The Killing Spell

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, but in Shay Kauwe’s The Killing Spell, words will very much hurt you. In fact, words can be fashioned into spells to kill. Not the best in an everyday family situation where words can fly thick and fast, nor in a society where a few rich families are trying to keep all the power together in one magic spell book.

Kea Petrova is the head of a small family clan in the Homestead outside LA. In this future, magic has returned to the world, but so have the Magi, dangerous creatures that rise out of the waters to attack people. Most people have fled behind the walls of LA, protected by a few strong families who use their chosen language to cast spells of protection and run the city. Kea has no such power, her language of Hawaiian is not recognised, but they are unaware of the strength she can yield with just one word.

Urban Fantasy has a lot of possibilities and in Killing, Kauwe has come up with an interesting take on the genre. The key is the world building, even before you think about the story. This is an alternative world, one in which magic is back. Rather than becoming a better society, things are bad in a different way. A few powerful families run the city using their languages of choice. Those languages not deemed fit enough are banned from using magic.

Here a second interesting element is added and one that informs Kea and the other clans of the Homestead. There is a hierarchy of language, and in that, a hierarchy of peoples. Kea is seen as lesser, therefore when she is called upon to solve a murder, she is surprised as anyone. It is this murder mystery that is Kea and the reader’s way into the murky world of a magic filled LA.

I class this as Urban Fantasy and not straight Fantasy as it feels like a modern tale, told in an alternative world. It has some magical creatures and words that can be used as spells, but it is also a lot about politics. Kea must find allies in LA to help solve the murder, and one ally becomes a potential romantic interest. This relationship becomes the final element of the story, classic opposites attract.

There is a lot happening in Killing, just the language magic system and science fiction/fantasy alternative future is head spinning in places, but this is a tale stabilised by the character of Kea. Strong willed, passionate and powerful, a real driving force to a story that has plenty of politics, but also some great thrills. Killing is a mixture of genres and ideas I have not read before, this makes it a compelling read, especially for fans of Urban Fantasy.