A Distant Magic by Mary Jo Putney
I’m putting the book blurb on this one instead of typing out my own summary in an attempt to keep things simple, since the plot of this one is rather complicated. Plus I don’t have to type as much. 🙂
Mary Jo Putney’s passionate, vivid characters and captivating stories have earned enthusiastic acclaim from reviewers and readers everywhere. Now the New York Times bestselling author weaves a new tale in the Guardian series—a dazzling romantic fantasy that takes readers not only from the elegant streets of London to a dangerously tempting Mediterranean island, but across time itself.
Jean Macrae’s family is one of the most prominent clans of Guardians, humans whose magical powers come from nature, but Jean considers her skills modest at best. She has never been able to summon the intense, earth-altering ability that has marked the most talented Guardians, and she is content without the adventure that such skill brings…until the day she is confronted by a handsome stranger whose magic imprisons her on his pirate ship.
Captain Nikolai Gregorio is convinced that Jean’s father abandoned him, as a child, to slavers. Now he seeks vengeance against the Macraes, no matter the cost. But Jean soon finds his untrained magical gifts far more dangerous than his thirst for revenge, especially when they intensify her own powers to an unthinkable—and enticing—degree. And when Jean and Nikolai’s irresistible connection summons a woman from the future, they are charged with a formidable task: protect those who will oppose slavery’s evil and forever change the future of two nations. This quest will sweep Jean and Nikolai into the most fantastic of realms, and try their powers beyond what even the Guardians would dare.
There’s a heavy message in this story, all tied in with the fight to end the slave trade. Putney brings up more than just the Middle Passage between Africa and the Caribbean and the conditions of African slaves. Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean, the life of a married woman in 18th century England, even the forced impressment of poor men into the Royal Navy are all forms of slavery. There’s lots of great history about the Abolitionist movement in England, the life of a slave on a plantation and the American Revolution.
All of these things and the social message overwhelm the romance of Jean and Nikolai. Not that there’s really much romance there really. They meet, he hates her because of her father and the belief of betrayal. She hates him because she’s been kidnapped for what she thinks of as a hypocritical reason. She’s right, he’s not. They spend most of the book denying their attraction to each other, though there’s really not much heat to spare because they’re striving to do a noble thing and stop slavery.
Nikolai seemed very childish throughout the majority of the book. He’s wanted revenge on the Macraes for so long, he’s emotionally stunted. He doesn’t like giving up his idea of revenge, even though Jean convinces him that he’s seeking revenge on someone who doesn’t deserve it. As they travel through time they come to terms and forge a friendship, though not much else until both of their magic matures, and it’s the right time. Which is nice and all, except people are telling them they’re destined to be mated and it’s obvious that they’ll be great together.
The time traveling put me off as well. Why can’t they do things slowly over time, like all the other abolitionists? They go hopping through 50 years into the future to see that the Atlantic Slave trade ends, see their loved ones age, but then they return to when they left and strive to live out the rest of their lives normally. The plop down just at the right time to change something, but couldn’t they have done that without the help of magic and seen the fruits of their labor happen and the world change as it normally does, very slowly?
The heavy social message, again, just overshadowed everything else in the book, from characterization to the romance. However, I did learn quite a bit about slavery, the trade and the fight for abolition in the 18th century.
Grade: D
