Short Review - A well thought out world and main char, unfortunately the plot development is a little lacking; hopefully this will improve in the following books.


Long Review - I enjoyed the authors take on clairvoyance and thought he did a good job of managing the obvious problems of this power;

1) If you can see the future how can you ever be caught unaware or not plan ahead for every problem?
2) If you can see every possibility how does free will work?
3) How quickly can you gain knowledge?

I also enjoyed the idea that not all magic has to be raw power; proper planning and knowledge are admiral traits. This was a nice take compared to the typical magic book where the hero is Superior in some form (Huge Raw magic power, Secret abilities passed down in his blood line, A Magic item that makes him superior, Etc).

However it’s clear he’s after a Dresden esc story, Where the Overall arc is Harrys Life, and the book plot line is an interesting case. If either of these arcs in the book is weak the other side needs to be strong;

That being true; Either the Overall Plot could have done with a bit more depth (Bit simple for this Gene – Everyone is after a Magic Object, Turns out Magic Object is Cursed. Wasn’t a very creative mcguffin plotline)
Or the creation of a more personal nemesis for Alex/Massive problem Alex needs to fix (Some clear goal for him to obtain).

Both the Arcs were weak, thus what could have been a great new series is off to a slow start. Still I'll read the next books and see where it goes.