion while another watches for subversion; and Brendan Vetch tries to figure out the strange magic blooming within him.

Od Magic features about three completely separate plots (The Magician Tyramin Comes to Town; Princess Sulys Gets Married; Brendan Vetch's Excellent Adventure) that are loosely united and occasionally affect one another. All three stories center around the Od School of Magic, where the wizard Yar provides hesitant aid while the wizard Valoren provides paranoid persecution. Characters from one plot wander through the other plots, so there is not a complete partition between each sub-plot -- but it often feels as if there is an absolute detachment. A similar narrative trick was used in Ombria in Shadow, and I found it clunky even then, but I was not excessively bothered because the narrative chunks were both smaller and better unified. Ombria in Shadow was segmented in accordance with its triumvirate of isolated protagonists, who fleetingly encountered and aided one another as they all struggled toward a common purpose. There is no common purpose in Od Magic (beyond the nebulous idea that totalitarian dictators should perhaps be a tad less fascist, maybe, possibly), and the cast is both larger and less integrated. At points, all three of the main plots threaten to shear off from the greater novel, and I'm not entirely sure why all three were shoe-horned into Od Magic. They don't work together in any meaningful way. Ultimately, Od Magic feels like a jumble of cool characters and neat ideas that never grows into a coherent story. (With that said, the narrow-minded wizard Valoren was an awesome character and far more worthy of being the pivot of the narrative than mild Brendan Vetch.) ( )

I really enjoyed this one. It felt like the short version of the Riddle-Master trilogy, but not really similar. A princess, a policeman, a gardener with mysterious powers and a magicians daughter all come together in Kelior to discover the nature of magic. Untamed, wild power, with people trying to find their own destiny. Two thirds of the way through Od Magic and nothing much had happened, except interesting events in ordinary lives that were obviously being brought together for something extraordinary at the end. Typical McKillip, very well done. ( )

Another wonderful read from Patricia A. McKillip. This one was a very nice story. He flitting around with countless points of view can annoy me sometimes, but I liked or was interested in all the characters enough this time that it did not detract to much from the book. The ending was sweet though perhaps a bit too easy, but sometimes you want it that way so that you can feel good.

The world was as excellently developed in one novel as always from McKillip. I felt that I would actually be interested in living there. It's amazing how much she can do in one novel in terms of world building. It's quite amazing.

Od was wonderful. I am in love with her forever. ( )

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Title: Od Magic
Series: ----------
Author: Patricia McKillip
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 328
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Brenden Vetch saved most of his village from the plague but he couldn't save his parents. He learned the magic of plants all on his own and now he wanders, listening to what the plants tell him. One day a woman named Od appears before him and tells him to go to her school in the big city, as she needs a gardener. He'll know the entrance by the sign with the boot on it. Sick at heart and ready for a change, Brenden goes and finds the door. He enters, meets a wizard and finds out that only very special people ever find the door with the boot on it. All the other students enter through the front gate.

The King of the city, and his ancestors, started the school in honor of Od when she saved the kingdom hundreds of years ago. Slowly they have usurped its powers and decreed that only magic they control is allowed.

A wandering magician enters the city, only to entertain. But circumstances set the king off so he sets his own wizards on the trail of the magician to either control him or remove him and his troupe (said magician performs magics of illusions for the crowds) from the city.

At the same time the princess is to be married off to the head wizard, a man who is controlled completely by the rules of magic that the kings have set up. When she realizes this wizard will never allow her her own small magics taught her by her grandmother, she runs away to find the wandering magician to learn outside magic and to gain her freedom. This sets the King off even more.

At the same time Brenden accidentally shows what he is capable of to the head wizard. Realizing what he has done, Brenden runs away. The Head Wizard chases after him.

Everybody ends up in the North Country where there are 8 Stumps, which are beings of immeasurable power but who are afraid of humanity. Turns out Od is their representative to Humanity so they can all co-exist. Brenden must help the human magicians look beyond the limits they've set for themselves so that they won't be afraid of unknown magic.

My Thoughts:

This hit the spot. I really needed a good book after the stinkers I had last week. I slid right into the rhythm of the story like sliding into silk pajamas. My mind and senses felt caressed by the writing. It was just plain soothing.

There was a LOT going on. Brenden's story, the wandering Magician, the Princess, the Stumps, Od herself, and all of the side characters swept along by each of the main characters. In a good way, it was easy to lose myself in the story. But I never felt like McKillip lost a thread or made a mistep there. Each character was balanced within the overarching plot and at no time did I ever feel like a particular point of view was too long or too short. It just flowed together perfectly.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, every sentence of it. I had no issues with anything, well except maybe for wishing it was slightly longer, but I feel that way about every McKillip book. Of course, she writes just the right amount for the story she is telling.

If you haven't started to read McKillip's body of work by now, then nothing I can say will galvanize you. You won't get any contempt from me, just pity. And trust me, getting pitied by me means you're pretty low on the totem pole...

★★★★★ ( )