[WFC] The Marvellers (Marvellerverse, volume 1) by Dhonielle Clayton

[James Nicoll]

The Marvellers (Marvellerverse, volume 1) by Dhonielle Clayton

The first Conjuror allowed into a prestigious magic school,
a young woman's every moment is closely scrutinized by an
administration eager to prove inclusion was overreach. What
could go wrong?

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/lead-me-through-the-fire
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[Jack Bohn]

James Nicoll wrote:
> The Marvellers (Marvellerverse, volume 1) by Dhonielle Clayton
>
> The first Conjuror allowed into a prestigious magic school,
> a young woman's every moment is closely scrutinized by an
> administration eager to prove inclusion was overreach. What
> could go wrong?
>
> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/lead-me-through-the-fire

Ah, the "a patina of plausible deniability"!
There should be a course on that. Perhaps there is by now, but too late for the anchor on my local TV news, who merely interjects an occasional gratuitous "allegedly," most humorously while narrating the actions of a video they are showing us.

Your own phrase: "magical school might be like had it not been written by an author often accused of classism, racism, and TERFy bigotry" is a bit awkward. It sidesteps personal judgement of the matter, by leaving a slight implication that, as with witchcraft, to be accused is to be guilty. (And what would the books be like if written by an author not accused? Like the first few?)


As for a school setting, I've come to the judgement that it can either be a development of the fantastical element, or it can be a familiar setting for the target audience, with the fantastic layered on top. I formed this reading a kid's Star Wars book from the release of "The Phantom Menace" about the (even) younger Obi-Wan Kenobi's days in the Jedi Academy. His entry was accompanied by some old-fashioned bullying that had me set the book aside with the conviction that the Jedi deserve everyone who turns to the Daark Side. (One school story I liked was the anime Stellvia. Earthspace was devastated by the radiation of a nearby supernova; a few centuries later they have recovered enough to attempt to deal with the oncoming slower-than-light particle waves. These will be mitigated somehow by flying giant space mecha, and selected youth are being trained. Had it been a show when I was in school I can see me sitting in my surroundings picturing it as their surroundings an learning more interesting things.)

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-Jack