Review: My Luck, by Mel Todd

There are few fantasy novels that have an open world of magic. Kim Harrison has one. Larry Correia's Grimnoir is a second. There are a few others. But most prefer "Secret World," where magic and mystical properties are covert from the rest of the world. Because the moment magic becomes public knowledge, everything changes.

Mel Todd has created yet another. One with a size and scope that will eventually be on par with the others.

The story

Cori is a non-magical person in a world of magic. But things just keep happening to her. The body she found is just another in a long line. But this body has her name in his pocket. We follow along with her exceptionally strange life as she tries to get by with her triple associates degree.

Let's start with something simple. This has the best opening routine since "The building was on fire and it wasn't my fault." I hope I don't have to explain that reference. But the opening is a dark comedy routine that I read to anyone who would listen to me.

The characters

My Luck is almost entirely Character driven.

Much to my surprise, this entire book is carried by character and world building. And when I say I was surprised, I mean I was 80% of the way through the novel (chapter 34) when I realized that this wasn't what you would call plot heavy. Normally, I'm very dismissive of media that is clearly more of a setup for a series than a standalone ... but this was so well executed, and so self contained, I can't really say anything against it.

And I mean I have nothing against it. Nothing at all. Another series of Mel's I read had errors sprinkled throughout--many were minor, but some just drop-kicked me out of the story. Here? Not a thing. Trust me, I was looking.

The world

Mel Todd excels at world building. As is her style, she opens each chapter with a bit of history and culture around the world. This time, magic has emerged in the world in the late 1800s-- a few years after the Civil War (which, of course, leads to in-world alternate histories of what the Civil War would have looked like if magic had existed a few years earlier). Mel doesn't use it excessively--we hear about the partnership of Rasputin and Lenin, but not a lot about World Wars (okay, FDR is still an a-hole)--and it works just enough to give a flavor of the world.

The real world building comes throughout the story. Our heroine, Cori, is getting her degrees in the most practical certifications she can--EMT, Medical Assistant, and Criminal Law--which also happen to be the best points of view from which to present slices of the world. Within the narration, some of the sections that are obviously data dumps are worthy of David Weber. Then again, one section did start with "most of the bodies I found were rarely stupid or boring." So anything after that will grab your attention.

Her world building is either brilliant, or borders on brilliant. In her world, every mage of a certain strength must be trained, and every mage is full-on drafted. She prevents this from having shades of Babylon 5's Psi-Corps by having over half the population be magical--there isn't a lot of discrimination against non-mages, but the upper brackets are surprisingly heavy in the magic set.

I especially like the impact on culture. Facial tattoos for mages are part of fashion--and they help in intimidation since they show off how powerful someone is, and in what fields of magic. The magic system recommends long hair (magic is powered by cellular matter-to-energy conversion of the mage's DNA-- eg: Winston Churchill was a Time Wizard who kept checking future timelines to win the war, which is why he was bald all the time). There are aspects of law that are interesting (pay attention to the "Good Samaritan" laws). Diamonds are a basis of currency, because freaking alchemists. And I even like that she hints at an origin of magic coming through rips in dimensional planes that make me want to call Doctor Strange.

Though the "Office of Magical Oversight" being established by Lenin? A little creepy. And will get creepier as the books go along.

The execution of Cori and the "bad luck" around her is ... entertaining. The luck that is inflicted upon her and people around her is very Rube Goldberg in nature.

I only have one question. Are the students of George MageTech still considered rambling wrecks?

Part of what Mel does with this is a trick I've only seen used with Nero Wolfe novels of Rex Stout -- she gives us the answer to a major question of the book ... only the answer comes before the question. The answer is "Ronin."

Once again, Mel does cops so well, I'm surprised she doesn't do any research for them. They feel very much like cops I've known. Also, some of the situations are analogous.

The comedy is right up my alley. Then again, I laughed out loud when someone asked, "We have a serial killer?" and the immediate reply was "Please. That's an Atlanta Thing. Probably."

The politics

The politics here are largely libertarian. Cori's best friend since forever is gay--but in this book, if you blink, you missed it. So unlike most stories, the "gay best friend" isn't shoved in your face. You really could miss it.

Cori is all about making her way in the world by pulling herself up by her bootstraps. She works at a coffee shop to make ends meet, while she tries to get her degree. The focus of a lot of Cori's world is centered on family of varying degrees. There is a positive view of (local) law enforcement...the Feds are a different conversation for another book.

Content warning

The book does not get gory with its description, but the opening corpse is decapitated. And Cori has a relationship with her parents that borders on abusive. Again, it's lightly touched on, but it's still there.

I wouldn't give this to teens or younger, unless you really want to depress them.

Who is it for?

For anyone who longs for the good old days, when Laurell K. Hamilton was a fun read, and could tell a story without turning it into a hundred page orgy. Looking back, this is probably even better than early Anita Blake. Imagine Kim Harrison, only with less angst.

Why read it?

Because it's a fun fantasy alternate history, with fantastic, awesome world-building that is almost unparalleled.