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ninetalevixen 's review for:
I received an advance review copy through Netgalley. This does not affect my rating or opinions.
I'll be honest, I've never been a huge believer in magic - though I do try to keep an open mind, and I do believe in luck and the possibility of higher power(s). That said, I probably won't be actually trying any of these spells anytime soon (also because, despite the disclaimer that you don't need special tools or ingredients to perform spells, few of the included spells can actually be done without gathering specific things that I don't happen to have on hand); they do seem simple enough, and almost all are definitely doable in 10 minutes or fewer.
The writing is straightforward and appealingly conversational, which I do like. However, there are a lot of seemingly arbitrary historical / linguistic / scientific facts - they kind of serve as introductory sentences for the section, but their relevance isn't expanded upon. And speaking of relevance, the illustrations throughout this book are pretty but don't really seem to serve much purpose beyond decoration. Superficially they're related to the passages around them, though for the most part they don't add to the reader's understanding (though in some places they could, for example when describing sigils and runes) and in fact kind of break up the flow of information. So again, they're aesthetically pleasing, but not well incorporated.
One of my biggest pet peeves has always been "See my other book for more details about [topic being discussed]" - especially in a guide that's supposed to be accessible! I do understand the desire for brevity and focusing on the main ideas, but if these details are really as important as the author claims, then they should be included for the reader's convenience.
I'll be honest, I've never been a huge believer in magic - though I do try to keep an open mind, and I do believe in luck and the possibility of higher power(s). That said, I probably won't be actually trying any of these spells anytime soon (also because, despite the disclaimer that you don't need special tools or ingredients to perform spells, few of the included spells can actually be done without gathering specific things that I don't happen to have on hand); they do seem simple enough, and almost all are definitely doable in 10 minutes or fewer.
The writing is straightforward and appealingly conversational, which I do like. However, there are a lot of seemingly arbitrary historical / linguistic / scientific facts - they kind of serve as introductory sentences for the section, but their relevance isn't expanded upon. And speaking of relevance, the illustrations throughout this book are pretty but don't really seem to serve much purpose beyond decoration. Superficially they're related to the passages around them, though for the most part they don't add to the reader's understanding (though in some places they could, for example when describing sigils and runes) and in fact kind of break up the flow of information. So again, they're aesthetically pleasing, but not well incorporated.
One of my biggest pet peeves has always been "See my other book for more details about [topic being discussed]" - especially in a guide that's supposed to be accessible! I do understand the desire for brevity and focusing on the main ideas, but if these details are really as important as the author claims, then they should be included for the reader's convenience.