TURNS OF FATE

Humans have a series of eventful encounters with powerful creatures who maintain a very stringent set of rules.

Across the river from the mundane human towns lies the Isle of Wyrd, inhabited by the magical beings known as the Arcana, who will, for the right price, read your future and offer you the possibility of changing your fate. It can be a refuge for the vulnerable but a deadly danger to the reckless and unprepared. Changing your fate can involve physical transformation and transportation to all kinds of odd locations, and both are directly shaped by what you say or intend. An author escaping her abusive fiancé, a pair of brutally selfish but well-connected brothers, a pack of teenage bullies and their kind-hearted potential victim, a college professor whose obsessive quest for knowledge overpowers his courtesy and common sense, and a police detective who yearns to understand the truth about herself all get what they deserve by setting foot on the island. Although a lot happens, there isn’t a solid throughline of plot; this first in a series is clearly more about explaining the world, introducing the characters, and setting the stage for future books. Yes, multiple people face perils, but because of well-equipped allies and good planning, the bad guys don’t really stand a chance. There’s also no climactic confrontation between most of the bad guys and their slated victims; the majority receive their comeuppances by magically guided misfortune, the catastrophic consequences of disobeying the rules, or a minor character hired by the good guys. As noted at the launch of her previous series (Lake Silence, 2018), Bishop has a true gift for remixing the same plot elements over multiple books and making you like it, somehow. You’re going to get violent, stupid people who, despite multiple warnings, manage to piss off incredibly powerful beings and get shredded, while polite, kind-hearted people will earn those same powerful beings’ friendship and protection.

Aggressively formulaic yet still appealing in its own way.