Conjured Defense
by J.C. Jackson
DETAILS: Series: Terra Chronicles, #4 Publisher: Shadow Phoenix Publishing Publication Date: June 20, 2019 Format: Paperback Length: 252 pg. Read Date: May 12-13, 2022
What’s Conjured Defense About?
Ketayl and Silver are sent to a Naval research facility to investigate some sort of mishap. There’s a company, Spelltech, that’s trying to incorporate technology and magic into a defense system. Not just merging tech and magic (like Ketayl does in her TIO work), but it’s a merging of divine and arcane magics—just like Ketayl and Silver.
They’re the ideal team to run this investigation—assuming they can get the cooperation of the Naval Command and Spelltech. The head of Spelltech seems eager to work with them, once he has a glimmer of an idea of what Ketayl can do—just the fact that Ketayl and Silver get along and can work together puts them ahead of any pair that they have to work with.
It’s not long before Ketayl realizes that Spelltech assembled something without any real understanding of what was going on with it. She’s not so sure either, but she’s getting closer. This sets off a series of “near-misses” with cars as they move around the base—and then things get worse.
So, what did I think about Conjured Defense?
It was a solid story and it’s good to see Ketayl’s powers continue to grow. Ditto for the relationship between the two partners—although it sometimes feels more appropriate for a couple of high schoolers. But hey, they’re elves and will live a long time, maybe things take longer.
Jackson’s action scenes are improving—there are a couple of great ones here. I re-read the first major action scene twice because it was so good (that’s not a comment on the ones I didn’t reread—I was too involved in the story to stop with those)
There are a few bits of dialogue that frustrate me. Jackson obviously has a clear vision for what’s going on in her world and with ongoing arcs, but she’s not the best a communicating that. Ketayl has ongoing conversations with both her partner and her sister in which they allude to something without coming out and saying it—which is perfectly fine and normal. However, there needs to be something in or around those conversations that makes sure the reader can pick up on the allusion. Maybe I’m being dense, or maybe this is a continuation of something from a previous book that I’m forgetting (if that’s the case, it needs to be clarified in this book)—but I don’t think so. I think it’s a case of Jackson knows what the characters are talking about and doesn’t realize that readers don’t.
As usual, that took a lot longer to say than the paragraph about the action scenes—and it means less to me than everything else. I like these characters and really enjoy exploring this world with them, I’ve got two more of these sitting on the shelf and am eager to dive in. Fast action, charming characters, and a great SF/Fantasy setting—what’s not to enjoy? Recommended.
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