This is a story of Togas, daggers, and Magic – for lovers of Ancient Rome, Hardboiled detectives, and Urban Fantasy.
A rich landlord finds tenants are abandoning his apartment buildings, spouting tales of horrific events and whispering that the old gods - the numina - came alive and cursed the buildings.
Enter Felix, a professional fox. Dressed in a toga and armed with a dagger, Felix is neither a traditional detective nor a traditional magician - but something in between. Whenever there is a foul business of bad magic, Felix is hired to sniff out the truth. Now he must separate fact from superstition - a hard task in a world where the old gods still roam the earth.
In Numina is set in a fantasy world. The city of Egretia borrows elements from a thousand years of ancient Roman culture, from the founding of Rome to the late empire, mixed with a judicious amount of magic. This is a story of a cynical, hardboiled detective dealing with anything from daily life to the old forces roaming the world.
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A rich landlord finds tenants are abandoning his apartment buildings, spouting tales of horrific events and whispering that the old gods - the numina - came alive and cursed the buildings.
Enter Felix, a professional fox. Dressed in a toga and armed with a dagger, Felix is neither a traditional detective nor a traditional magician - but something in between. Whenever there is a foul business of bad magic, Felix is hired to sniff out the truth. Now he must separate fact from superstition - a hard task in a world where the old gods still roam the earth.
In Numina is set in a fantasy world. The city of Egretia borrows elements from a thousand years of ancient Roman culture, from the founding of Rome to the late empire, mixed with a judicious amount of magic. This is a story of a cynical, hardboiled detective dealing with anything from daily life to the old forces roaming the world.
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My Review:
When I first started out featuring these Reader's Reviews on my blog, I decided that rather than reading a whole series all at once, I would space them out. This allowed me to read a decent mix of genres, and it also meant that I had "something to do" while waiting for the next book in a series to arrive, if it hadn't been released yet.
In the case of Assaph Mehr's series, it also meant that it took me four years to finally read the sequel to Murder in Absentia. But boy, was it worth it!
I hardly felt the distance as the narration dropped me right back into the middle of Egretia. Hardly any time had passed since the events of the first book, it seemed, and at once I felt at ease with the foreign, archaic terms and the easy, vivid storytelling of the narration from Felix's point of view. And of course, it didn't take long for things to get really interesting!
The pacing of this mystery is fantastic. Mehr wastes no time: as soon as all the characters are in place, the mystery commences, and by then it's too late for foolish mortals to turn away! It's one thing to read about a "haunted house" in a contemporary setting, where the ghosts of ages past run thick and plenty--but how to present the "haunting" of a house in a setting that's already ancient, and thick with magic and mythology? Mehr pulls it off, in splendid form!
The colorful cast of characters is on full display at every turn, not just Valerius, Felix's employer, but also Cornelia, cousin to Valerius and mother of Aemilia, the feisty, curious sidekick Felix never asked for; I enjoyed trying to decipher the meaning behind the confused babblings of Araxus, the man driven mad by magic, and yet "more sane than you or I", as the saying goes; the taciturn Borax, ex-gladiator who has almost gotten used to the madcap peril that seems to follow Felix wherever he decides to mess with magic--which is often; and, most of all, the fiendish Ambrustus, almost the ruthless "Count Rugen" to the conniving, cruel, and clever "Prince Humperdinck" of the piece--Numicius, the man who can, in my opinion, "go sit on a rusty nail and get tetanus!" Of course, you'll need to read the book to find out why! For now, I can just tell you that it was awesome, there were times when I wasn't sure if Mehr was going to kill off our intrepid hero (or one of his sidekicks!) and so I felt compelled to keep reading!
The lore and history Mehr packs into the story makes it feel like a piece of real ancient history recorded by a firsthand observer--even though I know Egretia is an invented fictional setting, the real-world connections to civilizations like Greece and Rome bring it to life with greater impact than merely a "faraway kingdom." Of course, then there are the pop culture references... not the least of which is the Muppet reference that I noticed right away and gave me a giggle every time it came up! (Again... just read the book! You'll know it when you see it, trust me!)
It should come as no surprise that I am giving this book a full and heaping *****5 STAR***** rating, and to that I would also add the "coveted" Upstream Writer Certified TOTALLY RECOMMENDED endorsement. If Dresden Files is your jam, but you're also kinda low-key into classical philosophy and ancient civilizations--then look no further than the Stories of Togas, Daggers, and Magic!
Further Reading: (Also By The Author/Ancient Lore/Alternate History/Paranormal Genre)
Stories of Togas, Daggers And Magic--Assaph Mehr
-Murder in Absentia
-In Numina *(This book)
-Murder in Absentia
-In Numina *(This book)
The Grave Reports--R. R. Virdi
-Grave Beginnings
-Grave Measures
-Grave Tidings (novella)
-Grave Dealings
-Grave Beginnings
-Grave Measures
-Grave Tidings (novella)
-Grave Dealings
Alexi Sokolsky: Hound of Eden--James Osiris Baldwin
-Burn Artist
-Blood Hound
-Burn Artist
-Blood Hound
The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
-The Way
-The Truth
-The Lie
-The Way
-The Truth
-The Lie
The Red Dog Conspiracy--Patricia Loofbourrow
-The Alcatraz Coup
-Jacq of Spades
-Queen of Diamonds
-The Alcatraz Coup
-Jacq of Spades
-Queen of Diamonds
The Cadeau Series--Connie Olvera
-Who Can You Trust?
-Who Can You Trust?
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