Dragon Mage

Rivenworld #1

by M.L. Spencer

Aram Raythe has the power to challenge the gods. He just doesn't know it yet.

Aram thinks he's nothing but a misfit from a small fishing village in a dark corner of the world. As far as Aram knows, he has nothing, with hardly a possession to his name other than a desire to make friends and be accepted by those around him, which is something he’s never known.

But Aram is more. Much, much more.

Unknown to him, Aram bears within him a gift so old and rare that many people would kill him for it, and there are others who would twist him to use for their own sinister purposes. These magics are so potent that Aram earns a place at an academy for warrior mages training to earn for themselves the greatest place of honor among the armies of men: dragon riders.

Aram will have to fight for respect by becoming not just a dragon rider, but a Champion, the caliber of mage that hasn’t existed in the world for hundreds of years. And the land needs a Champion. Because when a dark god out of ancient myth arises to threaten the world of magic, it is Aram the world will turn to in its hour of need.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Adult

818 pages, Paperback

First published December 19, 2020

About the author

M.L. Spencer is an epic fantasy author. Her debut novel Darkmage won the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Award for Fantasy, and her novel Dragon Mage won the 2021 Readers' Favorite Gold Award for Fantasy.

Reviews

[Petrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Deluxe Collector's Edition of Dragon Mage is coming in June 2023. Don't miss your chance on it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

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ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

This was awesome. Spencer takes everything we love about classic epic fantasy and put it into Dragon Mage, transforming the novel into an incredible, epic, and satisfying fantasy book.

I haven’t read anything by M.L. Spencer before Dragon Mage, but that doesn’t mean I’m not familiar with her name and her works. Spencer is most often known for her grimdark fantasy series, The Rhenwars Saga and The Chaos Cycle, which I’ve heard great things about but haven’t gotten around to yet; you know how it is with my infinite TBR pile. However, after seeing that stunning cover art—illustrated by Sutthiwat Dechakamphu and designed by STK.Kreations—and hearing that Dragon Mage will be an epic fantasy standalone, I was hooked, and I knew I had to read this book. Although I haven’t read any of her grimdark fantasy yet, there’s one thing for sure here, Spencer MUST write more epic fantasy like this. Dragon Mage is almost 1000 pages long—it didn’t feel that way to me—and it is one of the finest standalone fantasy books I’ve read so far.

“After you hear something so many times, it starts to define you, and it eventually becomes a prison. He had been confined by that prison all his life, and now he feared the world outside its walls.”

Dragon Mage revolves around Aram Raythe, a misfit boy living in a small village who loves knots and sees everything in colors. All his life, Aram has been shunned and treated harshly because he’s “different,” and all Aram desires in his life are to make friends. However, there is so much more to Aram, so much more; he has an immense power to challenge the gods. For the rest of the premise, I suggest you check out the official blurb provided by the author. But I think you can already surmise from what I just described that Dragon Mage is a classic epic fantasy told with a modern voice. My god, it honestly feels so GOOD to be reading a superbly written coming-of-age fantasy again, and a standalone, too, at that; great standalone are relatively rare in epic fantasy. There’s just so much to love in Dragon Mage; Spencer includes many familiar tropes such as a coming-of-age story arc for Aram and Markus, a magic school, training montages, a missing father, the wise mentor with a harsh past, an impending doom, and more into this tome. Yes, this is a big book, length-wise it’s at least a duology in one, and I think it’s the right choice to make it so. One of the biggest gripes I have with an epic fantasy standalone is that I’m often left unsatisfied when I’m done with the book, and a well-written book with a large page count has the power to negate this result. And that positive result, in my opinion, has been achieved by Spencer.

“He recognized that, while obsessing over things like knots and books might be a strength, it could also be another weakness. He could learn a lot by applying himself so obsessively—but he could lose a lot of friends doing that too. There was a delicate art to balance that he needed to find, and he vowed to strive for it.”

