A cutting-edge starship and a pint-sized black cat; these are the weapons of a War Mage.
Twins, Sara and Cora Sonders, are newly minted Captains in the United Human Confederation’s Fleet. But their first assignment might turn out to be their last.
Thirty years ago, the Elif came from the stars. Their ships filling our skies. Unlike all the movies had taught us, they really did come in peace. They brought technology we had only dreamed possible, but more importantly, they brought us magic to make it all work.
Now they need something in return.
The UHS Raven, humanity's most advanced ship, will be Sara and Cora's first command. But the experimental systems on the Raven may be too much for the twins to handle. It’s clear there is a lot more happening than the Elif are letting on, and now it’s up to Sara and Cora to find the answers before humanity is wiped out completely.
You will love the fast-paced action and thrilling battles in this Science Fantasy adventure.
This is the best book I've read in a while, the characters are engaging, and filled out. Cora and Sara are amazing even though they have their issue. The side characters need to be fleshed out but still are in the right direction. The antagonists promise to participate more in the next book, I cannot wait to read the next one.
This is a fun, action-oriented space opera with some "hard" fantasy elements. In this way, it reminds me of Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series, but in outer space. There is a complex and coherent magic system that is the subtext of the whole novel. The main characters are Sara Sonders, a War Mage, and Alister, her cat familiar. The antagonists are the evil Tiefen, a race whose Dark Empire has threatened humanity and humanity's allies, the mysterious Elif. Other than the interesting magic system, there are some additional notable strengths: it's truly action-oriented, proceeds at breakneck speed (think epic Marvel-U pacing); and the main character is jovial, not pensive or haunted, which is an intriguing deviation from what one expects in modern genre fiction ("emo" protags seem to be the norm); finally, the dialog is sprightly and jovial (think Firefly). There are some flaws. It is not very philosophical. Although it treats big issues, like humanity's cosmic destiny, it treats these topics in a humdrum sort of way. There is little wonder on the part of the characters. They just accept their world, in all its strangeness, as is. And I found that some of cursing in dialog broke my immersion. Verdict: glad I read this surprising gem of space opera with a dash of fantasy. I'm looking forward to book 2. It's part of a trilogy.
Utterly disappointing, with twins in focus you would expect to follow both of them - but we only get to follow Sara and Cora might as well not exist with how little impact she has on the story.
Characters fall pretty flat, we have "grizzled veteran", "bland scientist", "the love interest" etc. None of them feel like persons in their own right. The only interesting/fun character is the one that can't talk..
Humanity comes across as some of the most gullible, boring fools ever in regards to their relationship with the benevolent alien overlords.
Sara, the protagonist, is amazingly self-centered and insecure for a 26yo(?) that has spent her entire life preparing for war and performing at the top.
The opening is light and funny, and we soon learn a broad background with ease. A mystery is quickly presented, and things become interesting from there.
The pop-culture references are fun and add a sense of familiarity in a world that has advanced speedily from where we are now. We see the live and frustration that comes with sisters, amplified by them being twins and working closely together, and the growth they share.
This is an excellent novel, even more so as the author’s first novel.
The premise of this story was an interesting twist, Technologies fueled by Magic, more accurately the ability to channel natural energy to perform things beyond natural laws. Beyond that , I did find it a little predictable and plot leaps that were not well supported with development. The Character dialogue bordered outright corniness. However, a little more attention and development would move this from mediocre to epic. I will see if Book two improves.
Good new sci/fantasy. Like the twin concept for mages. Adds an unusual twist to the magic system for ship piloting. Being that it's a new series, the knowledge dump was slow and much of the main series arc revealed at the end. This is the story of humanity's rebirth as a stellar player and why they had disappeared so long ago and learning the advanced techniques once lost. Looking forward to more of this series.
I said "Surprisingly good" because I am generally not a fan of fantasy involving magic, pixies, elves, etc. Those stories can magic-away problems with literally a wave of a hand. This story handles magic in a much more rigidly constrained way. It is much more like "sufficiently advanced technology" than some loosely defined "Force" .
This is the first time I’m reading this type of genre. I was first worried that I wouldn’t like it but after starting, I was obsessed. I really enjoyed reading the first book of the series and am starting to read the second. I just want to say great job to the author, this really changed my mind in reading these types of books :)
The start of a new series always leaves you a bit of trepidation, this one moves at a fast pace and offers plenty for the reader to enjoy! Demons Elfs and magic! Nowhere near as dark as warhammer 40k but still fun.
War Mage was an incredibly fun read. The author did a good job of world building/ backstory while at nearly the same time entertaining the reader with action and propelling the story forward.
Love the character development and story arc. Immediately purchased the second book in the series and am looking forward to what Mr. Case has in mind for the story arc and characters.
A excellent blend of magic and science fiction with a mystery to solve. What do you do when what you thought was true is proven wrong. The allies you thought were helping hold a great truth that will change everything.
But Be warned while the first two books are complete for some reason the author has decided that the next book would be a cliffhanger. Why is this sort of crap an acceptable practice? You are a thief. You stole my time and my money.
Well I was rather surprised with this story, I found myself really enjoying it. Sara and Alister are quite the pair and I am looking forward to reading the next one.
Marvelous story. An excellent tale in all respects. Great characters, ingenious plot, and engrossing action. A good start to this new series by a first time author. Well done! 👍 👏
This one is a hit. Scifi mixed with fantasy to get the spaceships powered by mages, it's every bit as good as Glenn Stewarts Mage of mars series. If you're a scifi fan, or a fantasy fan, or (especially) both, then you don't want to miss this one.
I was looking for a book that involved space battles. Boy did I have no idea what I was getting into. Usually it takes a week or two to finish a book, but i could not put this book down and finished in just under 3 days.
Enjoyed reading this book. Interesting twist on magic in space. Fun interpretations of the legacy of magic and earth history. Good pacing. Great battle scenes. Got book 2 right away.
I found the concept of Mage combat with a cat familiar very interesting and the action well paced, but the military jargon/culture was poor and distracting. That said, I bought the trilogy and this 1st entry was solid enough for me to move on to the next.
I enjoy sci-fi. I enjoy fantasy. To get them both in one novel..... Twins, the same but very different. Engaging character building here and I’m moving straight onto the second in this series. Yes, it’s that good.
I discovered this author through his Adventures of Finnegan Dragonbender, which I loved. Thought I'd try out his other series and I'm glad I did. This is a real page turner with lots of action. Next one please.
Enjoyable read. Good story concept and fairly well told. Engaging enough that I didn't notice and spelling of grammar errors (like in way too many ebooks). Looking forward to next in the series.
First book? Wow! Write faster! Excellent characters across the board! Intriguing storyline, lots of action. A really good beginning!more...more....more please
It was a good read. I enjoyed the story and the characters. The ideas are very original and the story was exciting. I can’t wait to read the next book.