That Devil, Ambition is the latest dark YA Fantasy novel by author Linsey Miller, author of the Mask of Shadows duology, as well as the stand alone novels Belle Revolte and What We Devour (to name just her YA Fantasy work). The novel is based upon an idea that I feel is becoming rather common/overplayed of late: teens going to a school - usually of magic - that is deadly to its students, whether that be through the acts of the teachers, the students themselves, or the school building and spirits hanging around there (see Naomi Novik's Scholomance among others). Miller's work is generally extremely dark and uses her dark fantasy settings to play with some really interesting themes, so I was very curious to see her take on this setting.
And That Devil, Ambition pays off by really interrogating the reasoning and concepts behind this setting, all through a plot that follows 3 students involved in the deadly honors class: Fabian - an ambitious former noble looking to redeem his family line, Credence - a math genius from a foreign country who is relying upon her to succeed, and Euphemia (Mia) - a seemingly aloof an absent minded genius who struggles with other people. As part of the Honors Class, they will only graduate if they manage to kill their professor, an immensely powerful summoned Devil - but they will be killed if they fail in an attempt or if they fail to kill him by the end of the year. The three of them, and their classmates, are all forced into this honors class by oppressive student debt and impossible circumstances, and the story uses this setup to tell a strong tale about power, corrupt institutions perpetrating that power and trying to maintain it over others, debt (student debt especially) and the way it crushes those who have it, and more. It's some really good stuff and I highly recommend this book as usual for Miller.
More after the Jump:
Plot Summary:
The Stellarium of Cifra is the only school on the continent that trains magicians, particularly in the art of Severance - separating one's soul from their body - the dangerous art that is the basis of all magic. Naturally the school's tuition is a small fortune (and it's even more for the limited number of foreign students from other nations who are allowed to attend), such that most can only afford it by taking out painful student loans. But becoming a graduate of the Stellarium opens all of the possibilities of the world such that many take on those loans in hopes of accomplishing that feat...and for those who dare, there exists a path towards forgiveness of those loans: the Honors class. Students who make it into the Honors class and pass have their entire tuition reimbursed. There's just one problem: the Honors class is taught by a summoned Devil and to pass the class, the students have to find a way to kill that devil...or be killed in turn at the end of the year.
Fabian, Credence, and Euphemia (Mia) are three of the thirteen students in the Honors class this year, all needing desperately to pass. For Fabian, the top student in their class, that's to pay off his student loans and to re-establish his noble family's line after falling into disgrace. For Credence, the brilliant yet often hesitant math genius, it's to become the magician her nation of Arinsal needs...as they may not get another entrant into the school for a few years. And for Euphemia, it's to prove herself and maybe to tear it all down. The three are inseparable - Fabian seemingly the leader helping awkward antisocial Euphemia manage her life and Credence her hesitation - but their own wants and secrets will come storming out as the year goes on, as attempt after attempt on the Devil's life fails to kill him and their time to kill him comes closer and closer to the end.
That Devil, Ambition is told in three parts chronologically, with each part coming from the perspective of a different one of the three protagonists - first Fabian, then Credence, and finally Euphemia. This lends a bit of mystery to the novel as each of the three protagonists is very different, and each of them sees the world very differently. It also allows for recontextualization as we jump eyes in each act and realize things look different from another view.
For Fabian, he sees the world as one he deserved more from as he comes from a noble family that fell out of money and honor (and his parents were and are....not good), something that he aims to change: after all, if he passes the honor's class, his debts will be repaid and he will have proven his Galloway name worthy of its past prestige. To do that, he affects a visage as the teacher's pet, all the while he tries to scheme and plot his way to success...and anyone he doesn't care about is simply a tool to be used. He does genuinely care about Mia as his closest companion from home and Credence, who he befriended at first due to her math skills and since now only wants the best for her...but others can be discarded, even if those others are liked by his two friends. He also has the absolute belief that his class ranking of number 1 represents how great he truly is. And yet this atmosphere also makes Fabian internally lonely, especially as his two friends seem to find others for romantic attachments...while the person he's interested in is Irene, a snobbish noble top ranker who he absolutely cannot trust.
By contrast, Credence is the closest thing of any of the three to being "morally good", as she genuinely wants to do right with her magical skills - all being underlined by her great work in math. She has a crush on Henry (and it's mutual) and can't resist connecting with him even though it might limit her options in the Honors class and relies upon Fabian to stop hesitating over whether her choices might be right or wrong - especially when she feels the pressure of her whole nation relying upon her. And so when she has to act on her own, she falls into disarray, struggling with what the Honors class and its kill or be killed mantra tries to crush into her.
And then there's Euphemia, who is asexual (but not aromantic) and seemingly on the spectrum, not really the best at communicating with anyone who isn't Fabian. Her secret - which I won't go into too much here for spoiling - is that she is far smarter and takes far more care in her own external disarray than anyone notices, and is more aware of what is really going on in the world than her two compatriots...an awareness that leads her to be willing to do some truly monstrous actions to keep herself and her friends alive.
The three characters and their differing views and personalities shine as they deal with the Devil Professor and their fellow students as days go by and their time to kill the professor gets shorter and shorter. And this allows the book to really demonstrate the real question every book like this should ask: Why would anyone create a magic school that kills its students like this? And this book answers the question: for the same reason an elite school would require crippling student loans (like this one does), to limit the school to the elite and make the less elite students have to jump through extra hoops just to reap any of the same benefits...all the while acting like the school is still also giving opportunities to those less fortunate students. The nation of Cifra uses the school and the honors class to hoard magical talent and prevent other nations from obtaining same...and to keep its own poorer students down, as they need to go through the honors class just to have a chance and most likely they'll die in the process. And of course, for the students to survive, they'll often have to corrupt themselves in the process, making them just as despicable as the system that they were forced into. All of this makes clear sense through our trio's eyes, and it comes to a head in the conclusion, where one of the main trio decides to take on the system itself, only to find out how difficult and horrible her actions would have to be to try to make a difference, even if it's at all possible. Mind you, the story does end with a glimmer of hope, but it's dark and it's powerful.
There's a lot more I could go into here as That Devil, Ambition is truly a compelling read (I basically haven't even gone into the professor Devil at all), such that even the usual Miller flaws I complain about weren't even that bad this time (as usual, some of the secondary characters I had trouble telling apart, but it wasn't nearly as bad as in the other books of hers I've read). Really the flaws don't matter here - this is an excellent thought provoking and compelling dark fantasy and I highly recommend it.
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