I could write an essay on this review about why these tropes still worked to this day—and they do!—but when it comes down to it, it’s always the characters that won my attention. Spencer’s characterizations were magnificent; it is practically impossible for me to dislike Aram. Let me assure you first that Aram isn’t a Gary Stu despite the premise. Seriously, Aram suffers so much—both mentally and physically—throughout the novel, and I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the main character blacked out as many times as Aram did here. His passion for knots and books was intoxicating, and he’s an incredibly relatable character that genuinely treasures friendship. Connection and friendship don’t come easy to Aram because he’s neuroatypical, and his friendship with Markus—one of the other main character—becomes one of the most precious things in the world for him.

“Aram envied him, for he didn’t know how Kye could walk into a room and within minutes feel at home with the people there. It was a skill that had always eluded him, one of the great mysteries of social interaction that everyone else in the world seemed to know instinctively—everyone but him.”

Markus is another character that I utterly loved reading about here, maybe even more than Aram. I mean, c’mon, Markus is practically the Samwise Gamgee of this book; we all need a friend like him in our life. The friendship between Aram and Markus was awe-inspiring to read; it is one of the most wonderful portrayals of friendship I’ve read in a fantasy novel, and it is one of the driving force of the narrative. Then there’s also Esmir and many other companions that Aram and Markus encountered that were easy to care for. Plus, Dragon Mage featured a bond with dragons that goes as deep as the bond between Caim and Angelus in the video game: Drakengard. However, if you’re not familiar with that video game, How to Train Your Dragon is another terrific example of the kind of friendship between humans and dragons you’ll read in this book. Responsibilities, friendships, and especially overcoming one’s weaknesses are massively evident themes in Dragon Mage, and I honestly believe that Spencer has executed them all marvelously.

“It’s true that there are some weaknesses that are outside our control. But even with those, we can usually find ways to adapt. As for weaknesses that we can control…well, life is about conquering our weaknesses and turning them into strengths. It’s how we grow as individuals. We can’t let our weaknesses limit our potential. We want to be defined by our strengths, not our shortcomings.”

This novel feels like Spencer’s love letter to classic epic fantasy, and we can see traces of its love in every part of the narrative, including the world-building. The world in Dragon Mage was torn apart long ago by an event known as the Sundering. Now there are two worlds: The World Above is the world of men, and the World Below is where most magical beings reside. However, there’s more than enough originality and charms that Spencer imbued to make Dragon Mage stands on its own feet. What Spencer did with the role of magic and how it’s used is simple and brilliant. The magic users in this book are, more often than not, super powerful, and to balance things out, there’s the role of a Shield—someone who’s completely impervious to any form of magic power—that prevents the magic users from becoming too powerfully imbalanced. There’s more to these, of course, but I’ll leave them for you to find out for yourself.

Picture: Dragon Mage full spread



I loved reading Spencer’s action sequences, too. Tornado of flame, lightning spear, and much more spectacular exhibition of magic conjured plus the exhilarating aerial battles while riding dragons—many dragons—were absolutely absorbing; Spencer’s prose flows well throughout the whole book, and these battles never felt boring. One last thing, there were sections in the book that revolves around blacksmithing in details, and as someone who loves watching weapon/armor creations and the blacksmithing process, I think Spencer has done her research well; I was geeking out, not gonna lie.

“Every day on the way to Esmir’s, he could feel his heartbeat pick up in anticipation of what he might find within a leather binding. Books, he was finding out, could be just as much of an adventure as knots, and equally rewarding.”

Dragon Mage is a compelling epic and immensely satisfying fantasy novel that will remind readers why they love classic epic fantasy in the first place. Dragon Mage was at first a one-off standalone novel, but now it has become a series. I still stand by my words that this book worked incredibly well as a standalone, though. The ending was satisfying, and there’s enough room in the story for a sequel or two should the author decides to pursue the notion. One last thing, Dragon Mage comes out on my birthday. Be a Champion; buy and read it for yourself instead. If you end up enjoying it, let me know, and I’ll consider that a birthday present for me.

“Fools always talk. Wise men listen.”

Official release date: 8th January 2021

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!

