Dark Victory: Impossible to put down, once the action starts

Dark Victory by Michele Lang

Magda Lazarus has killed Adolf Hitler’s pet wizard, the Staff, but not before the Staff stole a fragment of the powerful Book of Raziel and used magic to reconstitute a corrupted version that is now in the hands of the Reich. Dark Victory begins as the invasion of Poland is imminent, and Magda is trying to decide on her next course of action.

In the early chapters, it seemed that Dark Victory wouldn’t be as compelling as Lady Lazarus. Magda’s decision-making process is a large part of the problem. She has several choices: stay put and accept a dire fate, escape to safety, or use a dangerous magic to get information from the imprisoned demon Asmodel — a magic that could make everything worse instead of better. It’s understandable that Magda would have difficulty deciding what to do, but it has the side effect of making the narrative itself seem less focused and dynamic than that of Lady Lazarus. Magda is more fun when she’s charging full speed ahead at a problem — even if what she’s doing is a bad idea. The other and smaller part of the issue, I think, is that it briefly seems that vampire politics will play a large role in the story. If there’s one thing we urban fantasy readers have a surfeit of, it’s vampire politics! (I’m pleased to report that this strand of the plot turns out to be much less prominent than it initially seems.)

The book becomes impossible to put down once Magda finally starts to act! This begins when she has the chance to meet Winston Churchill, and even more so when her sister is manipulated into going to Poland and Magda sets out to rescue her. Magda, Gisele, and Raziel wind up working with an underground resistance group there, using their special abilities to save as many people as possible, and later confronting Hitler himself at a stronghold fortified by dark magic. Michele Lang touches upon the horrors of the war but focuses more on the heroism of the resisters. It’s compelling stuff, especially when Magda’s powers enable some of Hitler’s victims to strike at him from beyond. Finally, Magda faces that often-asked question: would you kill Hitler if you had the chance? Adding further tension to the book is the problem of Asmodel. It’s often difficult for Magda to tell whether she’s really doing the right thing or whether she’s being maneuvered into serving Asmodel’s own ends instead.

As for the secondary characters, Gisele is given further depth here, and Eva is largely absent but is involved in an important and hazardous mission that has profound effects on what Magda and Gisele are doing. Lang also introduces several sympathetic new characters in Dark Victory, most of them members of the resistance. The reader’s affection for these characters raises the emotional stakes. The British angel, Albion, is awesome. Raziel, unfortunately, has become flatter. He seems more like a support character for Magda, always there to carry out his part in her plans, but indistinct as a person.

After the first few chapters, Dark Victory is a good read, in which Magda grows in her magical abilities and faces hard choices and horrific situations. I continue to be interested in what happens to her and her loved ones, and to what extent the course of history will be changed by her actions. LADY LAZARUS is a trilogy and will conclude with Rebel Angels, which I look forward to reading.