Unsympathetic Magic

Esther Diamond #3

by Laura Resnick

Overdressed zombies, vicious gargoyles, a severed hand... and the night is still young!

Acting jobs don't just grow on fire escapes… so struggling actress Esther Diamond is outraged when her guest role as a hooker on The Dirty Thirty, a controversial TV drama, is jeopardized by zombies, angry spirits, and a voodoo curse.

Meanwhile, the talented teens whom Esther is coaching at a Harlem cultural center are also being attacked by the sinister supernatural power that's spreading through Manhattan. And Esther's love life goes from bad to worse when her bed bursts into deadly mystical flames while her would-be lover, Detective Connor Lopez, is trying to get her into it!

Since the show must go on (and the rent must be paid), Esther boldly helps her friend Dr. Maximillian Zadok, a 350-year-old sorcerer whose day job is protecting New York City from Evil, combat the supernatural forces at work in Harlem during a sweltering summer heat wave. But will Esther's courage lead her to becoming a human sacrifice on the altar of Evil's voracious appetite?

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Fiction, Magic, Zombies

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 3, 2010

About the author

Laura Resnick is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy author, the daughter of prolific science fiction author Mike Resnick. She was the winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction for 1993. She also writes romance novels under the pseudonym Laura Leone

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsympathetic Magic
(Esther Diamond #3)
by Laura Resnick
This continues the series and it is pretty good! A fun and crazy supernatural story of a would- be actress, a very old mage, A sceptical cop, voodoo, zombies and things that look like gargoyles! This had some very unusual creatures! Our actress is selected to be a living sacrifice! But don't tell her! Lol!
Things are pretty wild in this world!

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, there is too much info dumping, which takes away from the selling point of the series-the humor and conversation.

But more importantly - I'm sorry but Othello strangled Desdemona not Ophelia. And if Max were such a Shakespeare lover he would have called out the mistake. Maybe it's nit-picking, but Resnick did good research with the voodoo so this mistake is glaring.

[atmatos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story wasn't bad, but the info dumping was annoying. Plus I am getting sick of the obvious red herrings in the plot lines.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series. Resnick does a good job overall of balancing good storytelling with a splash of humor and romance. There's no silly chick-lit banter or wild sex scenes, but there are always laughs and some pretty hot moments between the love interests as well. I like Esther a lot and like that she's not the typical urban fantasy sword-wielding heroine for a change. She's a normal gal who got caught up in some crazy stuff, with a strong streak of curiosity balanced by a strong feeling of responsibility to help people. I also really like Detective Connor Lopez, and not just because he's my type physically. He's also smart, kind, responsible, and nice to his often exasperating mother. And to his even more often exasperating love interest. Both Esther and Connor aren't perfect, and feel more normal and real than most characters. Resnick also came up with a great way of keeping the love story building slowly over the course of the books, with poor Lopez now convinced that Esther is certifiable because of the supernatural things she believes in. But the heat and genuine friendship that's building between them is sure to keep bringing them back together, something to look forward to in the next book.

I think Resnick got a little bit bogged down in this book with trying to faithfully represent the Vodou (a more proper term for the religion based in Haiti than the more commonly used voodoo, according to the book) elements, getting pretty lecture-y at a few points. If the main character, Esther, commented that she was bored and tuning out the lecture, why wouldn't we as readers? Nevertheless, it was interesting overall. Because I've read a lot of urban fantasy that uses voodoo as part of the story, I thought this would feel overdone, but I actually learned a lot and cleared up some things that I found confusing in other books.

Overall the book wasn't as funny as the last one, but the characters are great and the story was interesting. I'm looking forward to the next book.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I SO WANTED TO LIKE THIS BOOK. *SPOILERS
Paperback: There's a point in Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Willow quickly summarizes to Oz, that not only are vampires real, but Sunnydale is on a Hellmouth. The wheels turn in Oz's head as he thinks of what he has just witnessed and he nods saying, "Actually, that explains a lot." It was time for Oz to learn the truth in the storyline.
That did not happen in this book. Lopez is still in the dark about Esther's world. Let's face it, he's a smart guy, but has become a static character and very annoying. There was no sexy banter between the two. I waited, I read.....
The book was slow. It was too politically correct. The book is about Voodoo and the author made too much of an attempt to sugarcoat Voodoo and race. There was a 100 page explanation of Voodoo history and practices.
Other problems:You will figure out quickly who the bad guy is. Esther's mentor is getting stupid & careless and lets Nellie suffer. Esther lost any backbone she achieved in the first two books and can't even get a change of cloths. The book was more of a comedy of errors. The Dirty Thirty part of the story just stops. It is 60 pages too long.
The next installment comes out later this year. Since it is about vampires, I am hoping it will be a funner read. If that book ends the way two and three did, I will not be continuing with the series.

