Magic is going haywire as the Authority prepares for a wild magic storm (while still playing political shenanigans behind each other’s backs). With the untimely theft of hundreds of magically charged discs, can Allie and Zayvion find the discs, deal with the storm, and, for once, perhaps not get shot at?

Book Title: Magic on the Storm
Book Author: Devon Monk
Book Publisher: Roc
Release Date: May 4, 2010
Retail Price: $7.99
Buy it at: Various Outlets

So many sketchy characters, so little time before the world threatens to explode, or perhaps just fizzle about from too much unrestrained magic being thrown about. It's getting hard to tell. Shadow creatures, discs with no equivalent exchange program, ghosts, and even some psychotic killers (just because the rest wasn't enough already). Now that Allie can more easily access magic anywhere at any time, the challenges really do seem to be mounting up. And that's part of what makes this series just so much fun to read.

Another part is Shame. No, not the horrific embarrassment of knowing you did wrong and got caught. I'm talking about a wise-cracking death magic user who may just be my favorite character in the series now. Gotta love a character who is capable of sucking the life out of a ghost one minute and wisecracking the next.

It's also interesting to see the shifting political landscape within the Authority, as more and more members take sides. Who should be using magic? How should they be using it? And what about non-Authority magic users? How should they be dealt with? You can't just Close anyone's memories...well, you could, but that way leads to chaos. Jingo Jingo continues to be creepy and I can't quite tell if he's playing a Severus Snape style character. I can't imagine that Jingo is going to end up being a good guy after all is said and done, but stranger things have happened.

And just how is the Authority going to handle magical discs that skip equivalent exchange? I can only imagine how many rules those trinkets break just by existing. Never mind how they actually accomplish it. I hope that they continue to play a part in the series, just preferably not as a neck adornment because, really, that just sounds painful. A metal disc through the neck, flowing with magical energy. There's no way that can be covered by normal insurance plans.

And a tip for those reading this book, get the next book Magic at the Gate as well, because the cliffhanger ending in this one is diabolically evil. *shakes fist at Devon Monk for her addictive story line* (Yes, that's right, I've already read the next book in the series before having finished writing this review. It couldn't be helped.)

This is definitely a step up from the previous installment and well worth reading. Get thee to a book depository post haste and purchase some Monk. Or, y'know, you could just buy it online, but where's the fun in that?