Book Title: Hummingbird
Author: Helen Harper
Series Title: A Charade of Magic
Stars: 5/5

Spoilers Ahead!

Hummingbird is the first book in A Charade of Magic, the new series by Helen Harper. One of the things that drew me to Hummingbird was the setting. This fantasy story takes place in Glasgow, Scotland – and I have been there! There is something about reading books set in familiar (or even vaguely familiar) locations that makes them more personal. I would say relatable, but the level of oppression and magic present in Hummingbird was thoroughly absent from my Glasgow experience. 

Helen Harper is a great writer. I love her characters and her world building. She effortlessly blends fantasy elements with real world settings. Contemporary fantasy or urban fantasy would, I suppose, be decent descriptors. Magic exists in her worlds. Regularly it is just present. Unlike many urban fantasy writers who describe near futures where magic has suddenly appeared, Harper tends to have magic well established in the world. It is not a point she belabours and I think this works very well to create interesting places that are like and unlike the world we know. 

For instance, Mages run Glasgow – well all of Scotland (and likely Britain beyond). Their powers are known by the local characters. No one feels the need to explain magic, unless it is specifically a point in the plot development. There is no marker of before magic and after magic. In fact, it was not clear when this book was set. Unlike many of her other series which are clearly taking place in modern day equivalents, Hummingbird lacked the obvious use of technology we use to date a story’s setting. Yet, it didn’t feel like it was a stereotypical medieval fantasy either. 

While it might seem easy, writing a compelling story with a mute protagonist is difficult. It is easy for the book to be overwhelmed with long passages of text or internal monologuing. I found Mairi Wallace to be an engaging lead. While the readers got to hear her internal voice, she was able to have some conversations with others too. It was easy to sympathize with Mairi and the challenging choices she was faced with throughout the story. 

More importantly the mystery of the power held by the oppressive ruling mages was well done. The book does an interesting job of portraying the imbalance and corruption of power by those with magic. It also raises questions of their ability to stay in power, which is not entirely resolved as this is only book one in the series. 

While I do like the inclusion of the ever intriguing demon, chained to the will of the mages, I am holding many reservations about the Afflicted. These shambling abominations read too much like zombies, which I don’t like. The saving grace, so far, is the increasing amount of evidence pointing to conscious people, rather than mindless hordes of aggressive predators. This was one of the major plot points not resolved in the story. 

I also have some questions about Thunder and Belle with whom Mairi apprenticed in their tartan shop. This couple was described in strongly unflattering terms at the start of the story, neglectful at best and abusive at worst. Yet they appear as helpers in the end. More than that, their sudden reappearance suggests they have a greater understanding of who Mairi is than Mairi did herself. It was like they expected to discover she was a powerful female mage in a world where mages are only male – at least according to those in charge. 

Of course these questions and  uncertainties leave me very enthusiastic for the sequel. While I haven’t read everything by Harper, I have read many of her books and enjoyed all of them. Hummingbird was a great read and promises to be another great series. With negative points for the inclusion of Afflicted-zombies outweighed by being set in Glasgow, I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.