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Art of the Adept #2
Secrets and Spellcraft
Now a student at Wurthaven, Will is confronted with the truth of the present. The powerful magic embodied by wizards like his grandfather is but a distant memory, while the practice of the current day is timid and uninspired, and yet he needs the knowledge still preserved and managed by the college. At every turn he finds that sorcery is supreme, while wizards are trained merely to assist and support those who hold the real power—a power based on an evil so deep that few living know the truth of its foundation.
As a student of wizardry, he’s expected to know his place and stay in it, but Will isn’t like the other students. His grandfather’s teaching has made him into something different, something forgotten—something they will learn to fear.
If he can grow into his power. With every choice, every refusal to submit, Will creates more enemies, enemies who aren’t content to let him live in peace. Without friends or support, Will must survive the knives in the dark, for Cerria is no place for those who refuse to follow the rules.
As a student of wizardry, he’s expected to know his place and stay in it, but Will isn’t like the other students. His grandfather’s teaching has made him into something different, something forgotten—something they will learn to fear.
If he can grow into his power. With every choice, every refusal to submit, Will creates more enemies, enemies who aren’t content to let him live in peace. Without friends or support, Will must survive the knives in the dark, for Cerria is no place for those who refuse to follow the rules.
667 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 14, 2019
1028 people are currently reading
938 people want to read
About the author
Michael G. Manning
30 books2,091 followersMichael Manning was born in Cleveland, Texas and spent his formative years there, reading fantasy and science fiction, concocting home grown experiments in his backyard, and generally avoiding schoolwork.
Eventually he went to college, starting at Sam Houston State University, where his love of beer blossomed and his obsession with playing role-playing games led him to what he calls 'his best year ever' and what most of his family calls 'the lost year'.
Several years and a few crappy jobs later, he decided to pursue college again and was somehow accepted into the University of Houston Honors program (we won't get into the particulars of that miracle). This led to a degree in pharmacy and it followed from there that he wound up with a license to practice said profession.
Unfortunately, Michael was not a very good pharmacist. Being relatively lawless and free spirited were not particularly good traits to possess in a career focused on perfection, patient safety, and the letter-of-the-law. Nevertheless, he persisted and after a stint as a hospital pharmacy manager wound up as a pharmacist working in correctional managed care for the State of Texas.
He gave drugs to prisoners.
After a year or two at UTMB he became bored and taught himself entirely too much about networking, programming, and database design and administration. At first his supervisors warned him (repeatedly) to do his assigned tasks and stop designing programs to help his coworkers do theirs, but eventually they gave up and just let him do whatever he liked since it seemed to be generally working out well for them.
Ten or eleven years later and he got bored with that too. So he wrote a book. We won't talk about where he was when he wrote 'The Blacksmith's Son', but let's just assume he was probably supposed to be doing something else at the time.
Some people liked the book and told other people. Now they won't leave him alone.
After another year or two, he decided to just give up and stop pretending to be a pharmacist/programmer, much to the chagrin of his mother (who had only ever wanted him to grow up to be a doctor and had finally become content with the fact that he had settled on pharmacy instead).
Michael's wife supported his decision, even as she stubbornly refused to believe he would make any money at it. It turned out later that she was just telling him this because she knew that nothing made Michael more contrary than his never ending desire to prove her wrong. Once he was able to prove said fact she promptly admitted her tricky ruse and he has since given up on trying to win.
Today he lives at home with his stubborn wife, teenage twins, a giant moose-poodle, two yorkies, a green-cheeked conure, a massive prehistoric tortoise, and a head full of imaginary people. There are also some fish, but he refuses to talk about them.
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Eventually he went to college, starting at Sam Houston State University, where his love of beer blossomed and his obsession with playing role-playing games led him to what he calls 'his best year ever' and what most of his family calls 'the lost year'.
Several years and a few crappy jobs later, he decided to pursue college again and was somehow accepted into the University of Houston Honors program (we won't get into the particulars of that miracle). This led to a degree in pharmacy and it followed from there that he wound up with a license to practice said profession.
