Black magic and how it was exposed – a review of the book “Nocturn”

agnieszka czoska30 Nocturna, or the debut

Maya Motayne has followed a similar path as, for example, the author of The Beast , Peternelle van Arsdale. Perhaps even characteristic of an entire generation of young English-speaking writers. She has studied creative writing and worked as an editor in a publishing house. She made her debut relatively late, although she always knew she wanted to write. She published a book on the borderline between young adult and fantasy , i.e. a genre enjoying considerable readership. The novel is the beginning of the A Forgery of Magic series , it has its drawbacks, but it starts quite well and promises an interesting world that can deepen and develop in the following volumes. So far, three have been announced, the second one already has the title – Ocult .

We enter the world of Nocturna together with Prince Alfie and the thief Finn. The latter, although a supporting character, seemed to me to be a more interesting character all the time. Not only me, it comes to the fore in many chapters. I cannot decide whether such leading of the characters is a procedure aimed at intriguing and surprising the recipient a bit, or whether it is the author’s inconsistency. However, you can get used to it, although changing the center of gravity takes away the consistency of the book. Changing the perspective and center of the narrative makes it possible to show the feelings of very different people who have extremely different views on history or society. And even the magic that defines every inhabitant of their world.

Magic DNA

Nocturna’s action takes place in the country of Catallan. The culture of this region was inspired by broadly understood Latin America, so probably the double “l” in its name reads like the Polish “j”. Here, everyone can charm, using an innate talent, the so-called propio , or supplementing these abilities with spells. The latter is used mainly by aristocrats. The aforementioned thief calls this system “cabinet magic”, which you will definitely associate with Harry Potter because it sounds similar. The language of magic resembles Spanish, a descendant of Latin, which was used by JK Rowling. With the propioand magic is used in all walks of life. Thanks to them, Prince Alfie browses books in the huge palace library, Finn “works”, he even charms playing cards to enrich the gameplay with unexpected twists. Finally, magic will come in handy to save the world.

All magic, especially personal magic, has its own color. This palette does not only contain black. It’s not a coincidence. The legend that describes the origins of the world says that the black magic god Sombra was defeated and imprisoned by the forces of light. If he ever broke free from captivity, the title Nocturn would take place – something between the apocalypse and the eternal night of enslavement. Alfie knows this story from a favorite children’s story, but he will have to convince himself that it is real. Worse, the darkness is starting to threaten the world again and it’s the poor prince’s fault …

How to disenchant evil

The blurb on the cover of the book makes us believe that Nocturn’s action will focus on a tragedy in the royal family. Alfie’s older brother, the heir to the throne, was magically murdered or imprisoned somewhere. This is an important thread, but the author quickly abandons it. It is primarily used to construct the inner life and character’s story, and later allows you to move the action to change its place. Personal experiences pale in the face of the threat to the whole world, but this theme is sometimes interrupted by Finn’s memories and preparations to appoint Alfie as a candidate for the crown. It’s a bit too much, especially since the main storyline will ultimately be based on the character of a thief.

Nocturna would have gained consistency if the author had focused on Finn instead of Alfie. On the other hand, the element that I liked most about the construction of the whole world would disappear – the language of magic, which was in the past, before the occupation, the official speech of Catallan. There is not enough of it for my taste, but as a linguist and Tolkien lover, I do not insist that I am definitely right. I just think that I got an appetite for postcolonial threads and the Spanish language. Moreover, if the blurb had been different, I would have been more pleased with Nocturna . I would just count on a fantasy full of action and magic, with an interesting imaginary world. This is what you will get from Maya Motayne.