Review: Witchmark

Witchmark by C.L. Polk
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

Witchmark is a polished debut novel, first in a new gaslamp fantasy series by C. L. Polk. It follows the story of Miles Singer, aka Sir Christopher Miles Henley, a Kingston, Aeland-based doctor trying to maintain a low profile as he treats patients with a puzzling psychiatric illness. His patients are veterans from a war between Aeland and Laneer, and they believe there is someone else inside them that the must continuously battle to hold in check. As the story opens a man named Nick Elliot has arrived in Emergency on Dr. Singer's shift, claiming he has been poisoned and, just as he dies conveying a message to Sir Christopher (that would be Miles except no one was supposed to know that) and transferring some sort of soul stuff to him. All of this is, unbeknownst to Miles at the moment, witnessed by Tristan Hunter, a mysterious man who is also much more than he appears to be.

Miles turns out to be descended from a royal line of what are politely termed weather mages because being a witch will get you tossed in an asylum. The Aeland mage society in which they exist, the Invisibles, is predicated on a master and slave magical bond, where primary mages bind powerful secondary mages to draw on their magical energy. Typically secondaries are siblings or spouses, and they are little more than magical capacitors whose actual magical gifts (in Miles' case the gift is healing) are ignored or belittled. Miles ran away from his duties as a potential secondary to his sister, Grace, seven years before the novel begins. Thanks to Nick Elliot and various other factors, his carefully crafted identity is about to come crashing down. As he tries to resist being drawn back into the powerful Hensley family for the political capital he will bring his sister and father, Miles tries to solve the mystery of Nick Elliot's death. Tristan Hunter, who turns out to be an immortal man from a race called Amaranthines, joins forces with Miles, seeking answers to additional questions, but also finding love.

Witchmark can be classed as an m/m novel and the relationship portrayed in it is lovely. The social aspects of Aeland culture, including arranged marriages as alliances of political interests, regardless of orientation, is suitably despicable in this context. Miles's reasons for running from his family are apparent early on, and they only mount in justification as the book progresses. The Hensley family is caught up in some pretty awful stuff. Trapped between his desire for his freedom, authenticity, and his loyalty to his sister, Miles struggles against many constraints, remaining determined to do what is right. Doing what is right involves figuring out what Nick Elliot died for, and what is going on with his patients, no matter the cost. The underlying mystery of the book reminded me in many ways of aspects of Pullman's His Dark Materials.

There was much to enjoy in Witchmark, though I felt the end was rushed, even a bit abrupt. I look forward to the sequel, Greystar, though I believe it is told from the perspectives of Miles' sister Grace and Avia, a reporter who was involved with Nick while he was researching the stuff that got him killed. I'm still on the fence about Grace. It will be interesting to see where she goes with her influence after the events of Witchmark. I do hope at some point Polk will loop back around and give us more of Miles and Tristan, however! I've grown quite attached to them.

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