 | The Magician’s Daughter follows the adventures of sixteen-year-old Biddy, who has grown up on the magical island of Hy-Brasil off the coast of Ireland, but longs to enter the “real” world she’s only read about in stories. Her guardian, Rowan, is a roguish mage who shapeshifts into a raven. He has a rabbit familiar named Hutchincroft, who can shapeshift from rabbit to a humanlike form. Hutch fusses over both Biddy and Rowan and is a thoroughly endearing character. When Rowan fails to come home one night, Biddy and Hutch use Rowan’s magical artifacts (a scrying mirror and a dream ring) and their wits to find and release him from a deadly trap. |
Biddy soon learns Hy-Brasil is one of the few places in the world with wild magic. In most places magic has drained away. Rowan has been fighting an organization called the Council that hoards magic to preserve it, because he believes magic should be used for the good of all.
Hy-Brasil is attacked by enchanted bone birds sent by the Council. Rowan is able to fend them off, but the safety of Hy-Brasil is now compromised.
Rowan asks Biddy to help him fight the Council and she embarks on an adventure full of twists and turns, where allies appear to be enemies and enemies act like friends.
Hy-Brasil is attacked by enchanted bone birds sent by the Council. Rowan is able to fend them off, but the safety of Hy-Brasil is now compromised.
Rowan asks Biddy to help him fight the Council and she embarks on an adventure full of twists and turns, where allies appear to be enemies and enemies act like friends.
The Magician’s Daughter is a “fish-out-of-water” story with naive Biddy serving as our guide into an alternate Great Britain where mages fight secret battles over powerful magic. All of the characters have plausible motivations, although that doesn’t excuse the main villain’s actions and those of his twisted henchman, who is bent on revenge against Rowan. And even the heroic Rowan is complex and flawed, giving his role in Biddy’s life added depth.
 | One of the delights of this story is Biddy’s relationship with magic. She’s an ordinary person with no magical aptitude, yet because of her relationship with Rowan, she’s able to wield magical artifacts (including the ravenstone!). She takes action at the book’s climax that reveals her courage and cleverness. There are life-and-death stakes in the story that kept me turning pages, but it also had a folksy feel in the way the main characters support and love each other. Rowan has the best quotes to sum up the story: “It’s all complicated and messy and wild and glorious.” |
The last lines of a book can make or break the reading experience. In this case, the ending resonated long after I finished reading. The story closes with Biddy contemplating leaving Hy-Brasil to attend school.
She says: “Wherever I go, I’ll always come back.”
“We’ll be waiting,” Rowan said.
The Magician’s Daughter is a wild, and glorious tale of magic, courage, and love.
She says: “Wherever I go, I’ll always come back.”
“We’ll be waiting,” Rowan said.
The Magician’s Daughter is a wild, and glorious tale of magic, courage, and love.
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