Something terribly important had happened, she thought. Some great and wondrous step toward magic that didn’t control, didn’t restrict or confine or destroy or even burn the world on its way to freedom, but liberated. [loc. 7079]
I liked A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians very much, so dived straight into the second volume of the duology. A Radical Act takes place from 1797 to 1807. While magical war engulfs Europe, the Saint-Domingue slave rebellion continues. Fina continues to support Toussaint L'Ouverture in the Caribbean; Wilberforce, in London, continues to fight for abolition; Pitt continues to conceal his deadly secret. In France, a young battle-mage from Corsica, working with a mysterious 'friend', has summoned a kraken to lay waste to the British navy. Other new characters are introduced, too: Kate Dove and her brother Christopher, mudlarking orphans who were tested for magical ability at birth, and forced to wear bracelets to suppress their magical talents. But in wartime, Britain will take all the magical help it can get ...
This is a fast-paced and thrilling account of the Napoleonic Wars. In this volume, we're shown magic having more effect on the history of individuals and of nations: this is not quite our history, and there are more opportunities for women and for Commoners. It also highlights the conflict between Pitt and the centuries-old 'enemy' (Bonaparte's 'friend') and explains why the Templars have turned a blind eye to Pitt's difficult heritage. It's exciting and hopeful and heroic.
That said, I didn't enjoy it as much as the first novel: towards the end, events seemed tumultuously hasty, without enough foreshadowing or description. (The splendid Lady Hester Stanhope has a crowning moment of glory that's barely a page long.) And there are elements of the story which, though they are foreshadowed, seem to fade away (vengeance of bound shadows, for instance). Still a splendid read but less satisfying than A Declaration. Despite a vague sense of disappointment, I did enjoy this book and I'm still looking forward to reading more of Parry's novels.
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