07-11-2026, 08:50 PM
#44: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews. Kate is getting the hang of being part of/leading the Pack (about 1500 or so werenimals), and gaining their respect. She doesn’t miss her mercenary work, or the temporary role at “The Order,” especially when it becomes clear through a series of alarming attacks that there are sleeper cells of “pure” humans that have infliltrated their allies who are trying to wipe out everyone with any hint of magical association with a weapon. Kate figures out their identities and defeats the plot; her ward is seriously injured in the process and needs saving through extreme measures.
There’s a moment during a lull in the fighting where their medical practitioner is sitting with Kate while they wait to see whether her ward responds to treatment. He has a terrific monologue that resonated.
“Humans tend to segregate the world: enemies on one side, friends on the other. Friends are people we know. Enemies are the Other. You can do just about anything to the Other. It doesn’t matter if this Other is actually guilty of any crimes, because it’s a matter of emotion, not logic. You see, angry people aren’t interested in justice. They just want an excuse to vent their rage. And once you become their Other, you’re no longer a person. You’re just an idea, an abstraction of everything that’s wrong with their world. Give them the slightest excuse, and they will tear you down. And the easiest way for them to target you as this Other is to find something that’s different about you. Color of your skin. The way you speak. The place you’re from. Magic. It comes and goes in cycles, Kate. Each new generation picks their own Other.”
There’s a moment during a lull in the fighting where their medical practitioner is sitting with Kate while they wait to see whether her ward responds to treatment. He has a terrific monologue that resonated.
“Humans tend to segregate the world: enemies on one side, friends on the other. Friends are people we know. Enemies are the Other. You can do just about anything to the Other. It doesn’t matter if this Other is actually guilty of any crimes, because it’s a matter of emotion, not logic. You see, angry people aren’t interested in justice. They just want an excuse to vent their rage. And once you become their Other, you’re no longer a person. You’re just an idea, an abstraction of everything that’s wrong with their world. Give them the slightest excuse, and they will tear you down. And the easiest way for them to target you as this Other is to find something that’s different about you. Color of your skin. The way you speak. The place you’re from. Magic. It comes and goes in cycles, Kate. Each new generation picks their own Other.”
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.