I think I’m growing out of this series. I couldn’t get into A Wizard of Mars, and while I finished this one, I didn’t like it the way I liked Deep Wizardry, High Wizardry, A Wizard Alone, or Wizards at War.
One problem I had with this volume is that the non-American characters, particularly Mehrnaz and Penn’s grandfather, came off as The Iranian Muslim character or The Chinese Character rather than as individuals. Not always, but sometimes. This wasn’t a problem with the Americans, whatever their race.
I had a funny moment thinking about the portrayal of India, where Mehrnaz lives. I’ve never been to Mumbai, or walked around alone, or been obviously non-Indian in India. So though I’ve frequently been to India and never experienced the kind of leering experienced by one of the American characters, I can’t really say it’s wrong. Just that it’s totally different from my own experience and felt stereotypical. But it could well be what some people experience.
The writing felt off– too many unnecessary physical details and explanations of how things worked, not enough emotion, except in long blocks that stood out from the rest of the story.
As for the plot, the climax is very sudden and didn’t have a lot of emotional resonance for me, though I was happy to see a several-books-long mystery resolved. I was glad we saw the Lone Power, the main antagonist of the series, unlike in the previous book. He’s a lot of fun to read about, a fallen creature who is capable of both redemption and betrayal. My favorite part of the book was his appearance.
I might buy the next book, as it promises to be darker than this one, but I’ll probably skim it first to see whether or not it’s something I’d enjoy. Anyway– far from my favorite of the series (High Wizardry is amazing, though).
Maya Chhabra 
I’ve loved this series for years, but I think I’m growing out of it, too. Part of my problem is that I adored Kit & Nita’s friendship and hated that it turned romantic, I really wanted a platonic girl/boy relationship for once! But mainly it just doesn’t thrill me the way the first half of the series did, and the long chunks of exposition are tiring me out, I don’t have the stamina to chug through it like I used to back in the day, lol.
Any chance I could get an update on Dairine? Really the only reason I have to tune back into this series is finding out what’s going on with her and Roshaun…
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Dairine features heavily, and the climax is her finding and saving Roshaun.
I have hopes for the next book, which looks to be darker and more emotional, but I’ll probably skim first to see if I want to buy it, after two duds in a row. There is a lot of exposition in this one.
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*FLAILS* um, well, that’s reignited my interest! I really want to read this now, lol – but the cost for an e-book version is $20?! Jeez, maybe I’ll wait – it’s been 6 years since AWOM so I’m used to the wait.
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Huh? It’s 9.99 on Amazon for a Kindle version, and even the hardcover doesn’t cost 20.
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I was looking on Kobo – it’s $19.19 there and they have the nerve to say we’re saving $5!
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/games-wizards-play
You’re right, Amazon is much cheaper (it says $13 when I looked just now, but that might be the currency difference). I haven’t bought ebooks off them as I don’t have a Kindle, but I might have to see if I can get an app for that.
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