Sergei Katz

Shadow Talker: The Magic Detective School Book 1 is the newest novel by Sergei Katz, the author of The Changing World: Origin. I'd enjoyed reading The Changing World, and let's be honest, pretty much any book with a magic-school theme gets me instantly interested in reading it.

In the magical world, young people uncover their profession after a series of game challenges, and young James is delighted to be assigned to become a detective. His special ability, which is communicating with shadows and gaining information that way, and his observant, analytical personality make him a perfect detective candidate , as the rest of the novel will show. Shadow Talker is is almost a coming-of-age story, because we see James go from basically a student, first discovering his profession and just trying to find the detective school, to becoming a fully-fledged detective and really coming into his own.

The magical detective school is just what it says — solving crimes and mysteries in a magical world. There’s a Sherlock Holmes level of noticing detail throughout, as the aspiring detectives ask asked to solve puzzles. The school itself is alive and sentient, creating tailored challenges and helping the students to become their best, even through surprising ways.

I'd enjoyed the enchanted bird familiar in The Changing World, and I was happy to meet James's animal sidekick. The fennec fox is the sign of the magic detective school, and playful fennec foxes guide the students like personal familiars, directly helping and dropping hints about their new environment at magical detective school. James’ fox is called Key, perhaps because of his opening abilities or maybe his adorable hinting.

Later, James encounters Panther, or rather, one of his friends reveals a new side. I don't want to reveal too much of the plot, since discovering the school and the assignments along with James is a lot of the fun. But I'll say that I enjoyed James building his group and seeing how their personalities and skills blended.

From the Games in the very beginning to the challenges of the detective school, James must solve puzzles, to the best of his abilities. I liked when he teamed up with his friends, Phoenix and Panther, because they combined their abilities.

The end of the book sets up a very clear lead for a series about magical detection in this detailed world.… (mer)

Part 1 of a series, this book takes place on a world where a series of intellectual and athletic games determines a person's profession. James is happy to assigned to the elite School of Detectives. Finding the School is east, but gaining admittance is much more difficult (you don't just knock on the front door). The sentient School makes it clear that James must solve his first case to stay at the school.

Paired with an enchanted panther and a woman with unique abilities of her own, James must find out who is stealing people's souls. They spread out in the city, looking for clues. A soul cannot survive outside a body indefinitely, so there is a big time constraint included. There is a lot of Sherlock Holmes-style deduction and observation going on. Can the trio find, and stop, the culprit before James gets added to the list of people missing their souls?

This is a really good start to a series, with lots of good writing. It works as an urban fantasy novel, and it works as a detective novel. This will appeal to a lot of people, and it is very much worth reading.… (mer)

Part 2 of a series, this continues the story of Alder, who is testing the ultimate in virtual reality role-playing games. There are those, inside the game, who do not want him there. The slightest error on Alder's part, and he will lose everything he has accomplished until then. Also, his new found friends will lose everything, permanently.

As with the first book, there is lots of good writing. Fantasy fans, and especially gamers, will love this story, with plenty of action. Non-gamers might have a hard time with the constant listing of abilities like Intuition and Herbalist and You Have Completed This Quest. It is still very much worth reading.… (mer)

First of a series, this novel is about Dave, a well-known computer analyst. A disability has left him unable to smell, taste or see color. When a Japanese company needs beta testers for a new virtual reality full immersion game, Dave jumps at the chance.
The only catch is that he has to remain in the game for at least one year (in real life). If his character dies in the game, rebirth is not possible. A computer glitch puts him right in the game, without any tutorials.
While enjoying his new senses, Dave teams up with a small woodland creature who can turn into almost anything (and who really likes his liquor), a young boy named Alex (who is on a quest of his own) and a hawk who he calls Copper Wing. They battle lots of monsters, and engage in several smaller quests, while Dave's in-game numbers, in categories like Intuition and Herbalist, keep going up and up. Can Dave extend his time in the game while in a fairy forest full of killer spirits?
This is a really good fantasy novel, intended for lovers of games like Dungeons & Dragons. Non-gamers may have a hard time with the constant listing of abilities like Craftsman, Scout, Attentiveness and Intellect. Get past it, and this is a very worthy start to a series.… (mer)