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Age of Academicians #2
Awakening Mages
“…a brave and original novel with a cast of memorable characters.” - Jaine Fenn, award-winning SFF author
“Sabina…is very sharp and funny. She really leaps off the page.” - Liz Williams, SFF best-selling author
Audra left Kingston City to save it from the plague. What she brings back is far worse: herself.
For uncounted Ages, all-powerful, immortal Mages imprisoned unwitting humans in an entire country to play out their sacrificial Games. Audra Academician, in her quest to save the city, discovered the Healing Glass never existed. She discovered the truth about the Mages.
She discovered the truth about herself. She’s not human. She’s one of them.
Now the Mages must strike back and find Audra before their blood-thirsty secret is exposed. They devise a deadly race, and one of the contestants is unpredictable Sabina, a Mage of low rank and filthy mouth. She wants to win the race, sure.
But not to save Magekind.
She has other plans.
Awakening Mages is the second book in the epic Age of Academicians fantasy series.
** Contains strong language and scenes of violence**
“Sabina…is very sharp and funny. She really leaps off the page.” - Liz Williams, SFF best-selling author
Audra left Kingston City to save it from the plague. What she brings back is far worse: herself.
For uncounted Ages, all-powerful, immortal Mages imprisoned unwitting humans in an entire country to play out their sacrificial Games. Audra Academician, in her quest to save the city, discovered the Healing Glass never existed. She discovered the truth about the Mages.
She discovered the truth about herself. She’s not human. She’s one of them.
Now the Mages must strike back and find Audra before their blood-thirsty secret is exposed. They devise a deadly race, and one of the contestants is unpredictable Sabina, a Mage of low rank and filthy mouth. She wants to win the race, sure.
But not to save Magekind.
She has other plans.
Awakening Mages is the second book in the epic Age of Academicians fantasy series.
** Contains strong language and scenes of violence**
348 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2020
4 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Maria Herring
14 books8 followersBesides reading and writing and teaching English, I’m known for:
- taking great long hikes up the side of mountains so I can chat to the trees
- drinking a small fortune in coffee
- drawing maps
- dropping stuff
I live in the Mont d’Or with my partner, Fab, and Bilbo our cat, but we can often be found in the UK visiting family. Pop over any time for chat - the kettle's always on!
- taking great long hikes up the side of mountains so I can chat to the trees
- drinking a small fortune in coffee
- drawing maps
- dropping stuff
I live in the Mont d’Or with my partner, Fab, and Bilbo our cat, but we can often be found in the UK visiting family. Pop over any time for chat - the kettle's always on!
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 3, 2020
Please see my review here: https://www.jainefenn.com/2020/06/rev...
(Note that the author did provide a review copy of this book.)
(Note that the author did provide a review copy of this book.)
August 7, 2020
I have finished reading this book a while ago and I kept postponing the review because I was sooooo confused about how I felt about it. It really took me through the whole emotional spectrum, including some emotions which you don't normally get while reading. Or, at least, I hadn't before.
In the first book in the series, we see the main character, Audra, going on a sort of quest. After the big battle at the end of the quest, it turns out her people have been lied to for centuries and she goes back home with some powers. She is a good girl at heart. She wants to make the world a better place. And then everything went batshit crazy!
Instead of the good, honest girl, she kind of relishes her power. She does some nasty stuff with it. This disappointed me. We get to see how some characters were emotionally scarred by the big battle from the first book. This made me surprised and kinda sad for them. We also get to see new characters - a boy from Audra's city (his story made me sad) and several Mages (they made me all sorts of angry and furious). And between all of these, there are a couple gory scenes which made me feel disgusted (this was the new emotion I mentioned). I don't usually read gory stuff, so I just had to stomach it because I couldn't NOT know how the story ends. ((And a bit of a disclaimer here - it's not bad gory. It just made me sad to think that we, as a civilization, were probably the same in the Middle Eve. And I also thought about how much cruelty some people can embody. Overall, I am grateful to live in this day and age, when we get to see a lot less cruelty, aggression and we have such amazing things as rights!))
But in the end, at the very last scene, all the main characters were absolutely touching. I felt sad and so much compassion for them. I fell in love with them in just a couple of pages. So, yeah, color me overly emotional. I don't usually get this emotional when reading.
I also have to mention that Ms. Herring is a wonderful world builder. I read A LOT of fantasy and I've seen themes repeated all over again. I feel like everything in this story is fresh and new. And with both her books containing travel, I simply loved discovering the places in her universe.
Overall, amazing book!
In the first book in the series, we see the main character, Audra, going on a sort of quest. After the big battle at the end of the quest, it turns out her people have been lied to for centuries and she goes back home with some powers. She is a good girl at heart. She wants to make the world a better place. And then everything went batshit crazy!
Instead of the good, honest girl, she kind of relishes her power. She does some nasty stuff with it. This disappointed me. We get to see how some characters were emotionally scarred by the big battle from the first book. This made me surprised and kinda sad for them. We also get to see new characters - a boy from Audra's city (his story made me sad) and several Mages (they made me all sorts of angry and furious). And between all of these, there are a couple gory scenes which made me feel disgusted (this was the new emotion I mentioned). I don't usually read gory stuff, so I just had to stomach it because I couldn't NOT know how the story ends. ((And a bit of a disclaimer here - it's not bad gory. It just made me sad to think that we, as a civilization, were probably the same in the Middle Eve. And I also thought about how much cruelty some people can embody. Overall, I am grateful to live in this day and age, when we get to see a lot less cruelty, aggression and we have such amazing things as rights!))
But in the end, at the very last scene, all the main characters were absolutely touching. I felt sad and so much compassion for them. I fell in love with them in just a couple of pages. So, yeah, color me overly emotional. I don't usually get this emotional when reading.
I also have to mention that Ms. Herring is a wonderful world builder. I read A LOT of fantasy and I've seen themes repeated all over again. I feel like everything in this story is fresh and new. And with both her books containing travel, I simply loved discovering the places in her universe.
Overall, amazing book!
November 28, 2023
A tale from a dark future. The past has disappeared, wiped from history by wars and fires. All knowledge of Mages, magic and orcs has disappeared to became legend. It turns out that things are darker than that.
No one knows how, but Audra acquires the abilities of a mage. She wields them in an uncontrolled and unpredictable fashion. When she has the time for self reflection, Audra describes herself: “She was a monster from the Age of Nightmares.”
There are dark, very dark passages in the book as the two story lines are destined to collide. The route is rocky and difficult. You, the reader, will be assembling your expected flow, but is that the way the story goes? What sufferings will occur along the path?
No one knows how, but Audra acquires the abilities of a mage. She wields them in an uncontrolled and unpredictable fashion. When she has the time for self reflection, Audra describes herself: “She was a monster from the Age of Nightmares.”
There are dark, very dark passages in the book as the two story lines are destined to collide. The route is rocky and difficult. You, the reader, will be assembling your expected flow, but is that the way the story goes? What sufferings will occur along the path?
August 4, 2020
I liked it a lot.
It has everything I like in a fantasy book: an unknown world, an epic journey through amazing places, great characters (including villains).
The characters have a very distinctive voice which makes the book very pleasant to read.
The main story with Sab, Claws and Prisca is brilliant and fun. It makes you forget that
Audra isn't the main character anymore, but her story becomes definitely grim and intriguing.
NB: I read, the Age of Academicians - Origins (the free book) after awakening mages, because I wanted to know more about this world. Very instructive!
It has everything I like in a fantasy book: an unknown world, an epic journey through amazing places, great characters (including villains).
The characters have a very distinctive voice which makes the book very pleasant to read.
The main story with Sab, Claws and Prisca is brilliant and fun. It makes you forget that
Audra isn't the main character anymore, but her story becomes definitely grim and intriguing.
NB: I read, the Age of Academicians - Origins (the free book) after awakening mages, because I wanted to know more about this world. Very instructive!
January 11, 2021
Maria Herring does a sensational job on using multiple POV characters and giving them their distinct personality. When you read Awakening Mages, you will feel like you are reading several stories within a story. Her plot entwines perfectly as the book nears its climax and its ending will leave you craving more.
I can't wait to read the next installment in the Age of Academicians to continue following the adventures of the main characters. If you are into high fantasy with a twist, Awakening Mages and its predecessor, the Healing Glass, are must-reads.
I can't wait to read the next installment in the Age of Academicians to continue following the adventures of the main characters. If you are into high fantasy with a twist, Awakening Mages and its predecessor, the Healing Glass, are must-reads.
July 9, 2021
For uncounted ages immortal mages imprisoned unwitting humans in their sacrificial games . Audra ,in her quest to save the city discovered the truth about Mages and discovers she is one of them.
In Awakening Mages(Age of Academicians #2) by Maria Herring, the Mages must strike back before Audra exposes their secret so they send Sabina, a low ranking mage to save Magekind. She has other plans. I was lucky to receive this book through bookfunnel and enjoyed reading. I recommend this and book one. I hope to read book 3 in the future. This book is available on Amazon
In Awakening Mages(Age of Academicians #2) by Maria Herring, the Mages must strike back before Audra exposes their secret so they send Sabina, a low ranking mage to save Magekind. She has other plans. I was lucky to receive this book through bookfunnel and enjoyed reading. I recommend this and book one. I hope to read book 3 in the future. This book is available on Amazon
August 6, 2021
I can't wait for book three!
I'm in love with Sab. Who's that you ask, you'll just have to read the book to fin out. She and her friends are an amazing group on an unfathomable adventure and one I was sucked into in the first chapter. One he'll of a world Maria has created!
I'm in love with Sab. Who's that you ask, you'll just have to read the book to fin out. She and her friends are an amazing group on an unfathomable adventure and one I was sucked into in the first chapter. One he'll of a world Maria has created!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews