The Magician's Brother Series by H.D.A. Roberts

In my world, magic is an everyday thing. It's on street corners; it's in our schools, our homes and even our governments. Magic carpets share the sky with jets, international boxing shares air time with magical duellists. It's a whole mess, but then nobody consulted me before outing every mage on the planet.My twin brother is a Wizard, and thinks he's the only magician in the family... moreIn my world, magic is an everyday thing. It's on street corners; it's in our schools, our homes and even our governments. Magic carpets share the sky with jets, international boxing shares air time with magical duellists. It's a whole mess, but then nobody consulted me before outing every mage on the planet.My twin brother is a Wizard, and thinks he's the only magician in the family. It's actually a little funny that he hasn't suspected anything different in the last seventeen years, what with my constantly needing to keep his idiot face out of danger and stupidity, but that's not today's problem.You see, someone's trying to kill him. It started off with a shadow monster that was all but immune to my magic attacking him at school, and it went steadily downhill from there, meandering through an encounter with a succubus (a species I was told categorically didn't exist anymore), to nearly getting abducted by murderous homeless men and blasted by the government's anti-magic police, and that was just Monday!While I'm trying to help the idiot, I'm also doing my level best to keep him from finding out about my own powers (which are frankly so sinister that I was terrified of my own shadow for the first decade of my life), and make sure that in my blundering about trying to solve a mystery I can't trust the Supernatural Crimes Authority to investigate correctly, I don't draw the attention of the people with horrific monsters at their beck and call.Family can be such a pain... less

My twin brother has started to go mad, and my powers are the cause. Nobody knows how to stop it and all the facts are telling me that unless I can cure him, my brother is very likely going to try and kill me soon. And that's just how this whole mess starts.. moreMy twin brother has started to go mad, and my powers are the cause. Nobody knows how to stop it and all the facts are telling me that unless I can cure him, my brother is very likely going to try and kill me soon. And that's just how this whole mess starts... From there I run face first into a whole stack of problems, including a crazy werewolf girl, a large pack of flesh-eating ghouls and a trip to the greatest repository of magical knowledge in the world, where someone like me is definitely not welcome. There, I discover dark secrets from before the birth of modern civilisation, and make an enemy of the toughest woman I've ever met, one whose motto may as well have been 'when in doubt, stab it a lot'! If that wasn't enough, Windward Academy has a new magic teacher, who also doesn't like me very much (who does these days?). She's not only far more powerful than I am, she's also hiding secrets of her own, any one of which could vastly complicate an already touchy situation. But I can't let any of that stop me. I've got to find a way to help Des, but the only paths open to me are costly and horrifically dangerous. No matter what I do, I'm bound to lose something precious. I still have to try. less

Archons, Fanatics, Fairies, Black Magic, Shadowborn... As if my life wasn't already complicated enough, now the Archons are back, and they're searching for their lost brother. My school is overrun by a new crop of Magicians who can't keep a civil tongue in their heads, an ancient group of Shadowborn-hating fanatics has crawled out of the woodwork with a bag of powerful toys and the ruthlessness required to use them, and to top it all off, I've managed to draw the attention of the Fae... moreArchons, Fanatics, Fairies, Black Magic, Shadowborn... As if my life wasn't already complicated enough, now the Archons are back, and they're searching for their lost brother. My school is overrun by a new crop of Magicians who can't keep a civil tongue in their heads, an ancient group of Shadowborn-hating fanatics has crawled out of the woodwork with a bag of powerful toys and the ruthlessness required to use them, and to top it all off, I've managed to draw the attention of the Fae. If you thought the attentions of a Succubus could be a pain, wait and see what an obsessed Unseelie Princess with a penchant for kidnapping and dirty tricks gets up to. Fanatics to the left, Fairies to the right and Black Magic creeping up the middle, tempting me and repulsing me in equal measure, drawing the attention of enemies I could never have anticipated. Oh, and my brother tries to kill me. Again. I knew I should have made a break for a different continent when I had the chance... less

