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Theurge: Book Nineteen of the Spellmonger Series
A Plague of Divinity!
When Minalan summoned humanity’s gods to support him in his negotiations with the aquatic Vundel, it was an impressive feat . . . but the gods did not merely fade away afterwards. The various manifestations of divine power, filtered through the collective subconscious of humanity, came to Callidore with a host of ideals, agendas, and interests that often conflict with their own priesthoods. The land is now filled with capricious gods, half-mad and sociopathic, some of them new to earthly manifestation – and that brings god-sized problems that only Minalan the Spellmonger can solve.
It is not an easy task. Though some gods are Minalan’s allies, plenty more are suspicious of the mortal wizard’s power and some are outright hostile to him. Ancient grudges and theological feuds erupt across the land involving beings who can alter reality itself with their power. Some gods press for open revolution, while others subvert human society in more subtle ways. Contentious titans prowl through city streets while gods of grain stir up the countryside. Gods of Death and Chaos, gods of Wood and Stream, gods of War and Commerce, all seek to exercise their powers in not particularly helpful ways. Newly manifested divinities stumble with the realities of human society outside of their divine Sphere. Old, forgotten gods seek new purpose. And there’s a forty-foot long Jungle Lizard God prowling through the streets of Farise, for some reason no one really understands.
Wounded and recovering from an assassination attempt, Minalan does what every great wizard does in a time of he finds an expert to help. In this case, he turns to a Theurge, a scholarly wizard named Jakin Ssu, who is an acknowledged expert in Theurgy, the science and magic of divinity. Only it quickly becomes clear that Jakin’s arcane knowledge about the gods is largely theoretical, if not completely misinformed. Between the two of them, they’re able to keep things from spiraling out of control . . . mostly.
But then a new threat emerges from the West, an ancient evil threatening all of Callidore, and Minalan is forced to invoke the very gods he struggles with to help. Not even the Alka Alon can defend against it when it attacks – but the Spellmonger has to try, even if it means risking his life, his sanity, and his very soul to stand against it. But can he do so without irrevocably ruining Callidore’s delicate magical balance with a flood of divine power? Can he trust the very gods to fight for him? Or is it going to be left to the Spellmonger alone to stand against the foe with the help of one terrified, out-of-his depth . . . THEURGE?
When Minalan summoned humanity’s gods to support him in his negotiations with the aquatic Vundel, it was an impressive feat . . . but the gods did not merely fade away afterwards. The various manifestations of divine power, filtered through the collective subconscious of humanity, came to Callidore with a host of ideals, agendas, and interests that often conflict with their own priesthoods. The land is now filled with capricious gods, half-mad and sociopathic, some of them new to earthly manifestation – and that brings god-sized problems that only Minalan the Spellmonger can solve.
It is not an easy task. Though some gods are Minalan’s allies, plenty more are suspicious of the mortal wizard’s power and some are outright hostile to him. Ancient grudges and theological feuds erupt across the land involving beings who can alter reality itself with their power. Some gods press for open revolution, while others subvert human society in more subtle ways. Contentious titans prowl through city streets while gods of grain stir up the countryside. Gods of Death and Chaos, gods of Wood and Stream, gods of War and Commerce, all seek to exercise their powers in not particularly helpful ways. Newly manifested divinities stumble with the realities of human society outside of their divine Sphere. Old, forgotten gods seek new purpose. And there’s a forty-foot long Jungle Lizard God prowling through the streets of Farise, for some reason no one really understands.
Wounded and recovering from an assassination attempt, Minalan does what every great wizard does in a time of he finds an expert to help. In this case, he turns to a Theurge, a scholarly wizard named Jakin Ssu, who is an acknowledged expert in Theurgy, the science and magic of divinity. Only it quickly becomes clear that Jakin’s arcane knowledge about the gods is largely theoretical, if not completely misinformed. Between the two of them, they’re able to keep things from spiraling out of control . . . mostly.
But then a new threat emerges from the West, an ancient evil threatening all of Callidore, and Minalan is forced to invoke the very gods he struggles with to help. Not even the Alka Alon can defend against it when it attacks – but the Spellmonger has to try, even if it means risking his life, his sanity, and his very soul to stand against it. But can he do so without irrevocably ruining Callidore’s delicate magical balance with a flood of divine power? Can he trust the very gods to fight for him? Or is it going to be left to the Spellmonger alone to stand against the foe with the help of one terrified, out-of-his depth . . . THEURGE?
704 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 16, 2026
About the author
Terry Mancour
44 books1,203 followersTerry Mancour is a New York Times Best-Selling Author who has written more than 30 books, under his own name and pseudonyms, including Star Trek: The Next Generation #20, Spartacus, the Spellmonger Series (more than 11 books and growing), among other works.