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it's time to get stuck into the third book in the super fun Esther Diamond urban fantasy series featuring my favourite struggling actress, the ex who's a cop, and her good friend the 350-year-old mage.

Esther's finally got herself an acting gig on a TV show that has a cult following. Sure, she's playing a homeless bisexual junkie prostitute and her co-star ends up having a medical emergency, but it's an acting job. Too bad she stumbles on some gargoyles attacking a guy in an alley, because she ends up right in the middle of some Vodou trouble in Harlem...

OMG. The first two chapters were hilarious and so uncomfortable. Hilarious because Esther kept falling headfirst into unnatural trouble when all she wanted was a meal. Uncomfortable because I could feel her discomfort wearing that damn costume for so long. 😳

I also liked the new cast of characters that were introduced in this installment, and how it expanded on the magical side of New York. I get a real sense of location, no matter what part of the city Esther wanders into and love that about this series.

Oh, and we're dealing with voodoo... I mean, Vodou. So of course I was interested! And enjoyed this version of a familiar topic and trope. Love how this world contains so many tropes and creatures, but with a slightly different spin. It gives the story and events a nice and unique edge.

I enjoyed the hell out of the whole thing but especially found the last two chapters SO cool. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!

And like the previous two books, this one also featured a nasty villain. So I'm looking forward to finding out what/who Esther and Max have to go against next...

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another entirely fun and ridiculous fun book.

World: The world building is solid, it builds upon the last book and the thing that makes the world building matter for this book is that it's character based. We get more of Esther and her little piece of New York and we expand on that. The Voodoo angle is interesting this time around. Once again all the pieces here are nothing special, they have been used in other books of the genre, but the character link makes it strong.

Story: The story is well paced, it's solid and fun for the genre. The story is expected and nothing surprises the villain is very transparent and if you read enough you'll know what to expect. What the book lacks in creativity it builds on in the characters and their relationship woth each other. The characters makes me come back to the story.

Characters: Esther is fun, she's not super original but her personal voice is strong enough and after three books I care about this character. Max is also a straight fun character, he learning modern slang is amusing and this continues since last book. The villain is meh but that's fine and the rest of the new cast is the same. Aight.

I like this series it's solid mindless fun.

Onward to the next book!

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esther is at it again and just happens to fall into more trouble, she really seems to have a knack for it.

While the story had very interesting moments in it, trying to figure out if there are zombies or some bad voodoo happening it suffered from trying to explain...so many things. The other books in the story had a little of this but the history of voodoo and those who practice it's rituals was just a lot and took up too much page time.

Esther and Lopez still can't seem to get on the same page. He likes her, she likes him but his ability to willfully try to explain everything that is happening around them in a logical and mundane way is just infuriating. He is a cop, he is a smart guy but nothing is clicking and he still thinks Esther is a little crazy.

The Graphic Audio made much of this book fun but I really felt myself tuning out quite a few times as we get a history and culture lesson. Also, how long can the will they won't they trope last. It is book three, there is a point that it has to happen or just move on. If I was reading this with my eyes, I would have skimmed in a few areas.

Not the best, but I'll hang out a little longer to see if it was just a bump in the road.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since the book revolves around Haitian Vodou, there's a lot of new information being fed to us as opposed to the previous books which focused more on magic and creatures without a specific source. While the book was very well researched, Resnick made the mistake of being a little too enthusiastic about sharing what she'd learned. Many times in the book you'll find that natural dialogue suddenly stops on a dime so a character can start lecturing. These scenes are ham-fisted, interruptive, and leave you feeling uncomfortable for the other characters.

The relationship between Esther and Lopez (seriously, why is the cop/detective love interest always referred to by their last name??) suffers a blow, but that's hardly a revelation since they barely have a relationship and it suffers blows in every book. A notable development is that Lopez's possible supernatural talents are a little more blatant in this one. Esther and her 'teacher' Max are finally past the point of hypothesis; there's definitely something special about that detective whether he realizes it or not.


