An interesting take on magic and life on Mars. I enjoyed this novel for the most part, although it was a bit slow in some places and utterly confusing in others. The main characters were fairly well developed, but some of the side characters could have used a bit more fleshing out. The ending was rather abrupt, and a little disappointing. However, in general the story was intriguing enough to be worth a read. My favorite part was the way the author combined the science fiction and fantasy elements in what (at least for me) was a unique way.

Mars is a mining colony with a recent upheaval in its political systems. The miners want to govern themselves and not have Earth ruling them and gaining all the profits from their labors. There is also a dispute about the use of magic on the planet - magic has been used to find the mineral veins they mine but there are disputes about the wizards powers. Enter Adrian Capstan, who has been dreaming of going to Mars since he was a child, literally. He has been sent messages drawing him to the magical energy of the planet and now he is going as part of a Pod crew. While they are on the way the crew is stricken with a debilitating illness. Adrian finds he can draw on his connection to the planet and use some of the spells he learn in his studies on earth to cure the crew. As he reaches the planet he finds he is capable of doing much more. He and the crew begin a campaign to restore the wizards and the planet from the destruction of the revolution.
This is a thrilling, life or death race to accomplish what Adrian was drawn here to do. It is a very enjoyable read.

Adrian has been through some hard times. But now his lifelong dream is being fulfilled. He is a crew member on a trip to Mars! Mars has been colonized for its rare metals. But with any new enterprise, factions have been fighting for control. The current government has imposed strict restrictions on using magic. This might be a problem for Adrian, who increasingly feels Mars calling out to him to be a wizard. Can he help the embattled and hunkered down wizards of Mars defeat their oppressors? Will he find a use for the spells that he has learned by reading ancient texts on Earth? Especially The Seventh Spell that is so obscure that even he doesn’t see its utility?

Even though you don’t know the answers to those questions yet, I do know that you will enjoy this rousing tale of how one “throwaway” foster kid finds his niche in a land far, far away. The Seventh Spell is highly recommended to “space opera” fans of Robert Heinlein or the original Star Wars trilogy. This is not science fiction only for those with a graduate degree in physics. This is a tale about people, and what is more fascinating than that. 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with a review copy.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It had an interesting take on magic: certain spells being claimed by mages and the mage's power being tied to Mars. The end of the book, although it answered some questions, kind of left me wanting more. I want to hear more about who is in charge of Mars now, if Adrian does actually go back to Mars (he said he would be), and I want to know in depth what happened to Jurgen and Miles and Clara and the rest of the circle. I also want to know more about life in the new city. I would love to learn more about Earth's magic too: does anyone ever prove that there used to be magic on Earth and if it will ever come back.

Overall though, the book was well written. The book was fairly fast paced and kept me interested pretty much the whole time. Especially after Adrian starts using his magic more and lands on Mars. The world building was decent. I like the characters for the most part; I might have liked a little more character development though.

A big thank you to the author, publisher, NetGalley, and Publisher's Weekly for giving me the chance to read an e-arc of this adventurous and magic-filled science fiction book.

I used to read a lot of Davis Bunn books close to 20 years ago. When I saw his name pop up on NetGalley I sent a request right away.
This was very different from his other books I've read, but was intrigued to read Mr. Bunn writing about magic in outer space.
The Seventh Spell is about Adrian who is a wizard, only able to access his powers by leaving Earth's orbit and travelling to Mars. He has 7 ancient spells that he uses throughout.
As I was reading this I felt like I was going in mid way through a series. I actually checked multiple times to see if this was linked to other books. At times I thought I must have missed some chapters with more information- but that wasn't the case. For someone who reads a lot of fantasy, there is usually a lot of world building- and I'm used to reading books set in another world etc but this wasn't the case with this book.
I felt like I needed more information, as well as more character development to really be invested in the plot of the book.
It was a fast paced book, but I just felt it was a lot happening without a lot of context.
It also gave me COVID vibes at time- which I personally didn't enjoy, but others may.
This was written in 3rd person narrative, which I also didn't care for- but a personal preference.
Overall this was really not for me. I needed way more detail to be invested.

I find the idea of the book very fascinating: magic on Mars. I was very curious to see how this story would develop.

For me, the book was rather mediocre. Half the time I didn't know where the author was going with it at all. Whenever the protagonist made a groundbreaking discovery - and there were many - he told his companions, but not the reader. So I never knew whether these questions would be answered at some point or whether they would remain open. I also felt that the book ended abruptly, as if the author had a page limit and it was reached.

In my opinion, there was no real arc of suspense. The protagonist can do anything, is overpowered and of course nothing ever happens to him. He doesn't develop at all. Everyone always listens immediately to what he has to say and follows him blindly without really questioning him. And, of course, everything he does works.

The book is probably the right choice for people who want to read savior stories.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

A different type of book. Lovely but different. I rated it 4 stars and I think you'll love it If you like mystery. 4 stars for me.