Unfortunately, Michael was not a very good pharmacist. Being relatively lawless and free spirited were not particularly good traits to possess in a career focused on perfection, patient safety, and the letter-of-the-law. Nevertheless, he persisted and after a stint as a hospital pharmacy manager wound up as a pharmacist working in correctional managed care for the State of Texas.
He gave drugs to prisoners.
After a year or two at UTMB he became bored and taught himself entirely too much about networking, programming, and database design and administration. At first his supervisors warned him (repeatedly) to do his assigned tasks and stop designing programs to help his coworkers do theirs, but eventually they gave up and just let him do whatever he liked since it seemed to be generally working out well for them.
Ten or eleven years later and he got bored with that too. So he wrote a book. We won't talk about where he was when he wrote 'The Blacksmith's Son', but let's just assume he was probably supposed to be doing something else at the time.
Some people liked the book and told other people. Now they won't leave him alone.
After another year or two, he decided to just give up and stop pretending to be a pharmacist/programmer, much to the chagrin of his mother (who had only ever wanted him to grow up to be a doctor and had finally become content with the fact that he had settled on pharmacy instead).
Michael's wife supported his decision, even as she stubbornly refused to believe he would make any money at it. It turned out later that she was just telling him this because she knew that nothing made Michael more contrary than his never ending desire to prove her wrong. Once he was able to prove said fact she promptly admitted her tricky ruse and he has since given up on trying to win.
Today he lives at home with his stubborn wife, teenage twins, a giant moose-poodle, two yorkies, a green-cheeked conure, a massive prehistoric tortoise, and a head full of imaginary people. There are also some fish, but he refuses to talk about them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews
November 2, 2019
If you were bothered by how stupid the main character was in the previous book, don't even start this one. He gets much, much dumber. Borderline retarded, at times.
One exception. At the start of the book, he manages to put in motion a plan that was pretty smart and devious. I like it a lot. Unfortunately, that was the last time it happened. The worst offender was, at the middle to end, when This was so, so retarded, I almost dropped the book right there. Luckily, from his past choices and interactions with other characters, I gathered that the author wanted to write about a retarded protagonist, so I continued with that mindset.
I could write a whole essay about how dumb the protagonist is. It's honestly a bit insulting at times. Almost physically painful. To the point of the only reason he isn't dead despite being so dumb is plot armor.
One exception. At the start of the book, he manages to put in motion a plan that was pretty smart and devious. I like it a lot. Unfortunately, that was the last time it happened. The worst offender was, at the middle to end, when This was so, so retarded, I almost dropped the book right there. Luckily, from his past choices and interactions with other characters, I gathered that the author wanted to write about a retarded protagonist, so I continued with that mindset.
I could write a whole essay about how dumb the protagonist is. It's honestly a bit insulting at times. Almost physically painful. To the point of the only reason he isn't dead despite being so dumb is plot armor.
October 24, 2019
The main character became stupider rather than smarter as time wore on. The characters went from three dimensional in the first book to good or evil in the second. The main character seems to fluctuate between murdering people without blinking because they upset him, to crying over killing a mass murderer that he didn't really know. Still quite readable though.
January 3, 2020
Rating 3.5 stars
I wanted to rate this book lower because of the stupidity of the main character. Almost every decision he makes is a wrong one and just leads to his suffering. Here's the list There are many more but those are the main ones. While almost every life decision he made was stupid, once the decision was made I did enjoy reading about how he accomplished the plan. I know it doesn't make much sense. While the overall plan was ludicrous, it was interesting to read about the execution of such plans. Most of the time I can't stand main characters like this, but the magic system and action were enough to keep me from hating it.
I wanted to rate this book lower because of the stupidity of the main character. Almost every decision he makes is a wrong one and just leads to his suffering. Here's the list There are many more but those are the main ones. While almost every life decision he made was stupid, once the decision was made I did enjoy reading about how he accomplished the plan. I know it doesn't make much sense. While the overall plan was ludicrous, it was interesting to read about the execution of such plans. Most of the time I can't stand main characters like this, but the magic system and action were enough to keep me from hating it.