There's a new Magical drug flooding the streets, capable of giving Magic to humans. It's addictive, powerful... and it's not what people think it is. I make a powerful new enemy, alienating the other Archons in the process, and she's clever enough to make me regret it, drawing me ever deeper into a web of vice, power and evil that I struggle to untangle before it's too late. I discover new allies, but also new threats, and terrors from when humanity was young... moreThere's a new Magical drug flooding the streets, capable of giving Magic to humans. It's addictive, powerful... and it's not what people think it is. I make a powerful new enemy, alienating the other Archons in the process, and she's clever enough to make me regret it, drawing me ever deeper into a web of vice, power and evil that I struggle to untangle before it's too late. I discover new allies, but also new threats, and terrors from when humanity was young. Monsters close in from every side, bringing heartbreak, loss and guilt. It will take everything I have to get out of this with my sanity intact and my precious hide in one piece. And that doesn't even cover the second fairy princess, the large coven of vampires, the crazy Death Mage I get stuck with, and a city so foul, it's known simply as Gomorrah. To think, there was a time when I thought getting attacked by a Demon King was the worst thing that could happen to me... less

University was supposed to be a time of exploration, of learning and new discoveries... I probably should have guessed that my problems weren't just going to vanish because I was feeling optimistic. The Fairy peoples have cut themselves off, taking important parts of me with them. A new threat emerges, wrapped in a righteousness that serves only to conceal a dreadful rot... moreUniversity was supposed to be a time of exploration, of learning and new discoveries... I probably should have guessed that my problems weren't just going to vanish because I was feeling optimistic. The Fairy peoples have cut themselves off, taking important parts of me with them. A new threat emerges, wrapped in a righteousness that serves only to conceal a dreadful rot. Demons start to circle, Black Magic grows in power and influence, and my old enemies are starting to band together in the service of a new darkness. And if you think all that's not enough to be going on with, an old flame turns up, just to make sure that it all hurts as much as possible. It's going to take luck, cunning and a colossal bagful of dirty tricks to get out of this one intact, and I'm pretty sure I spent all my luck the last time something tried to eat me... Oh well; let's give it the old college try. less

It’s been nine months since I had my first brush with Black Magic, nearly a year since the Fairy Realms were cut off from our world.My life has become peaceful, routine. I have friends, I have a girlfriend, and all is right with the world.Or it was, anyway.One night is all it takes for things to go from perfect to perilous, one night in which my life is turned upside down, thrusting me into a war for my very survival... moreIt’s been nine months since I had my first brush with Black Magic, nearly a year since the Fairy Realms were cut off from our world.My life has become peaceful, routine. I have friends, I have a girlfriend, and all is right with the world.Or it was, anyway.One night is all it takes for things to go from perfect to perilous, one night in which my life is turned upside down, thrusting me into a war for my very survival.One night that was supposed to be fun and joyous; the night where I met my girlfriend’s family.You might argue that I should have seen it coming.Crystal’s family are Vampires, after all...But come on, how was I supposed to know that turning up for dinner would trigger a chain of events that nearly ends civilisation as we know it?You know what, don’t answer that... less

A powerful enemy is defeated, his dreams of conquest shattered.We won.But so did he.His final act damaged my Well, the source of my Magic, perhaps beyond repair. My body is failing as my own powers slowly kill me.I have to find a cure before it’s too late, but there are so few people who can even understand what’s wrong, much less how to go about fixing it.Not even my fellow Archons know how to help, and my sources are coming up dry... moreA powerful enemy is defeated, his dreams of conquest shattered.We won.But so did he.His final act damaged my Well, the source of my Magic, perhaps beyond repair. My body is failing as my own powers slowly kill me.I have to find a cure before it’s too late, but there are so few people who can even understand what’s wrong, much less how to go about fixing it.Not even my fellow Archons know how to help, and my sources are coming up dry.Desperation is driving me into branches of Magic some might consider dangerous and that others would gladly kill me for just looking at.But it’s either that or surrender to my end...Dangerous Magic it is! less

In the quest to save my life, I delved into unnatural powers and changed myself utterly. I mastered new forms of Magic and discovered others. I expanded my knowledge, learned and grew; both as a Magician and as a man.It wasn’t enough.All I managed to do was to buy myself some time, and now that time is running out.My brother has fought me every step of the way... moreIn the quest to save my life, I delved into unnatural powers and changed myself utterly. I mastered new forms of Magic and discovered others. I expanded my knowledge, learned and grew; both as a Magician and as a man.It wasn’t enough.All I managed to do was to buy myself some time, and now that time is running out.My brother has fought me every step of the way. He even murdered my one hope of a cure and, in his demented desire to finish the job, went digging into mysteries he had no business with.Now he’s been taken. Body and Soul; possessed by the first conqueror, the monster who destroyed mankind’s first stab at complex civilisation.Desmond was dangerous when he was simply the First Shadow. An idiot with power is still lethal. Now, he has the power of an Archon coupled with the ability and intellect of the very first Black Magician.I couldn’t stop him before.What the hell am I going to do now? less