He was born in Flint, Michigan in 1968 (according to his mother) and wisely relocated to North Carolina in 1978 where he embraced Southern culture and its dedication to compelling narratives and intriguing characterizations. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in Religious Studies.
Terry, his beautiful wife and three children live just outside of Durham, N.C. atop Red Mountain. He was nominated for the 2018 Audie Award for Best Fantasy for the audiobook for Spellmonger (narrated by John Lee), the first book in his Spellmonger Series.
He has plotted the Spellmonger Series for at least thirty books, in addition to his Spellmonger Cadet (young adult) series, stand-alone novels, short stories and novellas set within the Spellmonger Universe, all of which will be published by Podium as audiobooks. He is also the author of a series of sequels to Golden Age sci-fi master H. Beam Piper's novel, Space Viking, as well as original sci-fi novels.
He was born in Flint, Michigan in 1968 (according to his mother) and wisely relocated to North Carolina in 1978 where he embraced Southern culture and its dedication to compelling narratives and intriguing characterizations. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in Religious Studies.
Terry, his beautiful wife and three children live just outside of Durham, N.C. atop Red Mountain. He was nominated for the 2018 Audie Award for Best Fantasy for the audiobook for Spellmonger (narrated by John Lee), the first book in his Spellmonger Series.
He has plotted the Spellmonger Series for at least thirty books, in addition to his Spellmonger Cadet (young adult) series, stand-alone novels, short stories and novellas set within the Spellmonger Universe, all of which will be published by Podium as audiobooks. He is also the author of a series of sequels to Golden Age sci-fi master H. Beam Piper's novel, Space Viking, as well as original sci-fi novels.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 21, 2026
a bit difficult
There were a lot of POV changes, with various characters giving their assessment of the happenings. It’s all good, it just ‘muddies’ the narrative flow a bit.
Looking forward to 20.
There were a lot of POV changes, with various characters giving their assessment of the happenings. It’s all good, it just ‘muddies’ the narrative flow a bit.
Looking forward to 20.
June 22, 2026
4.25 Stars
In this book we jump immediately back into the situation that had occurred at the very end of book 18. Minalan has been attacked by an assassin and while he is alive, things are not looking good. The crazy thing was that with the way the book started, I felt the need to immediately go back to the prior book - book 18 - and re-read the last several chapters of that book to catch up on the circumstances that led up to Minalan's attack. A lot of time had passed between my reading of the two books.
I first need to reiterate how much I love this series because I do. I really do. I have fallen in love with our precocious Spellmonger and his crazy gang of wizards. The last several books have continued to keep the tension level constant while at the same time finding ways to keep things new and interesting.
This was the first book in a while that I felt like it was a bit of a let down. Not that it was bad (because it wasn't), it just didn't seem to be up to the level that we have come to expect from each new book in the series.
First of all, there are a million POV's. Unfortunately, many of the POV's are not from characters that add anything to the story. After the events in book 18, Minalan has called ALL of the gods to manifest and basically bound them to the realm until the situation with the Vundel is cleared up. A lot of the book has us following gods that we have never heard of before, but also gods that are so minor that it left me wondering why they were even mentioned in the first place.
On top of that, so much time is spent on these storylines that add nothing to the story. Fights between gods whose sphere's overlap in one way or other, fights between female gods over who is married to whom - it seems that there are two different pantheons within their godhood and one god is somehow married to three different wives, depending on whether it is the Narasi pantheon or the Imperial pantheon. WHY do we need to know any of that? I can see mentioning it once or twice to let us understand why there might be conflict but instead, there is chapter after chapter delegated to these storylines. Ugh. So, I'm not going to beat a dead horse. I am just saying that it felt like a lot of this book was filler and I haven't felt that way for many, many books.
The good thing was that we DID get a little bit of progression in the storyline at the very end of the book. I am curious and beginning to become a little suspicious with how much influence and impact that Lilastein had with the humani - and now the gods - in the Colonial times before the sinking disaster that took the humani back to the stone age. It just feels like there are many, many things that she has not shared willingly with Minalan and it is only when certain things are "discovered" that she reluctantly admits things.
Luckily, lately it has felt like things continue to keep getting better and better with each additional book. Since we are 19 books into this series, not every book is going to knock it out of the park, and that is okay. I am still on board this crazy train and am excited (and eager) to see where things are going to go from here.
In this book we jump immediately back into the situation that had occurred at the very end of book 18. Minalan has been attacked by an assassin and while he is alive, things are not looking good. The crazy thing was that with the way the book started, I felt the need to immediately go back to the prior book - book 18 - and re-read the last several chapters of that book to catch up on the circumstances that led up to Minalan's attack. A lot of time had passed between my reading of the two books.
I first need to reiterate how much I love this series because I do. I really do. I have fallen in love with our precocious Spellmonger and his crazy gang of wizards. The last several books have continued to keep the tension level constant while at the same time finding ways to keep things new and interesting.
This was the first book in a while that I felt like it was a bit of a let down. Not that it was bad (because it wasn't), it just didn't seem to be up to the level that we have come to expect from each new book in the series.
First of all, there are a million POV's. Unfortunately, many of the POV's are not from characters that add anything to the story. After the events in book 18, Minalan has called ALL of the gods to manifest and basically bound them to the realm until the situation with the Vundel is cleared up. A lot of the book has us following gods that we have never heard of before, but also gods that are so minor that it left me wondering why they were even mentioned in the first place.
On top of that, so much time is spent on these storylines that add nothing to the story. Fights between gods whose sphere's overlap in one way or other, fights between female gods over who is married to whom - it seems that there are two different pantheons within their godhood and one god is somehow married to three different wives, depending on whether it is the Narasi pantheon or the Imperial pantheon. WHY do we need to know any of that? I can see mentioning it once or twice to let us understand why there might be conflict but instead, there is chapter after chapter delegated to these storylines. Ugh. So, I'm not going to beat a dead horse. I am just saying that it felt like a lot of this book was filler and I haven't felt that way for many, many books.
The good thing was that we DID get a little bit of progression in the storyline at the very end of the book. I am curious and beginning to become a little suspicious with how much influence and impact that Lilastein had with the humani - and now the gods - in the Colonial times before the sinking disaster that took the humani back to the stone age. It just feels like there are many, many things that she has not shared willingly with Minalan and it is only when certain things are "discovered" that she reluctantly admits things.
Luckily, lately it has felt like things continue to keep getting better and better with each additional book. Since we are 19 books into this series, not every book is going to knock it out of the park, and that is okay. I am still on board this crazy train and am excited (and eager) to see where things are going to go from here.
June 19, 2026
Quite Simply Put It’s Brilliant. ALL of the stars !
Jerome Batharis, a Station Chief of IRIS sent an assassin after Minalan aka Mirkandar the new Doge of Farise. Bartharis believes that Minalan is a massive threat towards the re-establishment of advanced civilisation on Callidor.
Frankly after everything he’s been through Min is a bit unhinged but all things considered he’s holding everything together remarkably well.
The Gods of humanity are walking the face of Callidor, ALL of the gods. They aren’t doing their usual thing either, that business of turning up dispensing divine wisdom and/ intervention the occasional miracle followed by striding off into the ether afterwards. No, this time they’re all hanging around until the situation with the Vundel and the egg is handled.
A lot of them have manifested for the first time, there’s only a handful that have already been granted permanence. The trouble of it is that many of them have set ideas on how things should be done, some of them are bored, a lot of them really aren’t happy that a mortal can have such an impact on their existence, that and then there are those who have grudges with other gods, old grudges.
The Spellmonger is in desperate need of a specialist in divinity, a theurge.
This latest episode of shenanigans on Callidor is an absolute joy to read, in places it’s deep and thought provoking. At the same time much of it is outrageously funny. An amazing blend of fantasy and sci-fi, it’s not an easy genre to get right but Terry Mancour is making it look easy.
Jerome Batharis, a Station Chief of IRIS sent an assassin after Minalan aka Mirkandar the new Doge of Farise. Bartharis believes that Minalan is a massive threat towards the re-establishment of advanced civilisation on Callidor.
Frankly after everything he’s been through Min is a bit unhinged but all things considered he’s holding everything together remarkably well.
The Gods of humanity are walking the face of Callidor, ALL of the gods. They aren’t doing their usual thing either, that business of turning up dispensing divine wisdom and/ intervention the occasional miracle followed by striding off into the ether afterwards. No, this time they’re all hanging around until the situation with the Vundel and the egg is handled.
A lot of them have manifested for the first time, there’s only a handful that have already been granted permanence. The trouble of it is that many of them have set ideas on how things should be done, some of them are bored, a lot of them really aren’t happy that a mortal can have such an impact on their existence, that and then there are those who have grudges with other gods, old grudges.
The Spellmonger is in desperate need of a specialist in divinity, a theurge.
This latest episode of shenanigans on Callidor is an absolute joy to read, in places it’s deep and thought provoking. At the same time much of it is outrageously funny. An amazing blend of fantasy and sci-fi, it’s not an easy genre to get right but Terry Mancour is making it look easy.
June 24, 2026
Five Stars for the Hermetica Explainer!
Having been a HUGE fan of this guy for years, this is one of the strongest and strangest theological delvings yet. I was thoroughly impressed at how the principles from Hermetica were leveraged to explain an entire theurgic branch of science, with thoughtful analysis based on actual philosophical principles. I have a really good friend who is a devout agnostic, and I feel he would thoroughly enjoy this rollicking romp of a read that delves into the origin and reason both for gods AND religion.
Here's the downside, though. After 19 books in the series, this is the very first one replete with syntax, spelling, and grammar errors. Periods at the beginning of sentences, words with extra letters, some phrases that don't make sense in meaning but sound good for alliteration. This is a complete and utter disappointment, as even a simple run of Spellcheck would have caught 60% of the errors I mentioned, while any grammar editor should have caught these glaring omissions immediately. I don't know what happened here, but my favorite longest running series of books has a serious QC problem showing up just as we're getting to the good parts. To be honest, though, TM's writings and stories have me so hooked I'll keep reading, rough syntax or not.
Having been a HUGE fan of this guy for years, this is one of the strongest and strangest theological delvings yet. I was thoroughly impressed at how the principles from Hermetica were leveraged to explain an entire theurgic branch of science, with thoughtful analysis based on actual philosophical principles. I have a really good friend who is a devout agnostic, and I feel he would thoroughly enjoy this rollicking romp of a read that delves into the origin and reason both for gods AND religion.
Here's the downside, though. After 19 books in the series, this is the very first one replete with syntax, spelling, and grammar errors. Periods at the beginning of sentences, words with extra letters, some phrases that don't make sense in meaning but sound good for alliteration. This is a complete and utter disappointment, as even a simple run of Spellcheck would have caught 60% of the errors I mentioned, while any grammar editor should have caught these glaring omissions immediately. I don't know what happened here, but my favorite longest running series of books has a serious QC problem showing up just as we're getting to the good parts. To be honest, though, TM's writings and stories have me so hooked I'll keep reading, rough syntax or not.
June 25, 2026
Ho Hum - Skippable
I generally live this series and especially the last book about Farise. This one was very different. Lots and lots of manufactured drama with the gods and dry pondering about the nature of religion which did not do much to advance the plot line. Lots of minor stuff from side characters that did not do much to advance the plot line either. We didn't even get to hear the tale about the rescue of his daughter. The important stuff could be summed up in a short paragraph, or you could just pick up from context in the next book. Skim or skip from my perspective. A shame, since I've never not enjoyed a book in the main plot line from this author before.
I generally live this series and especially the last book about Farise. This one was very different. Lots and lots of manufactured drama with the gods and dry pondering about the nature of religion which did not do much to advance the plot line. Lots of minor stuff from side characters that did not do much to advance the plot line either. We didn't even get to hear the tale about the rescue of his daughter. The important stuff could be summed up in a short paragraph, or you could just pick up from context in the next book. Skim or skip from my perspective. A shame, since I've never not enjoyed a book in the main plot line from this author before.
June 21, 2026
Theurge: book nineteen of the Spellmonger series
Terry Mancour is one of my favourite authors. But WOW! he has outdone himself this time. All of the gods. More magic, more monsters, more intrigue. Thoughts in the story that make you stop and think. I couldn't go to bed till I finished.
Terry Mancour is one of my favourite authors. But WOW! he has outdone himself this time. All of the gods. More magic, more monsters, more intrigue. Thoughts in the story that make you stop and think. I couldn't go to bed till I finished.
June 22, 2026
excellent
Same old same old you want the best we get the best I am 66 years old and I hope I can make it to the end but if I don’t terry Mancour has helped in making my life interesting
Same old same old you want the best we get the best I am 66 years old and I hope I can make it to the end but if I don’t terry Mancour has helped in making my life interesting
June 23, 2026
Excellent
Good mix of fantasy, science fiction, and adventure. It was a bit wordy and slow to start, but it was still easy and enjoyable reading.
One of the very few long series that doesn't get repetitive and boring.
Good mix of fantasy, science fiction, and adventure. It was a bit wordy and slow to start, but it was still easy and enjoyable reading.
One of the very few long series that doesn't get repetitive and boring.
June 22, 2026
4.5 / 5
Terry Mancour is unquestionably one of my favourite authors, and I eagerly await each new installment of the Spellmonger series. I enjoyed Theurge but cannot give it 5 stars.
Terry Mancour is unquestionably one of my favourite authors, and I eagerly await each new installment of the Spellmonger series. I enjoyed Theurge but cannot give it 5 stars.
June 23, 2026
By far the weakest entry. Almost all talk. The action is at the beginning and end. Very boring.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews