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The Aegis of Merlin #1
The Impossible Wizard
Men can’t be wizards. Everyone knows that. But everyone is wrong. Conryu has his life all planned out. Then the wizard exam arrives. He passes. The first man ever. His carefully laid plans die in an instant. His hopes for a simple life gone forever. Some consider him a monster. Others a threat. Can Conryu survive long enough to make it to wizard school? It’s going to be a long summer. Get The Impossible Wizard now.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 22, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
July 7, 2020
Not what the description implies. Premise sounds nice. Execution is appalling and bordering on fraudulent.
You'd think this would be a coming of age story with the MC reluctantly embarking on some sort of adventure or quest to learn about his powers. Instead, the so called "MC" gets about the same amount of screen time as about 3 or 4 other characters -- less actually. He doesn't really get developed as a character and if the plot wasn't about him being the first male wizard, he'd be a 2-bit side character at best. You follow his perspective for what seems to be less than 1/5 of the total book. Most of the time you either follow other uninteresting people investigating why someone's trying off the MC, or you follow an inexplicably hateful villain, and her unwitting minions, plotting the MC's death "because he has magic". They really don't go deeply at all into why she's trying to kill him -- even against the orders of her superiors demanding she focus on other, unrelated nefarious things instead. Meanwhile the MC is just a clueless, useless, princess-in-a-castle, chilling at home, avoiding the heat, while others try to keep him from getting killed.
He's supposed to have unprecedented magical potential, but he isn't exactly smart. And we don't see ANY of that come into play other than as a reason people are trying to kill him. In fact, the book mentions several times how people talking about magic to him in the past spoke in terms and concepts he couldn't even begin to understand. His attitude towards reading or being in school without absolutely needing to be there gives the impression that other areas of his studies aren't stellar either. He's a senior about a week away from graduating with hopes of becoming a mechanic, no more, no less. He knows Kung Fu, and can fix a motor bike. That basically sums up his entire existence. A pretty flat character.
The magic system isn't explained. The system of government isn't explained. The geopolitical landscape? No clue. All you can tell is that this seems to be an alternate earth with modern 21st century technology -- and also magic. There was a passing mention that elves exist (or existed). To what degree is unknown. Demons exist but again, their nature and prevalence is not explained or shown in any depth. Scotland is apparently a place. Other than that, no countries or cities mentioned have recognizable names. Cities sound straight out of the DCU, with names like Central City and Sentinel City. Countries go by things like the "Empire", the "Kingdom", or the "Alliance". You don't even know the name of the country that the story is taking place in until about 80% of the way through the book. And it's such a fleeting, indirect mention that you're liable to miss it. And of the countries whose names are mentioned, the author tells us virtually nothing about them.
You want to know how small, limited, and poorly thought out this world is? Here's an example: The MC's high school had 3 seniors, including him, test positive for wizard potential in his year. The previous year there were 2. So let's be conservative and just go with 2 per year, per high school. The MC's home is called Sentinel City - so it is indeed a city, not a town. Assuming a large city like New York, USA, that'd be 1700 high schools -- meaning 3400 wizards produced a year. If you want to be more conservative -- let's say it's a small city, like Calgary, Canada -- that's 101 high schools, for 202 wizards produced a year. Yet for some inexplicable reason, the City's entire police force has only ONE wizard on staff -- and she reputedly isn't even that strong, as far as wizards go. Not that she makes an appearance at ALL despite the MC being the victim of a magical crime. The City's Department of Magic has 4 wizards on staff -- but it isn't even a law enforcement institution. It's a research institution. Yet for some reason, they're the ones handling the investigation. But according to some characters in the book, the government mandates all people with Wizard potential train as Wizards for 4 years in college after high school in order to be assets to the government in times of crisis. That means everyone with wizard potential becomes a wizard. Mr. Author, you want to rethink the logistics of this society? I'm pretty sure the numbers, economics, and correlation of forces don't add up.
This book is basically a low-quality mystery drama with a nonsensical alternate earth setting. There's no adventure. There's no quest. There's no character development. There's no coming of age. A whole lot of nothing happens. When you look at the cover, having read the synopsis, you get the impression that it focuses on a young man, potentially riding into or away from danger and conflict. There's pretty much none of those things. It barely follows the MC. And he's mostly static the entire novel. Like literally -- no exaggeration -- he's either at home, or in one of 3 other places. All of this makes the world and the story seem extremely shallow and narrow in scope. Not enough world building. Not enough investment in the MC. Not enough plot. It's a 212 page waste of time. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that the prose, grammar, and proofreading are competent.
You'd think this would be a coming of age story with the MC reluctantly embarking on some sort of adventure or quest to learn about his powers. Instead, the so called "MC" gets about the same amount of screen time as about 3 or 4 other characters -- less actually. He doesn't really get developed as a character and if the plot wasn't about him being the first male wizard, he'd be a 2-bit side character at best. You follow his perspective for what seems to be less than 1/5 of the total book. Most of the time you either follow other uninteresting people investigating why someone's trying off the MC, or you follow an inexplicably hateful villain, and her unwitting minions, plotting the MC's death "because he has magic". They really don't go deeply at all into why she's trying to kill him -- even against the orders of her superiors demanding she focus on other, unrelated nefarious things instead. Meanwhile the MC is just a clueless, useless, princess-in-a-castle, chilling at home, avoiding the heat, while others try to keep him from getting killed.
He's supposed to have unprecedented magical potential, but he isn't exactly smart. And we don't see ANY of that come into play other than as a reason people are trying to kill him. In fact, the book mentions several times how people talking about magic to him in the past spoke in terms and concepts he couldn't even begin to understand. His attitude towards reading or being in school without absolutely needing to be there gives the impression that other areas of his studies aren't stellar either. He's a senior about a week away from graduating with hopes of becoming a mechanic, no more, no less. He knows Kung Fu, and can fix a motor bike. That basically sums up his entire existence. A pretty flat character.
The magic system isn't explained. The system of government isn't explained. The geopolitical landscape? No clue. All you can tell is that this seems to be an alternate earth with modern 21st century technology -- and also magic. There was a passing mention that elves exist (or existed). To what degree is unknown. Demons exist but again, their nature and prevalence is not explained or shown in any depth. Scotland is apparently a place. Other than that, no countries or cities mentioned have recognizable names. Cities sound straight out of the DCU, with names like Central City and Sentinel City. Countries go by things like the "Empire", the "Kingdom", or the "Alliance". You don't even know the name of the country that the story is taking place in until about 80% of the way through the book. And it's such a fleeting, indirect mention that you're liable to miss it. And of the countries whose names are mentioned, the author tells us virtually nothing about them.
You want to know how small, limited, and poorly thought out this world is? Here's an example: The MC's high school had 3 seniors, including him, test positive for wizard potential in his year. The previous year there were 2. So let's be conservative and just go with 2 per year, per high school. The MC's home is called Sentinel City - so it is indeed a city, not a town. Assuming a large city like New York, USA, that'd be 1700 high schools -- meaning 3400 wizards produced a year. If you want to be more conservative -- let's say it's a small city, like Calgary, Canada -- that's 101 high schools, for 202 wizards produced a year. Yet for some inexplicable reason, the City's entire police force has only ONE wizard on staff -- and she reputedly isn't even that strong, as far as wizards go. Not that she makes an appearance at ALL despite the MC being the victim of a magical crime. The City's Department of Magic has 4 wizards on staff -- but it isn't even a law enforcement institution. It's a research institution. Yet for some reason, they're the ones handling the investigation. But according to some characters in the book, the government mandates all people with Wizard potential train as Wizards for 4 years in college after high school in order to be assets to the government in times of crisis. That means everyone with wizard potential becomes a wizard. Mr. Author, you want to rethink the logistics of this society? I'm pretty sure the numbers, economics, and correlation of forces don't add up.
This book is basically a low-quality mystery drama with a nonsensical alternate earth setting. There's no adventure. There's no quest. There's no character development. There's no coming of age. A whole lot of nothing happens. When you look at the cover, having read the synopsis, you get the impression that it focuses on a young man, potentially riding into or away from danger and conflict. There's pretty much none of those things. It barely follows the MC. And he's mostly static the entire novel. Like literally -- no exaggeration -- he's either at home, or in one of 3 other places. All of this makes the world and the story seem extremely shallow and narrow in scope. Not enough world building. Not enough investment in the MC. Not enough plot. It's a 212 page waste of time. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that the prose, grammar, and proofreading are competent.
January 24, 2019
Rating 2.0 stars
This was a good idea but nothing really happened in this book. We find that women are the only ones in this world that can become wizards. Senior year of high school they are tested to see if the have the capacity to use magic. For some reason even though only girls can use magic, all the boys are checked as well. Conryu Koda gets tested and it turns out that he is not only the first male to be found who can use magic, but the amount of magic that he can use is more than anyone has ever heard about.
That's a good start to a story and I was really interested to see where it went. Finding a man who can use magic is not something anyone ever thought they would see and nobody seems happy about it, including Conryu himself. There is apparently a secret group in the wizard world who wants Conryu dead.
Again, this is still pretty interesting and I was looking forward to see where things were going. Despite this story supposedly being about finding a wizard who is a male for the first time ever, Conryu was hardly in the story. There were a couple of times where the story revolved around him getting attacked but most of the story revolved around the police department's efforts to find out what was happening and the bad guys planning on how to attack Conryu. I was say the less than a 1/4 of the book actually dealt with Conryu himself. Then the story got even more muddied because the evil wizards plans to kill Conryu were actually only a secondary goal. There was some other master plan that was going to change the world that had nothing to do with Conryu. Despite Conryu having the ability to use magic, he has not been trained yet and he is not able to use one piece of magic the entire book.
I wasn't really impressed with this story. It was much shorter than most books I usually read and yet it still felt like it lasted forever. I wanted to read about Conryu and what he was going through. Thats was the synopsis promised, but it did not deliver on that promise. This story did not give me enough to want to read the rest of the series.
This was a good idea but nothing really happened in this book. We find that women are the only ones in this world that can become wizards. Senior year of high school they are tested to see if the have the capacity to use magic. For some reason even though only girls can use magic, all the boys are checked as well. Conryu Koda gets tested and it turns out that he is not only the first male to be found who can use magic, but the amount of magic that he can use is more than anyone has ever heard about.
That's a good start to a story and I was really interested to see where it went. Finding a man who can use magic is not something anyone ever thought they would see and nobody seems happy about it, including Conryu himself. There is apparently a secret group in the wizard world who wants Conryu dead.
Again, this is still pretty interesting and I was looking forward to see where things were going. Despite this story supposedly being about finding a wizard who is a male for the first time ever, Conryu was hardly in the story. There were a couple of times where the story revolved around him getting attacked but most of the story revolved around the police department's efforts to find out what was happening and the bad guys planning on how to attack Conryu. I was say the less than a 1/4 of the book actually dealt with Conryu himself. Then the story got even more muddied because the evil wizards plans to kill Conryu were actually only a secondary goal. There was some other master plan that was going to change the world that had nothing to do with Conryu. Despite Conryu having the ability to use magic, he has not been trained yet and he is not able to use one piece of magic the entire book.
I wasn't really impressed with this story. It was much shorter than most books I usually read and yet it still felt like it lasted forever. I wanted to read about Conryu and what he was going through. Thats was the synopsis promised, but it did not deliver on that promise. This story did not give me enough to want to read the rest of the series.
August 5, 2024
Perfect for preteens
August 16, 2018
This book is mostly about a murder investigation that involves magic. If this book had focused on the story of "the impossible wizard" I probably would have liked it a lot. At least I wouldn't have written the rant below right after finishing the last chapter. I can't give this more than one star (I mean it wasn't OK) even though I will try to read the next book in the series just incase it gets better. The potential is there and I really liked the first chapters, but oh, boy, do you get cheated later on.
May 9, 2017
I really wanted to like this book. I enjoyed the author's Disciples Of The Horned One Series but it suffered from the exact same problems that this novel has, only in this latest one they are more pronounced.
This is obviously the opening of a new series. A new series about an impossible wizard, and yet, though we were introduced to the impossible wizard in in the first chapters, he, THE MAIN CHARACTER PLAYS A SECONDARY ROLE through large sections of the book.
And even with as much talent as this author occasionally shows, I will not be reading his works again until he gets a new, not brain dead editor.
This is obviously the opening of a new series. A new series about an impossible wizard, and yet, though we were introduced to the impossible wizard in in the first chapters, he, THE MAIN CHARACTER PLAYS A SECONDARY ROLE through large sections of the book.
And even with as much talent as this author occasionally shows, I will not be reading his works again until he gets a new, not brain dead editor.
January 21, 2018
Bad execution
This book is not badly written. Nor is it the worst book I have read this year. What it is though is an insult.
When side characters and the antagonist get more page time than the MAIN character he is no longer a main character. I simply don't know enough about him to care to buy the second book. Speaking of, the fact that the author thought they could arbitrarily end a book in the hope of the reader buying the second is despicable. The more I think about it the angrier I get.
Save your money and don't support these money grabbing tactics.
This book is not badly written. Nor is it the worst book I have read this year. What it is though is an insult.
When side characters and the antagonist get more page time than the MAIN character he is no longer a main character. I simply don't know enough about him to care to buy the second book. Speaking of, the fact that the author thought they could arbitrarily end a book in the hope of the reader buying the second is despicable. The more I think about it the angrier I get.
Save your money and don't support these money grabbing tactics.
May 18, 2017
Made no sense
The plot didn't really come together. The MC was ok but so teenager it hurt.
The entire man vs woman thing was ridiculous and the shifting POV ruined what tension it had.
The plot didn't really come together. The MC was ok but so teenager it hurt.
The entire man vs woman thing was ridiculous and the shifting POV ruined what tension it had.
February 12, 2018
I actually read all the way to the 8th book of the series. And I've got to say the style of writing really doesn't fit my tastes. Maybe it's my imagination but it felt like more then half the series was from the villains point of view and they were not particularly deep or interesting characters.
I liked the main character but he seemed to get even less page space then the girls in his harem who felt well behind the villains. I liked him enough to muddle through all eight of the very short books in this series but even with a lot of skipping it still felt like a slog to get to the parts I was remotely interested in.
This review may seem harsh but I am sharing it for a reason. If you feel the same way I do you may want to consider just stopping at book one. Because it doesn't get better from there.
I liked the main character but he seemed to get even less page space then the girls in his harem who felt well behind the villains. I liked him enough to muddle through all eight of the very short books in this series but even with a lot of skipping it still felt like a slog to get to the parts I was remotely interested in.
This review may seem harsh but I am sharing it for a reason. If you feel the same way I do you may want to consider just stopping at book one. Because it doesn't get better from there.
March 15, 2018
My original The Impossible Wizard audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
The Impossible Wizard: Aegis of Merlin Series, Book 1 by James E. Wisher and narrated by Joe Hempel is the first in a trilogy of books. The author has crafted a new and complex world created where magic is real and it can only be wielded by women. Creating a strongly matriarchal society that wields powers in government and all sectors of society. In the last year of school all students are tested for magical potential, even boys, this year one boy named Conry Koda upsets the apple cart by having the highest potential for magic ever.
Conryu is as upset by this as those in the Department of Wizards. Who either views him as proof of their pet theories of wizardry or other view him as an aberration that should not exist. His plans for a simple life of going to a technical school and going to work in a repair shop are gone. If it is at this point you’re thinking Harry Potter nope thing is nothing of the sort. I like the world we have it is a huge world and the book has a massive cast of characters.
This can be problematic for some people because in the world building we don’t focus the entire story on who we believe to be the main character Conryu. There are a few subplots that are followed and might be of less interest to the casual listener. It is all part of the world building by the author putting things in place in the narrative for the other books in the series. The book held my attention and I really had a hard time putting it down and take the headphones off. I really enjoyed this world created by Mr. Wisher. The concepts, characters, and action in the story held my attention completely. This is one of those books for me I shocked it over so fast the 6 plus hours just flew by.
The narration is provided by Joe Hempel. Mr. Hempel provides an outstanding vocal performance in this audiobook. He not only delivering a compelling narration but also provides a range of vocal character’s interpretations. Each character was recognizable with their own unique voices done in a natural manner. The production quality by Tantor was top of the line as always they never fail to produce a high-quality audio product. Not a single glitch, hiss, or pop that this listener was able to hear.
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
The Impossible Wizard: Aegis of Merlin Series, Book 1 by James E. Wisher and narrated by Joe Hempel is the first in a trilogy of books. The author has crafted a new and complex world created where magic is real and it can only be wielded by women. Creating a strongly matriarchal society that wields powers in government and all sectors of society. In the last year of school all students are tested for magical potential, even boys, this year one boy named Conry Koda upsets the apple cart by having the highest potential for magic ever.
Conryu is as upset by this as those in the Department of Wizards. Who either views him as proof of their pet theories of wizardry or other view him as an aberration that should not exist. His plans for a simple life of going to a technical school and going to work in a repair shop are gone. If it is at this point you’re thinking Harry Potter nope thing is nothing of the sort. I like the world we have it is a huge world and the book has a massive cast of characters.
This can be problematic for some people because in the world building we don’t focus the entire story on who we believe to be the main character Conryu. There are a few subplots that are followed and might be of less interest to the casual listener. It is all part of the world building by the author putting things in place in the narrative for the other books in the series. The book held my attention and I really had a hard time putting it down and take the headphones off. I really enjoyed this world created by Mr. Wisher. The concepts, characters, and action in the story held my attention completely. This is one of those books for me I shocked it over so fast the 6 plus hours just flew by.
The narration is provided by Joe Hempel. Mr. Hempel provides an outstanding vocal performance in this audiobook. He not only delivering a compelling narration but also provides a range of vocal character’s interpretations. Each character was recognizable with their own unique voices done in a natural manner. The production quality by Tantor was top of the line as always they never fail to produce a high-quality audio product. Not a single glitch, hiss, or pop that this listener was able to hear.
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
Read
May 18, 2020When the synopsis has a typo, you know that it's not going to be a perfect read. I picked it up because it was free, and because I was needing to shake my reading up with a YA male protagonist (not that we got that - see below).
The Impossible Wizard was a fun read, albeit one not to be taken too seriously otherwise the plot holes and simple writing might drive you mad. It had an interesting concept: in a world where only females can be wizards, Conryu Koda disrupts everything when he registers an impossibly high magic aptitude level. Suddenly, everyone is trying to kill the "abomination", from religious zealots to shadowy wizard cults.
The cover is exciting, but misleading. Conryu never escapes from hellhounds on a motorcycle. In fact, he's only in a handful of chapters, with the key characters being the police detective and the wizards investigating the attacks on him (page time shared equally with the villain). It's fast-paced, but nothing is truly explained, with hints at a world where countries aren't the same as ours, random islands float over the city, and where elves used to exist, yet we get nothing more than casual throwaway comments about this. Wizards are meant to be a staple of the society where girls from each year of each school are trained - yet there's only three or four wizards in the whole book to divert a supposedly city-wide disaster. And unless it's explored in later books, the author missed a golden opportunity with this premise to explore non-binary genders and the implications of transgender people and magic.
But, like I said, a fun read, and it kept me entertained throughout. I particularly enjoyed the concept of each brand of elemental magic (fire, earth, darkness etc) having its own unique language, and think there's a lot of promise for this series.
The Impossible Wizard was a fun read, albeit one not to be taken too seriously otherwise the plot holes and simple writing might drive you mad. It had an interesting concept: in a world where only females can be wizards, Conryu Koda disrupts everything when he registers an impossibly high magic aptitude level. Suddenly, everyone is trying to kill the "abomination", from religious zealots to shadowy wizard cults.
The cover is exciting, but misleading. Conryu never escapes from hellhounds on a motorcycle. In fact, he's only in a handful of chapters, with the key characters being the police detective and the wizards investigating the attacks on him (page time shared equally with the villain). It's fast-paced, but nothing is truly explained, with hints at a world where countries aren't the same as ours, random islands float over the city, and where elves used to exist, yet we get nothing more than casual throwaway comments about this. Wizards are meant to be a staple of the society where girls from each year of each school are trained - yet there's only three or four wizards in the whole book to divert a supposedly city-wide disaster. And unless it's explored in later books, the author missed a golden opportunity with this premise to explore non-binary genders and the implications of transgender people and magic.
But, like I said, a fun read, and it kept me entertained throughout. I particularly enjoyed the concept of each brand of elemental magic (fire, earth, darkness etc) having its own unique language, and think there's a lot of promise for this series.
January 1, 2021
I can't even remember why I got this, but it's short. I just hope it's enjoyable.
This book is too funny.
I now remember why I picked this book up.
The story was funny enough (although the author didn't intend it to be comedy).
I will probably pick up the sequel. It was nothing new or mind blowing, but it did amuse me.
3/5 Stars
This book is too funny.
I now remember why I picked this book up.
The story was funny enough (although the author didn't intend it to be comedy).
I will probably pick up the sequel. It was nothing new or mind blowing, but it did amuse me.
3/5 Stars
August 17, 2020
A whole bunch of nothing.
This book should have been trimmed into 2 or 3 chapters during editing. That the author managed to write a whole book about all this nothing is really an impressive feat. If you are interested in the series, just read the kindle preview and go straight to book 2. I'm not sure I'll read the rest of this series.
This book should have been trimmed into 2 or 3 chapters during editing. That the author managed to write a whole book about all this nothing is really an impressive feat. If you are interested in the series, just read the kindle preview and go straight to book 2. I'm not sure I'll read the rest of this series.
September 25, 2021
This is a great introduction for the series. It was a little slow to start but it ramped up quickly. I enjoy this magic system as it’s a bit more traditional. Conryu is a likeable MC and he has all the confused emotions of a teenager tempered by his training with his father. I look forward to the series.
September 18, 2024
Good Read
Funny, exciting, interesting. Great mixture of attitudes and approaches to fixing problems. Interesting mixture of magic users and police. Looking forward to the next installment.
Funny, exciting, interesting. Great mixture of attitudes and approaches to fixing problems. Interesting mixture of magic users and police. Looking forward to the next installment.
September 18, 2018
Alright, so many issues with this one. The naration for one, he is not into it, very bland almost like he is reading a dictionary. He seems to have never listened to other Fantasty/ LitRPGs narators ever. Now the story? It's all over the damn place. This male kid is found to be the new protigy of the wiz world, now mind you there has NEVER been a a mage this powerfull or even male since Merlin and people in this world still think Merlin is some myth that was never real. Now all the terrible bad people want his ass dead, just because.
Now let's break down just the basics; if the WORLD the Governments and major magically families of said world found this out, what do you think would happen to this kid? He would be put on lock down and nothing short of the magic equivalent of Navy Seal team would be able to get close to this kid. He wouldn't be able to go to some fking carnaval, he wouldn't be able to have random visitors show up at his apartment even with the crappy wards on it. He would NOT be able wander around without a protection detail, period.
The kid himself, not likeable with crap personallity. Who talks to a professor that way or anyone the first time they meet them, the kid has no open mind. This is why I HATE YA books arrrrgh!!!
Now let's break down just the basics; if the WORLD the Governments and major magically families of said world found this out, what do you think would happen to this kid? He would be put on lock down and nothing short of the magic equivalent of Navy Seal team would be able to get close to this kid. He wouldn't be able to go to some fking carnaval, he wouldn't be able to have random visitors show up at his apartment even with the crappy wards on it. He would NOT be able wander around without a protection detail, period.
The kid himself, not likeable with crap personallity. Who talks to a professor that way or anyone the first time they meet them, the kid has no open mind. This is why I HATE YA books arrrrgh!!!
January 10, 2019
Great book
Great book I can't wait to read the next book in the series I would recommend this book to anyone
Great book I can't wait to read the next book in the series I would recommend this book to anyone
Want to read
February 15, 2020TheFussyLibrarian
July 11, 2017
This book fails to be either good or terrible. There were a handful of interesting elements that could have gone somewhere interesting but they didn't.
One main premise of the book is that only women can do magic & the MC is something impossible: a guy who can do magic! In fact he has the most magic that anyone has ever seen. SUCH MAGIC.
The entire society is predicated on the idea that only women can do magic, but for some reason all men are tested for magical abilities. Why waste time testing people you are sure will fail? Because we need to have the MC identified as the chosen one.
The character development is basically non existent. We learn Corbyn's dad runs a dojo where he teaches kung fu or possibly karate. It's a little vague. There is an ancestral shrine with a family heirloom katana in it. When he visits his girlfriend someone at her place is always wearing a kimono. So I guess they're both of Japanese descent? Maybe?
The plot is ridiculous. The main villains are caricatures of man hating feminists and just ugh. Wasn't worth it even though it was free via kindle unlimited.
One main premise of the book is that only women can do magic & the MC is something impossible: a guy who can do magic! In fact he has the most magic that anyone has ever seen. SUCH MAGIC.
The entire society is predicated on the idea that only women can do magic, but for some reason all men are tested for magical abilities. Why waste time testing people you are sure will fail? Because we need to have the MC identified as the chosen one.
The character development is basically non existent. We learn Corbyn's dad runs a dojo where he teaches kung fu or possibly karate. It's a little vague. There is an ancestral shrine with a family heirloom katana in it. When he visits his girlfriend someone at her place is always wearing a kimono. So I guess they're both of Japanese descent? Maybe?
The plot is ridiculous. The main villains are caricatures of man hating feminists and just ugh. Wasn't worth it even though it was free via kindle unlimited.
May 24, 2017
Attention grabbing from the start
From the first page, this story grabbed my interest. It has a unique premise and is well written. I've read plenty of normal boy finds out he's a wizard and while that's true here, Conryu is also an anomaly, for here, magic power resides firmly in the hands of women. Add in a secret society bent on covering the world in darkness and you have this series. Off to read volume two!
From the first page, this story grabbed my interest. It has a unique premise and is well written. I've read plenty of normal boy finds out he's a wizard and while that's true here, Conryu is also an anomaly, for here, magic power resides firmly in the hands of women. Add in a secret society bent on covering the world in darkness and you have this series. Off to read volume two!
March 20, 2018
3.5 stars
A good start for the series.
Will definitely read the next one!
A good start for the series.
Will definitely read the next one!
August 24, 2023
Pretty sure this was written by a horny 15 year old white boy.
June 25, 2019
A Marty-Stew MC who gets sidelined by the secondary characters. A lot.
Conyru Koda is a 17 yo, just graduated from high school, young man who has his plans of becoming an auto-mechanic upstaged by the discovery that he has potential to wield magic. Yay? Not really. In Conyru's world, only women have magic and he's possibly the first male wizard to be born in a thousand years ... if Prof. Angus' theories are correct (the narrator made this guy sound like Bill Connelly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-N5I...). Also, Conyru's less than thrilled a] to be a magic user - he has no interest in it, b] that the nutcases start coming out of the woodwork almost immediately screaming blasphemy and other less kind things and wielding knives (see below) and c] he is now an instant celebrity.
The basic premise of this story is actually kinda cool. The world has magic, floating cities, the occasional zombie, a big time university dedicated to magic, as well as the more mundane aspects of life - motor cars, internet and computers, books, etc. However, that's about all we know of this world. The system of magic isn't really explained and witches use such mundane words as "light" to create little balls of light or, if they do mutter a spell, it's in a sibilant or the divine language no one else can speak. It's not even all that interesting, the way the author writes it.
There are a lot of secondary characters who get more page time than Conyru, from the police detective who investigates the first attack, to Lady Raven who plans out and has her schemes thwarted by evil planting the seeds of its own doom, to her minions, a biker gang called, unimaginatively, The Skulls, to Tara, one of the witches working for the Magical Research Institute, whose romantic feelings toward the detective are just annoying.
As for Conyru himself, he's over the top powerful in magical power, clocking out at 12,000 mu on the magical testing machine, while his best friend/girlfriend comes in at a more reasonable 1942 mu. He's also a martial arts expert, so those knife wielding maniacs never have a chance, though it would have been nice the first time if Conyru had been a little hesitant to get involved (practicing in a dojo is very different from dealing with reality - I would assume). He has no interest in learning magic; he'd be very happy to become the mechanic he wants to be. Oh, and when his best/girlfriend offers him a chance to do the horizontal cha-cha in an elevator, he sounds like a way too sober adult rather than a 17 year guy (not really what I was expecting - a nice change of pace really). Other than that, he's actually a boring character.
I borrowed the audio from Hoopla, so while I'm not out any money, I did spend about 7 hours trying to decide if I like the story enough to continue ... the jury's still out though.
Conyru Koda is a 17 yo, just graduated from high school, young man who has his plans of becoming an auto-mechanic upstaged by the discovery that he has potential to wield magic. Yay? Not really. In Conyru's world, only women have magic and he's possibly the first male wizard to be born in a thousand years ... if Prof. Angus' theories are correct (the narrator made this guy sound like Bill Connelly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-N5I...). Also, Conyru's less than thrilled a] to be a magic user - he has no interest in it, b] that the nutcases start coming out of the woodwork almost immediately screaming blasphemy and other less kind things and wielding knives (see below) and c] he is now an instant celebrity.
The basic premise of this story is actually kinda cool. The world has magic, floating cities, the occasional zombie, a big time university dedicated to magic, as well as the more mundane aspects of life - motor cars, internet and computers, books, etc. However, that's about all we know of this world. The system of magic isn't really explained and witches use such mundane words as "light" to create little balls of light or, if they do mutter a spell, it's in a sibilant or the divine language no one else can speak. It's not even all that interesting, the way the author writes it.
There are a lot of secondary characters who get more page time than Conyru, from the police detective who investigates the first attack, to Lady Raven who plans out and has her schemes thwarted by evil planting the seeds of its own doom, to her minions, a biker gang called, unimaginatively, The Skulls, to Tara, one of the witches working for the Magical Research Institute, whose romantic feelings toward the detective are just annoying.
As for Conyru himself, he's over the top powerful in magical power, clocking out at 12,000 mu on the magical testing machine, while his best friend/girlfriend comes in at a more reasonable 1942 mu. He's also a martial arts expert, so those knife wielding maniacs never have a chance, though it would have been nice the first time if Conyru had been a little hesitant to get involved (practicing in a dojo is very different from dealing with reality - I would assume). He has no interest in learning magic; he'd be very happy to become the mechanic he wants to be. Oh, and when his best/girlfriend offers him a chance to do the horizontal cha-cha in an elevator, he sounds like a way too sober adult rather than a 17 year guy (not really what I was expecting - a nice change of pace really). Other than that, he's actually a boring character.
I borrowed the audio from Hoopla, so while I'm not out any money, I did spend about 7 hours trying to decide if I like the story enough to continue ... the jury's still out though.
February 1, 2018
Review originally published at: http://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookre...
Before going to college boys and girls are tested to see whether they have magic powers and the level of their magic. The real test is for the girls, since boys can’t have magic, but they are tested nonetheless as a routine. Conryu is a boy with small aspirations in life but he manages to score the highest in history on this test. Nobody can explain this, since only women can be wizards. Some people seem to disagree with this aberration, and Conryu will be in imminent danger.
The premises of this book were so good. The story felt fresh and original, and the characters were quite likable. I was in for a good ride, but halfway the initial spirit got lost in subplots. I really liked the little we learned about this world: special rules about magic, and the mysterious islands hovering over the city. I wanted to know more about it, and I wanted to know more about the main characters, but the action switched to a completely different thing, and secondary characters became the main ones, sadly without enough pull to get me invested.
I understand this book is the first in a long series, but I just would have liked to know more about how the world works and the main characters in the story. I am looking forward to future books in the series, since the little we learned about this world looked good and original, and I am sure Conryu will evolve a lot, which will make for an interesting character.
Joe Hempel’s performance was the best part of this book, delivering a compelling narration and extraordinaire character’s interpretations. Every character was perfectly recognizable but all the different voices were done in a subtle way, which sounded natural and pleasant to the ear. You just can’t go wrong with Joe Hempel.
I received a copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
Before going to college boys and girls are tested to see whether they have magic powers and the level of their magic. The real test is for the girls, since boys can’t have magic, but they are tested nonetheless as a routine. Conryu is a boy with small aspirations in life but he manages to score the highest in history on this test. Nobody can explain this, since only women can be wizards. Some people seem to disagree with this aberration, and Conryu will be in imminent danger.
The premises of this book were so good. The story felt fresh and original, and the characters were quite likable. I was in for a good ride, but halfway the initial spirit got lost in subplots. I really liked the little we learned about this world: special rules about magic, and the mysterious islands hovering over the city. I wanted to know more about it, and I wanted to know more about the main characters, but the action switched to a completely different thing, and secondary characters became the main ones, sadly without enough pull to get me invested.
I understand this book is the first in a long series, but I just would have liked to know more about how the world works and the main characters in the story. I am looking forward to future books in the series, since the little we learned about this world looked good and original, and I am sure Conryu will evolve a lot, which will make for an interesting character.
Joe Hempel’s performance was the best part of this book, delivering a compelling narration and extraordinaire character’s interpretations. Every character was perfectly recognizable but all the different voices were done in a subtle way, which sounded natural and pleasant to the ear. You just can’t go wrong with Joe Hempel.
I received a copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
October 3, 2017
The world building does not mesh. One if men are not wizards, then the balance of power should be matriarchal with women in charge of magical government law enforcement and other government positions. Not some dude. If men for a thousand years have no magic then mandatory testing for men makes no fucking sense period. And would not be the case unless the writer wrote so. end of book. then the girl jumping in the elevator and he coming up with some bull shit so the writer won't have a sex scene. if you don't want sex in the novel don't write situations that demand it. Really 2 hot teens who love each other and the girl ready to go yeah no sex happening unless the dude is gay is unbelievable and shit writing. I can think of 2o things better in that situation that would make the story more interesting or create conflict that can enhance the story to be resolved later in the book or series. then the guy being such a luddite that he cares only about motorcycles and martial arts when he finds out about having magic is not realistic. His world would be dominated by women and magic. then being told he would have power and the ability to act with power to a teenage boy and then him going fuck this it's a headache ... yeah don't really see that happening. maybe 1 and a thousand and only if he has some strong belief against magic. Then the whole tech based normal world even though magic has been available and public knowledge long before tech advanced really needs an explanation.
So going further on this topic would be a waste of effort especially since the author didn't put much thought beyond the crap to try and make the MC seem cool and unique in his clearly unrealistic world.
So going further on this topic would be a waste of effort especially since the author didn't put much thought beyond the crap to try and make the MC seem cool and unique in his clearly unrealistic world.
November 1, 2020
Extremely dull and has almost nothing to do with book description
The pacing of the story is very slow, and each of the several perspectives were dull. The main character is evidently incredibly laden with magical potential, yet he has no interest in magic and the story has almost nothing to do with this plot point. Instead, most of the book is the author trying to juggle a dull police investigation, with just random, irrelevant side character arcs, which makes for a read where you're forced to follow along with so many people that you dont care about and whose actions do nothing to further the overarching plot.
There are plot holes around, which strain even a generous suspension of disbelief. For example, the story centers around a guy who's the only male wizard alive, and he just do happens to have the most magic. Apart from how loudly that screams wish fulfillment, in an entire world inundated with magic, you expect me to believe this just makes the news? And when attempts on his life are made, they just let him chill on his couch while small-time, local detectives look for the murderers after him? It's genuinely kind of infuriating that so little thought has been put into this.
The pacing of the story is very slow, and each of the several perspectives were dull. The main character is evidently incredibly laden with magical potential, yet he has no interest in magic and the story has almost nothing to do with this plot point. Instead, most of the book is the author trying to juggle a dull police investigation, with just random, irrelevant side character arcs, which makes for a read where you're forced to follow along with so many people that you dont care about and whose actions do nothing to further the overarching plot.
There are plot holes around, which strain even a generous suspension of disbelief. For example, the story centers around a guy who's the only male wizard alive, and he just do happens to have the most magic. Apart from how loudly that screams wish fulfillment, in an entire world inundated with magic, you expect me to believe this just makes the news? And when attempts on his life are made, they just let him chill on his couch while small-time, local detectives look for the murderers after him? It's genuinely kind of infuriating that so little thought has been put into this.
April 25, 2024
I don't recommend it.
I'll be do better at checking reviews for free books.
Okay for a story.
Okay if you don't mind foul language and umm, racy or inappropriate things being mentioned in one or two parts.
Writing level is probably teens but I wouldn't recommend the book to teens... or, actually I don't really recommend the book.
It's not clean morality wise or language wise, the main guy does say no though! But looks twice or longer at everything else, *sigh* not the best rolemodel.
not the best written, easily read by skimming or skipping pages that had biker dudes and main protagonist.
Yeah, I was just excited about the martial arts and magic powers potential *sigh* it wasn't that satisfying. I thought of deleting it a few times and probably should've. It's like the later books of Harry Potter darkness and more language, and if the focus was on the teachers or ministry of magic instead.
It definitely feels more like part of a book and not the whole book - like a serial.
I'll be do better at checking reviews for free books.
Okay for a story.
Okay if you don't mind foul language and umm, racy or inappropriate things being mentioned in one or two parts.
Writing level is probably teens but I wouldn't recommend the book to teens... or, actually I don't really recommend the book.
It's not clean morality wise or language wise, the main guy does say no though! But looks twice or longer at everything else, *sigh* not the best rolemodel.
not the best written, easily read by skimming or skipping pages that had biker dudes and main protagonist.
Yeah, I was just excited about the martial arts and magic powers potential *sigh* it wasn't that satisfying. I thought of deleting it a few times and probably should've. It's like the later books of Harry Potter darkness and more language, and if the focus was on the teachers or ministry of magic instead.
It definitely feels more like part of a book and not the whole book - like a serial.
December 9, 2017
The genre of the magical boarding school (Harry Potter) is crowded these days, but there's still stuff to do within it.
In this first book of an open-ended series (6 books are out, and 1 more is coming at the time I write this), the hero is the only man to become a wizard in a world where only women have magical powers. And while some want to hail him as the legendary reincarnation of Merlin, others don't like much the idea of sharing power with a man.
Reversing the usual power dynamics of modern society with magic talent is a good idea, but unfortunately, it's not explored that well. Part of the problem is that Conryu is introduced as far too powerful at the onset, and pretty much the only persons who have a problem are the Evil Conspiracy.
Still, it's a fun romp, a fast read, and unlike some series, it does wrap its main plot while advancing all kind of background stuff for the next books. Decent read overall.
In this first book of an open-ended series (6 books are out, and 1 more is coming at the time I write this), the hero is the only man to become a wizard in a world where only women have magical powers. And while some want to hail him as the legendary reincarnation of Merlin, others don't like much the idea of sharing power with a man.
Reversing the usual power dynamics of modern society with magic talent is a good idea, but unfortunately, it's not explored that well. Part of the problem is that Conryu is introduced as far too powerful at the onset, and pretty much the only persons who have a problem are the Evil Conspiracy.
Still, it's a fun romp, a fast read, and unlike some series, it does wrap its main plot while advancing all kind of background stuff for the next books. Decent read overall.
April 13, 2018
Really wanted to applaud this because of the usage of "Merlin" in the title. I had hoped for more insights into a Meelin-type character: a wise man in a believable role and mentor to the youths. We get young people who are thankless and ill-conceived. The main male character is a whiner. The female character, while fairly strong and passionate about her gifts, lacks a certain belief in self, bowing to the males.
Unfortunately a number of the characters were somewhat flat and the plots within plots were tiresome and peopled with unnecessary characters. It's quite confusing.
I started reading this with the hope of a new spin on Merlin and his realms. I do hope it all comes together in the rest of the series. I believe Wisher has the talent and style to evolve into an exciting author.
Unfortunately a number of the characters were somewhat flat and the plots within plots were tiresome and peopled with unnecessary characters. It's quite confusing.
I started reading this with the hope of a new spin on Merlin and his realms. I do hope it all comes together in the rest of the series. I believe Wisher has the talent and style to evolve into an exciting author.
November 14, 2018
The Impossible Wizard was kinda like my cheat book to reach my reading goals for this year. However the flow was surprisingly good. The plot lines were simple to follow and I guess maybe I was caught in the flow and felt like the book kinda ended quickly.
I must however say that it feels like at quite a few places and perhaps in the later books there would be Harry Potter style events so i guess a train ride to college, some dark arts kinda touch point and maybe some tournament like tri wizard tournament. I like the kung fu and bike riding though.
The thing that caught me by surprise was the time given to develop other characters. I thought it would be more of a single hero's pov.
I love coming of age stories so keep it coming author.
A definitely good pick up read. Light and fluffy at the right places.
I must however say that it feels like at quite a few places and perhaps in the later books there would be Harry Potter style events so i guess a train ride to college, some dark arts kinda touch point and maybe some tournament like tri wizard tournament. I like the kung fu and bike riding though.
The thing that caught me by surprise was the time given to develop other characters. I thought it would be more of a single hero's pov.
I love coming of age stories so keep it coming author.
A definitely good pick up read. Light and fluffy at the right places.
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