My Patrons: Alfred, Alya, Annabeth, Blaise, Devin, Diana, Edward, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Lufi, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Zoe.

[Books with Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still deciding on exact rating! Lots of thoughts!

[Andrews WizardlyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragon Mage is my book of the year for 2021. Click here for my dedicated Video Review for DRAGON MAGE

I have no real words for how much I loved this book…. While I think there are some technical issues such as pacing and a few character inconsistencies early in the book. It’s still mind-blowing how much this book means to me.

This to me is a LOVE LETTER to the fantasy genre!!! M.L. Spencer had written a beautiful story on what it means to be different and what it takes to overcome it.

Aram and Markus share a believable and realistic friendship that hit me right where I live!!! As a person who is also Autistic it was incredibly refreshing to see a protagonist struggle with a world that he feels doesn’t understand him and that he also struggles to understand.

This is a story crafted with love, friendship, and heart. I am SO GLAD that I am closing out my year with a book that hits me personally. It felt like the author reached into my adolescent daydreams and crafted an intricate story that has everything I ever wanted in a fantasy book.

[Dea꧂ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, the violence and gore definitely falls under the adult content but the characters, their interactions and every relationship there is, seems childish.
I really love reading books featuring dragons but their role in this book is simply weird. They supposedly are an important element of Auld culture but their bond with their riders seems so simple and trivial (the poor things were mostly flying around battlefields, getting hit and falling to their deaths).
What irked me the most was the role of a Warden, a role of being the shield to his Champion. Poor Markus, the so-called all-impervious shield and best friend of Aram was never near his Champion during almost all of the important events when he was truly needed. What kind of a battle strategy is that? I really don't get it.
Everything that was presented as something significant for the whole plot was quickly watered down so much that I lost interest in every idea that appealed to me and was the reason why I even picked this book up.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I edited this book, so you should know that first.

Dragon Mage was a delight in every possible respect. Spencer is a true master of her craft, with the skills to keep plot, character development, and world building perfectly balanced. Dragon Mage is a book where the author's passion shines through on every page.

In a lot of ways, this book felt like a homage to the fantasy I fell in love with as a high schooler. The epic quest, the magic, the personal growth and development and DRAGONS are all there. However, Spencer adds her own twist to things, which keeps the book fresh and absolutely addictive.

I ultimately felt like this book was a love letter to fantasy, to all the things that made me fall in love with the genre all those years ago. Furthermore, bravo for having a neurodivergent protagonist. There aren't enough neurodivergent characters in fantasy. Aram is such a real, vivid, multifaceted character, it's impossible not to love him, and the story of his evolution through all the many trials he faces.

Dragon Mage progresses at a nice clip. While the book is long, it doesn't FEEL long and it left me with a book hangover, the likes of which I have not experienced in a long time. This is, hands down, one of the best books I've read in 2020. It made me fall in love with fantasy all over again.

I'll write a longer review/write up on my website closer to publication. All you need to know right now is THIS BOOK IS AMAZING and YOU REALLY NEED TO READ IT.

[Nick Borrelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

DRAGON MAGE is a book that has been on my radar for almost a year. I had never read a book by ML Spencer before but from everything I heard, her previous books have all been incredibly well-received. So I was already interested in picking this one up and luckily, Storytellers On Tour gave me the excuse (as they always seem to do) to finally read it. I can't begin to tell you what I was expecting to be quite honest, but whatever it was it didn't even scratch the surface of what I ultimately got out of this book when all was said and done.

The first thing I want to mention is that this book is roughly 900 pages in length. Wait, wait! Before you start breaking out in hives and shaking your head no, let me assure you that you will not care in the least about this book's length once you get fully immersed into the story. I can pretty much guarantee it actually. In fact, when I finished I wanted even more of it if you can believe that. And now comes the difficult part, trying to touch on the multitude of amazing elements in this story and all of the shifting emotions that it engendered in me as a result.