CHARACTERS:
The characters suffered every time they were used as vehicles for historical information. It's a shame; I think I really could have enjoyed them if Resnick had found a way to inform us more naturally. The only stars are for Esther, who I always love despite how even she sometimes suffers the same way, and her egotistical co-star in the police procedural, who's too self-obsessed to ever think of dropping anything but his own resume.

SETTING/WORLD BUILDING:
Fleshed out, but done a little too forcefully.

PLOT/SOLUTION:
Honestly, I'm devastated to realize how much that info dumping affected the story. I loved every scene that didn't have it, but it happened so often. Aside from that the plot was fun and the villain devious if short-sighted.

THE VERDICT?
I'm sad to see the rating so low since I couldn't put the book down, but I can understand how it happened.

[gremlinkitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we are in the third entry into the Esther Diamond series. UNSYMPATHETIC MAGIC doesn't feature the zany characters that the previous two books had, which is a nice shift, and the focus on Esther and Max that was lost in Doppelgangster is back. The plot about Vodou*, zombies, and bokors is okay, but gets a little too predictable for my liking. Luckily, the author writes well enough to lift it up a level and ends up entertaining, and at times interesting.

Now for the bad news: the humor isn't as fresh or funny and I can't remember once laughing aloud during the book. Some of the scenes felt too forced to be funny, and one scene in particular had me cringing because of a character that got hurt. Maybe that scene wasn't supposed to be funny, but it seemed as if that was it's purpose before the injury happened. Basically all the humor in the book is a comedy of errors, and that's fine, as long as it's humorous and not as repetitive as it's been in these three books. Next, the length of the story needs a drastic paring down. While the book moves at a fairly brisk pace, I can't help but feel that another go or two with an editor was needed and the plot should have been tightened so it's more cohesive. I think it'd be a much better book with at least fifty pages less and I wouldn't get as tired of the plot or characters by then. There's a reason for the phrase "too much of a good thing" and both DOPPELGANGSTER and UNSYMPATHETIC MAGIC fit the bill. Still, I didn't hate the book and thought it was a small step up from the last, so I'll give the next book a shot because I enjoy the characters a lot (sorry for the unintentional bad rhyme). Even if the series hasn't hit the mark for me since the first, I have hope yet. Besides, how can I pass up a book called VAMPARAZZI? 3.5 stars

*Apparently Vodou is not pronounced like 'voodoo', it's either vo(like in toe)-dow(cow) or vo-doo, but I'm not sure which is right, from what I've figured out online. The book has a glossary, which is rather unnecessary since everything is explained in text, but not a pronunciation guide.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometime actress Ester Diamond is back and again a magnet for supernatural trouble and the first paragraph gives hints of what's to come: zombies, voodoo, aborted human sacrifices... Unsympathetic Magic is all that and more - lots of magical mayhem with a touch of humor as Esther tries figure out who's responsible for raising the dead and for what nefarious reason.

I really enjoy this series, Esther is a lot of fun and not your typical kick butt tough UF herione - she's an actress who somehow always manages to stumble upon supernatural wierdeness and zaniness ensues almost as often as brushes with death. After three books there's also some reappearing characters who are on hand to makes sure things are even more muddled before they help Esther save the day.

Since Resnick series is more UF-ish, there's not much in the way of sex, but with resident skeptic and sexy police detective Lopez around there is a bit of steamy attraction - and even a few flames - so even though Lopez thinks Esther is deranged, I can't help but hope that their time will come.

Unsympathetic Magic was so much fun, I can't wait for the next one Vamparozzi.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lively paranormal mystery with a terrific GraphicAudio, multicast performance

This story picks up shortly after the events at the end of the second book in this series. Esther Diamond is a 27-year-old, struggling actress in New York City. Her agent has only been able to get her a short-term acting job after the Off-Broadway musical she was recently part of closed. Fortunately, it is a well-paid guest role on an extremely popular TV drama called, “The Dirty Thirty.” She is playing the part of a homeless, bisexual, junkie hooker, and her costume is uncomfortably tight and revealing, with towering stilettos. All of her scenes are shot at night, and while she is heading away from the set of the show for a dinner break, she comes upon a thirty-something, African-American man dressed in a suit, who is being attacked by several three-foot-tall, fanged, clawed, growling creatures who look like gargoyles. She manages to fight off the evil beasts, pounding them with a trash can lid and her purse, until they grab her purse and run away. The poor man she has bravely rescued seems completely disoriented and nonverbal, and she is desperate to get help for him, but the gargoyles have her phone. While she is unsuccessfully attempting to find anyone in the nearby residential buildings who will call 911, the injured man disappears.

Thus begins Esther’s next, fateful encounter with the supernatural in Manhattan. As is the case in the first two novels, this story heavily features long-lived wizard, Max; his doglike familiar, Nelly; Esther’s romantic interest, 31-year-old, gorgeous cop, Connor Lopez, and many different, African-American followers of the voodoo religion who live in Harlem.

Since the Big Bad in this story is an evil practitioner of dangerous voodoo spells, the author has included a whole lot of exposition on voodoo within two separate scenes, presumably in order to make sure that her audience is fully briefed on significant aspects of that religion that affect the main, mystery plot. Unfortunately, this educational narrative, even though presented in the form of dialogue between two or more characters, still comes off like a rather boring lecture, and it slows down the forward momentum of the story. However, other than those scenes, there is quite a bit of exciting action, especially at the climax of the novel.

Lopez, who is one of my favorite parts of this series, has much more time on stage in this novel than in the previous two books. We also receive increasingly strong evidence that he has the innate magical ability to control, not only light, but also fire. These are supernatural talents that he unconsciously employs, and as a result, he hasn’t a clue that he has these abilities. He continues, throughout this story, just as he has in the first two books, to deny that magic exists, in strong contrast to multiple, colorful subcharacters in each book who witness magic with their own eyes, just as Lopez does, but unlike him, accept it for what it is, rather than trying to explain it away. In this story, at long last, Lopez and Esther are on their way to their first sex scene, when magical mayhem interrupts them.

This novel was originally published in 2010, but it was not until 2017 that it became available in audio format. The latter is a multicast production performed by the extremely talented actors of GraphicAudio, which is how I experienced this story. Typically, given that GA creates a script that the actors work from, similar to what happens when a novel is made into a movie (their motto is, “a movie in your mind”), a GA production is only about 60-70% as long as an audiobook version of a novel would be if a narrator had read the entire book straight through. Thus, this audio production is only 7.8 hours long, rather than the approximately 11-12 hours long that a regular audiobook reading of this novel would have been. Since I tend to get bored with all the clue-sleuthing involved in the mystery genre, this script abridgment is all to the good, as far as I’m concerned. The tedious parts have been reduced, and the entertainment value expanded enormously by the realistic, background sound effects and the terrific performances of the extremely talented cast of actors.

Below is a list of the complete ED series with the dates they were initially published. GraphicAudio released a dramatized version of each of them in 2017.

1 Disappearing Nightly 2005
2 Doppelgangster 2007
3 Unsympathetic Magic 2010
4 Vamparazzi 2011
5 Polterheist 2012
6 Misfortune Cookie 2013
7 Abracadaver 2014

I rate this audio-drama as follows:

Heroine: 4 stars
Romantic Interest: 4 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Mystery Plot: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 3 stars
Paranormal Elements: 4 stars
Humor: 3 stars
Setting: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
GraphicAudio Performances: 5 stars
Overall: 4 stars

[Imjussayin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unsympathetic Magic: Esther Diamond 3
Read in chronological order
3 🌟

In A Nutshell:Esther Diamond unbeknownst to her comes across a zombie. A perfectly polite zombie but a zombie nonetheless. Following a fight with gargoyles, the zombie's hand is cut off, and Esther dressed as a hooker tries to flag down cars to get help. Instead, the police arrest her. Thanks to her ex-beau who is a cop, she is released. And that's when the severed hand turns up which happens to belong to a man that is already dead! Sounds zany? It's Esther's world. It's a good read that should hold your attention.

The Plot:When Esther comes across a polite zombie she needs to know who is responsible for raising the dead and why.

The Protagonist:Esther Diamond is our protagonist, and she is the antithesis of the urban fantasy hero. Esther does not do great deeds nor obviously save the world. So she tackles evil on the down low. Esther is able, sure and steady, loyal, has a beautiful sense of humour and a winning personality. You just have to love this crazy lady with average looks and a loving heart.

I laughed less during this book, but I was no less absorbed. I was impressed by how important it was for the author to represent Vodou accurately. I am enjoying the kindling between Esther and Connor. She knows magic exists and he thinks she is certifiable.

I missed Lucky in this episode but Dr Max and Nelli, his familiar make their regular appearance.

Unsympathetic Magic is a worthwhile read.

Book Rating
Sexual Content: 15
Language: 18
Violent: 12
Would I read the next one or reread ?: Can't wait.