November 18, 2019
I have never in my life had a series take such a sharp turn from enjoyment to pure horror(not the good kind either, but rather seeing a horrilbe car wreck right in front of you). This book and series went from a fun story to an awful mess in what seemed to be just 2-3 chapters. It did not redeem itself. I fought through, in the hopes that perhaps the ending would at least be ok and set up something good in the next book. Nope.
May 3, 2020
”Why am I always goddamned stupid?” Will swore at himself.
Yes, William. You can say that twice.
Yes, William. You can say that twice.
November 22, 2019
In short. Worldbuilding is great. Plot is interesting. Author has got good writing style.
But everything is destroyed by main character who is idiot (-1 star) who is constantly rescued by strong author's plot armor (-1 star).
MC doesn't grow. He is adult-kid who is self-righteous and imposes his righteousness on other people. He regurarly plunges into dangerous situations without thinking only to be rescued by luck.
He is also great danger to his family. He has secrets that no other mage has. But he is giving those secrets left and right! He is not even thinking about his mother that his enemies know about that he posses dangerous knowledge or place where his family lives.
I had to drop the book because MC is way too stupid and insufferable to read.
But everything is destroyed by main character who is idiot (-1 star) who is constantly rescued by strong author's plot armor (-1 star).
MC doesn't grow. He is adult-kid who is self-righteous and imposes his righteousness on other people. He regurarly plunges into dangerous situations without thinking only to be rescued by luck.
He is also great danger to his family. He has secrets that no other mage has. But he is giving those secrets left and right! He is not even thinking about his mother that his enemies know about that he posses dangerous knowledge or place where his family lives.
I had to drop the book because MC is way too stupid and insufferable to read.
November 24, 2020
Irritating. Dnf at the granny bargaining scene.
Liked everything in the book, except the main character. I didn't care about his rudeness in the previous book, but his stupidity just overwhelmed me.
Even worse: the author made him look smart and pragmatic at the start, then completely changed his mind, and made him retarded.
For the sake of your sanity, don't read it.
Liked everything in the book, except the main character. I didn't care about his rudeness in the previous book, but his stupidity just overwhelmed me.
Even worse: the author made him look smart and pragmatic at the start, then completely changed his mind, and made him retarded.
For the sake of your sanity, don't read it.
October 31, 2019
Kinda shit, book 1 was good and original book 2 feels like male romance novel crossed with every predictable archetype in the book and super ezpz ending with little consequences. Readable as hell, slammed this guy down in a day and was good fun I guess.
March 2, 2021
I really loved the first book and so I bought the second in the series of Art of the Adept. I almost never do that, I just read the first in a series and move onto the next since most of my reading is either for SPFBO or review requests. Unfortunately, I DNF’d this book around halfway through.
The reasons for that are varied, and each of the issues by themselves wouldn’t have been enough for me to DNF, but put them all together and I just wasn’t enjoying myself like I was with the first.
One of the issues for me was the drastic tonal change from the first book into the second. In the first he was in the army, people were dying all around him, it got pretty dark and it was action packed. This one takes place in a school and it feels like he was re-doing all the learning and training he did in the first book. I wasn’t really in the mood for that kind of story. I do love magic schools and training but in this case it leads into another issues I had. Will became too overpowered and was breezing through just about everything. He was picked by his teachers to be an assistant because he was so powerful and knowledgeable, and in some ways he was superior to his teachers. It just got old after a while. I also feel like the characters weren’t as nuanced as they were in the first. I don’t know why, but it felt like they went from shades of grey to black and white, good vs bad. One of the reasons I loved the first book is because it brought up questions of morality, justice, and what it means to do the “right thing” when there isn’t an obvious answer.
