Dot Slash Magic

I love programming because I find it the opposite of magic. I find it logic. I know that if I tackle a problem using certain rules I will finally get it to work. When I show a person the finalised product, they often comment that it seems like magic, but it is not. It is just hardwork, processing and occasionally using old bits of script and adapting them, but what it it was magic? What could you program if you had magical skills? An AI that works spells for you? Seven has designed such an app in Liz Shipton’s .dot/slash(magic).  

Life has been pretty eventful, but meandering, for Seven. She skipped college and instead sailed around the world for a few years, but now she finds herself back in the USA and in need of purpose. This purpose may be in the form of the family boat which has been promised her should she enroll and complete at least one year of community college. Even Seven should be able to do this, but when her elective course on AI stumbles across a way to sync her watch with magic, Seven opens herself to a new magical society and an all new purpose she did not even know existed. 

Urban Fantasy should have some sort of grounding in real life if it is going to resonate with the reader, and there is not much more grounding than having to return to the family with your tail between your legs and enroll in community college. This were we find Seven and she is an interesting character. She is in her mid twenties so has lived some life, making her tale a refreshing, more mature one – although the characters are not that mature. 

The book is mature in the sense that it tackles adult problems; how to make your rent, how to deal with deadlines, who to date. Seven is not a people person and this is when I like her the most; cynical and sarcastic, with her guard always up. As the book progresses she makes new acquaintances and here the maturity of the book becomes muddied. Reading this book I was starkly aware that I am now removed from my 20s. My situation was steady at the time, saving to buy a house and start a family, but this was not the case for Seven and many of her generation.  

The characters in Seven’s circle, both magical and not, react in bold ways that I cannot quite fathom. This makes for sharp drama, but also needless stress. Seven stumbles across a magical society and is not warmly greeted. This is understandable, but to throw Seven into several deadly contests etc., feels too much. It is not quite Potter levels of naivety, but not far off. This helps the action, but loses some of the grounding of the earlier part of the book. 

Speaking of losing grounding, the book has a high concept ending that will divide readers. It is a bold choice by Shipton that will make for an interesting follow up in the series, but I felt was a little leftfield. The book was best at its simplest, with a spiky character finding their way in a new magical world. The simpler the tale, the more I was drawn in. 

Dot is an enjoyable slice of Urban Fantasy, although it deals in injury and death, there is a lightness to it, but it also tackles some tough concepts such as manipulation. It would work well for a reader who likes dynamic character interaction and those that still remember days of falling in and out of love. It is flawed as it becomes more complex, but for large portions is an entertaining read.