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My rating system (* = star)
0* Could not finish this book (waste of time)
1* Finished the book but didn't like it.
2* Finished the book it was okay.
3* A good read worth your time.
4* An excellent read often with a novel concept or unusual plot.
5* A magnificent read. A prominent example of the genre.

[John Loyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third Esther Diamond novel. Esther is a Midwest girl that moved to New York to become an actress who, in an innocent bystander way, gets involved with mystical plots. With the help of her 350 year old friend Max Zadok, his familiar Nelli, and her love interest Detective Connor Lopez they try to get to the bottom of what is happening.

Esther is on set doing her scene when the lead actor gets sick. Many of the cast go to a restaurant. Esther is going to follow, but hampered by her shoes and bad luck and gets separated. She first meets a man wielding a rapier saying the streets are dangerous. A few blocks later on meets a man being attacked by gargoyles. She intervenes, drives off the attackers, but her purse is stolen, she can't call for help and her costume as a hooker isn't helping. She gets arrested, the man who was attacked no where to be found, and she calls Lopez to get her out of jail. Of course the first thing she wants to do when she is freed is go back to the scene of the crime and hunt for clues. They find a hand, so Lopez has more reason to believe she saw something.

The name the man gave her, Darius Phelps, turns out to be a guy that died three weeks ago. This leads her to the place where he worked. A community center in Harlem that has classes and workshops. She sees Jeff, an ex-boyfriend from five years ago, who is teaching an acting class there. He asks her to fill in for him while he has an acting job. Also at the Livingston Institute are classes on Vodou. It turns out that some Vodou practices could create a zombie. So Esther and Max intensify their focus there. The death of Darius and of Martin Livingston were listed as natural causes, so Lopez is only on the case because of the severed hand and later on some grave robbing. Oh, and maybe because Esther could be in danger.

Very entertaining. Fast read with excellent flow. Quite a bit of explanation of Vodou and its gods, spread out and mixed in with scenes so the story moved along. The mystery element is finding out who is the bokor responsible for turning Darius and others into zombies. Great job with the supporting characters, Jeff, Puma, Biko, etc.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023 bk 89. Snakes, it had to be... well once really big boa constrictor and voudon practitioners and a black widowmaker. Oh my. The terrors that can be hidden in a building that does so much good in the community of Harlem. Thanks to a filming mishap (when the star has a heart attack), Esther Diamond finds herself arrested for her costume and her story of seeing a man have his hand cut off. She calls her ace in the pocket - C. Lopez. When she is hired to work at Foundation teaching acting, Lopez hits the ceiling, unbeknowst to her, the building is the site of possible criminal activity, along with practicing Voudon in the hands of an evil person - not one with good intentions. A well done story and well researched.

[Charl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm enjoying the conflict between Esther's acceptance of magic and Connor's rejection of it, but with hints that he may have power of his own.

And each villain has been an interesting dive into different kinds of magic.

I did guess the villain's identity fairly early, though. Since I suck at outguessing the detective in mysteries, I'm not sure if I had a lucky stab of intuition, or it just wasn't that hard to guess.

Regardless, I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to more.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series. Love that it's narrated by Graphic Audio. It's zany and silly and over the top - but it works for me. Still hard to put this into a single genre, but part urban fantasy, part romance, part mystery, part Nancy Drew, part zombie apocalypse, part paranormal. Mixes together very well.

[DJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good old Esther. L0L .
Each book could definitely be read as a stand alone.
Although there is a continuation of characters throughout; the storyline itself is totally individual.
Magic; Mafia & Voodoo —- and next we move onto Vampyres! I can’t wait and must read on —-

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know I could learn so much about a culture I don't really know by reading a romantisy rom-com. wow. It is so well written and so much fun.

if your looking for an interesting unusual and fun read this is the book !

[Michel Sizaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interested in seeing what happens to Lopez in the next novel.

[Caren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the three other books in the series I have read. But still funny and worth the read.

[Cherry Abittant · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Shane Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has Zombies.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

[Al Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, not great either. I will most likely read the next in the series.

[Padgett Ratings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never a dull moment.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still loving the series.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I understand why some people are a little disappointed in these books but I don't really mind most of what they say. I love these books so far. I'm very excited for the next one.

[Koffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great installment in a great series.

[Jul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very impressed by the audio of Graphic Audio, and I would give them 5 stars!

I really enjoy the humor of the story, however the plot is shaky.