Book Review: The Conductors by Nicole Glover

OK, I’m disappointed. In myself, mostly, for never getting this one, but also in the story – because I simply cannot find my way into this one, and I REALLY wanted to…

First off, huge kudos to Nicole Glover for a brilliant concept (and on the marvelous cover selection). It’s highly original and a take on magic that has never been done before to my knowledge. There is a tremendous amount of possibility that she has opened up for herself here – but therein lies the rub for me… While her concept is spot-on and is so original in a genre (magical detective stories, as a broad-brush description) that is quite saturated, her world-building left me floundering.

Unfortunately, it’s precisely because of the wonderful originality that I found this one so difficult to follow. There is very little actual world-building here – and when you set up a unique world, I think you simply have to spend a decent amount of time establishing it’s rules and rationales if you want people to feel connected to it. The magical system of sigils based on the Zodiac was present from the opening pages, but never really explained – and that, paired with my non-existent knowledge about the signs and their component stars and meanings, left me confused and uncertain about why things were being done and what their impact was/should be.

In an opener for a series, I would have expected (and appreciated) a lot more stage setting – without it, I struggled to feel a connection to this magical world. The characters also felt a little under-developed for a first-in-series. There were a LOT of them, and with so many characters introduced throughout the course of the story, with overlapping relationships that I never felt like I fully appreciated, this made it tough for me to connect.

This is a truly cool idea, but I just couldn’t find my way into it like I wanted to at this time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy. I’m definitely going to have to come back to this one for another look one of these days. There’s simply too much promise for me to leave it on an unhappy note…