I looked at the reviews when I finished and I was relieved to see I wasn’t just being overly critical, people site Will and his horrible decision-making skills as a reason most people marked it down or didn’t enjoy the second installment.
“I have never in my life had a series take such a sharp turn from enjoyment to pure horror(not the good kind either, but rather seeing a horrible car wreck right in front of you).”
I’ve got to say I feel very similar.
Womp. Womp. Womp.
The reasons for that are varied, and each of the issues by themselves wouldn’t have been enough for me to DNF, but put them all together and I just wasn’t enjoying myself like I was with the first.
One of the issues for me was the drastic tonal change from the first book into the second. In the first he was in the army, people were dying all around him, it got pretty dark and it was action packed. This one takes place in a school and it feels like he was re-doing all the learning and training he did in the first book. I wasn’t really in the mood for that kind of story. I do love magic schools and training but in this case it leads into another issues I had. Will became too overpowered and was breezing through just about everything. He was picked by his teachers to be an assistant because he was so powerful and knowledgeable, and in some ways he was superior to his teachers. It just got old after a while. I also feel like the characters weren’t as nuanced as they were in the first. I don’t know why, but it felt like they went from shades of grey to black and white, good vs bad. One of the reasons I loved the first book is because it brought up questions of morality, justice, and what it means to do the “right thing” when there isn’t an obvious answer.
I looked at the reviews when I finished and I was relieved to see I wasn’t just being overly critical, people site Will and his horrible decision-making skills as a reason most people marked it down or didn’t enjoy the second installment.
“I have never in my life had a series take such a sharp turn from enjoyment to pure horror(not the good kind either, but rather seeing a horrible car wreck right in front of you).”
I’ve got to say I feel very similar.
Womp. Womp. Womp.
April 3, 2021
Stupid protagonist that gets stupider and a terrible romance that I thought wasn't the focus of the series reduced a promising series to a mediocre trope-fest. Why is Will so into Selene, I hate love at first sight so damn much and the length is he is willing to go through despite all the suspicious things she did in the first book makes no sense.
Will says in one chapter to not stand out in fencing class, then the next chapter he shows off shifting his elemental affinity. WHY. I can understand initially stupid, naïve or just plain inexperienced protagonists- but I expect PROGRESS NOT REGRESSION.
This went from tropey but told well and with interesting characters in the first book to trite and cliché in the second. Will was not willing to offer Selene to the Fae for a year while retaining her humanity yet somehow an unbound favor is a more agreeable price? WHY?
Novel is getting stupider and more convoluted, who cares what the demonic ritual is. Why not just stop it regardless of what it would actually do, why did he have to do it in a much more gruesome way than if he just snuck in there and kill them before they could perform it.
Novel went from promising and fun in the first 3/4 of the first book to slightly above average YA Romance soap novel towards the end of this second book.
Will says in one chapter to not stand out in fencing class, then the next chapter he shows off shifting his elemental affinity. WHY. I can understand initially stupid, naïve or just plain inexperienced protagonists- but I expect PROGRESS NOT REGRESSION.
This went from tropey but told well and with interesting characters in the first book to trite and cliché in the second. Will was not willing to offer Selene to the Fae for a year while retaining her humanity yet somehow an unbound favor is a more agreeable price? WHY?
Novel is getting stupider and more convoluted, who cares what the demonic ritual is. Why not just stop it regardless of what it would actually do, why did he have to do it in a much more gruesome way than if he just snuck in there and kill them before they could perform it.
Novel went from promising and fun in the first 3/4 of the first book to slightly above average YA Romance soap novel towards the end of this second book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2019
Absolutely astounding that this book was written so well and so quickly! I was not expecting such a climactic ending and I can't wait for the next one.
My only wish for the coming books would be to explore more of the world. We still know so little! Elves, other countries. Other types of magic.
My only wish for the coming books would be to explore more of the world. We still know so little! Elves, other countries. Other types of magic.
April 11, 2021
Again, way too long.
I'm perplexed at the storytelling here. Will is a psychopathic Mary Sue. There is nothing he can't do, and nothing he won't do.
