The Inquisitor's Apprentice

Sacha Kessler is an immigrant, Jewish boy living in the tenements in this alternate New York City about the year 1900. His New York is divided into all the various ethnic groups each with their own varieties of magic. The Wizards of Wall Street really are wizards. In fact, J. P. Morgaunt would like to control all the magic and make all but his illegal. He is the villain of the story.When Sacha shows an unexpected magical ability he is apprenticed to Inquisitor Wolf of the New York Police who is tasked with controlling magical usage in the city. Lily Astral is also chosen as an apprentice. The two kids couldn't have less in common. Lily is the very rich daughter of the most well known social hostess in New York.The first case that the apprentices accompany Wolf on is an assassination attempt on Thomas Edison who is portrayed as an inventor who is also a publicity hound and who has invented a way to detect magic. Wolf and Sacha see it is the first attempt to find all magic users, regulate them, and maybe even deport them.The story gave a really good picture of what life was like for the immigrant Jews around 1900, if you discount the magic. I liked the world building that the author did about a turbulent time in New York City. I liked the way Sacha really only knew his way around his own small neighborhood and seldom went to the parts of town where the Irish or the Italians settles. Harry Houdini and Teddy Roosevelt are also characters in this story.Fans of alternate history will enjoy this story.

Ok, so we found this series on a library run this summer, but I PURCHASED them, I loved them so much! The story is a wonderful mix of genuine historical setting (New York's famous Bowery District, at the turn the century) and magic!The MC, Sacha, is a Jewish immigrant who tries to hide his Jewishness from his co-apprentice, a wealthy young girl his same age, Lilly. They are apprentices of the (in)famous Inspector Wolf.The first case, preventing the murder of Harry Houdini, soon revolves around Sacha's grandfather and Kabbalist "magic" -- which is really the non-practice of magic, but not for the evil commercial reasons put forward by the villain.We entered this series on the second book, which features the electrocution of the "Klezmer King" (a klezmer is a clarinet). I'm always on the lookout for new, different music-related stories.I won't spoil either mystery, but Ms. Moriarty is a superb plotress and I'm reading to deconstruct her wizardry in these two.Visit my blog for more book reviews, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/

I wanted to like this one – it was enthusiastically recommended to me, but somehow it just didn’t work as well as I hoped. I actually read it in two sittings. I only got about a third of the way through the first time and set it aside for a while to see if I’d be more in the mood for it later. I did finish reading it finally, but didn’t feel satisfied with it by the end. I will say that the world building was A+! I loved all the details of the alternate history New York with the rich cultures and very clearly delineated class differences. The Jewish myths and magic theory wer something I’ve rarely seen in fiction/fantasy, and I was totally intrigued by all of it and would love to read more under normal circumstances. Sadly, I think it was the main characters that fell flat to me. From Sasha to Lily to Wolf, not one of them really connected with me – if anything, by the end of it, I was almost turned off by the characters. I think this is one of those rare times where an author tried so hard to make a character not be perfect that they became almost too unlikable to connect to. Both Lily and Sasha were so caught up in appearances and outright ashamed of their homes and families, and it was honestly ended painful for me as I kept reading. That, and I’m not sure the book actually had an ending? The climax of the story didn’t seem to actually solve any of the big issues. I understand leaving things open for a sequel if a book is intended to start a series, but it still should feel complete, and this one didn’t. All in all, I was disappointed, sadly. I may try one of the author’s other books as so much of this was enjoyable, but I doubt I’ll continue to read this series.

I started out loving this book; it has a wonderful feel of early twentieth century New York, and i really appreciated the use of Yiddish words and phrases that you don't often see in books about magic.However, i found the pace slow and monotonous at times,and the characters not very well described, other than Sacha. the last few chapters are the opposite; they go too fast, and it seems like there is no final struggle. I felt i was reading half a book, with no resolutions in sight. I was also disappointed that Inquisitor Wolf seemed to be full of mysteries that were not explained. I understand that there is a sequel, so many of the unanswered questions may be revealed in that book. i just don't know if i care enough to read it.

Ms Moriarty has taken the magic and wonder of J.K. Rowling' s Hogwarts gang and made it Kosher. I especially appreciated the alternative history aspect, mingling such historical figures as Edison and Houdini into the story. I do not wish to put the weight of the H.P. Series on the book, but rather recommend reading this story if you enjoyed the former series. I Will anticipate the next offering eagerly. As Mr Roosevelt would say..."BULLY!"

I am a big fan of well written and well conceived alternative histories. I'm not normally a fan of books about magic, at least not the sword and sorcery type. I am happy to report, this book has made me change my mind about the magic part. I was happy to believe in the magic of the world in this book.The descriptions were delightful and the characters, no matter how fantastic, were also believable.I look forward to reading more about these characters.I also look forward to sharing the books with my12 year old grandson.