Orphan Mage: Shifter Empire Book One

by Tim Niederriter

He learned life magic, but death becomes his trade. Orphaned, but with unique talents, Edmath learns to wield magic in an empire ruled by shapeshifters.He sets out for the imperial city to join the court of the Saale Emperor. His family history is tragic, but Edmath hopes to begin anew with research into plant magic. Yet, a rival nation has it's own breed of mages, and grudges remain from wars of the past. Tied in deep is the secret of a village that disappeared mysteriously during a prior conflict. Edmath's bloodline and family name bind him to the struggle, though he never knew his parents.In a world of living magic and deadly battles, what will Edmath have to sacrifice to survive his first year as a mage? Orphan Mage is a sword and sorcery novel with an emphasis on magic over might, where every spell carries a cost.Fans of Brandon Sanderson and Garth Nix will find a lot to love here. Read it now! Orphan Mage is a rerelease of the first three books in the Spells of the Curtain series.

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 8, 2020

About the author

Tim Niederriter writes books of science fiction, fantasy, and combinations of the two for fun and novelty.

Tim is the son of two physicists who read him the Hobbit (repeatedly) at a young age. The math adds up. He loves both far-flung science fiction and epic fantasy of all kinds.

Tim hosts the Alive After Reading podcast and cohosts the Of Mooks and Monsters podcast, both available on timniederriter.com.

Reviews

[Emily Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orphaned commoner Edmath Donroi leaves his mage’s college to serve the imperial court. He wants to investigate a mysterious death related to his lost parents, but Edmath will find that he cannot rely on his magic alone to survive. He will be forced to make the choice to kill or to die for the empire. Which will he choose?

The world-building in this book is incredible, as the reader will see from the first page to the last. Detailed, amazing descriptions will put the images right in front of your eyes as if you are seeing it first-hand. Edmath was showing the students spells based on what he had been studying about plant growth. Again, the reader will feel it all happening in real-time, almost as if it were possible to touch the leaves! This is a book that needs to be experienced by reading the entirety of the story. With all of the rich detail provided, a summarization would not do it justice. Grab your copy and experience the book for yourself. (Amazon has a “Look Inside” area right above the picture of the book if you would like to read a few pages and see if it intrigues you. It truly is fascinating! And the creatures you will encounter are incredible!)

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am writing this review at three o’clock in the morning so that should give you some idea of how much I liked this book. It has great world building, characters, story lines, dialogue and on and on. The only criticism I could possibly make, and that is a small one, is that although there has been a terrific attempt to create different but easy to read names at times it becomes a bit hard to keep everyone straight. Honestly though even if they were called things like John or Jane there are so many characters that it would still be hard to keep them straight. A list of characters and places at the end would be great but maybe that could be added in another edition.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Orphan Mage:Shifter Empire book 1 by Tim Niederriter Orphaned but with unique talents Edmath learns to wield magic in an empire ruled by shapeshifters. He sets out for the imperial city to join the court. Edmath's blood line binds him to a struggle despite the fact that he never knew his family. In a world of magic and deadly battles what will Edmath have to sacrifice to survive his first year as a mage? Read this great book that is available on Amazon to find out more. I am voluntarily reviewing this book I was lucky to receive through BookFunnel.

[Christinaraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story. It was a great start to a series with amazing world building and a great magic system. I love the mix of fantasy, magic, mystery and suspense. I loved trying to figure out how Edmath was connected to things and how he ended up in the middle of it all as he tried to make a living and learn more about his magic. Just a great story that drew me in due to its story, world building and characters.

[Scarolet Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orphan Mage by Tim Niederriter is a wonderful story to read. This is book number one in this wonderful start to a brand new series that I have loved reading and can not wait to read the rest of this wonderful series. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about fantasy.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.