He is a murder hobo, wandering the world victim to victim. His immediate thought to deal with a rapist is murder. So he sets up an elaborate plan to kill this one person, in front of his classmates. All without consulting the woman he saved.
The people around him realise this as psychopathic behaviour, and distance themselves. But for some reason they all come back, without Will showing any change. Ok.
Will gets a tailor murdered in his own shop, then steals the man's money on the basis that "he won't need it anymore". A normal person with empathy would not do this.
His grandfather's constant verbal abuse is not funny. It's just grating.
The king's actions don't make sense. He seems to be evil for the sake of being evil.
All in all, would not recommend.
I'm perplexed at the storytelling here. Will is a psychopathic Mary Sue. There is nothing he can't do, and nothing he won't do.
He is a murder hobo, wandering the world victim to victim. His immediate thought to deal with a rapist is murder. So he sets up an elaborate plan to kill this one person, in front of his classmates. All without consulting the woman he saved.
The people around him realise this as psychopathic behaviour, and distance themselves. But for some reason they all come back, without Will showing any change. Ok.
Will gets a tailor murdered in his own shop, then steals the man's money on the basis that "he won't need it anymore". A normal person with empathy would not do this.
His grandfather's constant verbal abuse is not funny. It's just grating.
The king's actions don't make sense. He seems to be evil for the sake of being evil.
All in all, would not recommend.
November 12, 2019
The most fantastic part about this book, and author, is that even while I wait anxiously for the next book to be in my hands, the ending of this book doesn't leave me in a void. I couldn't put it down for the last quarter of the book and I expected to be left with an awful cliffhanger. I was ready to be extremely pissed off. So many other series will leave your jaw open in the middle of chaos, but this had a real ending and seeds of a great beginning to book 3. I'm feeling a little bad for Janice though. I hope she is compensated in the next book for being such a good friend. I'll be preordering the next installment as soon as it's out!
October 20, 2019
Another great book in the series
Tons of tension all the way through the book, with some hilarious and some poignant moments to lighten the atmosphere. Great ending too, no stressful cliff hangers, but still plenty to go at in the next book. Definitely worth the full five stars. Thanks Michael.
Tons of tension all the way through the book, with some hilarious and some poignant moments to lighten the atmosphere. Great ending too, no stressful cliff hangers, but still plenty to go at in the next book. Definitely worth the full five stars. Thanks Michael.
October 15, 2019
Amazing!
I loved this book so much and I eagerly look forward to the next one. Much to my wife’s dismay I started this book on our honey moon and had to power through it. 😂 thank you Mr. Manning!
I loved this book so much and I eagerly look forward to the next one. Much to my wife’s dismay I started this book on our honey moon and had to power through it. 😂 thank you Mr. Manning!
December 23, 2019
Good and fun
Likeable characters, great world building. There are tantilizing hints about where the story will go, and waiting for the next installment will be hard... Maybe I should read it again... Again...
Likeable characters, great world building. There are tantilizing hints about where the story will go, and waiting for the next installment will be hard... Maybe I should read it again... Again...
October 19, 2019
Brilliant
Every book I’ve read has been brilliant. The traditional coming of age story and wizardry school was completely turned on its head for a story I absolutely loved. Already reading again.
Every book I’ve read has been brilliant. The traditional coming of age story and wizardry school was completely turned on its head for a story I absolutely loved. Already reading again.
October 15, 2019
Excellent as always
Somehow the author has managed to create new characters that are as engrossing as his other series. I had to take off work to finish it, after I had started.
Somehow the author has managed to create new characters that are as engrossing as his other series. I had to take off work to finish it, after I had started.
October 16, 2019
Another amazing book!
Once again Mr. Manning has delivered an amazing book. The book is a wonderful compliment to the first of the series. Better than the Mageborn series.
Once again Mr. Manning has delivered an amazing book. The book is a wonderful compliment to the first of the series. Better than the Mageborn series.
