We Are Not Good People

Please give a helpful vote to my Amazon review - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3DIYUQD8I4C6A?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp


This is a well-written urban fantasy that posits an absolutely gritty, evil magical system. Author Jeff Somers posits that there is a hidden class of actual magicians, the “Ustari,” who make magic happen by knowing the words of magic fueled by “gas,” namely “blood.” The more blood, the more powerful the magic. This has the effect of potentially making these people into very realistic vampires, although Our Hero, Lem, starts the book with the ethical imperative not to use the blood of other people, which leaves him scarred and perpetually anemic.

My first-reaction was to doubt that I would be able to get through more than 30 pages because of all the self-mutilation and blood flow, particularly when he brought in the subject of the “Bleeders,” whose job is simply to bleed for the Ustari mages, the “Enustari.”

However, the story moved along at a fast clip. Somers is a master at action sequences. I also liked the characters, Lem, and his good friend, Pitr Mageshkumi, and their predicaments on the edge of Ustari and human society.

The second reaction was that this was an excellent - 5 star - book. I purchased a few of the other Ustari Cycle short stories in response. Lem and Pitre face down an evil Enustari with the fate of the world at stake!

And this was only at 50% of the way into the book!

Unfortunately the last 30% let me down. The subject of time revision was introduced, and I felt that we were going over too much of the same territory with a deus ex machina feel. I also didn't like the final ending, which, apparently, constituted a complete reset from the beginning...perhaps. The fact that I was unclear is a reason for disappointment, but if I am right, then it cheapens the entire book in my mind. (Maybe I was the only one who wondered what the purpose in all the effort Ripley put into rescuing the kid in Aliens, only to have her written out in the sleep tube before the third movie.)

Nonetheless, while I give a fair warning on this book, your mileage may differ, and I definitely intend to read those other Ustari stories.