What do you think?
First Mage on the Moon
Cameron Johnston returns in this innovative space fantasy, where wizards race to be the first on the moon – also known as the land of the gods. A fast paced read perfect for fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Ella Pickering has been stuck in a never-ending cycle of debt and pain. Formerly a Unity skymage trained to make supply runs, she is now wheelchair-bound after poor maintenance led to a skyship crash, and the world makes no accommodations for her disability. To pay off her medical debt, Ella works gruelling shifts making magical weapons for the research and design workshop, thinking of the days when she was active in the war between the unreligious Unity and the Ranneas Empire.
A late night double shift means Ella witnesses a lightning strike hit on an arcane experiment by Jackan Grissom. But not all is lost – the device morphs into a crude rocket blasting straight for the moon, ultimately falling into the No Man’s Land between the feuding nations. But the initial upward motion inspires if they can make a device to reach the moon – the land of the gods – then the Unity might be able to come out of the war triumphant, if not unscathed.
By Unity standards, the plot is blasphemous, but Ella and Jackan have their own motives behind summoning the help of the gods. Imbued with new knowledge, the two begin crafting a device to take them to the moon. But as more people become involved in their plot, will they be able to keep it under wraps? Or will word of their heresy lead them to more danger than they first anticipated?
Ella Pickering has been stuck in a never-ending cycle of debt and pain. Formerly a Unity skymage trained to make supply runs, she is now wheelchair-bound after poor maintenance led to a skyship crash, and the world makes no accommodations for her disability. To pay off her medical debt, Ella works gruelling shifts making magical weapons for the research and design workshop, thinking of the days when she was active in the war between the unreligious Unity and the Ranneas Empire.
A late night double shift means Ella witnesses a lightning strike hit on an arcane experiment by Jackan Grissom. But not all is lost – the device morphs into a crude rocket blasting straight for the moon, ultimately falling into the No Man’s Land between the feuding nations. But the initial upward motion inspires if they can make a device to reach the moon – the land of the gods – then the Unity might be able to come out of the war triumphant, if not unscathed.
By Unity standards, the plot is blasphemous, but Ella and Jackan have their own motives behind summoning the help of the gods. Imbued with new knowledge, the two begin crafting a device to take them to the moon. But as more people become involved in their plot, will they be able to keep it under wraps? Or will word of their heresy lead them to more danger than they first anticipated?
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 14, 2026
About the author
Cameron Johnston
23 books624 followersCameron Johnston is a Scottish writer of fantasy and lives in the city of Glasgow. He is a student of Historical European Martial Arts, loves archaeology, history, folklore and mythology, exploring ancient sites and spooky places, and camping out under the stars with a roaring fire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
October 20, 2025
The story starts with the end, a trial, and then jumps three years prior to get the story leading up to this point. This world is built on alchemical magic and engineering. It's torn between two religious powers, Unity and the Empire, and while they share different beliefs, they both agree that mere mortals setting foot on the moon, the land of the gods, is blasphemous. After observing an accidental discovery, a ragtag group of mages, explorers and engineers set out to turn this discovery into an alchemical and engineering first--creating a device that will send them to the moon! The moon houses the silver city of the gods.
This book sings to your inner inventor and explorer! If you have a tinkering heart, it will make you feel warm and fuzzy. It's found family, reaching for new heights in the face of adversity, and not being afraid to defy those in power.
Thanks to Angry Robot for the early ARC to review and blurb! Set to release April 14, 2026.
This book sings to your inner inventor and explorer! If you have a tinkering heart, it will make you feel warm and fuzzy. It's found family, reaching for new heights in the face of adversity, and not being afraid to defy those in power.
Thanks to Angry Robot for the early ARC to review and blurb! Set to release April 14, 2026.
May 13, 2026
This is a very good book.
It's clever, has a unique premise, well written and has believable world-building.
All that being said, it just didn't really grab my attention as much as I thought it would, or it should have done.
I am really nonplussed by this. All the elements were in place for it to be a really enjoyable tale but rather than voraciously devouring it in a couple of days I found I was putting off reading it.
Perhaps it was the build up to the actual voyage to the moon? I did feel the characters spend too much time being introduced but not really doing much.
Perhaps it was the characters themselves. They felt a bit flat, predictable and frankly not that interesting.
The best part of the book was undoubtably the amount of thought that had been put into parodying the real first moon landing.
It included a cold war scenario, paralleled the difficulties of R&D, the early disasters, and even had conspiracy theory deniers.
Despite finding it quite a chore getting through the first two thirds of the book the last chunk was a far more enjoyable read.
It's clearly a 4*, but for me - a lower end 3*.
May 17, 2026
My rating is 3.5
This started out promising and did a bunch of world building but never seemed to get off the ground for me. I enjoyed it but couldn't seem to connect on a deeper level.
I loved the premise of science and fantasy/magic working together and don't get me wrong, this is well written and interesting but something is missing. Blending war, political intrigue and magic with space travel is a new concept for me but even the characters were just bland.
I know this will work for many people and I hope many others find this title too.
Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the opportunity to read and review. My thoughts are my own.
This started out promising and did a bunch of world building but never seemed to get off the ground for me. I enjoyed it but couldn't seem to connect on a deeper level.
I loved the premise of science and fantasy/magic working together and don't get me wrong, this is well written and interesting but something is missing. Blending war, political intrigue and magic with space travel is a new concept for me but even the characters were just bland.
I know this will work for many people and I hope many others find this title too.
Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the opportunity to read and review. My thoughts are my own.
November 19, 2025
First Mage on the Moon contains notes of Full Metal Alchemist and Ed McDonald’s Raven’s Mark wrapped in an alchemical shell of brilliance from Johnston.
March 31, 2026
3.5/5 stars
First Mage in the Moon is a space fantasy set in a world where two nations constantly teeter on the brink of war, driven by minor religious differences. Disillusioned with the war machine they’ve been conscripted into, a group of Unity engineer-mages decides to pursue something radical: building a rocket to reach the moon, not as a weapon, but as a testament to what magic can achieve beyond destruction. Of course, this means treason through misused funds and heresy in attempting to access the moon, believed to be the Garden of the Gods. The question becomes whether they can succeed before their quiet rebellion is discovered by the Unity’s ruling hierarchs as tensions with the Empire escalate.
While I did ultimately enjoy the book, this is unfortunately Cameron Johnston’s weakest work for me (I’ve never rated his other books below 4.5 stars). Much of that comes down to expectations. This novel is a significant departure from his previous work and not quite what the premise or presentation suggests. The cover implies contemporary fantasy, which it is not; the description calls it space fantasy, which feels mislabeled; and while it evokes the Cold War and space race, it isn’t truly historical fantasy either.
Instead, this is firmly science fantasy: a story that applies magic to real-world scientific principles. Much of the narrative is devoted to the step-by-step process of building the rocket including experiments, calculations, failures, and incremental breakthroughs. For some, this focus may feel slow or overly technical. There’s a bit of an inherent defect in the premise though: discovery in fantasy can feel less grounded when solutions ultimately rely on magic, making plausibility more flexible than in traditional science fiction.
That said, I did find myself increasingly drawn into the story. As someone with a STEM background, I appreciated seeing familiar concepts like gravity, air resistance, and gas exchange seen through a magical lens. The sense of curiosity and the thrill of discovery do eventually shine through, especially as the project begins to come together. And while the pacing is uneven early on, the final quarter of the book is particularly compelling, with rising tension leading into the launch and its aftermath.
The novel does struggle with an uneven tone, largely due to its framing device. Beginning and ending with a hanging effectively establishes stakes, but it also undercuts the narrative’s sense of hope and inadvertently spoils the outcome. For a story rooted in found family, innovation, and striving toward something greater, I wanted a more cohesive, uplifting tone to match those themes than the book was wanting to offer. Even so, I did find the bureaucrat mage and father Whitlaw Goddard, whose arc was both tragic and inspiring, to be a standout despite his limited page time.
First Mage on the Moon is an inventive blend of magic and science that delivers a uniquely satisfying exploration of discovery and defiance.
*Thank you Angry Robot Books for the eARC via NetGalley
First Mage in the Moon is a space fantasy set in a world where two nations constantly teeter on the brink of war, driven by minor religious differences. Disillusioned with the war machine they’ve been conscripted into, a group of Unity engineer-mages decides to pursue something radical: building a rocket to reach the moon, not as a weapon, but as a testament to what magic can achieve beyond destruction. Of course, this means treason through misused funds and heresy in attempting to access the moon, believed to be the Garden of the Gods. The question becomes whether they can succeed before their quiet rebellion is discovered by the Unity’s ruling hierarchs as tensions with the Empire escalate.
While I did ultimately enjoy the book, this is unfortunately Cameron Johnston’s weakest work for me (I’ve never rated his other books below 4.5 stars). Much of that comes down to expectations. This novel is a significant departure from his previous work and not quite what the premise or presentation suggests. The cover implies contemporary fantasy, which it is not; the description calls it space fantasy, which feels mislabeled; and while it evokes the Cold War and space race, it isn’t truly historical fantasy either.
Instead, this is firmly science fantasy: a story that applies magic to real-world scientific principles. Much of the narrative is devoted to the step-by-step process of building the rocket including experiments, calculations, failures, and incremental breakthroughs. For some, this focus may feel slow or overly technical. There’s a bit of an inherent defect in the premise though: discovery in fantasy can feel less grounded when solutions ultimately rely on magic, making plausibility more flexible than in traditional science fiction.
That said, I did find myself increasingly drawn into the story. As someone with a STEM background, I appreciated seeing familiar concepts like gravity, air resistance, and gas exchange seen through a magical lens. The sense of curiosity and the thrill of discovery do eventually shine through, especially as the project begins to come together. And while the pacing is uneven early on, the final quarter of the book is particularly compelling, with rising tension leading into the launch and its aftermath.
The novel does struggle with an uneven tone, largely due to its framing device. Beginning and ending with a hanging effectively establishes stakes, but it also undercuts the narrative’s sense of hope and inadvertently spoils the outcome. For a story rooted in found family, innovation, and striving toward something greater, I wanted a more cohesive, uplifting tone to match those themes than the book was wanting to offer. Even so, I did find the bureaucrat mage and father Whitlaw Goddard, whose arc was both tragic and inspiring, to be a standout despite his limited page time.
First Mage on the Moon is an inventive blend of magic and science that delivers a uniquely satisfying exploration of discovery and defiance.
*Thank you Angry Robot Books for the eARC via NetGalley
September 9, 2026
This was a lot of fun. Silly, and I definitely had to suspend my nerdy space science brain significantly, but what a great concept. And it was entertaining. The magic science War Drive was great. All told a very fun romp into a magic space race. Good times
April 16, 2026
Thank you to Angry Robot Books for the copy of First Mage on the Moon. Here are my thoughts!
The Ranneas Empire and Unity are at war. Ella used to be a skymage, until an accident left her in a wheelchair. Now she’s trying to pay off debts, when her colleague Jackan’s experiment goes awry and they decide to try to build a device to travel to the moon, where the God’s reside, and beg the Gods to stop the war.
I consumed so much of this book in the last 24 hours and honestly, it’s one of the best sci-fi/fantasies I have read in a while. The plot at first glance is simple. A ragtag team of engineers are going to build a ship using magic and tools to go to the moon. But the pacing of the plot and the highs that the characters see are perfect. There is significant danger, tons of action, a lot of which is unexpected and through character development through the trials the team faces.
Each character also feels unique and likeable. There is excellent representation and I will warn you, not all of them are making it out alive. My heart hurts after reading this, but I have no notes! I want to pick it up and read it again. It satisfied my sciencey-nerd brain as well as my love for fantastical beasts. It truly is a well-balanced novel that makes me want to dive into the rest of Cameron Johnston’s works.
Move over authors of old, we’ve got a wonderful new sci-fi/fantasy author in our midst.
The Ranneas Empire and Unity are at war. Ella used to be a skymage, until an accident left her in a wheelchair. Now she’s trying to pay off debts, when her colleague Jackan’s experiment goes awry and they decide to try to build a device to travel to the moon, where the God’s reside, and beg the Gods to stop the war.
I consumed so much of this book in the last 24 hours and honestly, it’s one of the best sci-fi/fantasies I have read in a while. The plot at first glance is simple. A ragtag team of engineers are going to build a ship using magic and tools to go to the moon. But the pacing of the plot and the highs that the characters see are perfect. There is significant danger, tons of action, a lot of which is unexpected and through character development through the trials the team faces.
Each character also feels unique and likeable. There is excellent representation and I will warn you, not all of them are making it out alive. My heart hurts after reading this, but I have no notes! I want to pick it up and read it again. It satisfied my sciencey-nerd brain as well as my love for fantastical beasts. It truly is a well-balanced novel that makes me want to dive into the rest of Cameron Johnston’s works.
Move over authors of old, we’ve got a wonderful new sci-fi/fantasy author in our midst.
April 10, 2026
Just finished The First Mage on the Moon. An absolutely fantastic book. It has a really interesting premise - just how would people from a fantasy world would deal with space travel issues like gravity and lack of air in space?
In a grim world beset by decades of war we encounter a unique group who dare to dream of something different. Be warned, you may need a few tissue as it’s a story with a surprising amount of heart.
In a time of some truly awful world events, a story where people try to use technology & engineering for good and not to make weapons really resonated with me
Quite possibly the best book I’ve read so far this year.
In a grim world beset by decades of war we encounter a unique group who dare to dream of something different. Be warned, you may need a few tissue as it’s a story with a surprising amount of heart.
In a time of some truly awful world events, a story where people try to use technology & engineering for good and not to make weapons really resonated with me
Quite possibly the best book I’ve read so far this year.
April 10, 2026
This has been such a fun read and so appropriate to read with the Artemis crew heading round the moon this week.
When a mage grows weary of creating weapons for the endless war and has a loftier dream. Enter a rag tag group of mages all committed to this secret project for their own reasons. The increasingly bizarre ways they hide and cover up the project had me laughing.
A wonderful story of what happens when you dream of the stars. Special mention to Jeff the imp as well.
Also another amazing disability representation, a person with disabilities it brings me amount joy the amount of books around at the moment with diverse characters.
When a mage grows weary of creating weapons for the endless war and has a loftier dream. Enter a rag tag group of mages all committed to this secret project for their own reasons. The increasingly bizarre ways they hide and cover up the project had me laughing.
A wonderful story of what happens when you dream of the stars. Special mention to Jeff the imp as well.
Also another amazing disability representation, a person with disabilities it brings me amount joy the amount of books around at the moment with diverse characters.
May 3, 2026
Review originally on JamReads
First Mage on the Moon is an interesting and dark science-fantasy novel written by Cameron Johnston, published by Angry Robot Books. A novel that was a perfect pick for me after all the Artemis II hype, and that, while still being dark and ruthless, it is full of heart, trying to answer the question of how people in a magical world would tackle the problems of going to the moon while two wars are in a stalemate war.
Ella Pickering is drowning in debt, after a crash truncated her promising future as a Unity skymage; she now uses a wheelchair and works as many shifts as possible, making weapons in the Unity workshops. But her situation changes after watching how an experiment by engineer Jackan Grisson goes awry: what intended to be a weapon morphs into a crude rocket, blasting skyward before falling into No Man's Land. A dangerous idea is sparked: what if they would try to create a device that could reach the Moon, the home of the gods; a dangerous and heretical idea, but if they get enough help, they might actually make their dream true and end the war.
Johnston clearly sets the tone with the initial scene, showing how this a crude, almost cruel world before rewinding to the moments that led us to it; however, while we never leave that impression about the world, especially as we get to know more about the permanent war between two powers, there's much space (pun intended) for small glimpses of light, of hope, especially incarnated in our characters, and how they might just be a team of crazy dreamers, but all of them are memorable in their own way.
In particular, I would like to highlight how disability is represented through the character of Ella; suffering an extreme burnout, and almost being disheartened by how her situation seems to be a bottomless pit, but letting hope enter when more people start helping her and more importantly, doing those small things that also help to alleviate her situation.
The pacing is a bit irregular, something that can be a bit accentuated by how powerful the starting scene is, which is immediately followed by the slowest section of the book; said that, once you get into business, it is impossible to not be infected by the dreams of the characters, while struggling to hide their real intentions from the governments intending to fund new weapons.
First Mage of the Moon is a novel that I enjoyed so much: the blend between analytical science and fantasy with that grimdark/industrial background which puts the spotlight on how this group of dreamers are trying to break the skies was simply amazing. A remarkable novel by Cameron Johnston!
First Mage on the Moon is an interesting and dark science-fantasy novel written by Cameron Johnston, published by Angry Robot Books. A novel that was a perfect pick for me after all the Artemis II hype, and that, while still being dark and ruthless, it is full of heart, trying to answer the question of how people in a magical world would tackle the problems of going to the moon while two wars are in a stalemate war.
Ella Pickering is drowning in debt, after a crash truncated her promising future as a Unity skymage; she now uses a wheelchair and works as many shifts as possible, making weapons in the Unity workshops. But her situation changes after watching how an experiment by engineer Jackan Grisson goes awry: what intended to be a weapon morphs into a crude rocket, blasting skyward before falling into No Man's Land. A dangerous idea is sparked: what if they would try to create a device that could reach the Moon, the home of the gods; a dangerous and heretical idea, but if they get enough help, they might actually make their dream true and end the war.
Johnston clearly sets the tone with the initial scene, showing how this a crude, almost cruel world before rewinding to the moments that led us to it; however, while we never leave that impression about the world, especially as we get to know more about the permanent war between two powers, there's much space (pun intended) for small glimpses of light, of hope, especially incarnated in our characters, and how they might just be a team of crazy dreamers, but all of them are memorable in their own way.
In particular, I would like to highlight how disability is represented through the character of Ella; suffering an extreme burnout, and almost being disheartened by how her situation seems to be a bottomless pit, but letting hope enter when more people start helping her and more importantly, doing those small things that also help to alleviate her situation.
The pacing is a bit irregular, something that can be a bit accentuated by how powerful the starting scene is, which is immediately followed by the slowest section of the book; said that, once you get into business, it is impossible to not be infected by the dreams of the characters, while struggling to hide their real intentions from the governments intending to fund new weapons.
First Mage of the Moon is a novel that I enjoyed so much: the blend between analytical science and fantasy with that grimdark/industrial background which puts the spotlight on how this group of dreamers are trying to break the skies was simply amazing. A remarkable novel by Cameron Johnston!
April 5, 2026
I was pleasantly surprised my this book! I went in expecting a heavy scifi but actually it was more fantasy than scifi ! (Which is good bc I’m too dumb for heavy scifi)
The characters really pulled me through the book. I loved each and every one of them (especially the summoning demons he’s the best). But I did want to highly one of the mcs who is in a wheelchair. Cameron Johnson really delved into that to make it believable, showing the struggles disabled people face without belittling. It felt realistic. And the character wasn’t diminished to her disability either. She was clever and a part of the team to reach the moon.
The backdrop of the war really added tension to the whole thing. The secrets they were keeping from their superiors — I was on the edge of my seat!
The way the magic mixed with the science was well done (in my dumbass opinion) without getting into spoilers I understood it all and the consequences of some of the magic balanced with some of the characters choices was tense indeed.
I assumed this was a standalone and never have I been pleased that it’s not! And from the ending I can’t wait to read the next instalment.
The characters really pulled me through the book. I loved each and every one of them (especially the summoning demons he’s the best). But I did want to highly one of the mcs who is in a wheelchair. Cameron Johnson really delved into that to make it believable, showing the struggles disabled people face without belittling. It felt realistic. And the character wasn’t diminished to her disability either. She was clever and a part of the team to reach the moon.
The backdrop of the war really added tension to the whole thing. The secrets they were keeping from their superiors — I was on the edge of my seat!
The way the magic mixed with the science was well done (in my dumbass opinion) without getting into spoilers I understood it all and the consequences of some of the magic balanced with some of the characters choices was tense indeed.
I assumed this was a standalone and never have I been pleased that it’s not! And from the ending I can’t wait to read the next instalment.
March 20, 2026
This was such a fresh, adventurous read and I had such a great time with it.
The concept alone hooked me, magic and engineering colliding in a race to reach the moon?? I was immediately in. It feels like a blend of sci-fi and fantasy in a way that’s really unique, and it never felt overly complicated or hard to follow. Instead, it just pulled me deeper into the story.
I especially loved how the book starts at the end and then works its way back. Knowing where things are headed adds this constant sense of tension, and I found myself trying to piece everything together as I went. It made the journey just as compelling as the destination.
The characters were another highlight for me. There’s a strong sense of found family, and I loved watching this group come together despite everything working against them. Their dynamics felt natural, and I got really invested in their individual journeys and the choices they were making.
The magic system was also really interesting. It felt different and thoughtfully integrated into the world, especially with how it tied into the larger conflict and the push toward innovation and discovery.
Overall, this was such a fun, engaging read that felt both adventurous and a little emotional at the same time. If you’re looking for something that blends fantasy, sci-fi, and a group of characters you can root for, this is definitely worth picking up. Thank you Angry Robot for the gifted arc.
The concept alone hooked me, magic and engineering colliding in a race to reach the moon?? I was immediately in. It feels like a blend of sci-fi and fantasy in a way that’s really unique, and it never felt overly complicated or hard to follow. Instead, it just pulled me deeper into the story.
