Ig is a slave, bound by magic and forced to carry out executions under pain of death. However, as civil unrest and death counts rise in the volcanic city of Mira, he searches for a way to free himself before he’s ordered to take even more innocent lives. Flames of Mira by Clay Harmon is a propulsive and genre-bending novel that blends together sci-fi and fantasy. First off, I really love this book’s science-based magic system. For instance, magic users called elementals undergo the harrowing process of binding themselves to a periodic element (i.e. iron, sodium, or magnesium) in order to wield it. For spoilery reasons that are disclosed later, Ig has the unique ability to use electromagnetism and control lava, which makes for some really cool Magneto or Mistborn -esque fight scenes. On top of that, I felt that Ig made for a really compelling main character. He’s tormented from all the lives he’s taken and he’s faced with difficult moral dilemmas. Towards the end, the story ...