In many ways Sorcerer to the Crown is what Jane Austen would have written if she were a full on fantasy writer in modern times. It would have to be modern times because the hero is black and the heroine is brown. It has to be fantasy because this world has magic users, magical creatures, and familiar spirits. And almost everyone is smart, except the human villains who turn out to be totally impotent; it’s their magical accomplices who have both real power and personality. […]