I especially loved how the book starts at the end and then works its way back. Knowing where things are headed adds this constant sense of tension, and I found myself trying to piece everything together as I went. It made the journey just as compelling as the destination.
The characters were another highlight for me. There’s a strong sense of found family, and I loved watching this group come together despite everything working against them. Their dynamics felt natural, and I got really invested in their individual journeys and the choices they were making.
The magic system was also really interesting. It felt different and thoughtfully integrated into the world, especially with how it tied into the larger conflict and the push toward innovation and discovery.
Overall, this was such a fun, engaging read that felt both adventurous and a little emotional at the same time. If you’re looking for something that blends fantasy, sci-fi, and a group of characters you can root for, this is definitely worth picking up. Thank you Angry Robot for the gifted arc.
June 9, 2026
Thanks to Angry Robot Books and Netgalley for the ARC.
I love that knowing that every time I pick up a Cameron Johnston novel I'll be thoroughly entertained!! First Mage on the Moon is a sci-fantasy adventure that surrounds you with well written characters, a war-torn world searching for peace and a dash of humor for good measure. Cameron's worlds are always so well developed that you feel like you could step right into it. There are two nations in the midst of a long-term war, and the Unity Research and Design Workshop is tasked with building bigger and better weapons, but the scientists, engineers and mages involved are sick of the war and being responsible for the deaths they know they are causing. So, under the noses of their superiors, a team of rebels decides to change everything and build a device that can reach the moon so they can confront their gods about why this war continues to rage on.
This novel is a wonderful combination of science fiction, magic, fantasy and politics with characters who you can relate to and understand why they are so determined to change their own fates and reach for the moon. Tess Irondale does the narration, and it was so enjoyable to listen to and can highly recommend this to both science fiction and fantasy fans!!!
I love that knowing that every time I pick up a Cameron Johnston novel I'll be thoroughly entertained!! First Mage on the Moon is a sci-fantasy adventure that surrounds you with well written characters, a war-torn world searching for peace and a dash of humor for good measure. Cameron's worlds are always so well developed that you feel like you could step right into it. There are two nations in the midst of a long-term war, and the Unity Research and Design Workshop is tasked with building bigger and better weapons, but the scientists, engineers and mages involved are sick of the war and being responsible for the deaths they know they are causing. So, under the noses of their superiors, a team of rebels decides to change everything and build a device that can reach the moon so they can confront their gods about why this war continues to rage on.
This novel is a wonderful combination of science fiction, magic, fantasy and politics with characters who you can relate to and understand why they are so determined to change their own fates and reach for the moon. Tess Irondale does the narration, and it was so enjoyable to listen to and can highly recommend this to both science fiction and fantasy fans!!!
May 10, 2026
starts meh … gets pretty good in the middle … then ends with the most eye rollingly ridiculous 80 pages that are so poorly structured i wonder if it was even edited. you’re presented w a literal chekhov’s heart attack that ends up being so boring and everything on the moon was so fast and barely comprehensible … im so genuinely frustrated at how bad this ended up being because i actually loved the middle section!
January 1, 2026
Man, I love a book that ends where it begins.
At the start of this book we are at the Chiefs execution for treason but we do not know what led him there.
The remainder of the events take place over the three years prior to this execution and ends where the book started and it sets up the sequel for this book perfectly.
We follow multiple characters and their journey to treason against the empire that has wronged them all somehow. How do they do it? Well, the plan to be the first mages to set foot on the moon which is the home of their gods in hopes to stop the horrific war that has been plaguing their world for a long time.
This was funny, fast paced and yet somehow insanely emotional at the same time.
Imagine our version of the first man on the moon with a wizardly twist.
At the start of this book we are at the Chiefs execution for treason but we do not know what led him there.
The remainder of the events take place over the three years prior to this execution and ends where the book started and it sets up the sequel for this book perfectly.
We follow multiple characters and their journey to treason against the empire that has wronged them all somehow. How do they do it? Well, the plan to be the first mages to set foot on the moon which is the home of their gods in hopes to stop the horrific war that has been plaguing their world for a long time.
This was funny, fast paced and yet somehow insanely emotional at the same time.
Imagine our version of the first man on the moon with a wizardly twist.
March 21, 2026
I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley.
I have nothing but amazing things to say about this book. It may be my new favorite book. To put it simply, this book is incredible. If Red Rising and The Knight and the Moth had a baby, this would be that baby.
The First Mage on the Moon has everything I want in a book. The world building was so well done that I felt drawn into it immediately. The characters are well-crafted and beautifully written. I love how invested I was in the path of the characters. The magic was interesting and different from anything I was familiar with. The relationships were believable and all the characters were just the right amount of charming, funny, inspiring sympathy or ire.
I really enjoyed the parallels between the building of their space program and ours in a way that wasn’t over-technical or over my head. The addition of magic was done in a way that added interest and never seems silly or used to hide from hard questions.
I was concerned that this book starting at the end would take away from something but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The story development gave the ending depth and meaning that had me in tears. I was hoping for a sequel, a story of a revolution but sadly for me, the book wrapped up nicely and left me satisfied.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone. It is a great read, a true adventure and I can’t wait for my friends to read it so we can talk about it. I will definitely be buying a copy for myself and as gifts when it is released.
I have nothing but amazing things to say about this book. It may be my new favorite book. To put it simply, this book is incredible. If Red Rising and The Knight and the Moth had a baby, this would be that baby.
The First Mage on the Moon has everything I want in a book. The world building was so well done that I felt drawn into it immediately. The characters are well-crafted and beautifully written. I love how invested I was in the path of the characters. The magic was interesting and different from anything I was familiar with. The relationships were believable and all the characters were just the right amount of charming, funny, inspiring sympathy or ire.
I really enjoyed the parallels between the building of their space program and ours in a way that wasn’t over-technical or over my head. The addition of magic was done in a way that added interest and never seems silly or used to hide from hard questions.
I was concerned that this book starting at the end would take away from something but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The story development gave the ending depth and meaning that had me in tears. I was hoping for a sequel, a story of a revolution but sadly for me, the book wrapped up nicely and left me satisfied.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone. It is a great read, a true adventure and I can’t wait for my friends to read it so we can talk about it. I will definitely be buying a copy for myself and as gifts when it is released.
April 21, 2026
I received a free ARC from the publisher. Opinions are my own.
~~~
Did you follow the Artemis II mission?
Did you follow it because you’re a science or space nerd and enjoyed watching a crew of accomplished experts work together? Perhaps you enjoyed the comradery and friendship of the crew or learning fun facts about the science behind the mission.
Did you follow it because everything feels heavy and hopeless and you needed some perspective? Perhaps you just wanted to stare back at earth and wonder at this small rock hurtling through space. Maybe you couldn’t help but ask why we spend so much time hating each other instead of working together.
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, let me convince you to pick up this book. You see, FIRST MAGE ON THE MOON is all of these themes combined. It’s a fun workplace romp that follows a group of mages and engineers who want to build a ship that can reach the moon. It’s also a timely story about a group of people who are tired of building deadly weapons for a tyrannical government and want to do something inspirational, even if they know they will eventually be caught and subject to terrible consequences.
This book manages to balance these themes in a way that truly works. It’s a fun and entertaining story that was also surprisingly serious and emotional. There is so much in this book to love. If space exploration or the idea of humanity striving towards something noble has captured your imagination these past few weeks, this book is for you!
~~~
Did you follow the Artemis II mission?
Did you follow it because you’re a science or space nerd and enjoyed watching a crew of accomplished experts work together? Perhaps you enjoyed the comradery and friendship of the crew or learning fun facts about the science behind the mission.
Did you follow it because everything feels heavy and hopeless and you needed some perspective? Perhaps you just wanted to stare back at earth and wonder at this small rock hurtling through space. Maybe you couldn’t help but ask why we spend so much time hating each other instead of working together.
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, let me convince you to pick up this book. You see, FIRST MAGE ON THE MOON is all of these themes combined. It’s a fun workplace romp that follows a group of mages and engineers who want to build a ship that can reach the moon. It’s also a timely story about a group of people who are tired of building deadly weapons for a tyrannical government and want to do something inspirational, even if they know they will eventually be caught and subject to terrible consequences.
This book manages to balance these themes in a way that truly works. It’s a fun and entertaining story that was also surprisingly serious and emotional. There is so much in this book to love. If space exploration or the idea of humanity striving towards something noble has captured your imagination these past few weeks, this book is for you!
May 22, 2026
Unique and imaginative, this was a fantastic debut book. Science fiction, fantasy and political intrigue all mix together for a story about a world where magic is real, and the gods live on the moon.
It's heresy, but a small group of engineers and magicians are sick of the endless wars and weapons they are constantly forced to create. After an accident in a lab, they get the idea to create a rocket to reach the moon and visit the gods. If they're caught, they will all be executed for blasphemy.
The world was wildly creative. Magic based around engineering and a power called aether is used to solve the real scientific problems and principles required to actually reach the moon. The magic system was really well developed and I loved how it interacted with maths and engineering. It was a perfect mix of fantasy and SciFi.
The political intrigue comes in the form of the Hierarchs of the Unity constantly breathing down the groups necks trying to catch them out and figure out what they're doing. There are spies and traitors, and it all felt very much like the cold war. The Empire, the other nation at war with the Unity was extremely "Russian".
The characters were all great. Props for making the main character a wheelchair user, and again using magic to create her chair.. the suggestion of a sapphic relationship between Kathrine and Ella was subtle and nice.
I thought the ending built up nicely with a pretty satisfying climax that wrapped everything up.
It's heresy, but a small group of engineers and magicians are sick of the endless wars and weapons they are constantly forced to create. After an accident in a lab, they get the idea to create a rocket to reach the moon and visit the gods. If they're caught, they will all be executed for blasphemy.
The world was wildly creative. Magic based around engineering and a power called aether is used to solve the real scientific problems and principles required to actually reach the moon. The magic system was really well developed and I loved how it interacted with maths and engineering. It was a perfect mix of fantasy and SciFi.
The political intrigue comes in the form of the Hierarchs of the Unity constantly breathing down the groups necks trying to catch them out and figure out what they're doing. There are spies and traitors, and it all felt very much like the cold war. The Empire, the other nation at war with the Unity was extremely "Russian".
The characters were all great. Props for making the main character a wheelchair user, and again using magic to create her chair.. the suggestion of a sapphic relationship between Kathrine and Ella was subtle and nice.
I thought the ending built up nicely with a pretty satisfying climax that wrapped everything up.
March 25, 2026
I absolutely flew through this book! If you love the Red Rising saga or Full Metal Alchemist you are going to enjoy this book because it’s got similar vibes!
After Ella accidentally witnesses an experiment gone wrong it becomes a race to get to the moon! There is a bit of a corrupt government/ cast system going on in this book, the experiments are done secretly, there are unique mythical beings, an interesting magic system AND found family!
