Higher Magic

By Courtney Floyd

Book Overview

"Higher Magic is my catnip. By what dark arts I know not, Floyd has summoned up a wonderful wizard-grad-school slice-of-life, replete with organizing, romance, anxiety, camaraderie, and courage. More please " --Max Gladstone, NYT Bestselling Co-Author of This is How You Lose the Time War

In this incisive, irreverent, and whimsical cozy dark academia novel for fans of Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde series and R.F. Kuang's Babel, a struggling mage student with intense anxiety must prove that classic literature contained magic--and learn to wield her own stories to change her institution for the better.

First-generation graduate student Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass the Magic program's qualifying exam after freezing with anxiety during her first attempt. If she fails to demonstrate that magic in classic literature changed the world, she'll be kicked out of the university. And now her advisor insists she reframe her entire dissertation using Digimancy. While mages have found a way to combine computers and magic, Bartleby's fated to never make it work.

This time is no exception. Her revised working goes horribly wrong, creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates Bartleby's inner thoughts--even the most embarrassing ones--like she's a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. Out of her depth, she recruits James, an unfairly attractive mage candidate, to help her stop Anne's glitches in time for her exam.

Instead, Anne leads them to a shocking and dangerous discovery: Magic students who seek disability accommodations are disappearing--quite literally. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust her own knowledge and skills. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a mage, permanently.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 077838764X
• ISBN13: 9780778387640
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Love it!

This book brought up a very good point that seems to be missing from all the other mage/magic school books, that just like regular humans, it stands to reason there would be magic users that would require disability assistance. I really liked that and how this story made those students, mainly graduate student/instructor Dorothe Bartleby but also her roommates and later lover interest James, the heroes against the mystery and dark happenings that are occurring at the school with disappearing students. And that is on top of studying to retake her qualifying exam to keep studying in the magic program! Dorothe feels so real and is a nicely complicated, caring character as one of the few noticing the missing students and willing to look into it, despite the crippling anxiety she experiences in social arenas. This was a different type of dark academia than what you would usually expect (no demons but there are ghosts protecting the school), but it fits the bill and I really enjoyed it, especially Dorothe's exam project! Who know an talking skull could be so entertaining! Anne was wonderful and had so many surprises along with the humor to liven things up (like narrating feelings when a certain person steps into the room). I am glad she got a spot on the cover. I really enjoyed this story, with people fighting to let all people be heard and a place for them too. It was a good balance of darkness and humor, and caring people who will fight, even with their own disabilities. And the cover is gorgeous too. I am glad I got the chance to read this and look forward to seeing what Courtney Floyd will be writing next.