Good Guys

Written by Steven Brust

Narrated by Kevin T. Collins

A snarky, irreverent tale of secret magic in the modern world, the first solo stand-alone novel in two decades from Steven Brust, the New York Times bestselling author of the Vlad Taltos series

Donovan was shot by a cop. For jaywalking, supposedly. Actually, for arguing with a cop while black. Four of the nine shots were lethal-or would have been, if their target had been anybody else. The Foundation picked him up, brought him back, and trained him further. “Lethal” turns out to be a relative term when magic is involved.

When Marci was fifteen, she levitated a paperweight and threw it at a guy she didn't like. The Foundation scooped her up for training too.

“Hippie chick” Susan got well into her Foundation training before they told her about the magic, but she's as powerful as Donovan and Marci now.

They can teleport themselves thousands of miles, conjure shields that will stop bullets, and read information from the remnants of spells cast by others days before.

They all work for the secretive Foundation . . . for minimum wage.

Which is okay, because the Foundation are the good guys. Aren't they?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781541444782

Steven Brust

STEVEN BRUST is the author of a number of bestselling fantasy novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Dzur and Tiassa. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reviews for Good Guys

[skybalon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting foray into the magical urban fantasy genre. Worth the read.

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mostly I just like Brust’s Jhereg stories, and To Reign in Hell, but I didn’t bounce off of this one as I have some recent Brust. Donovan and his team—Hippie Chick (the bruiser) and New Girl (the sorceror) are part of the Foundation, whose ill-paid job is to protect magic from general discovery and catch those misusing it. When people connected to the other main magical organization start turning up killed in magical, and increasingly gruesome, ways, Donovan and his team investigate, even though the people they’re protecting have done some very bad things. Not quite as much about bureaucracy as The Laundry Files, but somewhat in that vein, as a low-level operative tries to save the world and, though he’s pretty sure he’s on the right side, deal with the things that his organization allows that are not very right at all.

[jfe16 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When Donovan is shot nine times, four of those shots are lethal . . . but Donovan doesn’t die because The Foundation picked him up, brought him back, trained him. At fifteen, Marci levitated a paperweight and threw it at a guy she did not like. The Foundation scooped her up, too, and trained her, just like Donovan. And Susan.It’s all about the magic.Now the three can teleport themselves thousands of miles, conjure up shields to stop bullets, read information from the remaining fragments of spells cast by others, even days before. They work for the secretive Foundation because they’re the good guys. Aren’t they?Snarky, irreverent, campy, and filled with fun, readers will find this witty, fast-paced fantasy, peopled with complicated characters, nuanced and hopeful. As the two factions work to keep magic from becoming common knowledge, readers may wish for more information on this world and its magical societies. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining tale of murder with a magic assist.

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is not a sequel! I had to check because I wasn't comfortable reading it until I was sure.A fun cookie of a book with seriously dark chips. Two organizations of magic users with somewhat different ethics are involved in a series of murders one investigating one as victims - or is it so clear cut? Medical biller, PI wanna be, with all the skills but not the title, Donovan Longfellow with magic practitioner Marci Sullivan and martial artist Susan Kouris are getting into increasingly risky situations as they investigate the (implausibly) unbroken chain of murders. The characters were good, the writing smooth and appropriate, the action moved well and logically except for the perfect detection of the murders in the very timely fashion with little to support such omnipotent efficiency.