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A Radical Act of Free Magic

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This genre-defying story of magic, war, and the struggle for freedom in the early modern history tells a sweeping tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own.

The Concord has been broken, and a war of magic engulfs the world.
In France, the brilliant young battle-mage Napoleon Bonaparte has summoned a kraken from the depths, and under his command, the Army of the Dead have all but conquered Europe. Britain fights back, protected by the gulf of the channel and powerful fire-magic, but Wilberforce's own battle to bring about free magic and abolition has met a dead end in the face of an increasingly fearful and repressive government. In Saint Domingue, Fina watches as Toussaint Louverture navigates these opposing forces to liberate the country.
But there is another, even darker war being fought beneath the surface: the first vampire war in hundreds of years. The enemy blood magician who orchestrated Robespierre's downfall is using the Revolutionary Wars to bring about a return to dark magic to claim all of Europe. Across the world, only a few know of his existence and the choices they make will shape the new age of magic.
Praise for The Shadow Histories:
"A rich, sprawling epic full of history and magic, Declaration is Jonathan Strange with international politics and vampires. I loved it."―Alix E. Harrow, Hugo Award-winning author
"A witty, riveting historical fantasy . . . Parry has a historian's eye for period detail and weaves real figures from history—including Robespierre and Toussaint L'Ouverture—throughout her poetic tale of justice, liberation, and dark magic. This is a knockout." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Shadow Histories
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians
A Radical Act of Free Magic

For more from H. G. Parry, check out The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 22, 2021
      The entertaining if conventional final installment to Parry’s Shadow Histories series (after A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians) returns to the Enlightenment era as war, magic, and revolution sweep Europe and its colonies into a frenzy. While a magically empowered Napoleon Bonaparte summons a kraken from the sea, an army of the dead rages across the continent in the name of French conquest, and Toussaint Louverture uses weather magic to fight for freedom in Saint-Domingue. In England, the aristocracy practices magic freely while the magical abilities of common folk are suppressed—but the British government debates a law to allow commoner magicians to wield magic in service to the royal army. And in the background of all of this chaos, a dark, powerful force uses old magic to seize power over Europe. Parry pieces together an elaborate, perhaps occasionally overstuffed, story of mystery and intrigue that easily transports readers into its fantastical world. Though some will wish for a more radical take on the history here, fans of the first volume and of European historical fantasy played straight will find plenty to enjoy. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc.

    • Booklist

      June 14, 2021
      In this immersive conclusion to Parry's Shadow Histories duology (after A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians, 2020), set amid eighteenth-century social unrest and warfare, three key players oppose a sinister blood magician (i.e., vampire) before he can consolidate power. As this elusive enemy aids Napoleon with summoning a kraken and a dragon for France, they seem poised to conquer all of Europe. In French colony Saint-Domingue, former slave Fina helps General Toussaint free its slaves, until the enemy is alerted to their treachery. In England, William Pitt and William Wilberforce fight fractious legislative battles in Parliament over battlefield magic, the suppression of magic in commoners, and the abolition of slavery. Yet their political battles matter little if Pitt, hiding his own blood magic, cannot stand against the enemy when the time comes. Parry blends historical fact, political intrigue, military battles, and fantastic magic in this compelling alternate history. While the characters' human-rights debates are centered in eighteenth-century politics, they still ring true today, particularly on the difficulty of upholding personal beliefs with political actions, and the slow grind of legislating social change. Satisfying and entertaining.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In the second and last of the Shadow Histories, Andrew Kingston continues his narration of the characters who were featured in THE DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAGICIANS. Having succeeded to the prominent role in France, Napoleon is not as amenable to the Stranger, the vampire who is directing much of the mayhem, as others have been. In the war between France and Britain, Kingston has the opportunity to portray battles with magical creatures that are under the influence of Napoleon, creating an intense atmosphere in which the victor is not known until the very end. Through the tone and strength of his voice, Kingston shows the decline of Prime Minister William Pitt, the younger. Likewise, Kingston is skilled at reflecting the relationships between friends and foes. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

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