Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske: Grey’s Anatomy Meets Dark Academia Fantasy

“Do no harm…”

Pitched as Grey’s Anatomy meets Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education, Bodies of Magic is a dark academia standalone following five exceptional students at the prestigious Academie of Sieuxerr as they prepare to take their final exams to allow them to graduate as healers. Since a plague known as the serrage ravaged Sieuxerr’s population and left the healer ranks dangerously undermanned, healers have been in high demand, but the qualifying exams remain as demanding as ever.

When the five scholars turn up to their first exam only to find one of their classmates brutally murdered, they must juggle the academic demands alongside investigating. For when they each begin to receive notes from the dead scholar, it becomes clear that their futures may very well rely on them uncovering the truth…

The central mystery is very compelling; I love a book that melds fantasy with murder mystery (I am indeed thinking of the Raven Scholar and the Tainted Cup). I think it was an ambitious concept to have five different POVs. There were moments where I thought it worked, but there were definitely characters I warmed to more than others, and I do feel like I would’ve appreciated more time with everyone, even though it was a 450-page book. For instance, Alys’s plot line about coming to terms with her enormous well of raw power felt really rushed and more of a plot device than anything. So if you like an ensemble cast and enjoy group dynamics rather than in-depth character studies, this would probably work for you.

There are a lot of parallels to our own world and healthcare systems drawn throughout this book. The serrage is very clearly a substitute for Covid, burnout may be magical but it is discussed heavily, and the way the world treats healthcare workers in the wake of this pandemic/plague. In this, it felt similar to how the Pitt approaches these big topics; if you’ve ever watched that show and been like ‘this would be so cool if there were magic and also one of the med students died and everyone else had to figure out who did it…’ I’m sure there’s a fanfic like that somewhere, right?

I know Freya Marske has a rather lengthy backlist – let me know in the comments if I should give some of her other work a go, as well as if you’ll be reading Bodies of Magic when it releases. Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the digital ARC! Bodies of Magic is out September 15th.