>>24494930
>>24496384
The story did take some unexpected turns however. So while the actual magical aspects and political intrigue were mild, the story still managed to make me go "wait wut?", and want to read more to figure out what's going.
The alien invaders in the book are pretty much just imperial asians. I'm not sure exactly who the author is taking inspiration from. China? Japan? I don't know. But it's basically just asia coming to invade. Which reminds me of wheel of time. I can see Robert Jordan taking inspiration from this story with his Seanchan. But a partial inversion. Where Magician, the mages are treated like authorities above the law in the asian country, and like beggars in the western countries. In Wheel of Time, it's inverted, where mages are treated like slaves in the asian country, and above the law in the western countries.
Unlike in Wheel of Time, in Magicians, you actually get a pov in the country of the invaders. So you actually learn about their culture more directly. This leads to some fairly interesting events. But it doesn't quite hit as hard in 2025 as it probably did in 1982. Because back then, asia was still the mysterious kung-fu place. While today, a lot of the mystery is no longer there, thanks to the internet, and all the cultural trade we do these days.
But the author did manage to avoid making the asian country appear stereotypical. He didn't write it with rose tinted glasses, or try to make them sound so different from everyone else. Like yes, their culture is different, but it felt grounded, down to earth, once you saw the other side.
But that's almost why the story was so dry. That because the invaders were so similar, it made the war feel so fucking pointless. Which again, is likely the whole point. To instill that feeling into the reader of just being exhausted over this pointless war.
In the end, while everything changed, nothing changed at the same time. The characters went on this grand journey, they grew and changed, and there was no greater purpose to it. I'm not unhappy I read it. I would even recommend it to others. I just wish there was something more. A little more "oomph". I can't even put it into words.
