Bound

Millennial Mage #4

by J.L. Mullins

The world reclaims all things. Humanity shelters within their ever-dying cities. Mages and Archons create the only path forward.

Tala, a newly Bound Archon, strives against challenges, new and old, as the world opens up before her; even if her understanding is far from complete. Her responsibilities to her caravan have increased, with the newly added complication of being under the watchful eye of an overseer.

Determined to embrace and decipher her newfound power, not to mention chipping away at the debt that propels her forward, she faces a treacherous path to a new city, which has already proven to be more dangerous than her journey to Alefast, and they've only just begun.

Tala is learning valuable lessons about herself, the world around her, and the people who she is determined to protect as she settles into her new power and position as a Bound.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Audiobook, Slice Of Life, Adventure

421 pages, ebook

First published June 28, 2023

About the author

J.L.Mullins has been writing since he was five years old. Blessedly, he has improved through the years, and while 'The Case of the Missing Stapler' will likely never see widespread publication, Mullins enjoys little more than sharing his newer stories—his worlds—with others.

He lives with his wife, six kids, and their rescue-akita named Fenrir.

Find him on Patreon:
patreon.com/MillennialMage

Join his Discord:
discord.gg/FddACAjUrR

Find the latest on Millennial Mage here:
royalroad.com/fiction/47826

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a series you'll want to read in order.

Tala gets a bit of a talking to for being so careless as a dimensional mage for caravans (if she dies, the entire caravan is a dead loss as that means the dimensional wagon will simply disgorge everything and everyone will be stranded). She does manage to get permission to be both the dimensional mage and an official protector with higher wages as a result. But she also gets a babysitter in the form of Mistress Odera. I kind of love Mistress Odera and the calming influence she is without being preachy or a spoilsport.

I have a bit of an issue with the forest scenes on the way to the giant tree city of Makinaven. The Leshkin are kind of boring antagonists and having them soak up chapter after chapter in opposition to the caravan had me skipping chapters—particularly on this reread where I already know what's happening and why. I don't know why the author seems so enamored with the Leshkin. To me, they're just zombies made of plants and without the ability to infect others.

Anyway, the rest of the story is Tala in Makinaven where we get lots of sparring, conversations with various factions, and more power fantasy goodness as Tala improves her abilities and pals around with Rane.

Speaking of, there's some good development with Rane in this. Tala is completely clueless on the relationship front and he is clearly smitten. But he's not an idiot, either, so I like how they become trusted friends in this book. This builds a foundation that goes into the rest of the series and those first steps matter here. It's well done in a slow-burn kind of way even if I get impatient for Tala not to be so very clueless in this way.

Anyway, this is 4½ stars, but without enough weight to round up. Seriously, the Leshkin are blah.

A note about Chaste: Tala is still unwilling to forge intimate relationships. Which is too bad because Rane is awesome. Anyway, it's very chaste.

A note about reread: Yeah, there's still no hint of the mechanisms behind the societal bounds around marriage and sex. For how well they work eventually, it's clear the author didn't really have them in mind at least to this point of the story.

[Callum · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit all over the place

I feel conflicted rating this 3 stars because I have really enjoyed this series overall but I rate for enjoyment and I didn’t enjoy a lot of this. This series is slice of life but has overall had some degree of momentum and interesting things that are being worked on but in this it just felt like tala was floating aimlessly from place to place. I felt like some of the character interactions in the first 3 quarters of the book fell flat and I found tala to be quite frustrating at points. Shes made some dumb decisions previously but I don’t think she has been quite as ineffectual as she spent a lot of this book being. I became quite irritated with her to be honest.

I will say the book ended well with some nice character interactions and tala making some interesting moves and gaining in power. Most of the book though I had to pull myself back to it — this took me quite a few days to read when if I love a book I’ll blow through it in one or two. That’s the true sign of a book that just wasn’t holding my interest. Hopefully I’m more engaged by the next one.

[Tony Hinde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I'm at the point were a little more plot would help justify all the progression mechanics.

[Andy Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this one last night. It was a classic case of staying up til midnight to finish a book. This book was too good not to finish.

Our main mage, Tala, is on her way to becoming 'Fused' where she merges her soul and body. To get there, she has tons to learn and lots of skills to develop. Now she's a two-fold mage, empowering dimensional spaces (for storage) and battling much more ferocious foes than ever before.

Along the way, she realizes she's a very small fish in a great ocean of magic, and even at her best, she is nothing compared to the great powers of the world. Too bad one of them has taken notice of her.

Read and find out!

[Katie Kissel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series and how it is progressing from one book to the next. I initially chose it because there were quite a few books published and I wanted to get into a series. The problem is I don’t really want to go as slowly as I originally planned (which is typical when I enjoy a book or series).

I love the FMC and all her quirkiness that can sometimes lead to dangerous, reckless behavior. I also like all of her tools and friends, especially Terry! I am interested to see where things are going to go with Rane because there are definitely hints of romance. Things are also becoming more interesting with Kit and It’ll be interesting to see what happens when she is ready to soul-bound.

I highly recommend this series! It is funny and entertaining. There is action, adventure, some intrigue, and interesting relationships. There is violence as part of the action and it is pretty gory in description sometimes but I don’t think it’s that bad.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four books in and I just realised what was at the back of my head while reading. The series kind of reminds me of The Warded Man by Peter V Brett. Putting markings on your skin to fight back against things that saw you as cattle, and building weapons that turn the enemy's strength against them.

This entire book felt "fillery". It's not quite filler, as things did happen to move the series as a whole on, but it wasn't really that interesting to me.

I guess the next book is when things pick up. This book felt like the calm before the storm. Like from here on things will be crazy.

Already have the sequel and will pick it up next.

3/5 Stars

[Trey richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better

The MC magic is getting better but it’s still very limited and not all that impressive. I’m glad the author concentrated more on her growth in this book because the last two were disappointing magic wise. Good story and plot , I just hope she becomes a little more self sufficient and useful in the next novels. While this was a Great Leap Forward I’d still say her magic is pretty boring. It’s particularly why I hate cultivation based magic systems, the growth is a lot of work for very little gain.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book four

I'm enjoying the story, but would like to see more adventures. We get lots of training and eating but adventure has been lacking since book one. Oh sure the MC has done plenty of sparing, but that is just training.
So we get lots of everyday life with little dabs of excitement. The hunt could have used more detail and depth.
I also want to point out that the books keep getting shorter. This one was around 130 pages shorter than book one.
Mistakes will be listed on Goodreads and if you have finished all published books head over to Royalroad and keep reading.

7/10

[Darlene Thia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the new adventures in this slice of Millennial Mage. The forest area was interesting, the scenery descriptions were refreshing and unique. The city of Makinaven made me want to see it for myself. Truly fascinating. Also I appreciated how Tala progressed. She has come so far from the first book but we can sense how far she has yet to go. Also the ominous and mysterious threats always just in the corner of your eye makes your heart beat a bit faster. Great combat scenes.
A good read !

[Sundeep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it had to happen sooner or later, given the dangerous world - the danger levels escalated in this book and there were on screen casualties. But true to the series premise, we had plenty of downtime as well, which was well appreciated. And of course, more worldbuilding, magic progression, etc. One detail that seems to solidify with every book is that there's high level of trust between humans than usual for fantasy stories (we did see criminal elements like bandits earlier) but there's no unpleasant stuff like political wars.

[Vishal Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

More fun and more depth

This book dives a bit deeper into the characters and world than the previous. The balance of time with each character is well handled, giving a wide and deep exploration of the types of people who live in this world and how it shapes them. At the same time, there's lots of fun moments. Funny bits, exciting bits, and clever bits break up the tension and make the whole book into an effortless read.

It's quite an unusual way to write, but I enjoy it a lot. If you've reached this point in the series, I imagine you do too.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I continue to strongly dislike about this entire series is where the story ends... It isn't logical and it drives me nuts. Now to the good part. Tala is growing as a mage and a person, she is really learning about what people have to offer. This journey upped the stakes as she becomes a mage protector as well. And we all learn something is up. It is also interesting to learn about all the mages in the world and their place in saving humanity.

[Hugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tala and her world expand and deepen

A story of many parts, battles in a forest, humour, exploring a new city, characters learning and growing and some practical RL councel too. We continue to learn more of this fascinating magical world, it's rules and inhabitants. My main regret? That there's only two books left in the series. I'd recommend it.

[Roberto Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really don't understand why I like these books so much.

This one has nailed the slice of life feeling. The general interactions coupled with the dribble of guild politics just makes for a relaxed reading experience.

[Jeremy Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good addition

I really like this story. This book was not as exciting as the others, but fleshing out characters is as important as anything. Will definitely read the next installment.

[Martin Zorde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am very much enjoying this series but in some ways feel like the pacing is too fast in that the main character seems to progress too fast for my taste. still one of the best things i have seen in a while.

[XR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh wow... what a mystery! Tala encounters someone from her past... an unknown past because he removes all memories of himself from her memories. This is frightening!! I hope the other Archons help Tala figure out what's happening and kick his arse!

[William Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

a little slower

Natural issue—as the MC grows in power, the narrative grows in scope. Therefore, things get more complex and the narrative ‘slows’ to accommodate more mental/metaphysical interludes.

Still enjoying. Going for 5.

[Thorsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great continuation, enjoy the MC's growing understanding of how her gravity magic works, especially the conceptual understanding and how that affects the magic of other practitioners, like immaterial creators.

[M L Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remains interesting

This continues to be and interesting series, Tala is a good character. My only complaint is that I actually have no idea where this is leading to.

[Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

its just good!

[Chela · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fun read. Slow, but still enjoyable. Need to be in the right mood to read this because of the slow pace.

[Lukas Lovas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good stuff :)

[Alli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun! I feel like a lot of characters are speaking the same way, though -- their characterizations aren't too distinct.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite series.

[Ta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty exciting! Tons of development and new lore. Tala is learning a lot and the new people she meets are pretty fun too.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tala is advancing along self-knowledge, associated with being more powerful and having more responsibilities for herself and others, and this is where she comes along the realization of the fact of being responsible for others for the first time in her life. That's quite a shock, needless to say. We get to meet other Archons who will help our cast of three along the way, and we will see a glimpse of a battle between humans and nature, as well as something which may yet reveal itself in a very positive or a very dangerous and negative way , far in the future. Choosing to make magic and technology close here doesn't sound false and in fact does add to the overal enjoyment of the story, however it does make me think that the existence of mages may be a very very lonely one, considering the comfortable, but precarious nature of the world perpetually stuck in the fantasy Middle Ages. Here's hoping for a new take on "Scrapped Princess".

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems like that not-date didn't go well.
Not sure how I feel about romance here It has a place in this kind of story, but it seems vastly complicated by the nature of the main character's life.
Also it seems like Rane would be the forerunner there and I'm not super impressed by him in that regard.
Sparring partner? Yes.
Romantic partner? Eeeeeh.

I expect that living iron to come back at some point, though I'm not sure how.

Kit and Terry continue to be scary, which I like.

Tala being part of the Harvesting guild or hiring an assistance in the future are developments I'd be interested to see.

Also curious what the high priority delivery is.

I'd like more information on gods. The story has very briefly mentioned them before, but they seem to be distinct from the ladder of power that other beings exist within--which I'm all for.