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Industrial Magic
Kelley Armstrong
Bantam Spectra, 560 pages


Art: Franco Accornero
Industrial Magic
Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong is married with three children and lives in rural Ontario, Canada. After graduating from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in psychology, she moved on to study computer programming. She is now a full-time writer and parent.

Kelley Armstrong Website
ISFDB Bibliography
SF Site Review: Dime Store Magic
SF Site Review: Dime Store Magic
SF Site Interview: Kelley Armstrong
SF Site Review: Stolen
SF Site Review: Bitten

Past Feature Reviews
A review by Alisa McCune

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Industrial Magic is Canadian author Kelley Armstrong's fourth installment in the Women of the Other World series. The series is a world not much different from our own, but includes demons, deities, vampires, werewolves, witches, sorcerers, shaman, druids, necromancers, clairvoyants, and much more. The supernatural world lies just under the surface of the known world and definitely has nasty teeth. With Industrial Magic, we are once again treated to a delightful adventure that will suck you in and not let go until the end.

At the conclusion of Dime Store Magic, Paige and Lucas have become guardians of Savannah. Since Paige's house was destroyed, they spent the summer driving around the country ending up in Portland, Oregon. Industrial Magic opens with Paige being approached by Lucas' father, Benicio Cortez. Benicio is a sorcerer and the CEO of the Cortez Cabal, a large company that employees supernaturals and has shady moral dealings. Since Lucas is estranged from his father, Paige was never supposed to be approached by Benicio.

Benicio is not to be denied his meeting with Paige. It would seem he has a case he wants Lucas to take. Someone is killing Cabal children. The latest victim is Dana, a homeless teenage witch.

Paige and Lucas want nothing to do with the Cabals; especially after Savannah's father of the Nast Cabal tried to take custody of her in Dime Store Magic. Kristoff Nast paid with his life for this, but Paige lost everything she held dear; her house, her reputation, and most of all, her coven. A trip to Miami is taken to politely refuse Benicio and set clear boundaries with the Cabal regarding Paige.

The adventure begins to unfold in Miami as Lucas and Paige struggle to keep clear of Benicio's manipulations and still help the supernatural children being targeted. Nothing is ever as it seems in the world of Cabals. This case pits Lucas and Paige against the killer and the Cabals. We quickly realize why Lucas wants nothing to do with Benicio and the other Cabals.

Many of our favorite characters from previous novels appear in Industrial Magic -- Elena, Clay, Jeremy, and Cassandra. We meet a new character, Jamie -- a TV personality who talks to the dead and just happens to be a necromancer. Jamie really livens things up for Paige and Lucas.

Industrial Magic is a book not to be missed. The action is fantastic and the drama is very intense. Kelley Armstrong creates such fun characters that really jump off the pages. The book is fast paced with lots of unexpected turns. Like the other books in the series, I wanted more after finishing Industrial Magic.

Copyright © 2004 Alisa McCune

Alisa discovered science fiction at the tender age of eight. She devoured The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and never looked back. She lives in Chicago with her husband, cat, and 5000 books. For more information please visit her website at alisaandmike.com.


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