What do you think?
Rate this book
The Accidental Archmage #1
Ragnarok Rising
ANNIVERSARY EDITION. Revised and Edited. July 2018.
With bonus content - "In Ymir's Halls" (short story)
*********************************************************************
An epic fantasy on another world. With a modern twist.
What if you fell through a crack in reality? Like those people disappearing in plain sight you have read about.
What if you find yourself in a strangely familiar world? A world full of Earth’s mythological beings, lost civilizations, and people from its primitive and brutal past? Where magical energy still exists. Where gods play games among themselves, with the fate of mortal men as pawns. A land where a sword is deadlier than a five-inch thick contract drawn by a hotshot lawyer. Would you survive?
That's Tyler West. Alone, lost and bewildered, the three moons in the sky made it clear he wasn’t on Earth anymore. It is not a game. It’s real. And there's no coffee, pizza, fries, or his favorite show on HBO.
With bonus content - "In Ymir's Halls" (short story)
*********************************************************************
An epic fantasy on another world. With a modern twist.
What if you fell through a crack in reality? Like those people disappearing in plain sight you have read about.
What if you find yourself in a strangely familiar world? A world full of Earth’s mythological beings, lost civilizations, and people from its primitive and brutal past? Where magical energy still exists. Where gods play games among themselves, with the fate of mortal men as pawns. A land where a sword is deadlier than a five-inch thick contract drawn by a hotshot lawyer. Would you survive?
That's Tyler West. Alone, lost and bewildered, the three moons in the sky made it clear he wasn’t on Earth anymore. It is not a game. It’s real. And there's no coffee, pizza, fries, or his favorite show on HBO.
437 pages, ebook
First published September 27, 2017
523 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Edmund A.M. Batara
32 books47 followersActive Member, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Full Member, Authors Guild
A Goodreads Author
Independent Writer.
The ACCIDENTAL ARCHMAGE Series
The ACCIDENTAL ARCHMAGE OMNIBUS Series
The ARCANUM ASTRAY Series
PLANAR WARS Series
ANCIENT FANGS Series
MANUS DEI Series
VOID TEMPLAR Series
PAVEL MAVETH Series, and the
FRIEDA Children's Fantasy Book Series
Website: https://soloflyte.blog
SOLOFLYTE WORLDS on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/embatara/
Patreon Page for new serialized stories and beta chapters:
https://www.patreon.com/soloflyte
There are innumerable worlds out there. Explore, let your imagination fly. Unlike the protagonists in the stories, there is no dark Elder god, a tentacled monstrosity, a stabby assassin, a vampire or ten, or a vengeful deity waiting outside your door. Nor will opening a book suck you into a separate dimension. Maybe.
Enjoy the voyage. Have fun.
Full Member, Authors Guild
A Goodreads Author
Independent Writer.
The ACCIDENTAL ARCHMAGE Series
The ACCIDENTAL ARCHMAGE OMNIBUS Series
The ARCANUM ASTRAY Series
PLANAR WARS Series
ANCIENT FANGS Series
MANUS DEI Series
VOID TEMPLAR Series
PAVEL MAVETH Series, and the
FRIEDA Children's Fantasy Book Series
Website: https://soloflyte.blog
SOLOFLYTE WORLDS on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/embatara/
Patreon Page for new serialized stories and beta chapters:
https://www.patreon.com/soloflyte
There are innumerable worlds out there. Explore, let your imagination fly. Unlike the protagonists in the stories, there is no dark Elder god, a tentacled monstrosity, a stabby assassin, a vampire or ten, or a vengeful deity waiting outside your door. Nor will opening a book suck you into a separate dimension. Maybe.
Enjoy the voyage. Have fun.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 24, 2020
I remember buying this book a while ago when it first came out and I recently bought the audiobook version. Once I listened to the narrator I remembered why I only got half way through finishing it. The information dumps. Instead of allowing the lore to weasel its way into the book the author fills entire chapters wore of world-building and then smothers the reader with it. It doesn't help that the story in itself is boring.
Plot: MC gets mugged and ends up getting teleported into magic land that is about to have a religious war. Something about gods and spirits and stuff that I just didn't care about.
I can't even go into the characters and their baggage. The main character is Travis who appears to enjoy being an utter idiot. Stating that he would rather die then be a pawn for a god and but continuously puts himself in their cross hairs. He feels more like a tourist than anything else asking the most boring kinds of questions while there is a war happening around him.
Other than a few concepts there is nothing I like about this book.
As for the narration, the narrator feels as if he is trying to rush the reading.
Plot: MC gets mugged and ends up getting teleported into magic land that is about to have a religious war. Something about gods and spirits and stuff that I just didn't care about.
I can't even go into the characters and their baggage. The main character is Travis who appears to enjoy being an utter idiot. Stating that he would rather die then be a pawn for a god and but continuously puts himself in their cross hairs. He feels more like a tourist than anything else asking the most boring kinds of questions while there is a war happening around him.
Other than a few concepts there is nothing I like about this book.
As for the narration, the narrator feels as if he is trying to rush the reading.
October 16, 2018
This book kinda threw me for a loop. Harvard was one of the people that kinda ticked me off in the beginning. Harvard was one of those people who had the "woe is me" going for him, and THEN due to extreme circumstances had his head ripped out of his butt and actually decided to fight for himself instead of imploding. As the book progressed, he went from "I don't want anything bad to happen to me!" to "I'm stomping a mud puddle in this dudes ass" which was the type of person he needed to be when the world decided it wanted to take a collective dump on him. I also like the way that the "gods" all have to work around each other. Greek Myth, Norse Myth, African Myth, etc are all present here and the rational here also works. It's also fun to see the portrayal of characters in the book, such as Thor and Ares. Loki pops up and he sure does make things interesting. With that said, this book quickly went from becoming a DNF to 4 stars by sticking with it.
August 27, 2018
The title of this series hints at the main fault of the novel: the protagonist is a lucky moron. He is constantly saved by deus ex machina: gods, a mentor showing up out of nowhere, convenient out-of-control magic, etc...
Another gripe is that half the book consists of dialogues providing long and dry exposition of the setting, magic, the politics of the world and so on. The author definitely doesn't care about "Show, don't tell".
I couldn't finish the book and dropped it half-way.
Another gripe is that half the book consists of dialogues providing long and dry exposition of the setting, magic, the politics of the world and so on. The author definitely doesn't care about "Show, don't tell".
I couldn't finish the book and dropped it half-way.
May 18, 2018
3.5 stars would have been 4 stars but the poor grammar and sentence structure knocked it down for me. Interesting story with plenty of adventure, decent MC and magical rules that were easyish to understand. Not bad, but not a favorite either. Will read book two.
May 17, 2021
Note: I listened to an audiobook but as that edition is not currently listed on Goodreads.com I am placing my review here.
The author writes fantasy action fairly well which is how I got through this book. So, if that is what you are looking for stop here and check the book out as the rest of this review will not help you enjoy the book.
First, after a brief introductory scene in our world the MC is transferred to the Scandinavian part of a sword and sorcery world. The problem is the introductory scene serves no purpose. The entire thing could have been deleted and the book would have been better off.
Second, the author doesn’t think realistically about what the MC is going through, resulting in the MC ordering around an experienced woodsman and warrior just days after landing in an entirely new world. Think about this: A nerd from our world telling an experienced Viking warrior how to fight battles or to loot the dead. Don’t you think it would likely be more collaborative if not completely the other way around?
Finally, the author has a real plot problem in that the author focuses the story on the MC figuring out his magic. Therefore, even though this books ends after a big battle, there is no resolution since that battle has very little to do with the actual focus of the story.
Bottom line: An okay read for the action, but with flaws.
The author writes fantasy action fairly well which is how I got through this book. So, if that is what you are looking for stop here and check the book out as the rest of this review will not help you enjoy the book.
First, after a brief introductory scene in our world the MC is transferred to the Scandinavian part of a sword and sorcery world. The problem is the introductory scene serves no purpose. The entire thing could have been deleted and the book would have been better off.
Second, the author doesn’t think realistically about what the MC is going through, resulting in the MC ordering around an experienced woodsman and warrior just days after landing in an entirely new world. Think about this: A nerd from our world telling an experienced Viking warrior how to fight battles or to loot the dead. Don’t you think it would likely be more collaborative if not completely the other way around?
Finally, the author has a real plot problem in that the author focuses the story on the MC figuring out his magic. Therefore, even though this books ends after a big battle, there is no resolution since that battle has very little to do with the actual focus of the story.
Bottom line: An okay read for the action, but with flaws.
November 11, 2021
This story had real potential... if it weren't for the MC and his attitudes. The MC lacks in redeeming qualities. He's kind of dumb and short sighted. And honestly, he's a bit of a sexist coward. When encountering powerful male figures he tends to be automatically more trusting and terrified. When the powerhouse is female he suddenly grows a spine and turns into a massive douche. I don't know that I could call that intentional, but it is still annoying. Also, he has massive potential for power, but he fails utterly to even explore the possibilities in a meaningful way before basically having stuff given to him on a silver platter. He lacks real pragmatism to a ridiculous degree, and gets butt hurt when it doesn't help anything at all to do so.
