Shadow of a Mage

The Blood Mage Chronicles #2

by Saffron Bryant

Ash barely survived his last brush with the Faceless Monks but he refuses to give up on Rae.

He thinks he knows everything there is to know about channeling but he's about to learn there's far more to the world than he ever thought possible.

396 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 22, 2017

About the author

Saffron Bryant is a biomedical scientist who is about to embark on her PhD. She hopes one day to use her education to cure people of diseases such as cancer.

Saffron is author of the Lost Child Saga. This saga began with The Fallen Star which was released in 2012, and will continue with The Herald of Darkness, to be released later this year.

Saffron loves all things fantasy with a passion for good books, dragons and science. She is also an artist and some of her work can be found at www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/saffr...

Reviews

[Britannia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Teenage angst continues in book two of this trilogy, which is something I don't love. The further I get the more I believe that Ash is going to be a villain, which is a trend I typically like. That being said, Ash is also moronic to the point of it being painful and frustrating. He unthinkingly responds like a brainless idiot to literally every situation, he never listens to advice from anyone, and his ego is bigger than the state of Alaska, he seems bound and determined to do the stupidest possible thing in every single situation he's put into. As a person who enjoys flawed characters most of these things are alright by me though it is difficult to accept that this character never grows or changes, he just stays the same, operating under the same idiotic assumptions in the same idiotic manner he always has. This book would be much improved by SOME sort of character development even if the character moved toward a more negative state of mind, but sadly it is severely lacking in that department. Ash lacks foresight, he never learns his lesson, and he's too stupid to see how his mistakes are hindering him. There is no explanation for his idiocy and at times his responses to situations are so stupid that they're outlandish and unbelievable, even for this stuck in a rut idiot character.

The upside is that it is nice to see a main character that is not wholly likable, even if he's so stupid that it is unbelievable that any of the other characters in the book could possibly like, trust, or want to help him. I am still not sure what Loren's motivation is to be friends with a person who outright tried to murder him and then immediately afterwards tried to murder a professor and another student. It is equally mindboggling that savvy-seeming Cass would befriend an out-of-control human that is hell bent on defying every authority figure he is confronted with. The other characters, aside from their inexplicable friendship toward the main character, are interesting and diverse and help to drive the plot line. They experience more development than Ash does as the main character.

As with the previous novel writing style is enjoyable, concise and interesting as is the world in which this takes place. The introduction of new spooky monsters and ways to use magic is fun and exciting and is in my opinion the best part of this trilogy.

[Maldeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book in the series, and I am looking forward to reading the next instalment.

Challenging gender stereotypes in literature and film has become very popular these days. Managing to do so without sounding preachy or desperate for the approval of those asking for inclusiveness is not easy. Saffron Bryant has done this, and done it well.

This is not a story about gender, it is a typical fantasy, about good and evil, finding one's self, learning, travelling friendships and kinship. But it's conversations around gender expectations are enough to challenge the norms, without becoming a lecture.

Will definitely continue reading this saga.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars