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Mageborn #1
Das Erwachen
Seine Herkunft ist dunkel. Sein Leben ein Geheimnis. Seine Bestimmung – Magie ... Der junge Mort verfügt über Fähigkeiten, die es eigentlich nicht geben darf: Magie ist in seiner Welt längst vergessen. Und mit seiner Gabe bringt er die dunklen Götter gegen sich auf. Nachdem seine Eltern bei einem Attentat ums Leben kamen, wächst der junge Mort bei einem Hufschmied auf. Seine wahre Herkunft kennt er nicht. Doch bald erwachen in ihm magische Fähigkeiten – lebensgefährlich in einer Welt, die die Magie längst verbannt hatte. Gemeinsam mit seinen Gefährten Dorian und Penny erlernt Mort das magische Handwerk – und gerät damit dem finsteren Lord Devon in die Quere, der nicht nur für Mort, sondern auch für Penny zur größten Bedrohung wird. Dabei ist Devon nicht ihr einziger Gegner. Denn bald findet Mort heraus, dass er sich gegen eine schier unbesiegbare Macht gestellt hat: einen dunklen Gott.
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 2011
1048 people are currently reading
6291 people want to read
About the author
Michael G. Manning
30 books2,087 followersMichael Manning was born in Cleveland, Texas and spent his formative years there, reading fantasy and science fiction, concocting home grown experiments in his backyard, and generally avoiding schoolwork.
Eventually he went to college, starting at Sam Houston State University, where his love of beer blossomed and his obsession with playing role-playing games led him to what he calls 'his best year ever' and what most of his family calls 'the lost year'.
Several years and a few crappy jobs later, he decided to pursue college again and was somehow accepted into the University of Houston Honors program (we won't get into the particulars of that miracle). This led to a degree in pharmacy and it followed from there that he wound up with a license to practice said profession.
Unfortunately, Michael was not a very good pharmacist. Being relatively lawless and free spirited were not particularly good traits to possess in a career focused on perfection, patient safety, and the letter-of-the-law. Nevertheless, he persisted and after a stint as a hospital pharmacy manager wound up as a pharmacist working in correctional managed care for the State of Texas.
He gave drugs to prisoners.
After a year or two at UTMB he became bored and taught himself entirely too much about networking, programming, and database design and administration. At first his supervisors warned him (repeatedly) to do his assigned tasks and stop designing programs to help his coworkers do theirs, but eventually they gave up and just let him do whatever he liked since it seemed to be generally working out well for them.
Ten or eleven years later and he got bored with that too. So he wrote a book. We won't talk about where he was when he wrote 'The Blacksmith's Son', but let's just assume he was probably supposed to be doing something else at the time.
Some people liked the book and told other people. Now they won't leave him alone.
After another year or two, he decided to just give up and stop pretending to be a pharmacist/programmer, much to the chagrin of his mother (who had only ever wanted him to grow up to be a doctor and had finally become content with the fact that he had settled on pharmacy instead).
Michael's wife supported his decision, even as she stubbornly refused to believe he would make any money at it. It turned out later that she was just telling him this because she knew that nothing made Michael more contrary than his never ending desire to prove her wrong. Once he was able to prove said fact she promptly admitted her tricky ruse and he has since given up on trying to win.
Today he lives at home with his stubborn wife, teenage twins, a giant moose-poodle, two yorkies, a green-cheeked conure, a massive prehistoric tortoise, and a head full of imaginary people. There are also some fish, but he refuses to talk about them.
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Eventually he went to college, starting at Sam Houston State University, where his love of beer blossomed and his obsession with playing role-playing games led him to what he calls 'his best year ever' and what most of his family calls 'the lost year'.
Several years and a few crappy jobs later, he decided to pursue college again and was somehow accepted into the University of Houston Honors program (we won't get into the particulars of that miracle). This led to a degree in pharmacy and it followed from there that he wound up with a license to practice said profession.
Unfortunately, Michael was not a very good pharmacist. Being relatively lawless and free spirited were not particularly good traits to possess in a career focused on perfection, patient safety, and the letter-of-the-law. Nevertheless, he persisted and after a stint as a hospital pharmacy manager wound up as a pharmacist working in correctional managed care for the State of Texas.
He gave drugs to prisoners.
After a year or two at UTMB he became bored and taught himself entirely too much about networking, programming, and database design and administration. At first his supervisors warned him (repeatedly) to do his assigned tasks and stop designing programs to help his coworkers do theirs, but eventually they gave up and just let him do whatever he liked since it seemed to be generally working out well for them.
Ten or eleven years later and he got bored with that too. So he wrote a book. We won't talk about where he was when he wrote 'The Blacksmith's Son', but let's just assume he was probably supposed to be doing something else at the time.
Some people liked the book and told other people. Now they won't leave him alone.
After another year or two, he decided to just give up and stop pretending to be a pharmacist/programmer, much to the chagrin of his mother (who had only ever wanted him to grow up to be a doctor and had finally become content with the fact that he had settled on pharmacy instead).
Michael's wife supported his decision, even as she stubbornly refused to believe he would make any money at it. It turned out later that she was just telling him this because she knew that nothing made Michael more contrary than his never ending desire to prove her wrong. Once he was able to prove said fact she promptly admitted her tricky ruse and he has since given up on trying to win.
Today he lives at home with his stubborn wife, teenage twins, a giant moose-poodle, two yorkies, a green-cheeked conure, a massive prehistoric tortoise, and a head full of imaginary people. There are also some fish, but he refuses to talk about them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 458 reviews
September 14, 2011
This story had so much potential; but the immature writing style completely ruined the read. This book was written in a confusing 1st person point of view, but without any real insight into who the characters are. There are bizarre narrative details that would have been much better demonstrated through action; the sentence structure is simplistic and repetetive. The simple and immature writing style, and predictable storyline, make this seem to be a YA/tween novel, but there is a surprising amount of vulgar language and random sexual commentary that is jarring. This book felt like it was written by a 12 year old boy.
The potential lay in the witty voice of the main character; if this had been developed properly it would have been a lot of fun.
The potential lay in the witty voice of the main character; if this had been developed properly it would have been a lot of fun.
December 26, 2020
A boy with a magical gift: an ability to see wards. Literally, like a bonfire.
A Duke line intent on staying in power (aren't they always?) Some blood-drenched scenes.
Lots of serendipity and books. Mordecai reading up on Vestrius's journals (aka lab books).
There's quite a lot of scenes where editing could've done wonders (and didn't, maybe due to the lack of said editing?)