DRAGON MAGE is a book that feels like a traditional high fantasy tome, but with a noticeably modern flare that gives it an added depth and originality. How can a story be both traditional and wholly original at the same time? Well, that's just one of the many things that make this book extremely challenging to describe, unless you actually take the time to read it. And quite frankly, it's part of what makes ML Spencer a fantastic writer in my opinion.

I'll start with the characters, the first of which is Aram. We are introduced to him as an adolescent and as you can assume, things are pretty awkward. Aram doesn't really fit in anywhere in the friend circles of the town and he often gets bullied pretty mercilessly by the local ruffians. It's only when he stumbles across an older boy Markus, that he finds someone who he clicks with somewhat. Speaking of Markus, he is everything that Aram is not when it comes to physical strength and skill with a sword, and yet their relationship is such that they seem to compliment each other in a strangely symbiotic way. When a mysterious and charismatic bard named Ebra visits the town and shows an especially keen interest in the two boys, they soon realize that their simple innocent boyhood days are over. It's at this point that the relentless story takes hold and really becomes one of the best coming of age fantasy tales I've read in a long time.

The world-building in DRAGON MAGE is utterly spectacular and is inextricably linked to a brilliant magic system. There are two "worlds", one is The World Above, where our characters begin this story, and the other is The World Below. The two worlds are split by the dark and dangerous Void, a plane of existence where vile monsters, Void dragons, and some of the most terrifying creatures imaginable roam, sometimes finding their way into one or both worlds through tears caused by those gifted with special power to open rifts. If not properly harnessed and honed, an onslaught of death and destruction unlike any other could be unleashed. I am very much a world-building guy, so this idea really captured my imagination and just made the book that much better, as it added another aspect of danger for these characters that kept me so invested every second. Just a brilliant world, or should I say "worlds" that ML Spencer has created for this series.

DRAGON MAGE completely recharged my reading batteries so to speak, as it frequently made me remember the things that ignited my passion for fantasy books in the first place. It literally has all of the components of a story that you could ever want and then some. It was so rewarding watching the evolution of each character and I felt myself connecting with them more and more as the chapters flew by. There are certain books that you feel fortunate to have had the chance to read, and DRAGON MAGE is one of those special few that invoke just that type of intense sentimentality.

This book will change even the most jaded reader's opinion of what the genre is capable of when penned by authors the caliber of ML Spencer. There really is no ceiling when it comes to where this series can go when the opening entry is this great. I'll wrap things up by saying if you read only one epic/high fantasy book this year, it should be this one. Come for the extraordinary world-building, magic, evil villains, and horrifying monsters of the Void. Stay for the incredible journey that these characters will take you on in this once in a lifetime story. I truly can't gush enough about how much this book hit me in the feels on so many levels. Just read it.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aramon Raythe is an outcast in his own hometown. Something about him is different than others and he's ridiculed for it as a result. Little does he know that something old and powerful stirs within him. Something strong enough to save the world.

Dragon Mage is an ok young adult story. It has some fresh takes to it in it's magic system that involves seeing colorful auras, knots, and beings impervious to magic. The story is one filled with emotions as nearly every characters emotions seem to be described throughout.

This story felt like 4-5 young adult stories in one book. It has 99 chapters, not counting the prologue and epilogue, and it is almost 1,000 pages long. I respect the fact the author is giving the reader a lot of content for their money, but I don't know that it helped the story. I didn't feel the story was so compelling that I wanted to read so much of it in a single read. I was initially drawn in by the boy who seemed to be on the autism spectrum and was referred to as a true savant. He couldn't express himself well through words, he has obvious idiosyncrasies, he's obsessed with knots, and he has no friends. I found that kid interesting. I loved him finally making a friend in Markus and meeting Master Ebra the traveling bard. There are many heartwarming moments like Master Ebra telling Aram's mother:

"Your boy's not simple, ma'am. Aram is very smart. He just sees the world a bit differently than the rest of us."