October 17, 2017
Formatting is important.
The writing isn't terrible, not great mind you, b7t not terrible. The formatting though, is. I don't know what possessed the author to make the choices they did for the formatting, but I had to stop reading it. The quality of the writing does not justify having to manually zoom in on every page. I might come back if there is an update to fix these issues, if I can't find anything else to read at the time.
The writing isn't terrible, not great mind you, b7t not terrible. The formatting though, is. I don't know what possessed the author to make the choices they did for the formatting, but I had to stop reading it. The quality of the writing does not justify having to manually zoom in on every page. I might come back if there is an update to fix these issues, if I can't find anything else to read at the time.
May 14, 2021
Not great
The book tries too hard. It has potential, sure... But it tries way too hard to be clever and there is a lot of over explaining. The inner monologuing is pretty heavy handed, and although the dialogue is meant to be witty, it misses common sense paths and any sense of organic or realistic pacing.
The book tries too hard. It has potential, sure... But it tries way too hard to be clever and there is a lot of over explaining. The inner monologuing is pretty heavy handed, and although the dialogue is meant to be witty, it misses common sense paths and any sense of organic or realistic pacing.
April 9, 2024
Misogyny gets thrown around a bit too much but I think it applies here. Weak and submissive around men but strong willed and rude around women. The MC would have been in real trouble if the author didn't break his own rules.
Aside from that, the book is as engaging as a root canal.
Aside from that, the book is as engaging as a root canal.
February 27, 2018
Based on the suggestion from LitRPG books, I expected some form of gameLit, but to my great surprise, no. It's more of a classic portal fantasy, where a normal person from our world drops thru a tear in reality to an alternate world in which, ages ago, all of the world's magical creatures and pantheons took refuge because magic was becoming quickly depleted.
The first book focuses on the Norse pantheon and their interactions with the hero, who stumbles upon an ancient ruin... and finds Clarke-tech (the kind of tech that's mostly indistinguishable from magic), making him an archmage. Which means he's now the perfect guy to use in divine games.
The main character isn't quite entirely believable, but he's hugely sympathetic, and the research on the nordic background is good. An enjoyable read overall.
The first book focuses on the Norse pantheon and their interactions with the hero, who stumbles upon an ancient ruin... and finds Clarke-tech (the kind of tech that's mostly indistinguishable from magic), making him an archmage. Which means he's now the perfect guy to use in divine games.
The main character isn't quite entirely believable, but he's hugely sympathetic, and the research on the nordic background is good. An enjoyable read overall.
November 7, 2017
Dry
But an interesting story overall. I will read book two.
This was about as dry as reading a history text. Since I enjoy those I could enjoy this. I don't think this book is for everyone. Lots of world and plot building. Lots of research seems to have gone into this work. Was glad to see Loki portrayed as something other than complete evil.
Read on KU if you can, then make up your mind on the quality of the book.
But an interesting story overall. I will read book two.
This was about as dry as reading a history text. Since I enjoy those I could enjoy this. I don't think this book is for everyone. Lots of world and plot building. Lots of research seems to have gone into this work. Was glad to see Loki portrayed as something other than complete evil.
Read on KU if you can, then make up your mind on the quality of the book.
July 1, 2021
Hoping for more story in next book
I gave this book a four because I feel it needs a good editing. The beginning is interesting. It has good characters and a really good story but it gets bogged down by all of the chatter.
The writer has created a good wonderful magical new world. They h ave tied in classic elements and yet leave a lot of mystery and wonder at the same time, but I felt the story got very heavy and slowed down by all of the philosophy and by the main character and minor characters explanations,and their long winded ponderings. Yes some of That is interesting and is necessary but I feel there is way too much. It could easily be edited out to provide an easier flow and more interesting read.
I will read the 2nd book but I am hoping for less philosophy and more story
I gave this book a four because I feel it needs a good editing. The beginning is interesting. It has good characters and a really good story but it gets bogged down by all of the chatter.
The writer has created a good wonderful magical new world. They h ave tied in classic elements and yet leave a lot of mystery and wonder at the same time, but I felt the story got very heavy and slowed down by all of the philosophy and by the main character and minor characters explanations,and their long winded ponderings. Yes some of That is interesting and is necessary but I feel there is way too much. It could easily be edited out to provide an easier flow and more interesting read.
I will read the 2nd book but I am hoping for less philosophy and more story
February 19, 2018
A surprising find
With how awful the cover is, and the laziness of the title, I had expected a simply written light novel, something to pass an hour or two with. Instead, it was an interesting tale of a mage ascendant, albeit filled with convenient plot devices and gods in the tropes. While it’s still too light to be called an epic, it would make an interesting story with improved narratives and better plotting
With how awful the cover is, and the laziness of the title, I had expected a simply written light novel, something to pass an hour or two with. Instead, it was an interesting tale of a mage ascendant, albeit filled with convenient plot devices and gods in the tropes. While it’s still too light to be called an epic, it would make an interesting story with improved narratives and better plotting
September 29, 2020
Magic, adventure and Gods!!
Known elements of fantasy world are masterfully written to create a wholesome read. Action is free flowing, isekai trope and subsequent world building is well handled. My only gripe is that the varied mythic references mentioned in the end did not have a link while reading the story. Would have to go to the last page which is mighty inconvenient.
Looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Known elements of fantasy world are masterfully written to create a wholesome read. Action is free flowing, isekai trope and subsequent world building is well handled. My only gripe is that the varied mythic references mentioned in the end did not have a link while reading the story. Would have to go to the last page which is mighty inconvenient.
Looking forward to reading the next in the series.
November 1, 2017
Nicely Done
Quite a nicely Done first book for the series. While the concept isn’t unusual, it’s handled well, and the action, scenes, characters, and drama are definitely buffed to a nice shine. The references are also helpful, and the touches of humor are welcome. The only down side I can see is waiting for book #2. Recommended.
Quite a nicely Done first book for the series. While the concept isn’t unusual, it’s handled well, and the action, scenes, characters, and drama are definitely buffed to a nice shine. The references are also helpful, and the touches of humor are welcome. The only down side I can see is waiting for book #2. Recommended.
February 17, 2018
Good read
Stated out a little slow, almost didn't continue. But, I did and the action picked up. Kind of trite with the Norse legends and myths, but the details and the end of chapter definitions were quite refreshing. I will recommend this book and purchase th he next book in the series.
Stated out a little slow, almost didn't continue. But, I did and the action picked up. Kind of trite with the Norse legends and myths, but the details and the end of chapter definitions were quite refreshing. I will recommend this book and purchase th he next book in the series.
October 1, 2020
Great Book.
I'm a fan of OP characters and this doesn't disappoint. Really neat to see gods used from several different beliefs. The book doesn't do great with screen readers. I'm sure audible would be fine but the built in one in my kindle stopped periodically but still a great book.
I'm a fan of OP characters and this doesn't disappoint. Really neat to see gods used from several different beliefs. The book doesn't do great with screen readers. I'm sure audible would be fine but the built in one in my kindle stopped periodically but still a great book.
December 11, 2017
Interesting story but boring to read.
The book is well written but unfortunately the mc is quickly overpowered and begins laying waste to entire armys. I found it actually quite uninteresting.
The book is well written but unfortunately the mc is quickly overpowered and begins laying waste to entire armys. I found it actually quite uninteresting.
December 14, 2017
Messy
Not a bad story but it is a little all over the shop. Perhaps it is a translation thing but I could feel a good story in in there but it takes to much effort and dedication from the reader.
Not a bad story but it is a little all over the shop. Perhaps it is a translation thing but I could feel a good story in in there but it takes to much effort and dedication from the reader.
Read
March 24, 2022Dnf'd 8%.
The Prelude was great. I was so excited for this story. But once the story started proper it was as though it was written by a completely different person. Poor grammar and sentence structure, meandering prose and pov issues made this impossible to read.
The Prelude was great. I was so excited for this story. But once the story started proper it was as though it was written by a completely different person. Poor grammar and sentence structure, meandering prose and pov issues made this impossible to read.
October 16, 2017
great
this is a great first book. light with humor. I am certainly be reading the next book of the series.
this is a great first book. light with humor. I am certainly be reading the next book of the series.
June 5, 2021
Good book
Loved the book ,well thought out and very exciting. Look forward to reading more from the author and the series 😀
Loved the book ,well thought out and very exciting. Look forward to reading more from the author and the series 😀
January 11, 2025
This book was pretty interesting. I loved the premise of the book. The ending makes me want to see what happens. I am kind of curious though will Tyler ever hook up with Ira. I mean that would make complete sense XD
Read
November 20, 2017You keep using that word...
Please please understand that subliminal is not the same as subconscious.
Please please understand that subliminal is not the same as subconscious.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews