I'll start off by saying that Incursion, book 1 of Lauren L Garcia's Catalyst Moon series gave me serious Dragon Age vibes – so much so that I'm sooo tempted to wonder if this is an incredibly well-crafted fic that had its serial numbers filed off. And to tell you how much I loved this book, I immediately went out and purchased book two (which is a rare occurrence for me when I'm considering books for review).
In this world, magic users are reviled and locked up in bastions that are guarded by templ— Sorry, sentinels, who chug
We meet Kali, a mage, who is being transferred to another bastion so that she can have her bad knee looked at (not all mages are equal in their powers, and she's hoping that someone at the bastion will have a better grip on healing magic). Plus, her friend is there, and they haven't seen each other since forever.
Of course no plans go without a hitch, and her party is waylaid by demon-possessed barbarians who pretty much decimate their patrol, leaving only Kali to escape with the young sentinel Stonewall. And her magic has ways of its own that result in a wild escape that sets them practically on the other side of the map. Now they must journey back to the bastion, and learn to trust one another in an often hostile environment.
Meanwhile a mage rebellion is brewing... Of course.
What I love about Garcia's writing is that she brings in the human element with all her characters – we see both mages' and sentinels' points of view, and it's easy to understand where both stand on the divide. All the while I was cheering on those who were able to build bridges rather, but by equal measure curse those too myopic to see the bigger picture – because Garcia lays plenty of seeds hinting at a bigger, brewing danger. If you're looking for a fantasy adventure that focuses on the human elements of magic vs. non-magic conflict, then give Incursion a shot. She has created a varied cast and I'm so curious to see how all the secondary characters' story arcs will pan out.
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