The story falls heavily into tropes from there. Deadly mistakes are made, the first of many life threatening injuries are dealt, and nothing will ever be the same again. When I say many life threatening injuries, I mean I have never seen a character so often near death yet never seems to suffer any true long term physical issues because of it. We have villains with unclear motives and some who only want power. The bad guys initially seemed to have good reason until we learn that's simply untrue.

I also want to note that the term Dragon Mage is never used in any part of the book. On top of that, a lot of people use dragons in the book so the dragon aspect isn't all that special.

I was also disappointed at the way the final battle was handled. I don't wish to spoil it, but it took me a few pages to realize a certain character had died. It was surprising consider the significance of the role the character played throughout. I also didn't care for the development that the story didn't foreshadow whatsoever.

To be fair, Dragon Mage may simply not have been the best choice for me. I don't really care for young adult books and I didn't realize this book was 100% young adult.

[Wick Welker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece fantasy adventure story.

I ate this book up with a spoon. It's a long book but I enjoyed every sentence. The prose is spot on and gets you moving easily. This has been on my list awhile and wooow did I wait too long. I adored this book. It has classic fantasy elements yet with fresh tropes. An origin story of a neuroatypical hero. An unlikely friendship forms in beautiful way. This is a compelling fantasy adventure mixed with a minor coming-of-age arc that moves swiftly along a Hero's Journey. A small romance also blooms which is very well done. I loved the world Spencer has created here. It, of course, is derivative but it's so immersive and believable that I just fell in love.

If you're a fantasy fan I can almost guarantee you will enjoy this book. I absolutely loved it and you know what? I'm adding it to my masterpiece shelf.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this, and it started very well, but ultimately it fell flat for me. It’s a classic epic fantasy coming of age story, which is right up my alley. The author did a great job in the beginning making the unlikely hero from humble origins trope compelling.

Things went a little off the rails there for me. The tone of the book, despite having some very dark moments, grew increasingly YA to me. I wanted to get invested in the world building but it didn’t feel as developed as I would have hoped. The characters were also young, which is fine, but most of their interactions felt childish. I do have to give the author credit for making the brave choice of having a non traditional protagonist.

It seems like a lot of people loved this book, and there is enough there that I can see why, but it just wasn’t for me. That cover art is fantastic though.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A richly imagined world and characters who grab your heart. A true epic fantasy coming of age magical adventure. I loved it. If I have any minor quibbles, I think it was slightly long and a few things were over explained for a younger market. This is a rip roaring adventure of the very best kind. Enjoy!

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like always my reviews will have some spoilerishness to them.

CW: Gore, Torture

Dragon Mage felt like reading a classic epic fantasy for modern times and I loved every minute of it. I read this book in two an a half days, and that's impressive as the book isn't tiny, just under a thousand pages. I couldn't stop reading it and when I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be.

🐉🐉🐉

Aram is the kid that no one gets, as he's not like everyone else. He doesn't understand things the way others do, so people think he is odd or slow minded. He is definitely on the spectrum. His eyes are the color of opals, he see's peoples auras and can see in colors. More than anything he wants a friend and to be a sailor. He would love nothing but to explore the world to learn every knot there is to learn. It's just him and his mom, his father having left when he was much younger and what happened to him Aram doesn't know but will do anything to find out.

Markus, desperately wants to get picked to become a bards apprentice when one comes to their village in the search for one. He wants to leave there and not look back, his home life is not the greatest. Little did he know, that the day he stopped to help a 12 year old boy from the bully's who were beating him up, that a life changing moment that that act of kindness would set in the works.

Ebra the bard knows more about Aram and the old blood that he comes from, but he won't tell him until he's older. But when Aram learns he's going to be singing a ballad to remind the village of it's roots he decides to sneak out to lean more. In his desperate need to find and learn more about his father, he attracts the attention of a sorcerer.

There is a group of people, sorcerers that will and have killed for the power that Aram doesn't even know he has. They have been doing it since the sundering the worlds. They can feel when a disturbance is made, an opening into the void, which is filled with dragons and other mishmash of creatures that they say will destroy this world.



