BookLife, an affiliate of Publisher's Weekly just wrote an absolutely glowing review of my novel, Reality's End!
Babb’s wildly inventive debut fantasy drops readers into a post-Shift Canada where magic has replaced physics, fairies now occupy and run Parliament, and the new prime minister reluctantly must ride a dragon. It’s a bold premise, but Babb keeps it grounded through convincing and amusing attention to bureaucratic niceties—meetings, committees, and paperwork—and two well-drawn protagonists: Julia Chen, a theoretical physicist clinging to her scientific worldview in the face of the “uh, phenomenology that we call ‘magic,’” and Chuck Oakes, a politician grinding through the moral compromises of life under occupation who suddenly finds himself tapped by Fairy Viceroy Elestrine for the role of prime minister. While Chuck and the Canadian Parliament face the fact that they now serve only in an advisory capacity, Julia navigates the new reality of ghosts, dragons, and a portal in the woods, applying her rigorous mind to understanding magic and how to set the world back.
As the first book in Babb’s Theory of Magic series, this fast-paced tale strikes a heady blend of magic, politics, comedy, string theory, and adventure as Julia ventures north in search of answers with the mysterious “ore-spinner” fairy she dubs “Mr. Elsevier,” whose guild of element-manipulating mages may have an apprenticeship for her—if she can impress them. As she discovers that science is less wrong than it is incomplete, Julia’s efforts to make sense of the world compel as much as the physical journey of her classic quest. For Chuck, the dragons, ghosts, and fairy monarchs arrive as administrative problems, though his dealings with manipulative Elestrine and her tyrannical mother, the Winter Queen, make for a pointed look at how power works, in fantasy or reality.
The world-building is strong throughout, starting with the “Shift.” Post-apocalyptic Ottawa is rendered with quiet menace, with Parliament ringed in frost and institutions hollowed but still standing, and Babb balances tension, danger, wit, and a sturdy backbone of science. This smart, satiric, yet heartfelt fantasy doesn’t neglect the dragon action.
Takeaway: Smart, witty fantasy of powerful fae occupying the Canadian Parliament.
Comparable Titles: Susanna Clarke, Katherine Addison.
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