Review by Ian Keogh

Spencer Dales is born into a prestigious family of magicians, yet doesn’t seem to have the genetic aptitude of his ancestors. It drives a wedge between him and his father, and brews an overwhelming rage in Spencer, who narrates the story in hindsight, dropping some heavy foreboding as to what’s coming.

Excellence slots squarely into the fantasy genre, but beyond the use of magic makes little effort to deliver the comforts fantasy readers want. The rage is introduced early, and aggression is a primary defining factor. While understandable, for a long time the rage is pretty well all that defines Spencer in almost any situation. Brandon Thomas contrasts a mission contravening the world’s edicts with scenes looking back to Spencer’s earlier teenage years and he’s always angry. Those trips back to the past are important, but subtly signposted, which will cause confusion if you’re not paying attention.

Khary Randolph delivers visual dynamism from the start, defining people using magic being surrounded by energies. This, though, is in the manga style of concentrating on the people to the exclusion of everything else and leaving colourist Emilio Lopez to fill in the backgrounds.

Does a designation of African-American have any value in a society where everyone has dark skin? Almost all the primary cast does, and they’re tasked with intervening in ordinary human lives, where one of the cardinal rules is not to be seen. There are comments about how certain events must come to pass, but no real exploration as to why that’s the case, and Thomas is currently keeping plenty more to himself. Four rules govern the magical society, and while three are explained or self-evident the fourth, forbidding women from using magic, is never addressed, and that’s a serious omission for a prohibition of that magnitude, especially when these cornerstone rules prompt much of what happens. It is addressed in The Present Tense, but it’s a long time to wait.

As he’s progressed through life all the time struggling with his magic, Spencer has become aware of a compromised system, and his father suspects he’s going to start a revolution. That may be the case, but during the latter chapters of Kill the Past he’s literally got other things on his mind, and regarding missing information, perhaps we just have to trust Thomas as Spencer’s father asks Spencer to trust him. It’s frustrating, though, and leaves this as not yet fulfilling the potential of smartly established circumstances.

Kill the Past has some impressive world building, and a fascinating lead character, but it’s a story big on details that can’t be skimmed. By the end it’s opened up into something massive, and that plays out next time.