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Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong check out website: www.OrbitBooks.co.uk and www.TimesWarnerBooks.co.uk
Last year's 'Stolen', whilst not lacking the gore-and-sex-factor that kept 'Bitten' so entertaining, also showed signs that Armstrong was starting to think in the long-term: the world-building was amped up and witches, demons and vampires appeared on the scene to complicate matters. 'Dime Store Magic', then, is the end product of all this planning and what a good end product it is, too.
The story to some extent leads directly on from 'Stolen', where a group of supernatural beings were kidnapped for their powers, including our werewolf Elena and Eve, a witch thrown out of her coven for dabbling in black magic. Cut to a year later and Paige, at 23, has been left with custody of Eve's 13-year-old daughter, Savannah, and theoretically leadership of the coven that that expelled Eve. Feeling trapped by the rules imposed on her by the stroppy coven elders, stuck in an insular New England town not too far from Salem and dealing with the teenage rebellions of Savannah, Paige is not having fun. Added to the fact that Savannah is a frighteningly powerful witch who has no idea how to control her spells, she really doesn't think it can get any worse. At that point, of course, an evil sorcerer shows up claiming to be Savannah's father and threatening to expose Paige as a witch if she doesn't hand over her ward... If that sounds slightly familiar then, yes, half the plot has been recycled from an old episode of 'Charmed'. It's done with slightly more wit and style this time, not to mention Armstrong's trademark dry humour and it's fairly safe to say that 'Charmed' fans are absolutely going to love this. Quite aside from the central character apparently named after one of the Halliwells and the ubiquitous morally ambiguous love interest, 'Dime Store Magic' builds on all the good bits of the programme. Mixing in some demonic lawyers a'la 'Angel' is a nice touch and minus the sisterly support: Paige's coven are the bitchiest backstabbers this side of Salem. On one hand, its traded in the edginess of the previous two books for something slightly cosier and there's certainly not the casual approach to death and sex that made them so much fun that way. Instead, we get slightly less of the pitch-black comedy, but certainly some nice moments from the assorted lunatics who camp outside Paige's house. Not to mention her having to clear up after someone stages a black mass in her back garden and then calls the police or the just plain surreal zombie funeral. Much of the emotional development is Paige learning to stand on her own and accept the fact that she may need to kill to protect Savannah. Paige herself was a little annoying when she first appeared in 'Stolen' but she thankfully feels much more approachable, not to mention fallible here. Despite the fact I was looking forward to reading this, even I was surprised to finish it in one (marathon) sitting. There are so few authors out there who can write this well and it makes the perfect read for a few hours of escapism. If you enjoyed the first two books, 'Dime Store Magic' is a refreshing change of direction that looks set to keep the series going for a good few books yet. If you haven't, it's perfectly possible to enjoy without the prequels - but they do come highly recommended as well. Jennifer Howell
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OTHER REVIEWS - April 2004
Other reviews: April 2004 Lucifer's Dragon by Jon Courtenay Grimwood The Companions by Sherri S. Tepper Beyond Infinity by Gregory Benford Sunshine Patriots by Bill Campbell The Skies Of Pern by Anne McCaffrey Eight Keys to Eden by Mark Clifton The Adam Strange Archives Volume 1 Wit'ch Gate: Immortal Magic - Infinite Vengence by James Clemens Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong Deep Space Nine: Rising Son by SD Perry Absolution Gap (The Inhibitors series book 3) by Alastair Reynolds Alchymist (The Well Of Echoes book 3) by Ian Irvine Hal Spacejock: Second Course by Simon Haynes Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris The Dancers At The End Of Time by Michael Moorcock The Crow: The Story Behind The Film by Bridget Baiss British Summertime by Paul Cornell The Year Of Our War by Steph Swainson April 2004: Hardback to Paperbacks The Chesley Awards: A Retrospective by John Grant and Elizabeth Humphrey with Pamela D. Scoville
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Kelley
Armstrong's first two books, 'Bitten' and 'Stolen', were snappy
first-person takes on the werewolf genre, with an engaging protagonist
in Elena Michaels, who just happened to be the only female werewolf
in the world. 
Paige,
a techno-witch (think Willow or Jenny Calendar in 'Buffy') who played
a pivotal role in 'Stolen', is Armstrong's new protagonist and it's
safe to say she's not exactly Elena. So, from the one-off that 'Bitten'
initially appeared to be, we get the re-branded 'Women Of The Otherworld'
series. Clunky title, great books.
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