reviewed by
Jennifer Kahng
Imagine a world where magic and mythology are real and then imagine it in the here and now. But this time, magic isn't cast with old fashioned wands or elixirs or any of that, but by spewing strings of binary and some well done hacking. This is the world Kelly McCullough creates in his new series.
The story is told in first person by Ravirn, a prince of the court of the Fates. Literally. His grandmother (with N number of "great"s prefixing it) is Lachesis, the Fate who measures out the length of each person's life strand. He's also a student at the University of Minnesota and a world class hacker. Well, a magical hacker, at least. With his trusty laptop familiar, Melchior, at his side, Ravirn has built up a reputation for being able to discover weaknesses and bugs. So much so that his great-to-the-nth aunt, Atropos, demands he debug her latest program. Except that by doing so, Ravirn will have helped Atropos in eradicating free will from the world, and that's not something he really wants to do.
However, saying no to the Fates is never a good idea and things just get from bad to worse. Well, there is some good in that he is his aided by his distantly related cousin, friend, and crush Cerice, but their budding relationship is in danger of never getting started when Ravirn gets himself into such a bind, the Fates decide to cut his life strand. If they could find it.
WebMage is a fun adventure into a magical present that could be possible. The technobabble sometimes borders on being ridiculous, but somehow it works. The notion that the Greek gods and goddesses have all evolved with the times into highly skilled coders and hackers is also an interesting twist and makes things all the more interesting.
With mention to various other Greek mythology names and an appearance by the Furies, as well as Eris, the Goddess of Discord, WebMage is a fast paced adventure sure to entertain any who like a well-crafted adventure with a bit of humor, romance, an almost Molotov cocktail, and hacking in the mix.
