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She always felt like an impostor First-generation graduate student Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass the Magic programs qualifying exam. If she fails, shell be kicked out of the university, losing access to higher magic and her chance to prove classic literature contained spells that rebuilt the world. Still reeling from the paralyzing anxiety that made her freeze on her first attempt, shes horrified when her adviser insists she reframe her entire dissertation using Digimancy. Mages may have found a way to make computers and magic work together, but throw Bartleby into the mix, and nothing ever goes right. This time is no exception. Her revised working goes horribly wrong, creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates Bartlebys inner thoughtseven the most embarrassing oneslike shes a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. Facing the scrutiny of her professors, increasingly frequent panic attacks and the impending deadline, Bartleby doubts whether shes fit to become a Mage at all. Out of her depth, she recruits James, an unfairly attractive Mage candidate, hoping he can help her correct the code and stop Annes glitches in time for her exam. Instead, Anne leads them to a shocking and dangerous discovery: magic students who seek disability accommodations are disappearingquite literally. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust in her knowledge and skills and begin to rewrite her own story. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a Mage, permanently.
She always felt like an impostor
First-generation graduate student Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass the Magic programs qualifying exam. If she fails, shell be kicked out of the university, losing access to higher magic and her chance to prove classic literature contained spells that rebuilt the world.
Still reeling from the paralyzing anxiety that made her freeze on her first attempt, shes horrified when her adviser insists she reframe her entire dissertation using Digimancy. Mages may have found a way to make computers and magic work together, but throw Bartleby into the mix, and nothing ever goes right.
This time is no exception. Her revised working goes horribly wrong, creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates Bartlebys inner thoughtseven the most embarrassing oneslike shes a heroine in a Jane Austen novel.
Facing the scrutiny of her professors, increasingly frequent panic attacks and the impending deadline, Bartleby doubts whether shes fit to become a Mage at all. Out of her depth, she recruits James, an unfairly attractive Mage candidate, hoping he can help her correct the code and stop Annes glitches in time for her exam.
Instead, Anne leads them to a shocking and dangerous discovery: magic students who seek disability accommodations are disappearingquite literally. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust in her knowledge and skills
and begin to rewrite her own story. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a Mage, permanently.