Reading Wizard of the Pigeons (Spoilers)

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Just finished the book. Summary and final thoughts within.

Wizard collapses in the street and is brought to Cassie's place by two of his fellow wizards. Cassie tries to talk sense into Wizard and reveals to him why his magic doesn't work any longer: he hasn't broken his rules, but the additional rules he has set himself. Remember what I daid about celibacy and not keeping more than one dollar? Those aren't actual rules. He set them himself because he knew he would fail them. Wizard and Cassie get intimate, then he sets off again, while Cassie is sure that he will not survive his fight against Mir.

Wizard and Mir finally square off. Wizard's magic is back, and suddenly Cassie is at his side to help him. Wizard calls on his pigeons who devour Mir. It is then revealed that Cassie broke her own rules to help Wizard, sacrificing her magic. She walks off and is not seen again.

Epilogue: The next year, Wizard and his fellow wizard Rasputin are eyeing a possible new recruit.

Final thoughts

So what do I make of Wizard of the Pigeons? This novel starts off strong, but gets gradually worse. I liked the central idea: there's magic in this world, but you have to follow strange rules to be able to use it. But the execution is flawed. Most of the book, Mir is so far in the background that he doesn't seem like a real threat at all. The part where Wizard has lost his magic drags on far too long.

Wizard's real name is revealed to be Mitchell Ignatius Reilly - take those initials and what do you get? It thus appears that Mir is a manifestation of Wizard's psychological troubles, given form by his magic. Still not sure what the flashback with the three boys is supposed to mean though.