Ahhh carefree and fun books just for the sake of having something original to read. Minimum Wage Magic has some heavy themes, but, at the end of the day, it’s just a very fun romp through an awesome world of magic and vice.
The basic gist is the that the Detroit Free Zone is a lawless city where the god of the city (the aforementioned DFZ) ensures that everyone is free to do as they will. Opal Yong-ae is a local cleaner — someone who bids on abandoned properties, and then sells the stuff she finds to get the property ready for the next tennant — and a girl on a mission. She’s racing frantically to pay off her father in order to get out of debt with him and break free from her family.
Here’s the thing. Opal’s father is the Dragon of Korea. Either way, Opal owes him a sizable chunk of money, and she’s just stumbled on what could be her biggest score. What happens next is a roller coaster of and adventure with so many little gems of creativity and masterful story-crafting.
One of the most fun things about this book — and I can tell it’s going to be a theme of the series — is the nigh anarchistic chaos surrounding life in the DFZ. Ms. Aaron masterfully throws in some lithe details about life in the DFZ that downright make you think about how it would be in a world with no rules. That coupled with some very memorable characters and an incessantly chatty AI make Minimum Wage Dragons just a joy to read.
I’m sure I’ll devour the next two as quickly as I did this one.