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The Magi Saga #1
Epic Calling
Amanda-Jane Page is just a normal girl struggling to make a life on the streets of New York when, during a time of tragedy for her, she discovers she has the potential to be a Magi, someone with the power to use Magic, and is drawn into their hidden civil war. Amanda's link to a powerful Magical Artefact discovered in the Egyptian Desert draws her into a race to control its power. With her new friends she must stop the dangerous and powerful dark Magi, led from the shadows by the mysterious Yasmin, from possessing it. But Amanda must learn the ways of Magic and become a Magi to stand a chance against Yasmin and the forces arrayed against her. If the Artefact fell into the wrong hands, it could change the war and mean victory for the forces of darkness. EPIC CALLING, book one in the MAGI SAGA.
300 pages, Paperback
First published November 18, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
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April 9, 2020🎁 Books 1 & 2 in the Series are FREE on Amazon today (4/9/2020)! 🎁
Want to read
April 9, 2020🎁 Books 1 & 2 in the Series are FREE on Amazon today (4/9/2020)! 🎁
Book 3 is part of the KU program.
Book 3 is part of the KU program.
March 4, 2018
Interesting twist on the paranormal
I decided to read this book after the Bob’s Bar short story collection. It is interesting, fast paced at times and does a good job of bringing emotions and realism into play.
While I do not agree with the Magi’s non-belief in God, I completely agree that those of the Inquisition did not act as Christ’s followers should: with love. So, I am totally fine that they take out the bad guys, of varying factions, when they act with evil intent. The priest in the story acted as a man of God should and helped protect kids against unwarranted violence.
I decided to read this book after the Bob’s Bar short story collection. It is interesting, fast paced at times and does a good job of bringing emotions and realism into play.
While I do not agree with the Magi’s non-belief in God, I completely agree that those of the Inquisition did not act as Christ’s followers should: with love. So, I am totally fine that they take out the bad guys, of varying factions, when they act with evil intent. The priest in the story acted as a man of God should and helped protect kids against unwarranted violence.
December 30, 2019
A hidden world revealed
The beginning is a little confusing, which reflects Amanda’s state of mind about the weird events happening in her life. This gives insight into how Amanda began her journey, and is a good start to this universe. I enjoyed the story and am looking forward to continuing the series.
The beginning is a little confusing, which reflects Amanda’s state of mind about the weird events happening in her life. This gives insight into how Amanda began her journey, and is a good start to this universe. I enjoyed the story and am looking forward to continuing the series.
January 2, 2020
What a story. Amanda is quite the girl. Ordinary person but things will definitely change. Loved it.
December 26, 2019
Another feisty female!
Excellent new author (to me).Andrews name was familiar to me through his fantastic book covers. Thought I'd give his book a try. I'm glad I did, Amanda is a real joy, she is a very 'normal' type of girl making flawed choices for her life, however it doesn't stay normal. The book is really enjoyable and keeps your attention and eager to continue. Looking forward to the next one.
Excellent new author (to me).Andrews name was familiar to me through his fantastic book covers. Thought I'd give his book a try. I'm glad I did, Amanda is a real joy, she is a very 'normal' type of girl making flawed choices for her life, however it doesn't stay normal. The book is really enjoyable and keeps your attention and eager to continue. Looking forward to the next one.
July 20, 2020
DNF.
I gave up on this at 40%.
I didn’t like the characters, plus there was a lot of jumping around to different characters that were banging on about surveillance and other plot points that I just had no interest in. Nothing was bringing the factions into a more cohesive narrative (up till this point), and if a book hasn’t grabbed me by this point, then... 👎🏻
I gave up on this at 40%.
I didn’t like the characters, plus there was a lot of jumping around to different characters that were banging on about surveillance and other plot points that I just had no interest in. Nothing was bringing the factions into a more cohesive narrative (up till this point), and if a book hasn’t grabbed me by this point, then... 👎🏻
September 12, 2024
***MINOR SPOILERS ***
This book is the first book in the Magi Saga series. It is the first book I have read by this author, though I read a short story in an anthology that resulted in me deciding to give this one a try.
When the book starts, Amanda, the main character, is a prostitute. She is giving up that life in New York to return to Ireland to see a friend who is dying. Her pimp is nice and protective towards Amanda. Amanda is fond of at least some of her johns. She is friends with her fellow prostitutes. None of them are on drugs. After saying all that, the author first says Amanda likes her job and then says she hates it. Given that the majority of people’s opinions are quite negative towards prostitutes, this was a surprising way to introduce a hero. I also am not sure this was a good depiction of what life as a prostitute would be like. A recent statistic states that 58% of prostitutes have been violently assaulted. 80% of prostitutes want to get out of the profession. About ¼ are addicted to drugs.
Coincidentally, the night before she was leaving, she is attacked and discovers she has magical abilities. It seemed a little improbable that she would discover this as a young adult. She had small signs that she disregarded as a child, but this triggering event was called an epiphany. Most people (in my opinion) who thought that perhaps they could do telekinesis or other magical skills would have experimented to see what they could do. During the epiphany, she is observed by someone and it was not explained how that person knew to be there. The epiphany involved a magical attack in which Amanda needed to access her magic in order to survive. It was not explained how the creature attacking her knew Amanda had magic.
Shortly after returning to Ireland, her friend dies and leaves her a house and money which is possible but just seemed like it was done for the story. She decides to stay in Ireland. While she is figuring out what to do next, she is approach by a Magus (singular form of Magi), Gentle Water, who is sent to make contact with her without revealing who he is at first. Gentle Water is a bit of a stereotype with his broken accent. There are many Asians who speak English very well.
Gentle Water claims that Jesus was a Magus as were at least some of his disciples (Simon Peter is named). The Magi are long lived, and Simon Peter is still alive and leading a group called the Inquisitors (tied to the Spanish Inquisition and generally a cruel group). I thought this was a gratuitous slam at Christianity and did not need to be included. Later one of the Inquisitors prays to God for the power to be violent. Conversely, the kids that believed in the Occult were good guys.
As Amanda learns about magic, she believes that it has brought her luck her whole life. I am not sure how she rationalized that as she was an orphan left at a convent school, became homeless when she left it, and then became a prostitute but life is how you look at it.
SPOILER: Towards the end of the book, Amanda decides to take two untrained people into battle because they ask. That was an extremely poor decision and I thought it did not speak well of her. I also thought her more experienced teammates should have intervened.
There were a couple of careless typos and places where words were misused.
The POV of the story changes frequently.
I did not care for this book and do not plan to continue reading books by this author. There were several points where I wanted to stop reading but continued in order to write a review. I prefer to write reviews that reflect the whole story because a book can improve as it goes along, or the opposite can happen. In this case, I did not like it from the beginning and that did not change.
This book is the first book in the Magi Saga series. It is the first book I have read by this author, though I read a short story in an anthology that resulted in me deciding to give this one a try.
When the book starts, Amanda, the main character, is a prostitute. She is giving up that life in New York to return to Ireland to see a friend who is dying. Her pimp is nice and protective towards Amanda. Amanda is fond of at least some of her johns. She is friends with her fellow prostitutes. None of them are on drugs. After saying all that, the author first says Amanda likes her job and then says she hates it. Given that the majority of people’s opinions are quite negative towards prostitutes, this was a surprising way to introduce a hero. I also am not sure this was a good depiction of what life as a prostitute would be like. A recent statistic states that 58% of prostitutes have been violently assaulted. 80% of prostitutes want to get out of the profession. About ¼ are addicted to drugs.
Coincidentally, the night before she was leaving, she is attacked and discovers she has magical abilities. It seemed a little improbable that she would discover this as a young adult. She had small signs that she disregarded as a child, but this triggering event was called an epiphany. Most people (in my opinion) who thought that perhaps they could do telekinesis or other magical skills would have experimented to see what they could do. During the epiphany, she is observed by someone and it was not explained how that person knew to be there. The epiphany involved a magical attack in which Amanda needed to access her magic in order to survive. It was not explained how the creature attacking her knew Amanda had magic.
Shortly after returning to Ireland, her friend dies and leaves her a house and money which is possible but just seemed like it was done for the story. She decides to stay in Ireland. While she is figuring out what to do next, she is approach by a Magus (singular form of Magi), Gentle Water, who is sent to make contact with her without revealing who he is at first. Gentle Water is a bit of a stereotype with his broken accent. There are many Asians who speak English very well.
Gentle Water claims that Jesus was a Magus as were at least some of his disciples (Simon Peter is named). The Magi are long lived, and Simon Peter is still alive and leading a group called the Inquisitors (tied to the Spanish Inquisition and generally a cruel group). I thought this was a gratuitous slam at Christianity and did not need to be included. Later one of the Inquisitors prays to God for the power to be violent. Conversely, the kids that believed in the Occult were good guys.
As Amanda learns about magic, she believes that it has brought her luck her whole life. I am not sure how she rationalized that as she was an orphan left at a convent school, became homeless when she left it, and then became a prostitute but life is how you look at it.
SPOILER: Towards the end of the book, Amanda decides to take two untrained people into battle because they ask. That was an extremely poor decision and I thought it did not speak well of her. I also thought her more experienced teammates should have intervened.
There were a couple of careless typos and places where words were misused.
The POV of the story changes frequently.
I did not care for this book and do not plan to continue reading books by this author. There were several points where I wanted to stop reading but continued in order to write a review. I prefer to write reviews that reflect the whole story because a book can improve as it goes along, or the opposite can happen. In this case, I did not like it from the beginning and that did not change.
September 6, 2022
This is the first book in a urban fantasy series that I stumbled on when browsing around for something new to read. Actually, one of the criteria that I had when looking for someyhing new was something where Michael Anderle had not slapped his name on it. He has written some books that I really really liked but unfortunately also slapped his name on a lot of crap. Also, to be honest, when reading books with his name on it I am starting to get a bit of a Deja Vue feeling.
Anyway, back to this book. It is not a bad start. I mean it is pretty much a run of the mill urban fantasy story with a few twists here and there but it is good enough that I felt I was entertained by it.
It is one of those stories where the main protagonist rather abruptly discovers that all those stories about things that go bump in the night are true and, in addition, she is one of the ones doing the bumping. Those stories are among my favorite ones. Unfortunately all too often the first book or books are quite fun but then they go down the drain. I guess we will have to see how it goes with this series.
The story is okay but it is maybe not the most well thought through story I have read. When we first meet Amanda she is working the oldest profession in the world and not as a upscale lady with exclusive clientele but literally on the street. That does not last long due to certain events describes in the book blurb though but her transformation from a street lady to the rather intelligent and moral main protagonist we see in the rest of the book seemed a little naive to me. Also the authors depiction of her “manager” when working the street was a bit naive and implausible. Well, as I wrote, that part did not last long so, no big deal.
I did like the part where Amanda, after her rather dramatic introduction to magic, was progressively introduced to the world of magic and monsters. It was not too rushed. Well some parts were a bit rushed, her advancing to Knight that fast was too much, but overall it was fairly well done.
How she found her mentor and the character itself was also nice although the influences from Karate Kid and Miyagi was rather obvious.
From there on everything picks up speed and overall I liked the book quite a lot. Her introduction to the four guys (not all of them human) in their Paris headquarters was quite fun. I hope we will have more of them.
The books does a lot of zapping between different parallel events as well as between time periods though. This part I did not like so much. I never do.
One thing that worries me though is that the author’s take on magic is a bit too far out. Essentially you seem to be able to do just about anything with magic if you are strong or well-trained enough. I hope the author does not make this spiral out of control as so many authors have done in various books that I have read.
Anyway, I as far as I am concerned this book merits me having a go on the second book in the series.
Anyway, back to this book. It is not a bad start. I mean it is pretty much a run of the mill urban fantasy story with a few twists here and there but it is good enough that I felt I was entertained by it.
It is one of those stories where the main protagonist rather abruptly discovers that all those stories about things that go bump in the night are true and, in addition, she is one of the ones doing the bumping. Those stories are among my favorite ones. Unfortunately all too often the first book or books are quite fun but then they go down the drain. I guess we will have to see how it goes with this series.
The story is okay but it is maybe not the most well thought through story I have read. When we first meet Amanda she is working the oldest profession in the world and not as a upscale lady with exclusive clientele but literally on the street. That does not last long due to certain events describes in the book blurb though but her transformation from a street lady to the rather intelligent and moral main protagonist we see in the rest of the book seemed a little naive to me. Also the authors depiction of her “manager” when working the street was a bit naive and implausible. Well, as I wrote, that part did not last long so, no big deal.
I did like the part where Amanda, after her rather dramatic introduction to magic, was progressively introduced to the world of magic and monsters. It was not too rushed. Well some parts were a bit rushed, her advancing to Knight that fast was too much, but overall it was fairly well done.
How she found her mentor and the character itself was also nice although the influences from Karate Kid and Miyagi was rather obvious.
From there on everything picks up speed and overall I liked the book quite a lot. Her introduction to the four guys (not all of them human) in their Paris headquarters was quite fun. I hope we will have more of them.
The books does a lot of zapping between different parallel events as well as between time periods though. This part I did not like so much. I never do.
One thing that worries me though is that the author’s take on magic is a bit too far out. Essentially you seem to be able to do just about anything with magic if you are strong or well-trained enough. I hope the author does not make this spiral out of control as so many authors have done in various books that I have read.
Anyway, I as far as I am concerned this book merits me having a go on the second book in the series.
January 8, 2018
Magi Dawn is an EXCELLENT story with an interesting and different take on magic and the people gifted in its use in an urban fantasy setting. The pace of the book is very good with enough detail to make understanding what is happening easy to follow without slowing down the narrative. The characters are intriguing with the usual assortment of protagonists you take to and villains you love to hate. This is definitely one of the better Urban Fantasy series to come out in recent years.
Magi Dawn is the first book in the Magi series by Andrew Dobell and is actually a complete re-write of Epic Calling. Epic Calling is a lot longer with a very large amount of infinite detail, extensive character development and intricate back story detail. The author felt the need to revisit his first book and the result is a very streamlined, compelling and hard-to-put-down story with a cracking pace and loads of interest. I loved Epic Calling and thought it was an excellent book, but Andrew Dobell has certainly improved it with the release of Magi Dawn.
Magi Dawn is the first book in the Magi series by Andrew Dobell and is actually a complete re-write of Epic Calling. Epic Calling is a lot longer with a very large amount of infinite detail, extensive character development and intricate back story detail. The author felt the need to revisit his first book and the result is a very streamlined, compelling and hard-to-put-down story with a cracking pace and loads of interest. I loved Epic Calling and thought it was an excellent book, but Andrew Dobell has certainly improved it with the release of Magi Dawn.
June 11, 2021
Very disappointing. Should be zero stars. Most of the characters aren’t even one-dimensional. They are caricatures. The bad guys are bad; the church guys are all “our rules are the best;” and the good guys are perfect in every way.
I could even put up with that, but we exclusively learn about the characters through conclusion, not description. Why tell me that it is clear that this new character “works out.” How about you describe him physically or have him do something? For the lead character to be drawn to a woman for her “keen sense of humor” sixty seconds after they meet and when the only joke she has told is: “Oh, you met the guys? Glad they didn’t scare you off” is just plain lazy.
Final straw for me was the “pimp with the heart of gold” and being a prostitute isn’t so bad trope. “Lots of sewer workers wouldn’t recommend their job either.”
I read this for free. You could not pay me to read the second installment.
I could even put up with that, but we exclusively learn about the characters through conclusion, not description. Why tell me that it is clear that this new character “works out.” How about you describe him physically or have him do something? For the lead character to be drawn to a woman for her “keen sense of humor” sixty seconds after they meet and when the only joke she has told is: “Oh, you met the guys? Glad they didn’t scare you off” is just plain lazy.
Final straw for me was the “pimp with the heart of gold” and being a prostitute isn’t so bad trope. “Lots of sewer workers wouldn’t recommend their job either.”
I read this for free. You could not pay me to read the second installment.
February 19, 2019
Some where between a 3 and a 4 for me here. I really like Amanda, she is an interesting character with strengths and flaws, and a generally fun attitude, that I first read about in the Bob's Bar anthologies. The story started a bit slow for me, but after about a quarter of the way through it picked up nicely and kept me engaged. A number of protagonists and antagonists in the support cast, but don't see enough of them / their motives for my liking, but I suspect future books would explore these more :) The content more explicit than I generally like, which coupled with the slow start pulled down the score down for me.
July 18, 2018
Exciting Blend of Magic and Kick Ass
As with any first book its hard to draw the reader in but Andrew does this very well, this is his first big work now that i have read as normally it's from an anthology and i know of his great covers for other big authors.
After reading this i can say he has many talents and his Amanda character is one i will definitely follow more of with an interesting universe.
As with any first book its hard to draw the reader in but Andrew does this very well, this is his first big work now that i have read as normally it's from an anthology and i know of his great covers for other big authors.
After reading this i can say he has many talents and his Amanda character is one i will definitely follow more of with an interesting universe.
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January 12, 2020Magi Dawn (The Magi Saga #1), my fourteenth read from author Andrew Dobell and the first book of The Magi Saga.Well-written and entertaining. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. I was impressed and enjoyed the vocal variety & inflections of narrator Vicky Ring. The book was so good my family has taken to listening to it over watching television. I look forward to reading more in this series. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
November 21, 2020
Summary: I'm not a great fan of urban fantasy, but I quite enjoyed this little romp. It doesn't take itself too seriously and their is obviously a bigger story unravelling,, but this is a sort of coming of age start of a series
Plotline: Not too sophisticated, but moves forward nicely
Premise: Urban fantasy, so I'm not a big fan
Writing: Engaging, light
Ending: Yep
Pace: Never a dull moment!
Plotline: Not too sophisticated, but moves forward nicely
Premise: Urban fantasy, so I'm not a big fan
Writing: Engaging, light
Ending: Yep
Pace: Never a dull moment!
February 9, 2020
Fun back story
Lead character, Amanda, is a spit-fire & a Strong Woman. Her life brings her to the place she's@, young but mature, naive but confident. Adventure is what she craves. And what she gets, too!
I enjoyed reading about Amanda, her mentor & the beginnings of her apprentice as well. I experienced Amanda in Bob's Bar; I am happy to get to know her better.
Lead character, Amanda, is a spit-fire & a Strong Woman. Her life brings her to the place she's@, young but mature, naive but confident. Adventure is what she craves. And what she gets, too!
I enjoyed reading about Amanda, her mentor & the beginnings of her apprentice as well. I experienced Amanda in Bob's Bar; I am happy to get to know her better.
February 13, 2022
This was a very enjoyable book to read. As in I open the cover and pretty much read it until done
So I'm on Facebook and I see an ad for three books for a great price. A friend of mine who has written some work as well advised me to start with this book. I'm really thankful he did. This was really good. I'll be open in the next one in a few minutes..
So I'm on Facebook and I see an ad for three books for a great price. A friend of mine who has written some work as well advised me to start with this book. I'm really thankful he did. This was really good. I'll be open in the next one in a few minutes..
March 2, 2025
DNF. Poorly written, poorly paced. I have never read this author before, it seems as though they struggle with character creation, or maybe not so much character creation, but depth of character. Everyone is two-dimensional... There appear to be several more books, for anyone who has stuck with this, hopefully the author learns they write?
February 9, 2018
Good story and mountains of magic
Lots going on in this first book. Lots of magic interesting characters. Sort of a new take on magic that is intriguing. Looking forward to the next book.
Lots going on in this first book. Lots of magic interesting characters. Sort of a new take on magic that is intriguing. Looking forward to the next book.
