Book Review: The Doctrines of Fire – C.L. Jarvis

The Doctrines of fire is a witty historical fantasy that is a little bit Sherlock Holmes, with a dash of dark magic.

The reader follows mature aged student George Stephens who has come to medical school on the back of a military background. Without the financial and quite frankly, social background             needed to survive amongst the elites he gets caught up in an academic rivalry for the ages.

Dependent on the good word, and charity of his professors, George falls into the hands of Dr. William Cullen and Dr. Joseph Black who are investigating a series of deaths among the student population. Things turn serious when it becomes clear their academic rival Dr. Brown has taken a rather unorthodox approach to his teaching methods, introducing students to a dangerous use of phlogiston. George has entered a world of dark chemystry, internal politics and mayhem. Being pulled in all directions, does he have what it takes to survive?

CJ Jarvis has taken dark academia and made it wickedly, addictively entertaining. Based on a real academic rivalry taking place in the 1800’s, this story flows off the page and grips the reader with its mystery and magical elements. What really stood out to me was the care which has gone into the accuracy of the language used for the time period, the science behind the doctrines and the awkwardness that can come from petty academic squabbles.

The author has clearly done an extensive amount of research, not only of the medical facilities and terms used in the time period Doctrines is set in, but also the way the language was used. By doing this, she has created an incredible immersive experience that feels like you have stepped back in time. I found myself talking like the professors every time I put the book down and had to remember that I lived in the 21st century.

She has also been very careful to unpack the magics behind the doctrines in a way that was historically relevant. Creating a magic system around phlogiston was such a fun way to explore some of the experimentation that occurred in the 1800’s. In this magic system certain people with an affiliation for the magic could pull, store and use phlogiston to create elements such as fire. It was also used in weaponry as a combustible component (which at the time was an element being studied and written about in academic papers). Personally, I thought this was such a nifty aspect of the book and I definitely nerded out over real science being infused into a fantasy novel.

The last thing I will mention is just how well Jarvis has been able to portray petty squabbles that turned dangerous for the students around the characters in question. If you have been exposed to academia in any way, shape, or form, this was another aspect of the book which grounded you into the real-world experiences of professors seeking their own end games regardless of the consequences. Friendships are not only lost but completely blown apart (literally) by sometimes the smallest difference of opinion and in this case, the stakes were too high to be ignored.

Doctrines of Fire was such a unique flavour of fantasy that I could see myself becoming utterly addicted to. I can’t wait to see where this author goes with the series!

For fans of PJ Nwosu's Dream of Death City, you are going to love this.