Changes

The magic in the setting is well-thought out and shows how a world where it is commonplace might look. There are charms, or “tricks”, which are a fairly weak, commonplace form of magic which allow you to do basic things like make you hover or give you good luck or things of that nature. The realms are linked by the Floating Railways, which appear to be a cross between rail travel and air travel, and the hover magic put to an industrial use. Magic is also used as a cheap-and-dirty method of sanitation, however , this is extremely risky because high doses of magic are toxic. And then there is True Magic, which is extremely rare and can only be produced by a race of people known as Crafters, most of whom were either wiped out or went into hiding in a war sixty years prior to the start of the story. This is why the magic produced by Ashwood is so concerning, since it is far more potent than any charm they’ve seen before, suggesting that he’s somehow managed to get his hands on a Crafter.

[[Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell|The Barnaby Grimes series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell]] – a similar, but no less dark, set of stories for younger readers, this time with illustrations. You might also appreciate [[To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo]].