March 16, 2019
Very Enjoyable
Very much and enjoyable read and a great introduction to the series. I really liked the main character and the side characters as well, looking forward to reading book two.
Very much and enjoyable read and a great introduction to the series. I really liked the main character and the side characters as well, looking forward to reading book two.
September 19, 2024
Just main characters acting stupid to create peril.
So scary magic tomb. If this book is really bad news why not have arch mage retrieve it. No lets send a mage, a young women who recently learned magic and some kids.
So scary magic tomb. If this book is really bad news why not have arch mage retrieve it. No lets send a mage, a young women who recently learned magic and some kids.
January 10, 2018
Amanda is just an ordinary girl on the street, or so she thinks. She’s really a Magi. An awesome story, not to be missed when it’s released.
April 26, 2020
Zelfde geld voor deze van hem
October 26, 2020
Great read
The book has magic galore. And other types of beings that haunt your dreams. Suspense Ames fighting including. Best of both worlds
The book has magic galore. And other types of beings that haunt your dreams. Suspense Ames fighting including. Best of both worlds
November 14, 2024
Interesting magic with a British accent. Not grabbed by it. Lots of seemingly pointless death. Not going to read this series.
December 22, 2024
I liked the story and some of the characters so far. I’m curious what the next book brings.
December 23, 2019
Having read an earlier version....
I found the main story remained, but in a cleaner version. Amanda is still the star of the show as we follow her transition from a sordid existence as a prostitute on the streets of New York to a wielder of magical power. There are three known groups of magic users for lack of a better analogy, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Oddly enough, the ugly are an unexpected group. A good read.
I found the main story remained, but in a cleaner version. Amanda is still the star of the show as we follow her transition from a sordid existence as a prostitute on the streets of New York to a wielder of magical power. There are three known groups of magic users for lack of a better analogy, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Oddly enough, the ugly are an unexpected group. A good read.
December 8, 2019
Essentia Rising
Amanda has had a hard time in her young life. However, she is strong, Stronger than she knows. She is thrust violently into a world of magic that was previously unknown to her. There are shades of evil among the magic users. Fortunately, a group of benign users offer to mentor her. I like the action and humor. I look forward to more books in this series.
Amanda has had a hard time in her young life. However, she is strong, Stronger than she knows. She is thrust violently into a world of magic that was previously unknown to her. There are shades of evil among the magic users. Fortunately, a group of benign users offer to mentor her. I like the action and humor. I look forward to more books in this series.
August 18, 2022
Book 1, bought the 2 vol set.
February 22, 2016
I received a copy of Epic Calling by Andrew Dobell and I enjoyed it very much. The character of Amanda grabs you right away and she is very interesting. In this version , there is a bit of a lull between actions scenes, but I did not read the final copy, so you may not see that.
The first 50 pages had me on the edge of my seat. The violence is full on and very graphic. The evil people and monsters in this book take no quarter!
This is one of those books that you need to follow closely as Amanda will think back often and the scene will change to other characters. All the changes and all the sidebars DO END UP MEANING SOMETHING , SO KEEP READING! I found the characters well developed and very interesting. The interactions between characters is fully developed and very real. The author did an astounding job of keeping up with all the different accents and backgrounds. There are quite a few characters to this story, but they are all well cared for by the Author. I highly recommend reading this book. I have a feeling that each story for this series is going to continue to be better and better each time. I am hooked!
The first 50 pages had me on the edge of my seat. The violence is full on and very graphic. The evil people and monsters in this book take no quarter!
This is one of those books that you need to follow closely as Amanda will think back often and the scene will change to other characters. All the changes and all the sidebars DO END UP MEANING SOMETHING , SO KEEP READING! I found the characters well developed and very interesting. The interactions between characters is fully developed and very real. The author did an astounding job of keeping up with all the different accents and backgrounds. There are quite a few characters to this story, but they are all well cared for by the Author. I highly recommend reading this book. I have a feeling that each story for this series is going to continue to be better and better each time. I am hooked!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews