Lucid, Archaia Studios, $19.95
I've put off reviewing this, because it's a free book, and I hate to slam free books. But, dude.
Lucid posits the idea that the English crown has always had a mage, going back to Merlin, protecting English interests. And a new mage, who is a Snotty Kid is called in to fight some stuff, by a hot chick who, for some reason, can't fight it herself.
OK, right? You can write this. It's Hellblazer, only with a new guy. And somehow the English crown is running the world, only, you know, it's not. And you can bet that somehow the Snotty Kid is going to have sex with the hot chick who used to be the crown's mage but, somehow, doesn't resent Snotty Kid. This happens all the time, you know?
Aside from the geopolitical silliness, and the eye-rolling Reader Identification Guy Having Sex With Imaginary Hot Girl, you have the basic problem with magic you do in any story. In the first chapter or two, the English mages can pretty much do anything they want to do, to impress on the audience how badass they are. But then a bad guy arises, and SHAZAM suddenly the mages aren't worth spit, because now the story requires that the bad buy be badass. Then in the third act, SHAZAM, suddenly the good guys can suddenly reach ... back ... and ... find ... the serious badassness to WIN! Somehow. Because, you know, it's magic.
Then you get to have sex with the cardboard cut-out hot chick. Because YOU ... ARE ... SO ... COOL!
Yawn.
Replies