Siyon Velo, Dockside brat turned petty alchemist, scrapes a living hopping between the planes to harvest ingredients for the city’s alchemists. But when Siyon accidentally commits an act of impossible magic, he’s catapulted into the limelight—which is a bad place to be when the planes start lurching out of alignment, threatening to send Bezim into the sea.
It will take a miracle to save the city. Good thing Siyon has pulled off the impossible before. Now he just has to master it.
I am SUPER behind on reviews, and trying to claw my way out! I may try my hand at some shorter reviews. Well, shorter than my usual reviews, which aren’t terribly long to begin with.
ANYHOW.
NOTORIOUS SORCERER is the debut novel by Davinia Evans, and the start of her series, THE BURNISHED CITY.
First off, a moment of appreciation for that cover, because oof…it’s designed by Lisa Marie Pompilio, with some of the illustrations done by Andrew Broyzna, and it’s one of my favorite Orbit covers of the year!
Right out of the gate, NOTORIOUS SORCERER is really compelling. The initial pace of the book is almost…dizzying. Not necessarily difficult to follow, just a lot of things coming at you in a hurry. There’s an incredible liveliness to Davinia Evans’s writing & these characters that ultimately won me over, even if I did have some trouble with certain aspects of this story.
Siyon Velo is the scrappy hero of the story. He’s an aspiring alchemist in a world where magic and alchemy are outlawed.
Well, kinda. The use of magic in this world is used to draw a pretty clear distinction between classes…the haves & the have-nots. If you are a noble/highborn, the inquisitors of the city of Bezim are generally willing to look the other way.
If you are someone of Siyon’s standing, you need to be extremely cautious.
Siyon is…not terribly cautious. He has this burning desire for knowledge, to learn everything he can and become a proper alchemist. Meanwhile, he makes ends meet by (dangerously) plundering the different planes of reality for magical items to sell. It’s…a whole thing.
As I mentioned, the story hits the ground running fast, and Siyon is quickly introduced to Zagiri. While Zagiri is a member of high society, both she and Siyon are members of different bravi clans.
And this is where I want to pause and talk about my biggest struggle with NOTORIOUS SORCERER. Maybe I missed it (and someone please help me if I did), but it never felt entirely clear to me what exactly the bravi are. They are like somewhere between clubs & street gangs, but also a little bit like street performers, too? There’s a lot of dashing around on rooftops and sword fighting, but it feels more playful than anything. I just never really grasped the nature of the bravi, or what their true function was in the city. It left a little part of me feeling frustrated with the book, but I was still able to enjoy it overall.
This is a big story with even bigger ideas, and a really likable & diverse cast of characters. The magic is wild & unpredictable, and while the overall tone of the book is pretty fun, the stakes are very high.
NOTORIOUS SORCERER is a bit of a whirlwind. There’s a lot happening & a decent amount of characters to keep track of, but there’s a lot to keep the reader grounded in the story: lots of humor, a really sweet/awkward romance, and some great characters you can’t help but fall for.
Big thanks to Orbit for sending this one my way!!
Grimdark Dad 