So it would’ve been most appropriate to reread The Devil’s Day by Megan Mackie a few months earlier. It takes place in February. And the titular day, wherein some of the most important parts of the story take place, is February 29th. Leap Day. We had one of those this year.
A Leap Day, a total eclipse in the northern hemisphere, northern lights far south of where they normally are…it’s been a bizarre year so far and it’s not even half over. But enough of real life.
The Devil’s Day is the third novel in the Lucky Devil series. The fifth volume. I don’t think I realized last time, but there’s actually a discussion in the book, in character, about that. I believe it’s in relation to Rune pointing out how insanely busy she’s been helping people, trying to pay her bills, trying to keep the bar intact, and avoiding thinking about the challenge she’s been issued.
That happened in The Saint of Liars. A mage named Abraxus challenged her for her House. Houses are magical nexuses, organizations of families and retainers, and forces in their own right. With her Aunt Maddie’s death, Rune inherited House Magdalene. Being the Lady has been a thorny issue throughout the series for a variety of reasons, so having an outsider wanting to take it from her was a complication she really, really didn’t need.
Of course, there’s also Devil’s Day coming up. It’s the Lucky Devil bar’s holiday, celebrated every year. But because it’s a leap year and the Devil’s Day is on Leap Day, that makes this more important than normal. There’s a magical ritual that needs to be done, and for many reasons.
This book sees some answers provided to questions that honestly weren’t in the top tier of importance. Things like “where is Uncle Lucas?” and “so what’s with the devils in the Lucky Devil?” On the other hand, there is a lot of backstory here. Things about Mackie’s world and Maddie that put a whole new slant on what we thought we knew.
And through it all there are two refrains. The first, that you cannot trust anyone to be exactly what you want from them. So many people will betray your trust thinking it for the best. The second, that there is goodness and light in people, and you can find it if you try and are able to appeal to their better nature.
You could say this is the dichotomy of the series leads, St. Benedict and Rune. The Saint works in corporate espionage and has told Rune repeatedly that she shouldn’t trust him. Rune, on the other hand, is a pure soul who wants to believe the best of everybody, or at least give them a second chance. The two are also balanced between science fiction and fantasy, but I wouldn’t associate the genres with betrayal and trust as simple analogues. Fantasy can have backstabbing and science fiction can have perfect trust.
I think that next time there’s a new book in this series though, I might not reread the whole thing. I can feel myself getting burned out a little. But I’m going to persevere. After all, I’ve just gone through five volumes in preparation for the newest. I can’t just put it off now.
mouse Reads Books 