Trevor Blake possesses magical gifts like few others in his home village. Because of his abilities to move things with his mind, communicate over long distances, and conjure items, he’s distrusted and feared, forbidden to use his powers by his parents, able to train only in secret. His best friend Les has a great untapped, unidentified power, and shares a bond with Trevor. Together, they set off on a grand adventure, traveling to the city of Port-Of-Lords in their native country of Arucadi. Armed with some money, and letters of introduction, they hope to gain admittance to the Community, a group of people with supernatural powers like themselves. Unfortunately, disaster strikes almost immediately after arriving, leaving them destitute and jailed. Even after Veronica, a former member of the Community, saves them, their troubles are nowhere near over. A cunning, ruthless con man has plans for Trevor and Les, and he’ll bleed them dry of their power and identities if need be. Worse still, one of the Community has embarked upon a terrifying scheme to gain control of all the power available, and no one is safe. It’s up to Trevor, Les, Veronica, and a troubled young woman named Miryam to foil the multiple plots and save the Community, and themselves. The only problem is, it may take the ultimate sacrifice.
A Perilous Power is actually a prequel to Sabin’s first book, A School for Sorcery, though it isn’t obvious at first, save to sharp-eyed readers. Fast-paced, once the action and intrigue start, they don’t let up, taking the characters and the readers on a wild ride through a world struggling to reconcile the co-existence of technology and magic around the time of the Industrial Revolution. Though I often wanted to shake Trevor for being an idiot, his foolhardiness is sadly true to the character, making the losses he suffers all the more important in the long run. If Rowling collaborated with Dickens, they might produce something akin to A Perilous Power. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to Sabin’s next work.