October 16, 2019
Cant wait for thr next one
Just another great book in this series, starting to really like how the main character is maturing and understanding what he needs to do.
Just another great book in this series, starting to really like how the main character is maturing and understanding what he needs to do.
October 17, 2019
Awesome boom just keeps getting better
I love this author and every one of his books is better than the last. Can't wait for the next one!
I love this author and every one of his books is better than the last. Can't wait for the next one!
October 17, 2019
Can't wait for the next one
Great book couldn't put it down. There's definitely a lot of stuff happening and it's a funny action packed adventure.
Great book couldn't put it down. There's definitely a lot of stuff happening and it's a funny action packed adventure.
October 18, 2019
Good
I could follow up book to the first, I am looking forward to see what happens next for William and Selene.
I could follow up book to the first, I am looking forward to see what happens next for William and Selene.
December 27, 2020
Okay. Something just happened, and I'm sure it's the author making the protagonist purposely stupid to start some drama in the future.
I hate authors dumbing their characters down to achieve a scene.
I'm not sure if I will continue the series. The protagonist is different from the first book. I'm not going to be reading books where someone comes to kill you from ambush, and you barely escape, but leave the person alive and lightly wounded to come at you again.
I don't know if this book is Young Adult or not. There is profuse profanity, but then the protagonist makes stupid mistakes you see in Young Adult books .
Why didn't Will
I really don't understand this book. One time the protagonist goes on about how killing is bad and human life, then he goes and slaughters people without blinking an eye. It's like the author can't decide if he wants to write a Young Adult novel or not. He is using a bunch of YA tropes, but also has a remorseless killer.
I will read the next book, if just to see how this story goes. Although I wish it doesn't continue the school arch.
3/5 Stars
I hate authors dumbing their characters down to achieve a scene.
I'm not sure if I will continue the series. The protagonist is different from the first book. I'm not going to be reading books where someone comes to kill you from ambush, and you barely escape, but leave the person alive and lightly wounded to come at you again.
I don't know if this book is Young Adult or not. There is profuse profanity, but then the protagonist makes stupid mistakes you see in Young Adult books .
Why didn't Will
I really don't understand this book. One time the protagonist goes on about how killing is bad and human life, then he goes and slaughters people without blinking an eye. It's like the author can't decide if he wants to write a Young Adult novel or not. He is using a bunch of YA tropes, but also has a remorseless killer.
I will read the next book, if just to see how this story goes. Although I wish it doesn't continue the school arch.
3/5 Stars
August 15, 2021
This is an odd combination of well written story and poorly executed MC.
The book reads really well, and it's easy enough to get pulled along with the story - the magic is interesting and well explained (sometimes maybe explained too much), the world building gets along at a nice pace and the characters all feel separate and (somwhat) fully formed.
I just hate the MC. Other characters have more development than he does, despite having a fraction of the time to do so, and they do so beleivably, on the whole - which suggests the author is cabable of it and refuses to apply that same progression to his MC because the plot demands he act a certain way.
He never learns from mistakes. Ever. And when he acknowledges that he made a mistake and that he shouldn't do it again, he does. You can see what he's going to do a mile off and it removes any urgency or mystery from the story - you almost find yourself dreading having to slog through him saying he won't be an idiot, being an idiot, then apologising for being an idiot even though being an idiot worked out. He's not endearing.
When you spend that much time with an unlikeable MC it makes it difficult to care what happens and I don't anymore, unfortunately - which is a shame, as the world/story/plot were all enjoyable.
The end of this book has a natural stopping point, and that's enough for me to be fulfilled with this one.
The book reads really well, and it's easy enough to get pulled along with the story - the magic is interesting and well explained (sometimes maybe explained too much), the world building gets along at a nice pace and the characters all feel separate and (somwhat) fully formed.
I just hate the MC. Other characters have more development than he does, despite having a fraction of the time to do so, and they do so beleivably, on the whole - which suggests the author is cabable of it and refuses to apply that same progression to his MC because the plot demands he act a certain way.
