The Kinnear Chronicles

I followed Magusjosh since the early chapters of Pluto and I can say with certainty that he’s a very resourceful author. He has a very good knack for plots and while it felt rushed at interjections, the story didn’t suffer for it and I can argue that, since it was mostly on the later chapters, it was probably in anticipation for releasing Kinnear Chronicles. And the improvement in both grammar (who was almost flawless already) and style of writing is visible since the very first chapter. And now that the pace is starting to kick up, i’m even more exited to what he would bring us.

The world of Kinnear Chronicles is set in a late ‘800 , England, with what you could call a classical magical environment and traditional elements of folklore that’s developing in an industrial magitec and mundane tech of those periods, twisted togheter to bring you an interesting world that feels alive. His organizzation of the magic society is also well done and arguably unique to his story and feels like it belongs. 

30 chapter to me, right now, feels too early to give a proper review for the cast of characters, but aside from some suckers who are purposely done dislikable, they are mostly alive and unique; Alys herself is characterized enough in lieu of her still being young and developing.

In essence, it’s a story worthy to start reading and deserve it if you give it a shot.

I’m cutting it here, because it took me 30 minutes of writing while distracted to write this and I might go off to tangents.  I might update this review in the future.

MagusJosh is already a well acclaimed author on Royal Road.  

His other book: Pluto is a very intricate story.  This story is already off to a great start.  His attention to detail is awesome. I already feel for Alys.  My singular concerning part of this is sometimes feels a tad bit rushed, but I have a feeling this story was more or less a prologue and the background is needed.  I look forward to seeing how Alys handles her future challenges. 

            Alys has the challenges of being born to a mother potentially out of wedlock.  Her mother had a Sidhe lover.  Add to this the fact that she does not share the same magic gifts as her parents.  Right now, the story is a shaded canvas that will have more details added to the masterwork art piece.  I also only have the barest sense of who Alys is.  Her cynical nature about life contrasts with her mother. 

About the Sidhe? They will be an interesting topic. I wonder where he will take this. As always Keep up the excellent work MagusJosh.  Let us know when everything is on Kindle so I can add it to my collection of awesome books by awesome authors.

Can be found at:

I came here as fast as I've seen the notification and I was not disappointed, if this is just the teaser for this fiction I'm in for a spectacular ride!

And I have to say this new setup in a magical Earth is fantastic and the protagonist seems really cool

Thank you for this amazing work!

The Kinnear Chronicles

The story starts out strong, almost rushed, with a likeable young and confident 
newly graduated mage moving to an alternate London of the later 20th century.

Her ambition is to become a full wizard, something that in this world seems to 
be a mix of an accademic and an victorian gentleman.

In the story it is pointed out, both that most people have some talent for magic 
and that full wizards are comparatively rare, between those groups is a large 
poulation of "mages" who seems to do many ordinary jobs and have widely variable 
magical abilitys.

In the start of the story the MC aquires not one but two familiars in a scene 
that shows magic to be very powerful and transformative. In spite of that most 
other forms of magic shown are quite lmited and one gets the impression that the 
narative requirements change what the actors can do in specific events rather 
than a completley thought out magic system.

Between familiars, an romantic interest, family and masters this feels a lot 
more like a relationship drama than a story about a young wizard learning the 
ropes and getting real world experince.

Grammar wise the author handles the language very well, but pacing is jumpy and 
information recently given is often repeated in full one or a few chapters on.

The alternate world is obviously rife in supernaturals and good explanations are 
given for some of the differences between our world and the story one but not 
the same thought have gone in to the details. E.g at the start of the story it's 
made clear that the MC is, if not poor so at least economicaly strained. Two 
chapters later, after have spent all her money on her familliars she spurges on 
multiple tailored and enchanted outfits for herself and her familiars. Outfits 
that are later reveiled to be to expenceively enchanted to be affordable for 
police mage-detectives. The MC has spent months with a group of tantric mages, 
presumably learning sex magics but relationships are treated like courting out 
of a regency romance.

In short; I find the story both likeable and infuriating. It is hard to judge 
because it tries to be many things at the same time and the MC's moodswings 
between confidence and self-doubt, while realistic, lessens the reader interest. 
Mental dialogue with familiars are funny and cute, internal monologues about 
what to do is boring.

The buildup was slow, methodical and coherent, giving us insights into the MC's background, and how she is progressing through the next stage of wizardhood.

There are backstories, enmity, love, reward and family. What else can we ask for? 

Alys was born of a Sidhe noble and human mom, not realising that she has a half-sister who grew up with horrible experiences. But now, she might be able to help her half-sister learn and gain love and a real family.

I strongly recommend this story, and hoping the author would return and bring us the next stage of Alys' life - marriage and children. Hopefully, no tears like husband hurt. Or worse.

Thanks for a great story - and hopefully, new chapters soon.

I was kind of in a slumb, waiting for new chapters to be added to my favorite stories and unable to get into any new ones. But this story managed to grab me from the first chapter. Its biggest strength is a likeable MC with a goal that are easy to relate to. The interactions between the MC and her familiars were often funny and heart-warming.

The setting is an alternate Earth where magic is real. There's druids, mages, wizards, as well as airships, swords, guns - both magical and mundane - and of course the Sidhe. The date is supposed to be around 1985, but because of the difference in technology, it often feels like somewhere around 1890-1920 instead.

The story is often slice-of-life-ish, with a dash of whodunit. I enjoyed the various jobs that the MC completes for her teacher-slash-employer. There's a larger plot in the background and it starts to become relevant near the end of book two.

The pacing is generally good, with a few instances of info-dumps sticking out like a bit of a sore thumb. Also, the ending of book two is kind of drawn-out, with several long chapters after the climatic battle, plus an epilogue. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely non-traditional.

A nice blend of slice of life and adventure/drama. I enjoyed how each book had a specific event that was key to it, and it was shown how it affected the MC. Too many stories tend to gloss over the mental state of their MC by either minimizing the negative impact or spreading past the recovery as a side note. However, mental scars are just as real as physical ones and both types of wounds take time to heal. I feel this story does a great job showing how damaging to a psyche a lot of tropes would realistically be, while also allowing the MC to gradually grow and overcome those issues by relying on a loving and caring support group. Getting help for mental issues tends to have a negative stigma, but was presented in a very positive manner here and I think it was well done. 

The only real criticisms I have is sometimes the time skips make things seem a little jumpy, and occasionally there are some long winded explanations of how some magic works, but they are passed off pretty well and seem to fit the MC's personality. 

I really enjoy Alys and the magical mysteries she and her Familiars solve. The world of The Kinnear Chronicles is richly drawn and well thought out. I find myself drawn in, genuinely wondering what is at the heart of each mystery, and wondering how Alys is going to solve them. I like how these stories have heart, but they're driven primarily by intellectual challenges, not by soap opera. Alys is refreshing and relatable, and I find myself wishing I had Athena and Artemis by my side, too.