Words&Dirt

Summary:

Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education is the first book in her Scholomance trilogy. The book drops readers into a grim fantasy world in which magicians are constantly threatened by “maleficaria,” a ravenous horde of magical monsters eager to devour the mana that each magician carries inside them. Adolescent magicians have a particularly high mortality rate, so all who are able to gain admission attend the “Scholomance,” a magic-fueled educational institution where teenagers are isolated from the rest of the world while they learn to defend themselves. Maleficaria still get in and many students die, but it’s the safest place statistically for magicians to come of age. The story is narrated by Galadriel, a junior at the Scholomance. Galadriel is gifted with powerful magical potential, but she is also extremely socially inept. A Deadly Education follows Galadriel as she attempts to build her reputation, make friends, and stay alive in the Scholomance’s highly-competitive and hierarchical social structure.

Key Concepts and Notes:

• A Deadly Education is a promising start to what I am confident will be a great series. The book has lots of good qualities, but Novik’s worldbuilding really stands out. It has been a long time since I was so impressed with a magic system and set of rules that seemed so coherent and physics-based. The maleficaria are essentially a personification (monsterification?) of entropy, and wizards must constantly contend with the “balancing principle” between mana (self-generated magic) and malia (magic siphoned from some other living thing against its will). Nobody gets something for nothing in Novik’s world; each magical feat requires the spellcaster(s) to spend mana or malia, and the spell will fail if they don’t have enough. Once used, mana must be painstakingly regenerated, typically through some effortful physical task such as exercise or crochet. Magicians can also draw malia from other lifeforms, but not without consequences that become more severe over time. I absolutely loved learning about each of Novik’s interlocking ideas, and am excited to continue the series to see where it’s all headed.
• Based on how these books are marketed, I was expecting Novik’s characterization and writing to be fairly poor. The writing is nothing special, but I was pleasantly surprised with the characters. Galadriel is a fun and offbeat protagonist, even if she’s also a cliché in some ways. The tone of her narration is angsty, sarcastic, and little emo, but not so much that I found her obnoxious. Galadriel’s defining quality is her intelligence; it’s a pleasure to be inside her head as she analyzes situations and revises her opinions when new information comes to light. The supporting characters are solid as well, and I look forward to seeing how they develop. I am a sucker for the “isolated and awkward hero learns to make friends and build community” scenario, and it looks like this is what Novik is going for.
• I was really impressed with how this novel handles ethical issues. On the personal level of virtue ethics, we learn early on that mass murder is second nature for Galadriel, but she works very hard not to harm others or utilize malia, even in life-threatening circumstances. She does lots of virtuous things but rarely gets any credit for them. Her contrast with Orion, another main character, invites the reader to consider the difference between prominent, performative heroism and hidden heroism that few people see or celebrate.
• Expanding into wider ethical territory, Novik offers insight into the nature of coordination problems, demonstrating how intelligent strategists can leverage individual self-interest in service of the common good. She’s also aware of how multipolar traps can cause intractable and destructive socioeconomic dynamics. She depicts a highly pluralistic magical society that seems to have overcome racism and sexism, but which continues to suffer from tribal, class-based inequalities perpetuated by disproportionate access to resources and opportunities.
• Finally, I love how Novik’s characters are all smart, resourceful, and resilient, even if they are also flawed. The brutality of their situation has honed these young people into calculated problem-solvers who can take a lot of hits before they go down for good. This makes them fun and easy to root for.

Favorite Quotes:

Some sorcerers get an affinity for weather magic, or transformation spells, or fantastic combat magics like dear Orion. I got an affinity for mass destruction…

When I want to straighten my room, I get instructions on how to kill it with fire. (6-7)

It’s too easy to call people evil instead of their choices, and that lets people justify making evil choices, because they convince themselves that it’s okay because they’re still good people overall, inside their own heads.

And yes, fine, but I think after a certain number of evil choices, it’s reasonable shorthand to decide that someone’s an evil person who oughtn’t have the chance to make any more choices. And the more power someone has, the less slack they ought to be given. So how many chances did I get? How many had I used up?…Had I just given myself a taste of power that was going to lead me straight to a monstrous destiny so inevitable that it had been foreseen more than a decade ago by someone who’d wanted to love me? (142-3)

That’s all that magic is, after all. You start with a clear intention, your destination; you gather up the power; and then you send the power traveling down the road, giving the clearest directions you can, whether it’s with words or goop or metal. The better the directions are, the more well-traveled the road, the easier it is for the power to get to where you want it to go; that’s why most wizards can’t just invent their own spells and recipes. But I can blaze a trail to Mordor anytime I want…

And that thought is exactly why I knew I had to stop, I knew I had to let it all go…I knew it the way you know the sixth biscuit in a row isn’t good for you and you’ll be sorry, and they’re not even really very nice, and yet you keep eating them anyway. (175-6)

I was reasonably sure that my one tried-and-true method of being aggressively rude wasn’t actually how normal people made their friends. (192)

Hope is a good strong drink, especially when you can get someone else to buy it for you. (260)

I hate this school more than anyplace in the entire world, not least because every once in a while, you get forcibly reminded that the place was built by geniuses who were trying to save the lives of their own children, and you’re unspeakably lucky to be here being protected by their work. Even if you’ve been allowed in only as another useful cog. (276)

Rating: 8/10