The ending to this book left me reeling, it was insane how quickly I devoured the last 50 pages of this book as so much happens! If you are looking for a sci-fi fantasy to pick up you should definitely add this to your list!
After Ella accidentally witnesses an experiment gone wrong it becomes a race to get to the moon! There is a bit of a corrupt government/ cast system going on in this book, the experiments are done secretly, there are unique mythical beings, an interesting magic system AND found family!
The ending to this book left me reeling, it was insane how quickly I devoured the last 50 pages of this book as so much happens! If you are looking for a sci-fi fantasy to pick up you should definitely add this to your list!
Read
July 20, 2026I really should have dnf’d this book because I was not in the mood and I just couldn’t get into it. I would say it’s an exceedingly average book? I liked the mix of scifi/fantasy, but I was so ambivalent about all of it. And the very end sorta leaves it open for a sequel which I can’t imagine would be any more interesting.
Read
April 28, 2026Mages! On the moon! Cameron Johnston's First Mage on the Moon has a compelling premise, but in the words of Sasha Bonkowsky, "doesn’t quite get off the ground." Read the full review at Reactor
February 24, 2026
Hello??? This was such a fun read with interesting characters and I am so thankful to have gotten an ARC copy!!
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 22, 2026
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader. If you like this post, you might like others on that site. Consider checking it out!
---
WHAT'S FIRST MAGE ON THE MOON ABOUT?
An accident triggered by lightning and experimental weaponry leads Ella Pickering to have a conversation or two with the engineer Jackan Grissom. Ella was a skymage, flying ships in the war—after a crash that landed her in a wheelchair, she's been working in a weapons factory doing grunt work. She knows enough to see that Grissom's weapon wasn't really that much of a weapon.
It turns out that he's actually trying to build something to reach the home of the Gods—the Moon. Ella is intrigued and gets herself assigned to his team. They recruit a couple of other people—actually, no. one person blackmails her way onto their team, and they get saddled with another. Their boss believes they are working on a revolutionary weapon—but that's the last thing they want to do.
Essentially, they're stealing money and resources from the government's war effort to undertake a mission that is (or at least approaches) blasphemy. And anyone figuring out what they're doing is going to lead to their demise.
THE LITTLE TOUCHES
For recovering Space Race junkies like me, there are so many things to find joy in.
Johnston has worked in several—more than several—little Easter Egg-type things throughout the book. Allusions to Star Trek and Firefly, several names that make you think of Gemini and Mercury astronauts, there's a very USSR-snooping-on-the-Mercury-Program feel to things, the alternative to Laika or Ham the Astrochimp is inspired—and only possible in a Fantasy novel.
WHY DID I PICK THIS UP? WHY DID I KEEP READING?
I picked this up because The Last Shield convinced me that I want to read a lot more of Johnston (and I still do). Also—the idea of a magic user headed to the moon in a rocket-looking thing is just too great to pass up.
Why did I keep reading it? As much as I dislike an in medias res beginning and typically don’t find them that effective in getting me to answer something, this one had me invested. How do we get from the beginning (see my Opening Lines post) to this point?
Even without that, I’d have been in—watching a bunch of magic users function as engineers and scientists with their magic, rather than just muttering something and waving their hands to get a wonderful result—is such a great idea, and was fun to read. It's possibly the best idea in the book, and the execution really makes you want to see other Fantasy writers take a stab at things along those lines.
WHAT DOES THIS BOOK TELL US ABOUT HUMANITY?
It’s very much in the spirit of one of Sam Seaborn's better lines:
At the core, this book is about a bunch of decent and smart people who are tired of a war that doesn’t seem to have an end, or much of a point. They’re tired of pumping out weapons and have found a way to use their magic and smarts for something positive. That human spirit that Sam puts into words permeates the novel, in the middle of everything else—these people want to take to the sky.
Not just among the team—but across borders. There’s a real international appeal to their efforts, but I'll leave that for you to see.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT FIRST MAGE ON THE MOON?
This wasn’t the book that I thought it was going to be—but I’m not complaining.
One thing that I’d have liked to see more of is the developing friendships among the team. There's enough science and engineering, political maneuvering going on, espionage, and warfare that there really wasn’t room for it. But those little moments of conversation between them, collaboration, and growing bonds were the best parts of the book. The character work was very well done, but not the priority of the novel (and I wish it was).
This was, instead, a book about war, the costs of it (in many senses), hope, those who benefit from destruction, and the systems that encourage this behavior. What our astronauts learn about their gods is more than unexpected, but fits in with the overarching themes of the book.
I'm not entirely sure that I can say that I enjoyed this book—but I'm very glad that I read it. The ideas, the characters, and the execution were more than worth the investment of time. And the last page or so really just sealed the deal on this being a good read.
---
He slid the paper across her workbench and stood there, waiting expectantly.
She sighed and glanced down, paused, then looked harder at the scrawl of handwriting. On the page was a circle representing their world, and another, smaller circle with a crude palace of the gods crowning it, depicting the moon. A straight dotted line ran from one circle to the other, surrounded by numbers and calculations, many scored out.
“What is this unholy mess?” she asked.
Jackan nodded at his workings. “You tell me, lass.”
She studied it, determining distance and speed and... “What is this number?”
“Weight,” he said.
She frowned, trying to fit it all together. “It looks like you are trying to figure out the speed you would need to achieve to get something the weight of a stone golem to the surface of the moon.”
He rocked backwards and forwards on his heels. “Mmmhmm. Thoughts?”
She looked up at him, eyes widening as she took in his sincerity and remembered an off-hand comment made the day before. “Why the moon? Is it just a thought experiment?’
He nodded. “Sure is.” Then, under his breath: “For now.”
WHAT'S FIRST MAGE ON THE MOON ABOUT?
An accident triggered by lightning and experimental weaponry leads Ella Pickering to have a conversation or two with the engineer Jackan Grissom. Ella was a skymage, flying ships in the war—after a crash that landed her in a wheelchair, she's been working in a weapons factory doing grunt work. She knows enough to see that Grissom's weapon wasn't really that much of a weapon.
It turns out that he's actually trying to build something to reach the home of the Gods—the Moon. Ella is intrigued and gets herself assigned to his team. They recruit a couple of other people—actually, no. one person blackmails her way onto their team, and they get saddled with another. Their boss believes they are working on a revolutionary weapon—but that's the last thing they want to do.
Essentially, they're stealing money and resources from the government's war effort to undertake a mission that is (or at least approaches) blasphemy. And anyone figuring out what they're doing is going to lead to their demise.
THE LITTLE TOUCHES
For recovering Space Race junkies like me, there are so many things to find joy in.
Johnston has worked in several—more than several—little Easter Egg-type things throughout the book. Allusions to Star Trek and Firefly, several names that make you think of Gemini and Mercury astronauts, there's a very USSR-snooping-on-the-Mercury-Program feel to things, the alternative to Laika or Ham the Astrochimp is inspired—and only possible in a Fantasy novel.
WHY DID I PICK THIS UP? WHY DID I KEEP READING?
“Aye,” the old engineer said. “Most guild-taught mages think that every little problem can be solved by using the right magic, but there’s only so many arcane runes and enchantments you can add to something before they snarl each other up explode in your face. I was a stonemason and an engineer before I was an accredited mage, so I thought to myself ‘alchemy, now, that’s a different matter entirely’. If we use our brains as well as our aether, we are bound to improve the efficiency of both.”
I picked this up because The Last Shield convinced me that I want to read a lot more of Johnston (and I still do). Also—the idea of a magic user headed to the moon in a rocket-looking thing is just too great to pass up.
Why did I keep reading it? As much as I dislike an in medias res beginning and typically don’t find them that effective in getting me to answer something, this one had me invested. How do we get from the beginning (see my Opening Lines post) to this point?
Even without that, I’d have been in—watching a bunch of magic users function as engineers and scientists with their magic, rather than just muttering something and waving their hands to get a wonderful result—is such a great idea, and was fun to read. It's possibly the best idea in the book, and the execution really makes you want to see other Fantasy writers take a stab at things along those lines.
WHAT DOES THIS BOOK TELL US ABOUT HUMANITY?
It’s very much in the spirit of one of Sam Seaborn's better lines:
Mallory O'Brian: Do we really have to go to Mars?
Sam Seaborn: Yes.
Mallory O'Brian: Why?
Sam Seaborn: 'Cause it's next. 'Cause we came out of the cave, and we looked over the hill and we saw fire; and we crossed the ocean and we pioneered the west, and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on a timeline of exploration and this is what's next.
At the core, this book is about a bunch of decent and smart people who are tired of a war that doesn’t seem to have an end, or much of a point. They’re tired of pumping out weapons and have found a way to use their magic and smarts for something positive. That human spirit that Sam puts into words permeates the novel, in the middle of everything else—these people want to take to the sky.
Not just among the team—but across borders. There’s a real international appeal to their efforts, but I'll leave that for you to see.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT FIRST MAGE ON THE MOON?
“Up there, beyond this ball of rock, sea, and soil, is something humanity knows nothing about. We have so many questions without answers, and so many questions we don’t even know to ask."
This wasn’t the book that I thought it was going to be—but I’m not complaining.
One thing that I’d have liked to see more of is the developing friendships among the team. There's enough science and engineering, political maneuvering going on, espionage, and warfare that there really wasn’t room for it. But those little moments of conversation between them, collaboration, and growing bonds were the best parts of the book. The character work was very well done, but not the priority of the novel (and I wish it was).
This was, instead, a book about war, the costs of it (in many senses), hope, those who benefit from destruction, and the systems that encourage this behavior. What our astronauts learn about their gods is more than unexpected, but fits in with the overarching themes of the book.
I'm not entirely sure that I can say that I enjoyed this book—but I'm very glad that I read it. The ideas, the characters, and the execution were more than worth the investment of time. And the last page or so really just sealed the deal on this being a good read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Ella Pickering is a disgraced skymage, forced to make weapons for Unity after an accident caused her to crash land into a Heirarch's carriage breaking her back and breaking her legs in the process.
Jackan Grissom is an engineer, before the war he built bridges, now he dreams up ways to make Unity's weapons more effective against The Empire.
Katherine Goddard is mathematical genius, she graduated at the top of her class from the Guild and much as anyone else she has become just another cog in the wheel of Unity's war machine. Unlike everyone else though she just happens to the very sheltered daughter of Whitlaw Goddard, the Head of Research and Design for Unity, not only is she forced to do a job she hates for Unity she also has an overbearing father to contend with.
Guylan Bluford also graduated at the top of his class in engineering, young and quite arrogant he and Jackan have butted heads since the day they met.
Rojer Glenn is an experienced skymage himself, but after an accident (that didn't cause him to crash into a Heirarch's golden carriage) he became apart of the ground troops. He is a veteran who has spent far too much time patrolling the border of No Man's Land prepared to stop both Imperial troops and the monstrosities that the aptly named stretch of land between Unity and the Empire births.
One evening out of sheer curiosity, Ella visits Jackan in his small area of the fort they are all stationed at, while they are discussing the very secret weapon he is currently working on for Unity a bolt of lightning strikes his project, hopefully a missile that will be able to fly farther than anything they've designed before and launches it straight into the air where it finally crashes into No Man's Land. Ella and Jackan are thoroughly amazed and far from being upset from the loss of his project Jackan is eager to recover the pieces. He confesses to Ella that inspiration has struck, he has a crazy but he believes brilliant idea to bring hope to a world that has been at war: What if instead of designing a missile he designs a rocket to send a mage to the moon!? Whether she likes it or not Jackan's idea has taken root in her brain and thanks to government bureaucracy Katherine, Guylan, Rojer, and Whitlaw in turn are pulled into Jackan's dream even knowing that if the heirarch's discover their plan it will mean their executions.
There is zero way that Johnston could have known that the U.S. would have started a war just weeks before this book came out and yet while I hope every single day some sanity will return to our government and this disgusting war will end, if it is not to be than this is the perfect book that will remind us all that human ingenuity, perseverance, and simply the good found in so many of us can and will prevail.
The cast of characters in this book absolutely 100% makes it just a simply delightful read. While working together on this project they put not only any differences aside but form a bond that it absolutely heartwarming almost from the beginning. Each and every one of these characters were just a treasure and honestly, I can't say I liked one more than the other. Their dedication to this insane project brings them together in a way that makes each of them equal in my eyes as they work together to overcome obstacles and keep each other safe from a truly corrupt government. They work so well together and pretty rapidly, Johnston could have gone down the path of having petty squabbles erupt between them but he didn't and I am so grateful for that. They are just so far above just friends or colleagues that I am not sure there is a word for it. They were a unit, remove one of them or even suggest that one of them doesn't fit and that unit and in turn the feeling of hope they engender as a team falls completely apart. Quite honestly, had that happened some of the magic that is this story would have fizzled out.
The setting reminded me a bit of WWI but there is also this covert "Space Race" going between Unity (that looks a lot like the U.S. or Britain) and The Empire (which looks a lot like Russia). Somehow even though this isn't the U.S. and it isn't Russia I still got that same feeling that I can't really describe when my parents discuss the real Space Race. But not on a political level. Hearing my parents talk about it I don't think in the end they really would have cared who reached the moon first they just wanted it to happen, like maybe it wouldn't fix the whole world but by the gods it would be a good start. Even though, our would-be astronauts don't have the backing of their government, hell no one even knows what they are doing, I still had that same feeling this entire book. Like this is so very important for everyone and maybe this accomplishment will bring the humans of the world together for a bit, even if only for that moment that the first mage touches steps onto the moon's surface that the world stands together in the brief space in time, it will have been worth it. I loved that feeling so very, very much and to be able to capture that in writing I find to be just a testament to Johnston's ability.
I think I've probably said this before but there is nothing I love more than magic applied to just that everyday and mundane things of the world, but in engineering on this scale? Omigoodness was that so very much fun, especially since so much of it focuses on using magic and human imagination and technology to make this whole thing work. Oh sure there are mages and an Imp named Jeff is our test monkey but it's the parts where the group is talking about the math involved to figure out the trajectory, the chemistry (alchemy here) involved to devise "rocket fuel" (not called rocket fuel but I mean that's what it is) mixed with the levitation ruins that keeps the thing up and the dragon heart that makes the whole thing work that I loved so much.
Finally, add that all in with each of these brilliant scientists (because that's what they are) having these AHA! Moments and it's just a testament to how much humans can accomplish when we work together, but not only that have the means to put our imaginations to good use and the support of someone who allows us to what we do best. Dear gods just what could we accomplish if we had just those two things!? I would most definitely have some sort of clothes folding machine by now.
First Mage on the Moon was a glorious story about a group of people who are sick to death of war and want to show the world that there is so much more to life than this. That yes you can truly achieve the impossible and there is so much to look forward to even if you can't see it right now.
As always thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the eArc!
Jackan Grissom is an engineer, before the war he built bridges, now he dreams up ways to make Unity's weapons more effective against The Empire.
Katherine Goddard is mathematical genius, she graduated at the top of her class from the Guild and much as anyone else she has become just another cog in the wheel of Unity's war machine. Unlike everyone else though she just happens to the very sheltered daughter of Whitlaw Goddard, the Head of Research and Design for Unity, not only is she forced to do a job she hates for Unity she also has an overbearing father to contend with.
Guylan Bluford also graduated at the top of his class in engineering, young and quite arrogant he and Jackan have butted heads since the day they met.
Rojer Glenn is an experienced skymage himself, but after an accident (that didn't cause him to crash into a Heirarch's golden carriage) he became apart of the ground troops. He is a veteran who has spent far too much time patrolling the border of No Man's Land prepared to stop both Imperial troops and the monstrosities that the aptly named stretch of land between Unity and the Empire births.
One evening out of sheer curiosity, Ella visits Jackan in his small area of the fort they are all stationed at, while they are discussing the very secret weapon he is currently working on for Unity a bolt of lightning strikes his project, hopefully a missile that will be able to fly farther than anything they've designed before and launches it straight into the air where it finally crashes into No Man's Land. Ella and Jackan are thoroughly amazed and far from being upset from the loss of his project Jackan is eager to recover the pieces. He confesses to Ella that inspiration has struck, he has a crazy but he believes brilliant idea to bring hope to a world that has been at war: What if instead of designing a missile he designs a rocket to send a mage to the moon!? Whether she likes it or not Jackan's idea has taken root in her brain and thanks to government bureaucracy Katherine, Guylan, Rojer, and Whitlaw in turn are pulled into Jackan's dream even knowing that if the heirarch's discover their plan it will mean their executions.
There is zero way that Johnston could have known that the U.S. would have started a war just weeks before this book came out and yet while I hope every single day some sanity will return to our government and this disgusting war will end, if it is not to be than this is the perfect book that will remind us all that human ingenuity, perseverance, and simply the good found in so many of us can and will prevail.
The cast of characters in this book absolutely 100% makes it just a simply delightful read. While working together on this project they put not only any differences aside but form a bond that it absolutely heartwarming almost from the beginning. Each and every one of these characters were just a treasure and honestly, I can't say I liked one more than the other. Their dedication to this insane project brings them together in a way that makes each of them equal in my eyes as they work together to overcome obstacles and keep each other safe from a truly corrupt government. They work so well together and pretty rapidly, Johnston could have gone down the path of having petty squabbles erupt between them but he didn't and I am so grateful for that. They are just so far above just friends or colleagues that I am not sure there is a word for it. They were a unit, remove one of them or even suggest that one of them doesn't fit and that unit and in turn the feeling of hope they engender as a team falls completely apart. Quite honestly, had that happened some of the magic that is this story would have fizzled out.
The setting reminded me a bit of WWI but there is also this covert "Space Race" going between Unity (that looks a lot like the U.S. or Britain) and The Empire (which looks a lot like Russia). Somehow even though this isn't the U.S. and it isn't Russia I still got that same feeling that I can't really describe when my parents discuss the real Space Race. But not on a political level. Hearing my parents talk about it I don't think in the end they really would have cared who reached the moon first they just wanted it to happen, like maybe it wouldn't fix the whole world but by the gods it would be a good start. Even though, our would-be astronauts don't have the backing of their government, hell no one even knows what they are doing, I still had that same feeling this entire book. Like this is so very important for everyone and maybe this accomplishment will bring the humans of the world together for a bit, even if only for that moment that the first mage touches steps onto the moon's surface that the world stands together in the brief space in time, it will have been worth it. I loved that feeling so very, very much and to be able to capture that in writing I find to be just a testament to Johnston's ability.
I think I've probably said this before but there is nothing I love more than magic applied to just that everyday and mundane things of the world, but in engineering on this scale? Omigoodness was that so very much fun, especially since so much of it focuses on using magic and human imagination and technology to make this whole thing work. Oh sure there are mages and an Imp named Jeff is our test monkey but it's the parts where the group is talking about the math involved to figure out the trajectory, the chemistry (alchemy here) involved to devise "rocket fuel" (not called rocket fuel but I mean that's what it is) mixed with the levitation ruins that keeps the thing up and the dragon heart that makes the whole thing work that I loved so much.
Finally, add that all in with each of these brilliant scientists (because that's what they are) having these AHA! Moments and it's just a testament to how much humans can accomplish when we work together, but not only that have the means to put our imaginations to good use and the support of someone who allows us to what we do best. Dear gods just what could we accomplish if we had just those two things!? I would most definitely have some sort of clothes folding machine by now.
First Mage on the Moon was a glorious story about a group of people who are sick to death of war and want to show the world that there is so much more to life than this. That yes you can truly achieve the impossible and there is so much to look forward to even if you can't see it right now.
As always thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the eArc!
April 14, 2026
The Space Race but with Magic
Cameron Johnston is quickly becoming one of my to-go authors with his ability to take a known concept or trope, add an interesting wrinkle to shift the perspective and framing around to craft an interesting & compelling story. The Last Shield was a gender-swapped Die Hard in a fantasy castle, and it was intensely entertaining (Review). When I got to know that his next book was about Mages on the Moon, I immediately added it to my most anticipated list of 2026 & was extremely happy when I got an early copy of the book. I am thankful to Angry Robot, Cameron Johnston, and NetGalley for this
First Mage on the Moon features a group of mage-engineers representing the country of Unity brought together through different means and motives to build a rocket to reach the holy and sacred moon, where the gods apparently reside. The team has to do this under the artifice of building a long-range weapon while navigating bureaucracy, internal politics, and the perpetual war with the Ranneas Empire that blows hot and cold (Cold War, get it). What follows is a rather engaging narrative that deals with some of the nuts and bolts of the many stages of building a magical rocket while detailing how a group of individuals become a team, tensions, camaraderie and all that
“Humanity was nothing if not a motley collection of inventive and curious creatures”
What is immediately apparent as one picks up the book is the inherent tension of an execution of two scientific leaders of the opposing empires accused of the crime of attempting to reach the moon. The narrative then shifts three years back and brings into focus one of our key characters, Ella Pickering. A former skymage (pilot), who is now disabled due to an accident, Ella ekes out a living doing basic magical engineering work, avoiding putting her head up the parapet and hoping that the world has forgotten her. When a secret magical experiment goes wrong, Ella is at the scene to help the lead R&D engineer, Jackan Grissom, and becomes an active participant in this project. Guylan Bluford, Jackan’s much younger rival engineer, finds himself initially co-opted into this project despite his misgivings, while Katherine Goddard blackmails herself onto the project as a way to do some interesting work. Katherine is also the daughter of Whitlaw Goddard, Jackan’s boss and Chief of the R&D division. This assorted team has to pull together and weather setbacks as they try to build this rocket to reach the gods
“She has become inured to such things. Much of the world was not built to accommodate her needs”
It is these characters who drive the book. Ella is disabled and has to manage a wheelchair for everything, and her difficulties with that flow naturally into the book without giving too much attention. Jackan and Guylan have their own rivalry stewing around, which is tempered by the shared horror both men face during a quest outside of their labs. Katherine has her own shackles to escape and do something purposeful and worthwhile. All these play out in interesting and engaging ways as the events surrounding them escalate in many ways
“Look at what a few people can achieve with only a tiny portion of the Unity’s resources. Imagine if both the Unity and the Empire instead spent all of that on medical research, engineering and advancing the arts of magic”
The inspiration for what Cameron Johnston builds is clearly the Space Race, a fact that is made clear when he names the R&D chiefs on the 2 opposing sides as Goddard and Tereshkova. The author also channels some of the optimism that works like Martian & Project Hail Mary bring to the table in terms of human endeavor and problem-solving, and definitely crafts a book that is positive and good-natured for most of it. The futility of war gets explored, and what follows is the joy of scientific progress and achievement for the betterment of humanity, and not just for destruction. The themes get explored through the book through character conversations, and it never feels heavy or boring, even if the book details some of the intricacies of rocket building. This is also a reflection of the world we live in currently, where defense budgets go up, wars feel perpetual, but funding for true breakthrough developments to benefit everyone seems constrained at all levels
Even if the mechanism is that of magic to build the rocket, the problems and constraints remain the same – be it the large ones like how to stabilize the flight, to small ones like managing the air when in mid-air, and the author makes interesting choices and explanations to make it sound as plausible as one can in this world. These choices also lead to interesting complications, as the Rannean Empire also cast its glance on this project
“Everyone is so wrapped up in this never-ending grinding conflict that our dreams of anything better are smothered under the fearmongering domination of the hierarchs”
All of which brings us to the conclusion of the book, which is where the book takes a couple of dramatic and interesting choices. One of these choices is a surprisingly emotional finale that isn’t without blood and sacrifice. This plays out across the large scale, and there are moments of wonder and desperation as the clock races and the stakes get higher. The revelations at the end of this journey are quite interesting and are a fitting, mysterious, awe-filled, wondrous conclusion to this dramatic journey. The second of the choices brings the book back full circle to the execution at the beginning of the book, and this is where I felt the book chose to close things a bit abruptly – like almost saying my focus was the moon mission and not anything else. That did feel a bit abrupt to the remarkably easy pace of narration that has been the feature of this book & could have clearly used some fleshing out of scenes and sequences
“People need to be reminded that magic is for something more than war”
First Mage on the Moon takes on an interesting spin on the Space Race, but with magic. It is an easy-paced book that is constantly engaging while focusing on the minutiae of the moon mission through a fun group of mages with their challenges and motivations. It is in keeping with Cameron Johnston’s interesting narrative and ideation style, and a tribute to science being a force of good. The momentum is perfect as the pace and desperation ratchet up to give a stunning and emotional ending – there is a portion at the end which is a few paragraphs, but one could easily fit a novel in that. I cannot wait to see what Cameron Johnston cooks up next
Cameron Johnston is quickly becoming one of my to-go authors with his ability to take a known concept or trope, add an interesting wrinkle to shift the perspective and framing around to craft an interesting & compelling story. The Last Shield was a gender-swapped Die Hard in a fantasy castle, and it was intensely entertaining (Review). When I got to know that his next book was about Mages on the Moon, I immediately added it to my most anticipated list of 2026 & was extremely happy when I got an early copy of the book. I am thankful to Angry Robot, Cameron Johnston, and NetGalley for this
First Mage on the Moon features a group of mage-engineers representing the country of Unity brought together through different means and motives to build a rocket to reach the holy and sacred moon, where the gods apparently reside. The team has to do this under the artifice of building a long-range weapon while navigating bureaucracy, internal politics, and the perpetual war with the Ranneas Empire that blows hot and cold (Cold War, get it). What follows is a rather engaging narrative that deals with some of the nuts and bolts of the many stages of building a magical rocket while detailing how a group of individuals become a team, tensions, camaraderie and all that
“Humanity was nothing if not a motley collection of inventive and curious creatures”
What is immediately apparent as one picks up the book is the inherent tension of an execution of two scientific leaders of the opposing empires accused of the crime of attempting to reach the moon. The narrative then shifts three years back and brings into focus one of our key characters, Ella Pickering. A former skymage (pilot), who is now disabled due to an accident, Ella ekes out a living doing basic magical engineering work, avoiding putting her head up the parapet and hoping that the world has forgotten her. When a secret magical experiment goes wrong, Ella is at the scene to help the lead R&D engineer, Jackan Grissom, and becomes an active participant in this project. Guylan Bluford, Jackan’s much younger rival engineer, finds himself initially co-opted into this project despite his misgivings, while Katherine Goddard blackmails herself onto the project as a way to do some interesting work. Katherine is also the daughter of Whitlaw Goddard, Jackan’s boss and Chief of the R&D division. This assorted team has to pull together and weather setbacks as they try to build this rocket to reach the gods
“She has become inured to such things. Much of the world was not built to accommodate her needs”
It is these characters who drive the book. Ella is disabled and has to manage a wheelchair for everything, and her difficulties with that flow naturally into the book without giving too much attention. Jackan and Guylan have their own rivalry stewing around, which is tempered by the shared horror both men face during a quest outside of their labs. Katherine has her own shackles to escape and do something purposeful and worthwhile. All these play out in interesting and engaging ways as the events surrounding them escalate in many ways
“Look at what a few people can achieve with only a tiny portion of the Unity’s resources. Imagine if both the Unity and the Empire instead spent all of that on medical research, engineering and advancing the arts of magic”
The inspiration for what Cameron Johnston builds is clearly the Space Race, a fact that is made clear when he names the R&D chiefs on the 2 opposing sides as Goddard and Tereshkova. The author also channels some of the optimism that works like Martian & Project Hail Mary bring to the table in terms of human endeavor and problem-solving, and definitely crafts a book that is positive and good-natured for most of it. The futility of war gets explored, and what follows is the joy of scientific progress and achievement for the betterment of humanity, and not just for destruction. The themes get explored through the book through character conversations, and it never feels heavy or boring, even if the book details some of the intricacies of rocket building. This is also a reflection of the world we live in currently, where defense budgets go up, wars feel perpetual, but funding for true breakthrough developments to benefit everyone seems constrained at all levels
Even if the mechanism is that of magic to build the rocket, the problems and constraints remain the same – be it the large ones like how to stabilize the flight, to small ones like managing the air when in mid-air, and the author makes interesting choices and explanations to make it sound as plausible as one can in this world. These choices also lead to interesting complications, as the Rannean Empire also cast its glance on this project
“Everyone is so wrapped up in this never-ending grinding conflict that our dreams of anything better are smothered under the fearmongering domination of the hierarchs”
All of which brings us to the conclusion of the book, which is where the book takes a couple of dramatic and interesting choices. One of these choices is a surprisingly emotional finale that isn’t without blood and sacrifice. This plays out across the large scale, and there are moments of wonder and desperation as the clock races and the stakes get higher. The revelations at the end of this journey are quite interesting and are a fitting, mysterious, awe-filled, wondrous conclusion to this dramatic journey. The second of the choices brings the book back full circle to the execution at the beginning of the book, and this is where I felt the book chose to close things a bit abruptly – like almost saying my focus was the moon mission and not anything else. That did feel a bit abrupt to the remarkably easy pace of narration that has been the feature of this book & could have clearly used some fleshing out of scenes and sequences
“People need to be reminded that magic is for something more than war”
First Mage on the Moon takes on an interesting spin on the Space Race, but with magic. It is an easy-paced book that is constantly engaging while focusing on the minutiae of the moon mission through a fun group of mages with their challenges and motivations. It is in keeping with Cameron Johnston’s interesting narrative and ideation style, and a tribute to science being a force of good. The momentum is perfect as the pace and desperation ratchet up to give a stunning and emotional ending – there is a portion at the end which is a few paragraphs, but one could easily fit a novel in that. I cannot wait to see what Cameron Johnston cooks up next
July 15, 2026
BLURB:
After an accident leaves former sky mage Ella Pickering disabled and in debt, she joins a team on a secret mission to reach the moon to seek the gods’ help to end a war.
REVIEW:
This is one of the most unique fantasy books I’ve read in a while. As soon as I saw the interesting cover and title and read the blurb, I knew this was going to be different. It’s a mix of fantasy and sci-fi with magic, engineering, alchemy, and technology all infused into a story about a group of mage inventors attempting to build a device capable of reaching the moon. But the core of the story is the character arcs and their heartfelt bonds. I was invested in the protagonist Ella Pickering from the start—she’s a disabled former sky mage who refuses to let life define her, and her relationships with the members of her team are so compelling. The author weaves in some meaningful themes about perseverance, hope during impossible circumstances, unconventional found family, the cost of war, and more!
The story is told in 3rd person, initially following Ella, but then shifting POVs between her and the small group of mages, engineers, and inventors who secretly work together to build a magical spacecraft to carry them to the moon! You can’t help but love Ella right away. She’s living in a rundown flop house, struggling to pay off debts, and working long hours at a weapons workshop. I found her attitude so admirable—despite losing so much, she’s optimistic, determined, and looking for new challenges. Another one of my favorite characters is Jackan, the eccentric older engineer who’s friends with Ella and whose work is the catalyst for everything that happens. He’s sarcastic, funny, intelligent, and very loyal to his team, willing to put himself at risk to protect them several times. The friendship between him and Ella will pull at your heartstrings.
The other team members are equally memorable. Katherine Goddard, the feisty and brilliant daughter of the workshop’s Chief of Research and Design, Whitlaw, forces her way onto the team because she craves being part of something big. I loved how she was even bolder than Ella and didn’t hesitate to challenge others when needed. Rounding out the team are Guylan Bluford, a younger engineer mage, and Rojer Glenn, a one-eyed combat mage who spends quite a while not knowing exactly what the project is really about, which creates some interesting drama. By the second half, these characters have spent so much time together, overcoming obstacles and building different iterations of the device, that they really feel like a found family—and their loyalty to each other is proven in several heartbreaking moments at the end! Be sure to have your tissues ready because you will get emotional!! 😭
The magic system was another highlight for me because it was unlike anything I’ve read before. The characters use a combination of scrying magic, engineering, alchemy, and aether (a magical energy source) in their efforts to communicate and create the device to reach the moon. It’s important to know that the team spends a good chunk of the story designing, testing, and rebuilding the device, and you may find the pacing quite slow in some sections. But there’s sarcasm, friendly teasing, and real camaraderie between the characters that I never minded spending time with them, even during these slower sections.
Also mixed in were some disastrous results and tense moments that put their lives at risk. To make things even more interesting, they recruit the help of an imp whose reckless and unpredictable behavior puts things further at risk but also comes with the chance of a big payoff!
Later on, the team relocates to a castle for more privacy, but an overseer of the Hierarchy comes to stay with them. Their efforts soon become a race against time due to prying eyes and the war front coming closer to their doorstep.
The chapters aren’t short, but they’re very immersive and full of dialogue and important decisions about what direction the team is taking next. You do need to pay close attention while reading so you don’t get lost or miss key plot points. If listening on audio, I’d recommend listening at a slower speed for the best reading experience.
Fortunately, once you reach the second half, the pacing really picks up and never lets up. The effects of war come crashing down, and the team’s project becomes increasingly difficult to keep secret. Without giving anything away, their efforts to reach the moon and communicate with the gods take some very unexpected turns. The final act has some fascinating sci-fi elements, heartbreaking moments, and really emphasizes the risks and enemies they’re up against. The ending is bittersweet and will leave you thinking about the characters afterwards—and even the possibility of a sequel, as there’s an opportunity for one, and I’d love to have another story with these memorable characters!
If you enjoy character-driven stories that blend fantasy, sci-fi, technology, unique magic systems, found family, and memorable characters, I would recommend picking this one up!
After an accident leaves former sky mage Ella Pickering disabled and in debt, she joins a team on a secret mission to reach the moon to seek the gods’ help to end a war.
REVIEW:
This is one of the most unique fantasy books I’ve read in a while. As soon as I saw the interesting cover and title and read the blurb, I knew this was going to be different. It’s a mix of fantasy and sci-fi with magic, engineering, alchemy, and technology all infused into a story about a group of mage inventors attempting to build a device capable of reaching the moon. But the core of the story is the character arcs and their heartfelt bonds. I was invested in the protagonist Ella Pickering from the start—she’s a disabled former sky mage who refuses to let life define her, and her relationships with the members of her team are so compelling. The author weaves in some meaningful themes about perseverance, hope during impossible circumstances, unconventional found family, the cost of war, and more!
The story is told in 3rd person, initially following Ella, but then shifting POVs between her and the small group of mages, engineers, and inventors who secretly work together to build a magical spacecraft to carry them to the moon! You can’t help but love Ella right away. She’s living in a rundown flop house, struggling to pay off debts, and working long hours at a weapons workshop. I found her attitude so admirable—despite losing so much, she’s optimistic, determined, and looking for new challenges. Another one of my favorite characters is Jackan, the eccentric older engineer who’s friends with Ella and whose work is the catalyst for everything that happens. He’s sarcastic, funny, intelligent, and very loyal to his team, willing to put himself at risk to protect them several times. The friendship between him and Ella will pull at your heartstrings.
The other team members are equally memorable. Katherine Goddard, the feisty and brilliant daughter of the workshop’s Chief of Research and Design, Whitlaw, forces her way onto the team because she craves being part of something big. I loved how she was even bolder than Ella and didn’t hesitate to challenge others when needed. Rounding out the team are Guylan Bluford, a younger engineer mage, and Rojer Glenn, a one-eyed combat mage who spends quite a while not knowing exactly what the project is really about, which creates some interesting drama. By the second half, these characters have spent so much time together, overcoming obstacles and building different iterations of the device, that they really feel like a found family—and their loyalty to each other is proven in several heartbreaking moments at the end! Be sure to have your tissues ready because you will get emotional!! 😭
The magic system was another highlight for me because it was unlike anything I’ve read before. The characters use a combination of scrying magic, engineering, alchemy, and aether (a magical energy source) in their efforts to communicate and create the device to reach the moon. It’s important to know that the team spends a good chunk of the story designing, testing, and rebuilding the device, and you may find the pacing quite slow in some sections. But there’s sarcasm, friendly teasing, and real camaraderie between the characters that I never minded spending time with them, even during these slower sections.
Also mixed in were some disastrous results and tense moments that put their lives at risk. To make things even more interesting, they recruit the help of an imp whose reckless and unpredictable behavior puts things further at risk but also comes with the chance of a big payoff!
Later on, the team relocates to a castle for more privacy, but an overseer of the Hierarchy comes to stay with them. Their efforts soon become a race against time due to prying eyes and the war front coming closer to their doorstep.
The chapters aren’t short, but they’re very immersive and full of dialogue and important decisions about what direction the team is taking next. You do need to pay close attention while reading so you don’t get lost or miss key plot points. If listening on audio, I’d recommend listening at a slower speed for the best reading experience.
Fortunately, once you reach the second half, the pacing really picks up and never lets up. The effects of war come crashing down, and the team’s project becomes increasingly difficult to keep secret. Without giving anything away, their efforts to reach the moon and communicate with the gods take some very unexpected turns. The final act has some fascinating sci-fi elements, heartbreaking moments, and really emphasizes the risks and enemies they’re up against. The ending is bittersweet and will leave you thinking about the characters afterwards—and even the possibility of a sequel, as there’s an opportunity for one, and I’d love to have another story with these memorable characters!
If you enjoy character-driven stories that blend fantasy, sci-fi, technology, unique magic systems, found family, and memorable characters, I would recommend picking this one up!
June 3, 2026
I like space, and I like magic, so I was intrigued by First Mage on the Moon. Using magic to get mages to the moon, home of the gods? Sure. I liked the idea. I even liked Ella, who has been kind of blacklisted by the ruling hierarchs and, after an accident, now requires the use of a wheelchair. I also loved Jackan, the guy who’s supposed to be building a new weapon but instead stumbles on a possible way of getting to the moon. But I was disappointed the magic felt more like an underutilized tool to propel people to space.
The Unity and the Ranneas Empire have been at war for a very long time. Mages are stuck doing little more than working to support the war efforts instead of developing something new and incredible. Ella was once a skymage, flying planes in the Unity’s war effort. But after an accident with a hierarch’s carriage, she’s drowning in debt and is stuck in a clattery wheelchair. Her work is tedious, until she witnesses Jackan’s secret weapon accidentally launching and sets an idea in his head. So they secretly plot to build a spaceship that will take them to the moon, where the gods live, and ask them why they allow this war to continue. Along the way, they make new friends, make advances and face setbacks, lie to keep their secret and end up in more trouble, and endanger the life of their boss’s beloved daughter, who was too brilliant to toil away with plants for the rest of her life anyways.
I really wanted to enjoy this one. I loved the idea behind it. Unfortunately, the execution left something to be desired. It felt like it could have used a little more polish, and I wish it had dealt more with the issues of building a spaceship than on things like whether or not there’s breathable air or toilets onboard. Granted, those things are important, but I wanted to see more of the magic and science going into building the spaceship than on those mundane things. And having the same character constantly needing to use the bathroom became tired fast. I was vastly disappointed to see magic wasn’t as used as much as I thought it could have been. It felt like our technology was given a little magical spin, meaning it was powered by the aether that enables magic instead of something like electricity or whatever is used to power spaceship controls.
What kind of drove me a little batty was how thinly veiled the Space Race was. The Unity was certainly the UK, and the Ranneas Empire couldn’t have been anything but Russia, down to the accents and speech. The Cold War isn’t so cold here, instead being very hotly burning with actual fighting in no man’s land here and there and bodies everywhere, as well as some horrifying stuff thanks to all the magic used. It felt unimaginative considering there’s this incredible idea of using magic to get humans to a moon where the gods live. It felt like an odd twist of fantasy with history, but not really in an historical fantasy way. This felt more like solid science fiction and high fantasy than anything historical.
But I liked some of the characters. Ella was delightful, and I really felt for her. Though she did prove she didn’t need my sympathy. She’s strong and capable and nothing gets in her way unless she lets it. Jackan was a lot of fun. I loved how much he threw himself into his project and the why behind it. He felt like a spunky grandfather, so it was a little off-putting at the beginning when someone suggested Ella beware of him, because I absolutely never got that sense. Guylan was kind of overbearing and overly reactive. His character didn’t always make a whole lot of sense to me. I liked how he’d developed by the end, but I felt like I was missing huge chunks of his development. Katherine never really felt like she changed. She came across as delightful, but very shy, constantly hiding behind her hair. She felt a little cartoonish and didn’t have much depth to her.
First Mage on the Moon felt like a fun attempt at combining science fiction and fantasy. I wish it hadn’t relied so much on the Space Race and the Cold War, but it created an interesting sort of background for the story to unfold against. Magic wasn’t quite utilized as much as it probably could have, though it did have some really fun spots I greatly enjoyed. There were some good pieces of humor, and a lot of friendship. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but the execution and underutilized magic weren’t to my personal tastes.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Unity and the Ranneas Empire have been at war for a very long time. Mages are stuck doing little more than working to support the war efforts instead of developing something new and incredible. Ella was once a skymage, flying planes in the Unity’s war effort. But after an accident with a hierarch’s carriage, she’s drowning in debt and is stuck in a clattery wheelchair. Her work is tedious, until she witnesses Jackan’s secret weapon accidentally launching and sets an idea in his head. So they secretly plot to build a spaceship that will take them to the moon, where the gods live, and ask them why they allow this war to continue. Along the way, they make new friends, make advances and face setbacks, lie to keep their secret and end up in more trouble, and endanger the life of their boss’s beloved daughter, who was too brilliant to toil away with plants for the rest of her life anyways.
I really wanted to enjoy this one. I loved the idea behind it. Unfortunately, the execution left something to be desired. It felt like it could have used a little more polish, and I wish it had dealt more with the issues of building a spaceship than on things like whether or not there’s breathable air or toilets onboard. Granted, those things are important, but I wanted to see more of the magic and science going into building the spaceship than on those mundane things. And having the same character constantly needing to use the bathroom became tired fast. I was vastly disappointed to see magic wasn’t as used as much as I thought it could have been. It felt like our technology was given a little magical spin, meaning it was powered by the aether that enables magic instead of something like electricity or whatever is used to power spaceship controls.
What kind of drove me a little batty was how thinly veiled the Space Race was. The Unity was certainly the UK, and the Ranneas Empire couldn’t have been anything but Russia, down to the accents and speech. The Cold War isn’t so cold here, instead being very hotly burning with actual fighting in no man’s land here and there and bodies everywhere, as well as some horrifying stuff thanks to all the magic used. It felt unimaginative considering there’s this incredible idea of using magic to get humans to a moon where the gods live. It felt like an odd twist of fantasy with history, but not really in an historical fantasy way. This felt more like solid science fiction and high fantasy than anything historical.
But I liked some of the characters. Ella was delightful, and I really felt for her. Though she did prove she didn’t need my sympathy. She’s strong and capable and nothing gets in her way unless she lets it. Jackan was a lot of fun. I loved how much he threw himself into his project and the why behind it. He felt like a spunky grandfather, so it was a little off-putting at the beginning when someone suggested Ella beware of him, because I absolutely never got that sense. Guylan was kind of overbearing and overly reactive. His character didn’t always make a whole lot of sense to me. I liked how he’d developed by the end, but I felt like I was missing huge chunks of his development. Katherine never really felt like she changed. She came across as delightful, but very shy, constantly hiding behind her hair. She felt a little cartoonish and didn’t have much depth to her.
First Mage on the Moon felt like a fun attempt at combining science fiction and fantasy. I wish it hadn’t relied so much on the Space Race and the Cold War, but it created an interesting sort of background for the story to unfold against. Magic wasn’t quite utilized as much as it probably could have, though it did have some really fun spots I greatly enjoyed. There were some good pieces of humor, and a lot of friendship. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but the execution and underutilized magic weren’t to my personal tastes.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
June 20, 2026
2.5 Stars
This is fine. It's not bad exactly but it's also not great. This is basically the space race but make it cozy(?) fantasy. I think this could have been a novella or a short story instead. It kind of felt like it dragged on through the middle but then rushed the end (granted I skimmed the end so maybe that one is on me).
There was also a lot of tonal whiplash. We open with an execution, and then spend almost three hundred pages going over a lot of detail about all the experiments to make the spaceship work, to only then have a lot of dramatic deaths and the execution we started with. I actually got thrown off when people started getting brutally murdered at the end, because the middle had been so cozy and chill you could forget this took place in the Fantasy Cold War.
That being said, for being "cozy" in the middle, it didn't really work for me, personally. Granted, I'm not a huge fan of cozy, but I'm okay with slower books where not a lot happens as long as the characters are worth it. While I wouldn't say these characters are super flat, they're also not very fleshed out. They're a little bit one note with not that much depth to them. They weren't compelling enough to make the drudgery of their years-long experiments feel worth it.
This book is also extremely on the nose. It almost felt like a parody at times, which did not help with the whiplash. We had an extremely intense battle scene, only to have a character go "What, like it's difficult?" and I nearly threw the book across the room for the stupid Legally Blond reference. In addition to weird references, we just have characters spouting what are supposed to be really deep, profound philosophical thoughts but it just sort of felt like the author going "see, look, isn't this profound?" It doesn't help that the dialogue is extremely awkward and stilted at times.
The fact that our main protagonist was wheel-chair bound was fairly nice, even if it was also very on the nose going "look at all the hardships she faces and here are the Twitter-approved correct ways to discuss this!" I truly hate when fantasy characters sound like they've been on Twitter. So yay for representation, though I can't speak to the quality of it. I imagine it would have been nicer if it had just been a part of her and not one of her biggest character traits. Similarly, of course the two female characters once alone together immediately talk about men. Ugh. And here I was hoping they'd be gay.
The ending was also... something.
Ultimately, cozy isn't for me, and this isn't even really that cozy, because it's actually fairly dark. There was too much tonal whiplash as it couldn't decide if it wanted to be scathing commentary, satire, or cozy. The characters also weren't fleshed out enough to keep me interested or invested. It's not the worst thing I've read, but if it hadn't been picked for my book club I wouldn't have read it.
This is fine. It's not bad exactly but it's also not great. This is basically the space race but make it cozy(?) fantasy. I think this could have been a novella or a short story instead. It kind of felt like it dragged on through the middle but then rushed the end (granted I skimmed the end so maybe that one is on me).
There was also a lot of tonal whiplash. We open with an execution, and then spend almost three hundred pages going over a lot of detail about all the experiments to make the spaceship work, to only then have a lot of dramatic deaths and the execution we started with. I actually got thrown off when people started getting brutally murdered at the end, because the middle had been so cozy and chill you could forget this took place in the Fantasy Cold War.
That being said, for being "cozy" in the middle, it didn't really work for me, personally. Granted, I'm not a huge fan of cozy, but I'm okay with slower books where not a lot happens as long as the characters are worth it. While I wouldn't say these characters are super flat, they're also not very fleshed out. They're a little bit one note with not that much depth to them. They weren't compelling enough to make the drudgery of their years-long experiments feel worth it.
This book is also extremely on the nose. It almost felt like a parody at times, which did not help with the whiplash. We had an extremely intense battle scene, only to have a character go "What, like it's difficult?" and I nearly threw the book across the room for the stupid Legally Blond reference. In addition to weird references, we just have characters spouting what are supposed to be really deep, profound philosophical thoughts but it just sort of felt like the author going "see, look, isn't this profound?" It doesn't help that the dialogue is extremely awkward and stilted at times.
The fact that our main protagonist was wheel-chair bound was fairly nice, even if it was also very on the nose going "look at all the hardships she faces and here are the Twitter-approved correct ways to discuss this!" I truly hate when fantasy characters sound like they've been on Twitter. So yay for representation, though I can't speak to the quality of it. I imagine it would have been nicer if it had just been a part of her and not one of her biggest character traits. Similarly, of course the two female characters once alone together immediately talk about men. Ugh. And here I was hoping they'd be gay.
The ending was also... something.
Ultimately, cozy isn't for me, and this isn't even really that cozy, because it's actually fairly dark. There was too much tonal whiplash as it couldn't decide if it wanted to be scathing commentary, satire, or cozy. The characters also weren't fleshed out enough to keep me interested or invested. It's not the worst thing I've read, but if it hadn't been picked for my book club I wouldn't have read it.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for an advance copy of this fantasy book, that takes its adventure to the outer limits, about a group of magician scientists tired of building weapons of war, and their plans to make space the place, and maybe beesching the gods who dwell their to step the eternal cycle of bloodshed that has cost so much.
I have read a lot of fantasy over the years, many books about swords and sorcery. I don't recall ever reading any fantasy that dealt with outer space, how to get their magically, how to stay alive away from the planet, and more importantly how to return. Most quests deal with dragons, birthrights, or revenge, not science and exploration. Even more importantly is a hope that maybe on the moon that looks down on them, where the gods supposedly dwell, one will listen and end this war, that has cost so much to the people of this world. And have a good time while doing so. First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston is a mix of fantasy and hard science, about a group of mages with a dream, the right stuff, and big hopes, to cast off from their planet, inspire others, and maybe even parlay with the gods.
The nation of Unity has been at war with the foul, at least to Unity, Empire for as long as people can remember. Money, magic, men and women have been feed into this war, a stalemate for the longest time, but one that demands more and more from the people. Ella Pickering was once a skymage, piloting airships over the enemies of Unity, blasting them from on-high, until an accident cost her both her legs and her career. Ella now works at the lowest rung of weapons developing making magic staffs for fighters, working to get out of the debt that keeps her trapped. A close encounter with lightning and a new weapon gives Ella, and chief engineer Jackan Grissom an idea. That maybe instead of making a weapon that will destroy the enemies of Unity, they could make a rocket, that could travel to the moon. Soon Ella is helping to design a rocket, bringing in people both damaged by the war, and wanting to do good science. Though they might have to deceive those in power, and engage in a little light treason here and there. As the prototypes fly higher and higher, forces are starting to wonder about this wonderful weapon and how it can be used, making space safer it seems than their own country.
A big book, with a lot of darkness, and not only in space. I love the idea of recreating the moon race in a fantasy setting. One can see Johnston planning things out, going oh that is a problem, how can we solve it, doing so, and moving on. The Martian kind of storytelling. The characters are all well developed and interesting, with a big emphasis on diverse characters dealing with both physical and mental problems. The story really gets rolling quick, and has a very strong propulsive narrative that really never slows down. The world is well-designed and the mix of magic, science and space history work well together. One can tell by the names, the country names and more what Johnston is doing, and I love the inside knowledge and jokes that appear. The way people can scyre the space travel, air elementals for cleaning the air. Really good stuff. The story is a tad dark, and a little sad in spots, so don't think this is a rollicking adventure. There are real costs, and Johnston talks about war that makes things seem real, and not just fantasy battles.
A very good story, well executed with a unique story, and a very strong cast. I want to read more about this world, and the universe that Johnston has created. I look forward to reading more by this author.
I have read a lot of fantasy over the years, many books about swords and sorcery. I don't recall ever reading any fantasy that dealt with outer space, how to get their magically, how to stay alive away from the planet, and more importantly how to return. Most quests deal with dragons, birthrights, or revenge, not science and exploration. Even more importantly is a hope that maybe on the moon that looks down on them, where the gods supposedly dwell, one will listen and end this war, that has cost so much to the people of this world. And have a good time while doing so. First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston is a mix of fantasy and hard science, about a group of mages with a dream, the right stuff, and big hopes, to cast off from their planet, inspire others, and maybe even parlay with the gods.
The nation of Unity has been at war with the foul, at least to Unity, Empire for as long as people can remember. Money, magic, men and women have been feed into this war, a stalemate for the longest time, but one that demands more and more from the people. Ella Pickering was once a skymage, piloting airships over the enemies of Unity, blasting them from on-high, until an accident cost her both her legs and her career. Ella now works at the lowest rung of weapons developing making magic staffs for fighters, working to get out of the debt that keeps her trapped. A close encounter with lightning and a new weapon gives Ella, and chief engineer Jackan Grissom an idea. That maybe instead of making a weapon that will destroy the enemies of Unity, they could make a rocket, that could travel to the moon. Soon Ella is helping to design a rocket, bringing in people both damaged by the war, and wanting to do good science. Though they might have to deceive those in power, and engage in a little light treason here and there. As the prototypes fly higher and higher, forces are starting to wonder about this wonderful weapon and how it can be used, making space safer it seems than their own country.
A big book, with a lot of darkness, and not only in space. I love the idea of recreating the moon race in a fantasy setting. One can see Johnston planning things out, going oh that is a problem, how can we solve it, doing so, and moving on. The Martian kind of storytelling. The characters are all well developed and interesting, with a big emphasis on diverse characters dealing with both physical and mental problems. The story really gets rolling quick, and has a very strong propulsive narrative that really never slows down. The world is well-designed and the mix of magic, science and space history work well together. One can tell by the names, the country names and more what Johnston is doing, and I love the inside knowledge and jokes that appear. The way people can scyre the space travel, air elementals for cleaning the air. Really good stuff. The story is a tad dark, and a little sad in spots, so don't think this is a rollicking adventure. There are real costs, and Johnston talks about war that makes things seem real, and not just fantasy battles.
A very good story, well executed with a unique story, and a very strong cast. I want to read more about this world, and the universe that Johnston has created. I look forward to reading more by this author.
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