The pay off, however, is some significant character development in the second half of the novel. As a much more well-balanced person, Fay also feels less frustrating to read about, or at least she did for me. This often tempers what we’ve seen from Kayden’s perspective and also gives us a perspective on Kayden’s actions that is not her own. One aspect of the novel that helped with this, I think, is that we get regular viewpoints from Fay’s perspective. Gregoire has done a fantastic job of writing an unlikeable character that I still enjoyed reading about! This is incredibly difficult to do, but I’m glad he managed it because I ended up enjoying the ride. While Kayden is certainly unlikeable, it’s obvious that we’re supposed to find her frustrating and difficult to relate to. There is also a secondary viewpoint character, the administrator of Kayden’s magic school campus, Fay Annis. The novel also features a rather unlikeable protagonist in Kayden Jayta. The world building in this regard is deep and well thought out. The larger history behind the use of Zarantar (the name for the magic in Gregoire’s world), the three possibilities for using it, and other details kept me engaged and looking for additional tidbits to be dropped. It isn’t a hard magic system by any means, but the magic still plays a significant role and we understand how it works just enough to allow it to play that role. The magic system itself was also interesting. The Order is somewhat Jedi-like, and I really enjoyed a setting where an international organization of magic users played a significant role. I always read novels primarily for enjoyment, but in this case I had trouble putting it down from the very start. The first thing that jumped out to me about the novel was just how much fun I had reading it. One of the things I think is wonderful about self-published novels is that authors can improve them in this way. This review is based on this second edition of the novel. I should also note that after receiving feedback through SPFBO, Gregoire revised the work, had it edited, and acquired new cover art. I love stories where magic plays a big role, and that’s absolutely the case here. This book has interesting magic, an unlikeable - but very well-crafted - protagonist, and engaging emotional beats. There’s no particular reason for this, outside of a towering TBR that I haven’t been able to tame for years. It took me entirely too long to actually read it. I came across Ian Gregoire’s The Exercise of Vital Powers when it was an entry in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off.
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