Actually, fairies don’t have problems with technology. One of Harry’s concerns is that Molly can now use a cell phone, which means she’s becoming more Fae and less wizard/human. I strongly, strongly suspect it is the same with dragons, Forest People, etc.
As the series goes on, I’m having MORE trouble explaining a few things, rather than less. Not quite sure how to phrase it. . . Let’s see: Any creature that has natural magic doesn’t affect tech. See, where it falls apart for me is that wizards have an inherent ability with magic, which normal people don’t. I’m not sure how to make the distinction now.
Wizards have inherent power, but they don’t have inherent control. They have to work to get it, and even when they do, the magical energy is still in conflict with their physical bodies. The Fae, OTOH, are inherently magical at the physical level - which is expressed, for instance, in their inability to touch iron, or to lie - which means that for them, there is no conflict.
Wizards are humans who can access and control magic. The Fae are magic.
Just to confuse things, there are occasional reminders that the Fae were (originally) humans who joined that community or were otherwise recruited like Molly and Harry, so if they can use technology without frying it, maybe so can a really good wizard?
No matter how good a human wizard is, they’re still humans, with human bodies and human souls. In fact, the books actually say that the better and more powerful a wizard is, the worse they are around technology.
Humans who turn into Fae undergo a physical transformation, which is why they no longer suffer from the conflict between mortality and magic. The tech-fritzing think is purely a human phenomenon, and Fae are no longer human.
I’m new to the books and I just finished last night.
My newbie opinion based on NOT having to wait years between books? I didn’t like it. Peace Talks was ok but it was a big letdown after the others. And this was just Up To 11 the whole time. I need some breathing room. This books don’t really have a lot of that, but I do need it and there was less than normal.
I cried the entire book of Changes and most of Ghost Story. Didn’t even tear up for Murphy. It wasn’t well-written and I was just exhausted by that point.
After I finished I started re-reading Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King. It opens with Dolan’s Cadillac, which finally clicked into place for me who Marcone reminded me of. Not just any old generic gangster. Dolan.
Anyway, I’m hoping my wait doesn’t have to be too long and that this was just me being meh and not a decline. I really try not to start reading series that are unfinished any more because it seems so many go into installment creep, but I thought this was more one-offs than a big arc that would completely consume the little “wizard investigates minor local mishap” angle.
I do look forward to reading it all again in a year or two, but I’m kind of burnt out now. And I did read all the comics and short stories. And tried the show for about 1.25 episodes.
Seems like a long enough stretch for you not to be super burned out on it. I agree that BG was definitely turned up to 11 the whole time, which didn’t allow for much in the way of character work, but I’m not sure if that makes it bad, or just different. I know a lot of readers prefer the “case file” style books over the massive epic arc, maybe that’s where you land.
I bet that’s it. I do like the overall arc but I like the formulaic stuff better. Same with most things that do both (x-files comes to mind most strongly).