Book Review: Convergence by Craig Alanson
The world's magic is starting to come back after centuries of barely existing, and there’s only one wizard left to use it. Despite being alone, he’s the most hunted man on the planet and is barely staying ahead of a dark organization that wants to control him. The only things he can rely on are a talking dog and his 9mm.
Despite all of the people hunting him, Kazimir Wolf is trying to find out why his world and the magical realm seem to be drawing closer. He finds help from several unique warriors from out of time and another secret organization that had been trying to find him. This hunt leads him and his dog on a cross-country run-and-gun journey to stop the “Convergence.”
Along with his dog, he eventually picks up a few other friends who were sent to him from ancient times. Giselle, a young Celtic warrior, was the first to join him, having been sent from the post-Roman period to protect him from the coming threat. Macarious is a grizzled warrior from a similar time when Christian sects controlled much of Egypt.
The trio works together to combat the arrival of monsters and magic, while also evading the FBI, an evil organization, and another unknown group. This fight puts all of them in an RV, on the run, while Kaz has to teach these two ancient warriors about the modern world. Between history lessons and target practice to get them used to firearms, this trio sets the stage for the coming fight while learning the secrets that had been hidden for generations.
Just like Craig Alanson’s other series, the best part of the story, in my opinion, is the relationship between Kaz and his dog Duke. We get to watch a dog be able to talk because a wizard from ancient Babylon managed to accidentally channel himself into the dog instead of his intended target. The banter of a mostly normal dog complaining about the evil of rodents or how cats can’t be trusted is the perfect counterbalance to Kaz constantly worrying about having to figure out how to use his magic to save the world.
Despite the focus on humor, the depth of the work Craig Alanson put into building out this magic system is amazing. During most of book one, the magic appears very soft, with a lot of potential for Kaz to do a lot of different things. But as the series moves forward, that changes to make this a much more heavily thought-out magic system that fans of hard magic systems would enjoy.
This urban fantasy story is a fast-paced, easy read. Besides the gripping story, Craig Alanson proves once again that he is a master of lacing humor into serious tales. This series has been a fun one for me to read, especially as a break from bigger reads like the Stormlight Archives.
