Mirage answers “I'm a Christian so I like to be careful...”

Anna asked this question about A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1):

I'm a Christian so I like to be careful about what "magic" things I read. I'm totally fine with Harry Potter, but Infernal Devices seems a little too on-the-edge with angels and demons. I just like to be cautious about what I read. Nothing satanic or purely evil. Can anyone provide a little insight? Thanks.

Mirage Hi, I've only read the first book so far so I can't speak for the series, but I can say that so far it's not like Infernal Devices in terms of having …moreHi, I've only read the first book so far so I can't speak for the series, but I can say that so far it's not like Infernal Devices in terms of having angels and demons.
I would say that this book is darker and meant for an older audience than Harry Potter however, while HP can be read by 10 year olds (and is marketed to them) there are scenes of violence and murder that I think would be a bit much for kids. However I will say that I did not find it extremely gory, just that the author didn't pretend that death was bloodless and painless. This maintained that the stakes were very high for our protagonists.
The magic in this book does not seem to be neutral as in HP, it kind of has a mind of it's own. For the majority of characters the magic is the same as HP, does whatever they want.
Without spoiling anything I would say that the magic our protagonists deal with is not pure evil, it is meant to just be pure magic, but I want to say that it is almost alive. And thus does not like to be destroyed, and will go to any means to stay that way. (again I've only read the first book so far, I could be totally wrong)
The only other note I want to make is that there is possession in this book. Not by a demon or anything, but.. yeah, its not always nice.

I hope that kind of answered your question without spoiling too much. :)(less)

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