Slow to get going, and the inital premise still seems a little flawed but it develops into a very fine novel neatly subverting both race and sexuality issues of the modern world into the prejudice sorcerers experience in modern day Israel. They live in a world of active discrimination, required to out themselves to normies by wearing special clothing, using marked seat and doorways etc. But at least in Israel they're integrated into society more or (mostly) less.

Our protagonist is Reed, and empath colloquially known as a moody - someone who can influence the emotions of others. It's considered bad form, although not actively illegal, to modify an unwilling contact. He and his group of friends are mourning the loss of one of theirs - murdered by activists during a rally marching for better rights for the magically 'gifted'. It's assumed although not known for sure that the attackers are anti-magic. The police can do little and the protesters know that many are more sympathetic to the normies than them.

However life must go on, with work and relationships as best one can, whether that's helping teenagers become accustomed to their skills, or just serving customers in a cafe. Reed's flatmate is a seer, and when she pronounces that the next rally will be a bloodbath Reed is determined to go despite the opposition of his family, but also to do something to protect all his friends.

I really enjoyed this once I got into it. The start is somewhat abrupt with the world-building being carefully and skilfully added in dribs and drabs. The management of the seer and future prophecy was also incredibly well done for a subject that's fraught with potential writing blunders. Reed takes the sole POV (always my favourite style) but the other characters have life and experiences of their own. It's a well crafted blend of their world and also the bigger story of the attacks on the rallys.

It's a fairly heavy hammer that's deployed to remind the readers that both the gender and race of the characters are non-issues in this world, with only the 'gft' of magic being denigrated. And while this is at times overly overt, it's not at all the sole focus of the story and works well.

Very enjoyable and an author to look out for. ( )

Psychics and people with elemental superpowers fight against discrimination and terrorists in Tel Aviv, plus a gay romance. A few too many sex scenes for my taste, but I suppose not an unrealistic quantity given all the peril of imminent death. ( )

I really liked this story centered on a community of sorcerers (people with psionic powers) living under crushing oppression. The worldbuilding and the character relationships are both richly developed. My only complaint is that it takes excessively long to explain things like the slang terms the narrator is using, making the beginning a little confusing. ( )