★★★★☆ A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, by T Kingfisher
Creativity trumps raw power
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
T Kingfisher
** spoiler alert **
Creativity trumps raw power
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking was, I believe, the first T. Kingfisher book I ever read. I had previously read some of her books for younger children published under the name Ursula Vernon -- thus I knew her sense of humor. And of course the title "A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking" was irresistible. It did not disappoint. Since reading Defensive Baking I have gone on to read several other Kingfisher books. They are all good, but Defensive Baking remains one of my favorites.
Mona is a fourteen-year-old assistant baker. She is also a wizard. Mona's city is defended by a bunch of older wizards. The wizards of Mona's city are pretty small-bore magickers. Each of them is capable of minor manipulation of some particular subject realm. Mona's is baking -- she can animate baked goods, such as gingerbread men.
A corpse shows up at her bakery. It turns out a murderer is stalking the wizards of Mona's city, and since they are its defense, this is scary. In fact, Mona's city comes under attack. When Mona reports the murder she comes to the attention of the city authorities. She is acquitted of any wrong-doing, but they want her help in defending the city, which she supplies.
This is a good story because it turns out that none of the city's wizards is a Gandalf or a Merlin. None of them is very powerful. Their ability to accomplish remarkable things results from using their power creatively. Mona, it turns out, is very good at this, so fourteen-year-old Mona becomes one of the city's best defenders.
The story doesn't end in the obvious place. It ends on a political note. Mona attacks the leadership of the city for failing to handle problems that should never arise, instead kicking the can down to the wizards. (The politics don't align in any obvious way with real-world politics, so don't worry about Kingfisher making veiled nasty remarks about your favorite real-world political leader.) This issue also comes up in Kingfisher's Minor Mage, which I also enjoyed.
I have seen that many other reviewers complain of these political reflections. I, in contrast, found them a strength of both novels.