He never learns from mistakes. Ever. And when he acknowledges that he made a mistake and that he shouldn't do it again, he does. You can see what he's going to do a mile off and it removes any urgency or mystery from the story - you almost find yourself dreading having to slog through him saying he won't be an idiot, being an idiot, then apologising for being an idiot even though being an idiot worked out. He's not endearing.
When you spend that much time with an unlikeable MC it makes it difficult to care what happens and I don't anymore, unfortunately - which is a shame, as the world/story/plot were all enjoyable.
The end of this book has a natural stopping point, and that's enough for me to be fulfilled with this one.
April 13, 2021
How can an author be so good at drawing out mundane tasks, world building, creating characters, but fail so miserably at maintaining or growing those characters? This author has written so many books but has learned nothing because of fanboy reviews or masochists who put up with nonsense because the author is actually good at a few things. I can see the appeal, and I almost made this author one of my favorites, but god damn. I literally stopped when the main character turned down a request from his grandmother only to agree to an unbounded favor. Made no freaking sense at all. I can forgive the other stupid shit when it comes to women, he seems to be a dumbass when hints are laid out in front of him. I can also forgive him making mistakes, but he normally learns, and he's shown us all throughout the book that he'll refuse to make a deal with the Fey that'll force him to give away something he can't. Then he goes and agrees to an unbounded favor. WTF? It's the same fucking thing he just refused. It wasn't clever writing. It makes me think the author is stupid tbh. Or maybe he thinks his readers are stupid. Judging by the reviews I'm leaning toward the latter. You guys need to stop rewarding this author for dumb plot devises. He'll never learn, ever. I for one am done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2024
Where the first book was almost for children, this takes a turn for the darker in many ways, with several plotlines infringing on female characters' autonomy via mind control. I am not sure what this says about the author - a bit of a lack of awareness of his own fantasies, I guess.
Mixing progression fantasy with young adult tropes ends up with the protagonist appearing as a psychopath as he makes an absolute mess of his relationships with friends and teachers and not even providing much melodrama (well except perhaps for the very final scene).
But the main point is that the book is really meant to be garbage entertainment without much ambition, without needing to meet any standards. And that it delivers in spades.
Mixing progression fantasy with young adult tropes ends up with the protagonist appearing as a psychopath as he makes an absolute mess of his relationships with friends and teachers and not even providing much melodrama (well except perhaps for the very final scene).
But the main point is that the book is really meant to be garbage entertainment without much ambition, without needing to meet any standards. And that it delivers in spades.
April 27, 2020
I enjoyed this book a lot and it was almost impossible to put down. However, the same issues I had with the first in the series have carried over to the second. The main character Will has "better" magic than everyone else, confounding his teachers, while winning the love of a beautiful princess in addition to being the target of feelings from a secondary but also stunning love interest...it's kind of the definition of a fantasy coming-of-age novel. Will being stereotypically oblivious, stubborn, and relatively noble even when it's a bad idea is the cherry on top.
I still devoured this novel, probably because I'm a sucker for this coming-of-age genre.
I still devoured this novel, probably because I'm a sucker for this coming-of-age genre.
October 16, 2020
This book takes the cake. I have never read a protagonist that makes his life as hard as this character does. He is an idiot. Before Harry Dresden held the top spot, but now this MC takes it. He it so dense through the whole book that it is incredible, all the supporting characters have to walk him through the repercussions of his actions. I hope he will grow out of this before the 100 years that is predicted in the book or this series will get annoying quickly. Otherwise I have no complaints. Points for an interesting magic system, a few strong female characters, good action scenes, good pacing, and interesting conflicts the MC is bumbling through.
May 25, 2021
Lively characters, albeit rather gender-normative
Engaging plot line, but sometimes a bit predicable
Interesting magic system, but severely lacking in other worldbuilding
Engaging plot line, but sometimes a bit predicable
Interesting magic system, but severely lacking in other worldbuilding
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