Quite a lot of text towards the end of it is written in a stilted way, which could've been improved. But that's probably a genre prerequisite: lots of fantasy is written that way.
Instalove making not too much sense. (Throw in to that those strange lines about women, danger and aphrodisiacs!)
Overall, a fun light read.
Q:
The first book turned out to be a journal, written by Vestrius himself. The second seemed to be some sort of book of spells, most of it was written in plain English, but interspersed were glowing words and symbols I had no experience with. It also contained a lot of diagrams. As soon as I saw the glowing parts I decided it should wait, so I returned to the journal. (c)
A Duke line intent on staying in power (aren't they always?) Some blood-drenched scenes.
Lots of serendipity and books. Mordecai reading up on Vestrius's journals (aka lab books).
There's quite a lot of scenes where editing could've done wonders (and didn't, maybe due to the lack of said editing?)
Quite a lot of text towards the end of it is written in a stilted way, which could've been improved. But that's probably a genre prerequisite: lots of fantasy is written that way.
Instalove making not too much sense. (Throw in to that those strange lines about women, danger and aphrodisiacs!)
Overall, a fun light read.
Q:
The first book turned out to be a journal, written by Vestrius himself. The second seemed to be some sort of book of spells, most of it was written in plain English, but interspersed were glowing words and symbols I had no experience with. It also contained a lot of diagrams. As soon as I saw the glowing parts I decided it should wait, so I returned to the journal. (c)
June 22, 2022
Mordecai was adopted. He has known it his entire life and he loves his adpoted parents dearly. He knows nothing of his birth parents, but that won't stop the things he inherited from his birth father from completely changing his life. Mordecai has magical powers and nothing will ever be the same for him.
The Blacksmith's Son first and foremost feels like a young adult novel. It's jam packed with standard young adult tropes. He's an adopted boy who learns he's special and from a noble family. His specialness will change the world. The story is chalked full of absurd dialogue that may entice a younger audience, but made me roll my eyes. I wish the book was simply listed as young adult so I knew what to expect immediately.
The story engaged me quickly with an action and panic filled prologue. It is told from Mordecai's birth mother's perspective on the events that caused Mordecai to live with the Eldriges. The only unfortunate part about this was it ensured that the story would have little mystery as the reader learned about Mordecai's past before he did. It also made the book title largely irrelevant as there is no point when the reader thinks of Mordecai as simply the blacksmith's son.
The magic system in the book was at times shaky. First I'd have to say the magic in the book is convenient overall. Different people discovered there powers at just the right moments to save the day. It runs somewhat contrary to the idea the story provided that mage's needed to have a teacher to learn magic. That was true at times, but clearly untrue at other times.
The point of views in the story were challenging. The point of views switched quickly at times with little indication they were switching. All the characters except Mordecai were telling the story in first person present while Mordecai was a strange mix of first person present and past. In more than one occasion I imagined a somewhat older Mordecai reading this book to someone and inserting comments along the lines of boy was I foolish. There are more than a few such instances in the book.
The Blacksmith's Son is an imaginative story that could have used some additional editing.
The Blacksmith's Son first and foremost feels like a young adult novel. It's jam packed with standard young adult tropes. He's an adopted boy who learns he's special and from a noble family. His specialness will change the world. The story is chalked full of absurd dialogue that may entice a younger audience, but made me roll my eyes. I wish the book was simply listed as young adult so I knew what to expect immediately.
The story engaged me quickly with an action and panic filled prologue. It is told from Mordecai's birth mother's perspective on the events that caused Mordecai to live with the Eldriges. The only unfortunate part about this was it ensured that the story would have little mystery as the reader learned about Mordecai's past before he did. It also made the book title largely irrelevant as there is no point when the reader thinks of Mordecai as simply the blacksmith's son.
The magic system in the book was at times shaky. First I'd have to say the magic in the book is convenient overall. Different people discovered there powers at just the right moments to save the day. It runs somewhat contrary to the idea the story provided that mage's needed to have a teacher to learn magic. That was true at times, but clearly untrue at other times.
The point of views in the story were challenging. The point of views switched quickly at times with little indication they were switching. All the characters except Mordecai were telling the story in first person present while Mordecai was a strange mix of first person present and past. In more than one occasion I imagined a somewhat older Mordecai reading this book to someone and inserting comments along the lines of boy was I foolish. There are more than a few such instances in the book.
The Blacksmith's Son is an imaginative story that could have used some additional editing.
April 7, 2016
Excellent narration but very weak writing style. The premise is good, and I want to go easy on a debut novel, but Gah!! The POV changes from 3rd-person to 1st-person (nearly a writing taboo) and back again, within just a few pages. This occurs throughout the novel. Disorienting! See one excerpt below:
********
(This is 3rd person Penny) Asking for help would only ruin her friends, but the other option was to take the opportunity to make what remained of her life count for more. If she had to choose one other person to spend her life on, the choice became simple. Having made the decision, she felt a calm come over her, and she began to plan.
(Suddenly switches mid-page to Mort in 1st-person POV) I was still talking to Marc and Dorian when Penny returned and I was glad to see her. Dorian was busy trying to convince me that beer would speed my recovery, and Marc was offering to have several pitchers sent to the room. We were young and hadn’t had much experience with strong drink, so the thought of drinking to excess was a new and exciting concept.
****
On top of that, the modern slang destroys the medieval atmosphere: getting laid, pissed off, scared the living shit out of me, etc. etc.
The characterization is absurd. The blacksmith's ordinary son took sudden magic and money in his stride. Everything was too easy for him. Teenage Penny was molested, nearly raped, so she would cover herself protectively, at the very least, right? No...soon after the rape scene, she can't even be bothered to put on a night gown or a bed-sheet before letting two people into the bedroom. While she remains naked and nonchalant.
********
(This is 3rd person Penny) Asking for help would only ruin her friends, but the other option was to take the opportunity to make what remained of her life count for more. If she had to choose one other person to spend her life on, the choice became simple. Having made the decision, she felt a calm come over her, and she began to plan.
(Suddenly switches mid-page to Mort in 1st-person POV) I was still talking to Marc and Dorian when Penny returned and I was glad to see her. Dorian was busy trying to convince me that beer would speed my recovery, and Marc was offering to have several pitchers sent to the room. We were young and hadn’t had much experience with strong drink, so the thought of drinking to excess was a new and exciting concept.
****
On top of that, the modern slang destroys the medieval atmosphere: getting laid, pissed off, scared the living shit out of me, etc. etc.
The characterization is absurd. The blacksmith's ordinary son took sudden magic and money in his stride. Everything was too easy for him. Teenage Penny was molested, nearly raped, so she would cover herself protectively, at the very least, right? No...soon after the rape scene, she can't even be bothered to put on a night gown or a bed-sheet before letting two people into the bedroom. While she remains naked and nonchalant.
October 24, 2011
The magic bits were intriguing. I liked the protagonist's self-deprecating manner (though sometimes it felt like a bit much). But, the way the author chose to describe the world took me out of the book completely. Here's one example why: at no point in a medieval setting would a boy raised as a blacksmith's son characterize a wizard's diary as a "lab notebook" this is because A) high school chemistry labs, and indeed, that kind of note taking, hadn't been invented yet and B) a blacksmith's son wouldn't know what a lab notebook would be, not even if he somehow ended up being the Duke's son's best friend.
I plowed all the way through this book, and started reading the second before I couldn't take it anymore. I think the author has talent, and could write some really good novels. But, he needs to do some serious work on writing skills. I expect this kind of thing to be on amateur writing websites, not in published fiction.
Final note: Yes, I understand that children will be children, and that means they will swear. Children in that era were better composed than the near-feral children we have today, please doll up their swears a little bit more. And if you're going to have multiple gods make sure that you aren't having only one god damn a certain activity, or at least be specific about which god is damning certain activities. That could be an interesting bit of lore in the world. Make sure you aren't just swearing because you like tittering that you got away with children swearing.
I plowed all the way through this book, and started reading the second before I couldn't take it anymore. I think the author has talent, and could write some really good novels. But, he needs to do some serious work on writing skills. I expect this kind of thing to be on amateur writing websites, not in published fiction.
Final note: Yes, I understand that children will be children, and that means they will swear. Children in that era were better composed than the near-feral children we have today, please doll up their swears a little bit more. And if you're going to have multiple gods make sure that you aren't having only one god damn a certain activity, or at least be specific about which god is damning certain activities. That could be an interesting bit of lore in the world. Make sure you aren't just swearing because you like tittering that you got away with children swearing.
August 20, 2013
Ahh, at last another good read. This is another I plan to follow up. It doesn't get onto my favorites list but it's an excellent read.
What we have here is (another) story of a young man who is thrown into events beyond anything he ever expected and finds he's not who he always thought he was.
Yes it's been done often before, but so what? As I've said before, I doubt there is a single plot anyone can come up with that hasn't been used somewhere before and can be found in an existing story from the last few thousand years of compiled stories.
It's how those story components, characters and plot points are put together, how the story is told that matters. Does it draw you in? Does it make you care about the participants?
Will you follow the story into volume 2????
Yeah, I plan to. I love finding a good and absorbing epic fantasy. Now that epic fantasies are ubiquitous...finding a GOOD epic fantasy is the trick.
In my opinion, this one fills that bill.
Mordecai, a blacksmith's son one day does something that can't be done. In so doing he keeps his best friend (the local Lord's son) out of some very hot water. From there things spiral away...out of control?
Of course. We wouldn't get a story otherwise. Another that also joins my, "wow, I wouldn't have thought I'd like this as it's a coming of age story...but wow I do like it" books.
Do I recommend this book?
Is a bear Catholic?
4 enthusiastic stars.
What we have here is (another) story of a young man who is thrown into events beyond anything he ever expected and finds he's not who he always thought he was.
Yes it's been done often before, but so what? As I've said before, I doubt there is a single plot anyone can come up with that hasn't been used somewhere before and can be found in an existing story from the last few thousand years of compiled stories.
It's how those story components, characters and plot points are put together, how the story is told that matters. Does it draw you in? Does it make you care about the participants?
Will you follow the story into volume 2????
Yeah, I plan to. I love finding a good and absorbing epic fantasy. Now that epic fantasies are ubiquitous...finding a GOOD epic fantasy is the trick.
In my opinion, this one fills that bill.
Mordecai, a blacksmith's son one day does something that can't be done. In so doing he keeps his best friend (the local Lord's son) out of some very hot water. From there things spiral away...out of control?
Of course. We wouldn't get a story otherwise. Another that also joins my, "wow, I wouldn't have thought I'd like this as it's a coming of age story...but wow I do like it" books.
Do I recommend this book?
Is a bear Catholic?
4 enthusiastic stars.
March 23, 2013
I haven't finished this book yet and I honestly don't know if I will.
It's terrible. The language is so out of place, it keeps jarring me back to reality. He calls his parents mom and dad, and describes his girlfriend as sexy.
Not only is the language bizarrely modern, so are the attitudes of the characters.
The kid learns magic within about a week. From a book. By himself. The book was magically protected, but a kid who literally just discovered he has powers a day or two ago is able to get to it with no trouble. And in this world where there are no magicians left, when he tells people he spiritually possessed a horse, not a single person doubts him for a second.
They live in a world with strict, old fashion morals, yet only the 'bad guys' seem to stick to them.
The author jumps back and forth between first and third person narration with very little indication of when the changes happen.
Overall, it's the sort of book where you know nothing will go seriously wrong. If a character were to die, I wouldn't worry. They'd probably miraculously reappear a few pages later.
It's terrible. The language is so out of place, it keeps jarring me back to reality. He calls his parents mom and dad, and describes his girlfriend as sexy.
Not only is the language bizarrely modern, so are the attitudes of the characters.
The kid learns magic within about a week. From a book. By himself. The book was magically protected, but a kid who literally just discovered he has powers a day or two ago is able to get to it with no trouble. And in this world where there are no magicians left, when he tells people he spiritually possessed a horse, not a single person doubts him for a second.
They live in a world with strict, old fashion morals, yet only the 'bad guys' seem to stick to them.
The author jumps back and forth between first and third person narration with very little indication of when the changes happen.
Overall, it's the sort of book where you know nothing will go seriously wrong. If a character were to die, I wouldn't worry. They'd probably miraculously reappear a few pages later.
June 5, 2016
First, I barely read 100 pages or so of my edition before giving up. A book has to be pretty bad for me to put it down.
I could not stand the vulgar humour and lewd bends in conversation. These alone would have been enough to make me never recommend the author or pick up the rest of the series.
Then came the graphic rape scene. No more.
Sure, the idea of an abandoned boy brought up by foster parents suddenly displaying magical powers is a neat idea, but a lot of books use that idea. To make a good story, the idea needs to be carried out well. While the prologue was very nicely done, with Mort's mother, I disliked most of the story about Mort. And there were frequent punctuation errors, which were exceedingly distracting.
I could not stand the vulgar humour and lewd bends in conversation. These alone would have been enough to make me never recommend the author or pick up the rest of the series.
Then came the graphic rape scene. No more.
Sure, the idea of an abandoned boy brought up by foster parents suddenly displaying magical powers is a neat idea, but a lot of books use that idea. To make a good story, the idea needs to be carried out well. While the prologue was very nicely done, with Mort's mother, I disliked most of the story about Mort. And there were frequent punctuation errors, which were exceedingly distracting.
May 7, 2020
Terrible immature writing, modern speech in a fantasy setting inspired by the middle ages, atrocious world building and pacing, the most annoying main character ever, 1st person POV of Mordecai that switches mid page to 3rd person POV of Penny (and it happens pretty often) and what made me finally dnf -a detailed attempted rape scene that had no other purpose but for Mordecai to dramatically save the damsel in distress Penny. NO THANKS BOOK. I refuse to waste my time any further.
March 4, 2013
A horrible, horrible book. It somehow manages to take every cliche from the last 50 years of fantasy writing and cram into into one volume. And not in a fun, ironic way. In a "gosh, aren't I clever and awesome for coming up with this derived crap" way.
Even that might be diverting, if it weren't for some of the worst dialogue that I've ever read. To cap it all off, though, the author has no concept of narrative point of view, freely switching back and forth between first-person and omnicient narrator in a completely haphazard manner.
Don't read it. The $.99 Kindle price is misleading, as you will lose hundred of dollars worth of time trying to slog through this mess.
Even that might be diverting, if it weren't for some of the worst dialogue that I've ever read. To cap it all off, though, the author has no concept of narrative point of view, freely switching back and forth between first-person and omnicient narrator in a completely haphazard manner.
Don't read it. The $.99 Kindle price is misleading, as you will lose hundred of dollars worth of time trying to slog through this mess.
May 22, 2012
Cliched, and replete with characters whose only reason for existence seems to be driving the (anemic from overuse) plot. Dialog is stilted and tends to contain too much exposition.
I only made it through a couple of chapters before I gave up on it. Which is a shame, because the author's voice can be rather entertaining when he's not manipulating his characters to drive his plot. But ultimately, the inauthenticity of the characters just irritated me too much to continue reading. Real humans don't talk and react this way.
I only made it through a couple of chapters before I gave up on it. Which is a shame, because the author's voice can be rather entertaining when he's not manipulating his characters to drive his plot. But ultimately, the inauthenticity of the characters just irritated me too much to continue reading. Real humans don't talk and react this way.
June 15, 2021
3 stars but the Series is a easy 4 Stars
I don't give out 4 stars lightly and this series is great (I loved it)
A little slow start (in this book) and I stopped reading it the first time but I am so glad I went back and got to the 2nd book as the series has provided me with some great entertainment over the past couple of weeks.
I hope this helps in your decision in to read or not to read this book/series
I don't give out 4 stars lightly and this series is great (I loved it)
A little slow start (in this book) and I stopped reading it the first time but I am so glad I went back and got to the 2nd book as the series has provided me with some great entertainment over the past couple of weeks.
I hope this helps in your decision in to read or not to read this book/series
January 15, 2013
It's been done to death, you know. It was old in Earthsea, and positively exhumed for Rowling. Yet this book was, quite honestly, one of the most enjoyable "teen gets magic" reads to ever have crossed my bookshelf. There's something about Mort, his personality is infectious, his style and whit both quick and memorable and the surrounds were very nicely done too.
There's a rather marvelous shift from third to first person narration in chapter 18, one of the most deftly executed and intricately written bits of POV work I've seen, it's only done in a couple of sentences but I really Grokked it.
I also really like Manning's pricing structure; each of the books in the series costs a little more than the others. It's almost like he's saying "if you think I'm worth it, pay that bit more to carry on". The most expensive is no more than a decent pot of coffee or a sandwich, which in my opinion is a damn good bargain. This one, book 1, costs less than £1: you can't even take a shopping trolley around a supermarket without a quid, you know! Both sequels are on my wish list and will be the next thing I buy for personal gratification without a doubt.
There's a rather marvelous shift from third to first person narration in chapter 18, one of the most deftly executed and intricately written bits of POV work I've seen, it's only done in a couple of sentences but I really Grokked it.
I also really like Manning's pricing structure; each of the books in the series costs a little more than the others. It's almost like he's saying "if you think I'm worth it, pay that bit more to carry on". The most expensive is no more than a decent pot of coffee or a sandwich, which in my opinion is a damn good bargain. This one, book 1, costs less than £1: you can't even take a shopping trolley around a supermarket without a quid, you know! Both sequels are on my wish list and will be the next thing I buy for personal gratification without a doubt.
October 15, 2011
When I added this book to my "To Read" shelf, I did happen to glance at a few reader comments that mentioned some of the "modern language" the writer used. So I mentally prepared myself for a literary version of the Heath Ledger movie "A Knight's Tale," which was set in medieval times but featured modern wittiness, a rock and roll soundtrack, and even had the jousting audience singing along with Queen's "We Will Rock You." Something enjoyable but not to be taken too seriously.
Turns out, the majority of the story itself is relatively "serious" for fantasy, it was mostly the protagonist's borderline "breaking the fourth wall" where he inner dialogue's with the reader using modern, smartass wittiness. In other words, while the story may take place in a typical swords and sorcery medieval type era, the character monologues as if he were Harry Dresden. Which was fine with me, I still enjoyed the story and characters very much.
As a few other comments mentioned, the book could have used a professional editor. There were plenty of incorrect, and even a few missing, punctuation marks. I'm almost certain a professional editor would have had the author ditch the modern witty monologue though, unless the author convinced him it was an integral part of his writing style or something.
The point of view shifts were jarring a couple times, not because of the shifts themselves but merely how they were handled, and it took a few more sentences to figure out what had happened and from whose point of view we were suddenly spectating from. Again, a professional editor would have caught that and had them rewritten to be seamless shifts.
Overall, however, I enjoyed this enough that I will pick up the next book in the series.
Turns out, the majority of the story itself is relatively "serious" for fantasy, it was mostly the protagonist's borderline "breaking the fourth wall" where he inner dialogue's with the reader using modern, smartass wittiness. In other words, while the story may take place in a typical swords and sorcery medieval type era, the character monologues as if he were Harry Dresden. Which was fine with me, I still enjoyed the story and characters very much.
As a few other comments mentioned, the book could have used a professional editor. There were plenty of incorrect, and even a few missing, punctuation marks. I'm almost certain a professional editor would have had the author ditch the modern witty monologue though, unless the author convinced him it was an integral part of his writing style or something.
The point of view shifts were jarring a couple times, not because of the shifts themselves but merely how they were handled, and it took a few more sentences to figure out what had happened and from whose point of view we were suddenly spectating from. Again, a professional editor would have caught that and had them rewritten to be seamless shifts.
Overall, however, I enjoyed this enough that I will pick up the next book in the series.
July 18, 2011
This is a good book from a new author. I liked the main character's personality and self-deprecating sense of humor. Very witty writing. I will definitely read more books by this author.
December 16, 2018
Rating 3 stars
This book was just okay. This had more of a fantasy young adult book feel than just straight fantasy. The main reason I say that is that despite adults being around, the story follows a group of people around 16-18 years old. Whenever they come across a problem, they always have to keep it to themselves and while the characters don't specifically state they can't trust the adults. Nobody ever goes to the adults for advice or help.
The story starts with the slaughter of a family of nobles. The wife is able to escape with her baby and ends up finding shelter at a blacksmiths house (not a spoiler since it is in the title). She dies from her wounds and the boy, Mortici is raised by that family. Of course the child is never told who his parents were, though he was told that he is adopted. One day his best friend (the Duke's son) gets into some trouble and Mort learns that he has magic. His best friend tells him to keep it secret and then invites him to his house for a week so that they can figure out what it all means. While doing that though, he needs to pretend that he is a minor noble. So right there you can pick up multiple plot twists and problems (trying to learn magic, pretending to be a noble, learning about his family and what that means, and maybe even finding out who was behind the plot that killed his family?). All of this is pretty standard stuff and I didn't really mind any of it. My biggest problem is that the main character Mort is something of an idiot. He is supposed to be pretty smart but he does some dumb stuff throughout the book. I am getting kind of tired of that story line. Just because someone is young doesn't mean they have to act so stupidly.
Penny wasn't much better. She was the typical teenage drama queen ( I guess they had them back in middle ages). Every time Mort said something stupid to her she got offended and yelled at him.
The point of view kept shifting as well. It was first person present mainly for Mort, but sometimes is was told as First person past. Then it would go from First person Penny straight into first person Mort, except that Mort knew what Penny was thinking? It got a little confusing.
I listened to the Audiobook and with about 1 hour left I started to get really upset. If the story would have ended the way it appeared it was going to end, I would not continue with the rest of the series. As it stands I probably will continue the series, just not right away.
This book was just okay. This had more of a fantasy young adult book feel than just straight fantasy. The main reason I say that is that despite adults being around, the story follows a group of people around 16-18 years old. Whenever they come across a problem, they always have to keep it to themselves and while the characters don't specifically state they can't trust the adults. Nobody ever goes to the adults for advice or help.
The story starts with the slaughter of a family of nobles. The wife is able to escape with her baby and ends up finding shelter at a blacksmiths house (not a spoiler since it is in the title). She dies from her wounds and the boy, Mortici is raised by that family. Of course the child is never told who his parents were, though he was told that he is adopted. One day his best friend (the Duke's son) gets into some trouble and Mort learns that he has magic. His best friend tells him to keep it secret and then invites him to his house for a week so that they can figure out what it all means. While doing that though, he needs to pretend that he is a minor noble. So right there you can pick up multiple plot twists and problems (trying to learn magic, pretending to be a noble, learning about his family and what that means, and maybe even finding out who was behind the plot that killed his family?). All of this is pretty standard stuff and I didn't really mind any of it. My biggest problem is that the main character Mort is something of an idiot. He is supposed to be pretty smart but he does some dumb stuff throughout the book. I am getting kind of tired of that story line. Just because someone is young doesn't mean they have to act so stupidly.
Penny wasn't much better. She was the typical teenage drama queen ( I guess they had them back in middle ages). Every time Mort said something stupid to her she got offended and yelled at him.
The point of view kept shifting as well. It was first person present mainly for Mort, but sometimes is was told as First person past. Then it would go from First person Penny straight into first person Mort, except that Mort knew what Penny was thinking? It got a little confusing.
I listened to the Audiobook and with about 1 hour left I started to get really upset. If the story would have ended the way it appeared it was going to end, I would not continue with the rest of the series. As it stands I probably will continue the series, just not right away.
December 4, 2011
Mr. Manning is a first-time author for me, and one of the few male fantasy authors I've chanced upon. My problem with male authors is this: they're either very bad, or very good. no in-betweens.
Mr. Manning, unfortunately, is of the rather bad variety.
He starts out with an interesting prologue and then undoes all of that in the telling of the main story. Usually it is the female protagonists who are TSTL, but this time around, the male lead was one of the most Too Stupid to Live characters I've ever come across. His actions were also improbable and dangerous - no matter how much of a prodigy you are (and lemme assure you, our male lead was NOT), you can't teach yourself high magic by reading out of some mystic's book that you found in the library. Smh. As for the females, they were all contrived, and such caricatures! The more important they were to the story, the more badly drawn they were. In fact, so badly drawn that at some point in time, I stopped reading, looked back at the cover, and thought "Ah yes, this was most DEFINITELY not written by a woman, because the females wouldn't be caricatured so terrible if the author was a female.
A good premise was ruined in the telling, which just goes to show that all that glitters is not gold.
Mr. Manning, unfortunately, is of the rather bad variety.
He starts out with an interesting prologue and then undoes all of that in the telling of the main story. Usually it is the female protagonists who are TSTL, but this time around, the male lead was one of the most Too Stupid to Live characters I've ever come across. His actions were also improbable and dangerous - no matter how much of a prodigy you are (and lemme assure you, our male lead was NOT), you can't teach yourself high magic by reading out of some mystic's book that you found in the library. Smh. As for the females, they were all contrived, and such caricatures! The more important they were to the story, the more badly drawn they were. In fact, so badly drawn that at some point in time, I stopped reading, looked back at the cover, and thought "Ah yes, this was most DEFINITELY not written by a woman, because the females wouldn't be caricatured so terrible if the author was a female.
A good premise was ruined in the telling, which just goes to show that all that glitters is not gold.
October 21, 2011
Although poorly edited, and with language that felt out-of-place (the main character even thought about how something wasn't "plain English"...this is a different world, with no mention of English people), I still liked this book enough to give 4 stars.
Mainly because it satisfied some of the main things I like in fantasy books: the main character has powerful magic powers, and the POV says with him most of the time.
Of course, having a powerful main character isn't my only criteria, and this book was fairly well-written considering that the author is self-published.
All the POV switches were a bit disappointing, but at least the author focused on Mordecai's life.
I hope the next novel comes out soon. :) If anyone knows some good books about people with powerful magical powers (and from their POV), just tell me. Though I've read most of the well-known ones. :P
Edit: Ha, I need an editor too.
Mainly because it satisfied some of the main things I like in fantasy books: the main character has powerful magic powers, and the POV says with him most of the time.
Of course, having a powerful main character isn't my only criteria, and this book was fairly well-written considering that the author is self-published.
All the POV switches were a bit disappointing, but at least the author focused on Mordecai's life.
I hope the next novel comes out soon. :) If anyone knows some good books about people with powerful magical powers (and from their POV), just tell me. Though I've read most of the well-known ones. :P
Edit: Ha, I need an editor too.
January 14, 2022
Oof. This was rough.
It’s just… bad writing. It’s entirely elementary.
Manning switches back and forth between first and third-person narration and is overly heavy-handed in exposition. He doesn’t allow for a single assumption to be made. He tells it to you. Every. Single Time. And reminds you of conversations or occurrences that happened a page before.
Manning utilizes every single classic fantasy trope out there. Adopted coming of age boy who comes from humble beginnings only to discover that his parents were powerful mages. He then teaches himself to be the most powerful wizard in the land in a matter of days.
Manning uses modern language and anachronism that is laughably out of place. It’s the sex-obsessed fantasy I dreamed of as a freshman in high school before I learned not to randomly break the fourth wall. It’s bad. It’s so so bad.
It’s just… bad writing. It’s entirely elementary.
Manning switches back and forth between first and third-person narration and is overly heavy-handed in exposition. He doesn’t allow for a single assumption to be made. He tells it to you. Every. Single Time. And reminds you of conversations or occurrences that happened a page before.
Manning utilizes every single classic fantasy trope out there. Adopted coming of age boy who comes from humble beginnings only to discover that his parents were powerful mages. He then teaches himself to be the most powerful wizard in the land in a matter of days.
Manning uses modern language and anachronism that is laughably out of place. It’s the sex-obsessed fantasy I dreamed of as a freshman in high school before I learned not to randomly break the fourth wall. It’s bad. It’s so so bad.
June 13, 2012
I'll be honest, it was 99 cents on my Kindle. But after being glued to the page while I read the book, I quickly purchased the second and third book of this series. The concepts of magic in this book still retained the same familiar feel of common fantasy magic, but added in a few new twists and insights.
I think perhaps the thing that got me most about this entire series was how raw the emotions seemed to be. I felt everything that happened within the story whether it was joy, anger, or even sadness. The authoer has a way of forcing me to continue reading because I honestly cared about what may or may not happen to the characters within the story.
I am really glad I found this series and if you are a fantasy fan, I don't see how you could not like this one!
I think perhaps the thing that got me most about this entire series was how raw the emotions seemed to be. I felt everything that happened within the story whether it was joy, anger, or even sadness. The authoer has a way of forcing me to continue reading because I honestly cared about what may or may not happen to the characters within the story.
I am really glad I found this series and if you are a fantasy fan, I don't see how you could not like this one!
March 3, 2013
A short read that comes across as fan fiction rather than a polished work. The writer needed to spend a bit more time eliminating anachronistic language and action and create more internal consistency. For example, why have the concept of vassals, nobility and commoners if the conventions are thrown to the wind for plot convenience? I enjoyed some of the concepts and dialog, but this needed some more thought and work.
June 26, 2016
Ein sehr tolles Buch! Und eine interessante Sicht der Magie :) freue mich auf den nächsten Band!
August 10, 2015
I don't think I've read a book I so instantly disliked in a very long time, but within a couple chapters of this book, I already had a bad feeling about it. I only kept with it since it was a short book and I wanted to see if it got any better (the answer to that is no btw).
I don't think there's anything good I can say about this book. The characters weren't very interesting and there was little to no character development. The story was generic and bland. I almost thought it was YA until one of the characters almost gets raped and others started throwing around curse words. And the writing. OH MY GOD the writing. It felt like I was reading the writings of a 13 year old. There were awkward phrases galore and plenty of grammatical mistakes. Not to mention all the jumping between first person narrative (usually from Mort's POV) and third person narrative. And occasionally there's even some second person narrative randomly thrown in there, which really threw me off.
I also feel obligated to mention all the anachronisms and how much they bugged me each time I came across one. They should not be calling for the family physician but a healer or medic. When planning for a wedding, they should not be talking about who the best man is going to be. "Sean Townsend" is not a name you would find in a medieval fantasy setting. And all the curse words are modern day curse words, which sounded odd in this fantastical setting.
And then let's not forget Mort's stupid experimenting with his newly discovered magic powers. He tries out the spells that he reads about recklessly and without any caution. For example, he uses his friend's valet as a guinea pig and puts him to sleep on the THIRD time ever that he uses this spell (first two times were on a bird). Despite his lack of an available teacher, he should be smart enough to not recklessly try out unknown spells like that.
Mort's not the only character I have major problems with. I also thought Penny's character was poorly written. You would think after after her near rape experience, she would be more paranoid about others seeing her naked, but soon afterwards, she can't even be bothered to put on a night gown or anything before letting others into Mort's chambers. And that's just one example of how inconsistently her character is written.
Some examples of the terrible writing (notice all the lines written from Mort's perspective about him being an eloquent speaker?? Yeah that got old real quickly):
I'm not interested in what happens in the rest of the series but I may read on to see if the writing improves...
I don't think there's anything good I can say about this book. The characters weren't very interesting and there was little to no character development. The story was generic and bland. I almost thought it was YA until one of the characters almost gets raped and others started throwing around curse words. And the writing. OH MY GOD the writing. It felt like I was reading the writings of a 13 year old. There were awkward phrases galore and plenty of grammatical mistakes. Not to mention all the jumping between first person narrative (usually from Mort's POV) and third person narrative. And occasionally there's even some second person narrative randomly thrown in there, which really threw me off.
I also feel obligated to mention all the anachronisms and how much they bugged me each time I came across one. They should not be calling for the family physician but a healer or medic. When planning for a wedding, they should not be talking about who the best man is going to be. "Sean Townsend" is not a name you would find in a medieval fantasy setting. And all the curse words are modern day curse words, which sounded odd in this fantastical setting.
And then let's not forget Mort's stupid experimenting with his newly discovered magic powers. He tries out the spells that he reads about recklessly and without any caution. For example, he uses his friend's valet as a guinea pig and puts him to sleep on the THIRD time ever that he uses this spell (first two times were on a bird). Despite his lack of an available teacher, he should be smart enough to not recklessly try out unknown spells like that.
Mort's not the only character I have major problems with. I also thought Penny's character was poorly written. You would think after after her near rape experience, she would be more paranoid about others seeing her naked, but soon afterwards, she can't even be bothered to put on a night gown or anything before letting others into Mort's chambers. And that's just one example of how inconsistently her character is written.
Some examples of the terrible writing (notice all the lines written from Mort's perspective about him being an eloquent speaker?? Yeah that got old real quickly):
I'm not interested in what happens in the rest of the series but I may read on to see if the writing improves...
September 20, 2023
I read this several years ago, but for some reason it's not in my books on Goodreads. Probably user error 😐
December 24, 2012
The Blacksmith's Son (Mageborn #1) was recommended to me by Goodreads {dot com} based on the type of books that I had listed as completed. I did not know, going in to it, that it would be a young adult novel, nor that it would be so short, but I found that I "liked it" {tool text for a three star rating on Goodreads} anyway.
This novel follows the life of a young man named Mordecai who happens to be the heir to some-sort-of-nobility-that-is-three -degrees-removed-from-the-king. The fact that I cannot name this peerage title is entirely my own fault as I've decided to dedicate my brain space to other items rather than memorizing peerage titles, the author actually informs the reader of what this title is as well as its relation in the peerage, but it just didn't stick in my mind. The key, here, is that young Mort doesn't actually know that he's this important noble, nor that he is product of a great line of wizards, either. And so, when he discovers both of them, plot ensues.
The book is titled The Blacksmith's Son because young Mort was raised by a peasant blacksmith and his wife. You learn this in the first chapter, so I don't feel that it is actually a spoiler to explain how nobility and wizardry fit with such an interesting title.
Eyebrow raisers:
- The language in this novel is modern rather than medieval, though it is set in a clearly medieval setting. I didn't find that it took anything away from the story, but strict medievalists will have an issue here. Best to avoid the novel if you need "m'lord"s thrown about. That said, the description was also modern and relates to modern things we know about (lab notebooks, flashbangs). Again, one will need to suspend disbelief that a young, medieval boy might think to draw such parallels.
- All forms of heterosexual intercourse including, but not limited to, rape are openly discussed in this novel. It is very sex-positive and makes open and ready reference to erections. Prudes, be warned!
- The f-word appears once - and only once - in this novel. It appears in the phrase, "F- off!" If you are a parent considering this for your little one and the previous eyebrow raiser didn't help you make your decision, perhaps this will. Though, as a former public school teacher, I should note that by the time a kiddo is in the fifth grade they've already heard this word before and the one mention likely won't have any drastic impact on them.
- All the chapters are numbered, but only some of the chapters are titled. This didn't bother me as a reader, as I generally skip over both chapter numbers and titles while reading a novel, anyway, but when I did notice it I found it intriguing. I'd love to know what the author was thinking concerning that peccadillo.
- The blurbs at the beginning of each chapter are essentially a novel in themselves. I read the novel without reading those blurbs, then went back and read those blurbs. Interesting philosophy in the latter though only loosely connected to the novel, itself.
- The book could really use a professional editor. I'm not a grammar nazi by any means, but I caught four separate and distinct mistakes that were jarring to me. I'm sure those who spent more time in the humanities than my scientific-self would have caught more.
This novel follows the life of a young man named Mordecai who happens to be the heir to some-sort-of-nobility-that-is-three -degrees-removed-from-the-king. The fact that I cannot name this peerage title is entirely my own fault as I've decided to dedicate my brain space to other items rather than memorizing peerage titles, the author actually informs the reader of what this title is as well as its relation in the peerage, but it just didn't stick in my mind. The key, here, is that young Mort doesn't actually know that he's this important noble, nor that he is product of a great line of wizards, either. And so, when he discovers both of them, plot ensues.
The book is titled The Blacksmith's Son because young Mort was raised by a peasant blacksmith and his wife. You learn this in the first chapter, so I don't feel that it is actually a spoiler to explain how nobility and wizardry fit with such an interesting title.
Eyebrow raisers:
- The language in this novel is modern rather than medieval, though it is set in a clearly medieval setting. I didn't find that it took anything away from the story, but strict medievalists will have an issue here. Best to avoid the novel if you need "m'lord"s thrown about. That said, the description was also modern and relates to modern things we know about (lab notebooks, flashbangs). Again, one will need to suspend disbelief that a young, medieval boy might think to draw such parallels.
- All forms of heterosexual intercourse including, but not limited to, rape are openly discussed in this novel. It is very sex-positive and makes open and ready reference to erections. Prudes, be warned!
- The f-word appears once - and only once - in this novel. It appears in the phrase, "F- off!" If you are a parent considering this for your little one and the previous eyebrow raiser didn't help you make your decision, perhaps this will. Though, as a former public school teacher, I should note that by the time a kiddo is in the fifth grade they've already heard this word before and the one mention likely won't have any drastic impact on them.
- All the chapters are numbered, but only some of the chapters are titled. This didn't bother me as a reader, as I generally skip over both chapter numbers and titles while reading a novel, anyway, but when I did notice it I found it intriguing. I'd love to know what the author was thinking concerning that peccadillo.
- The blurbs at the beginning of each chapter are essentially a novel in themselves. I read the novel without reading those blurbs, then went back and read those blurbs. Interesting philosophy in the latter though only loosely connected to the novel, itself.
- The book could really use a professional editor. I'm not a grammar nazi by any means, but I caught four separate and distinct mistakes that were jarring to me. I'm sure those who spent more time in the humanities than my scientific-self would have caught more.
September 8, 2012
There are mild spoilers contained within this review.
Firstly, the good: I liked the story. It was a solid plot line with suitably likeable and hate-able characters. The imagery didn't leave me wondering what the surroundings were like, but at the same time didn't go into too much boring detail leaving nothing to the imagination. The main character had enough flaws to make him believable, but not so many that he was annoying; his self deprecating sense of humor was just goofy enough to make him likable without giving the impression that he's a halfwit. There were no important loose ends, since it is obvious that this is the first of series and anything major left unanswered could be picked up in the next installment.
There is a scene of attempted rape, and those with triggers should be warned.
The bad: If felt that a good editor could have polished this story a little better. There are no overly glaring grammar mistakes or misspellings, but there were rough parts where the POV changes so suddenly that I had to go back and re-read the preceding paragraph to make sure I hadn't missed something. Mort (the main character) achieves many milestones in this story and is gravely injured more than once, but it seems no one thinks to send for his adoptive parents while he is on the brink of death--this just felt left out, and it would have been so easy to mention that someone had sent word to them and then a suitable excuse made for their absence if their appearance didn't fit in with the story. Also, I would have liked to know more background on the villain (where did he learn to use his own powers?)
Also(this is my own personal opinion), in a fantasy story I prefer the world to be less paralleled with ours. It's hard to explain, but the use of common vernacular and swear words, common English names (there was one from Greek mythology, too), and other small nuances could have been changed to make it seem like the author created this whole world from scratch, instead of making me think maybe this is just an alternate version of Earth.
All in all it is a good read, and none of the faults I found with it would keep me from reading the second installment. If you are a fan of fantasy and adventure novels, this one would fall nicely into that category.
Firstly, the good: I liked the story. It was a solid plot line with suitably likeable and hate-able characters. The imagery didn't leave me wondering what the surroundings were like, but at the same time didn't go into too much boring detail leaving nothing to the imagination. The main character had enough flaws to make him believable, but not so many that he was annoying; his self deprecating sense of humor was just goofy enough to make him likable without giving the impression that he's a halfwit. There were no important loose ends, since it is obvious that this is the first of series and anything major left unanswered could be picked up in the next installment.
There is a scene of attempted rape, and those with triggers should be warned.
The bad: If felt that a good editor could have polished this story a little better. There are no overly glaring grammar mistakes or misspellings, but there were rough parts where the POV changes so suddenly that I had to go back and re-read the preceding paragraph to make sure I hadn't missed something. Mort (the main character) achieves many milestones in this story and is gravely injured more than once, but it seems no one thinks to send for his adoptive parents while he is on the brink of death--this just felt left out, and it would have been so easy to mention that someone had sent word to them and then a suitable excuse made for their absence if their appearance didn't fit in with the story. Also, I would have liked to know more background on the villain (where did he learn to use his own powers?)
Also(this is my own personal opinion), in a fantasy story I prefer the world to be less paralleled with ours. It's hard to explain, but the use of common vernacular and swear words, common English names (there was one from Greek mythology, too), and other small nuances could have been changed to make it seem like the author created this whole world from scratch, instead of making me think maybe this is just an alternate version of Earth.
All in all it is a good read, and none of the faults I found with it would keep me from reading the second installment. If you are a fan of fantasy and adventure novels, this one would fall nicely into that category.
February 22, 2013
I got this on Kindle some months ago, started it, decided it was OK but run-of-the-mill as Fantasy goes, intended to finish it, got distracted . . .
Came back to it last week, started again, got past the rather conventional start and realised it was something rather better than first impressions had led me to believe.
Many things in here are conventional, and have been done before - the orphan becoming a wizard, self-training, discovery of skills, then challenges and dangers, and the final battle of good and evil - all very conventional stuff, but this time it is handled notably well. The style of the magic is mostly conventional, but the reader is given clues as to how it will develop and these are then played out in such a way as to hold his/her interest, and make this mostly (after the first chapter) quite difficult to put down. The villain is fairly conventional - and so are the friends, but one still finds it easy to identify with them, and I want to find out how these friendships will develop in future books. The love interest is handled very well - nothing that could be called pornography, but a couple of scenes are quite inspirational to the imagination.
I don't want to write any more, I don't want to write spoilers - but I shall keep this one handy, I will probably read it again - I will certainly read the sequel(s) when I have cleared my present backlog.
A well-earned four stars, and if the world develops properly then future work could earn five.
Came back to it last week, started again, got past the rather conventional start and realised it was something rather better than first impressions had led me to believe.
Many things in here are conventional, and have been done before - the orphan becoming a wizard, self-training, discovery of skills, then challenges and dangers, and the final battle of good and evil - all very conventional stuff, but this time it is handled notably well. The style of the magic is mostly conventional, but the reader is given clues as to how it will develop and these are then played out in such a way as to hold his/her interest, and make this mostly (after the first chapter) quite difficult to put down. The villain is fairly conventional - and so are the friends, but one still finds it easy to identify with them, and I want to find out how these friendships will develop in future books. The love interest is handled very well - nothing that could be called pornography, but a couple of scenes are quite inspirational to the imagination.
I don't want to write any more, I don't want to write spoilers - but I shall keep this one handy, I will probably read it again - I will certainly read the sequel(s) when I have cleared my present backlog.
A well-earned four stars, and if the world develops properly then future work could earn five.
October 26, 2011
Interesting story, some good characters, and an intriguing magic system. I actually wanted to read the intro blurbs at the beginning of each chapter, which I usually find extraneous.
But what an up and down book this was. The very beginning felt a little cliche, but the bulk of the middle was very, very good, and then the author just completely lost me toward the end. One female character in particular made one of those major "huh?" decisions that seemed totally out of character and unnecessary.
As others have said, the author could have used some guidance on avoiding so much modern slang and phrases when writing in the first person, but this alone I think most readers would overcome. What got tiresome was how "cute" the main character's voice always had to be. It was like reading Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Great movie, but style doesn't translate well to fantasy. All that said, solid $1 worth of entertainment.
But what an up and down book this was. The very beginning felt a little cliche, but the bulk of the middle was very, very good, and then the author just completely lost me toward the end. One female character in particular made one of those major "huh?" decisions that seemed totally out of character and unnecessary.
As others have said, the author could have used some guidance on avoiding so much modern slang and phrases when writing in the first person, but this alone I think most readers would overcome. What got tiresome was how "cute" the main character's voice always had to be. It was like reading Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Great movie, but style doesn't translate well to fantasy. All that said, solid $1 worth of entertainment.
September 1, 2011
While I like this book, there were a few things in it that were jarring. I didn't like the modern speech mixed with the old world. They used expressions like 'jerk' and 'gonna' just didn't sit well in the world, IMO.
I also felt that the characterization was a bit juvenile in places. This is going to sound harsh, but this book really could have used a good editor. That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it, but with a little polishing this could have gone from a C to a solid B.
I also felt that the characterization was a bit juvenile in places. This is going to sound harsh, but this book really could have used a good editor. That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it, but with a little polishing this could have gone from a C to a solid B.
July 8, 2012
A decent premise, but a number of issues kept popping me out of the experience, such as the frequent shifts between first and third person and the liberal use of modern speech idioms.
Story-wise, Mort overcame his problems far too easily. In fact, so many characters were willing to set the period social conventions aside on his behalf that Mort never faced any serious cultural obstacles, which is the dramatic kernel that gives the "stable boy to wizard" story its soul.
Story-wise, Mort overcame his problems far too easily. In fact, so many characters were willing to set the period social conventions aside on his behalf that Mort never faced any serious cultural obstacles, which is the dramatic kernel that gives the "stable boy to wizard" story its soul.
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