Divide et Impera

Divide et Impera is the third installment of Jim West’s fantasy series Magicae Mathematica, which finds a young girl, Alex, who is believed to be the “missing variable” and to be able to solve the world’s problems, transported mysteriously to a strange world where magic is generated by combining mathematics with Latin. In a new land and with her mentor Archimedes imprisoned by the council, while evil wizards Diades and Demetrius seek to destroy the council and their city and now possess a device that can destroy the whole world, Alex has no choice but to hide. Thankfully, she is rescued by Daedalus and his winged contraption and taken to the Iron Mountains, where three wise men assist her.

Divide et Impera is a well-written book with easy-to-read dialogue, exciting plots, and lots of intriguing deception. As the third book in the Magicae Mathematica series, it is highly recommended that books one and two are read first, as there is no prologue, time line, or character list. Unfortunately, I have not read them, but I still managed to enjoy this installment once I got to grips with who was who–and with so many characters, that was not always an easy task! This book is filled with Greek philosophers whose names may be familiar to the reader, as well as many Latin phrases, which are masterfully translated to aid understanding. This is a fabulous book once the reader gets an understanding of what is happening.