Review: “Doomsday Magic,” Linsey Hall

Pros: Still so much fantastic action!
Cons: Fickle time-turning abilities
Rating: 4 out of 5

In book one of The Druid, Ana and Lachlan hunted down a massively dangerous stolen spell and rescued a kidnapped friend. In book two, they recovered Dracha’s stolen magic from three ghostly Fates. In book three, they had to simultaneously locate a charm that would help to balance Ana’s growing powers while saving the Celtic Otherworld from an invasion by the Fates and an army of demons. Book four saw most of the members of the Undercover Protectorate get kidnapped. And although the sisters found and freed them, they’re still bound by a spell that will eventually enslave them to the Fates. Now, in Linsey Hall’s Doomsday Magic (Dragon’s Gift: The Druid Book 5), Ana must find out how to reverse the spell–before the Fates break through the castle’s protections. Otherwise the Fates will command an unwilling army of some of the most magically powerful people in the world. This will require not just figuring out Ana’s powers and completing her transition to Dragon God, but also a trip through Dante Alighieri’s version of Hell!

I do not understand why the characters didn’t go straight to Roarke the moment they found out they’d need to go to Hell. He is, after all, Warden of the Underworlds, and he should have been able to give them some sort of aid or advice. I was also disappointed to find out that Hall gave another character (Ana) a time-turning ability. The ability to turn back time–particularly when it’s limited to a small area so you have to worry about how it interacts with the rest of the world–is pretty much a walking plot-hole generator.

The action quotient is delightful, as always. We get to see our favorite blood sorceresses again. There’s a deadly gigantic whirlpool that Ana and Lachlan have to sail through. There are trials and tests to be won. Ana gets her final powers and finds out she can shape-shift into a giant crow. The characters fight harpies, make alliances with sentient trees, trek through sandstorms in Hell, get aid from gods, and speak with Dante himself (who used to belong to the Protectorate). It turns out the first heist the Cats of Chaos ever ran was on the fourth level of Hell, so they know a few shortcuts to help our heroes get where they’re going. I love how much the Cats get involved in the goings-on, and hairless, winged Muffin makes such a hilarious and wonderful cheering section when the situation gets dire. As always, there are hundreds of demons to kill.

I loved the climactic battle in this one. Hell, I love the climactic battles in all but one of the books, because they’re Hall’s major strength. I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the next set of five books come out (Rowan’s sub-series) so that I can continue this series!