🐲🐲🐲

There is magic, and legends, and a ballad. Things of nightmares from the void, battles, and evil sorceress, friendships, a splash of romance, self discovery, a coming of age tale oh and DRAGONS!!

The world building is amazing, from the world above to the world below and the void. Which goes hand in hand with the magic system. Threads and knots that can be woven together to help form the world it's self or tear holes in it. Plus so much more.

Sometimes 5 star reads are hard to review. I don't like giving away major plot points even with a spoiler warning at the top.


Dragon Mage is a book you don't want to put down, it sucks you in and next thing you know you have almost read a thousand page in no time. I can not wait for the next book.



🐉🐉🐉
There is this one particular scene involving a dragon, that I heard in my head, the sound that I envisioned. I got chills. I love when books affect you in physical and emotional ways and Dragon Mage delivered on both for me. I cried, I held my breath, I cheered and I felt despair. Surprise and shock.

🐲🐲🐲

When Storytellers on Tour announced sign ups for Dragon Mage, I jumped on the chance. This was a wishlist book, I REALLY wanted to dive into this world. Like with out even knowing the story how can you not want to read it if your a fantasy fan. That cover and title alone should get your attention.

I was lucky to get a e-copy, I'm still going to buy a physical one.

I wish I had book 2.

I want a dragon!


Check my blog for more info, artwork and enter the giveaway, US only.
I Can Has Books?

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Note that my paperback copy was 818 pages.

This was what I would describe as an "epic coming of age" fantasy story and in my opinion it is the best book I have read by this author.

Well done, M L Spencer.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have many thoughts on this book, both positive and negative. It was therefore difficult to rate it, but despite the negative things, I had a good reading experience. It was fast pace and easy to read despite being over 800 pages long.

I want to start off with the things I liked. I love Aram. It was so much fun getting to know him and how his brain works. The fact that he is a different type of protagonist was just amazing to read. He was so endearing from page one and I loved how the author managed to make his obsession with knots become a natural part of the magic system. I also love the friendship that Marcus and Aram have for each other (even though it developed rather quickly). I liked the coming-of-age story as well as the classic fantasy tropes.

The magic system was unique (at least to me) with knots and seeing in color being two main aspects. While I enjoyed the magic system, it was also rather confusing because new elements were added to it constantly when the story needed an explanation or something to happen a certain way. I do think there were some inconsistencies in there, but those I managed to overlook.

Some of the less positive sides were for me all the coincidences that were happening, but these also I managed to overlook for the most part. Despite the book being so long, it felt at times very rushed. Especially in those parts where new characters got introduced only to play a part over a couple of pages and then they were gone again. The dialogue in these parts were also not the best.

The side characters felt underdeveloped and we never got to know any of them, their motivations or backgrounds. It felt like they were all there for Aram to have someone to interact with, but I still enjoyed them. Marcus is the only exception, but even him we never really got to know other than in the first part of the book when he wanted to get away from his abusive father. The same problem was with the villain. We don’t really get to know him. He is just a horrible person who don't mind torturing people for his own gains, so I did dislike him quite intensely.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I hope the next one is better. Aram was by far the best part and I would recommend it for him alone. Pluss, there are dragons. Lots of dragons.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars
This was a solid epic fantasy made better through its ASD representation. While the spectrum is very wide, several aspects of the protagonist rang true for me. It was frustrating at times to read about such an unconfident young man even if it was realistic. I hope to see this aspect of his personality mature and develop in the later books in the series. As the story itself, the plot leaned heavily into the Chosen One trope through a coming of age narrative. This had a lot of all age and I personally have preferred a more darker, adult story but that is just my personal preference.

I would recommend this one to readers who enjoy classic fantasy narratives (with Dragons!) Or anyone looking for neurodiverse representation in SFF.

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 1 out of 5]

"They" say you should give a book 100 pages before deciding to give it up. I applied this rule here, but I wish I knew earlier that other "they" say 50 pages because there was little chance of changing my mind after that, but I gave it to page 103 out of 819 Kindle standardized pages, not the higher page count listed on Goodreads, 12% of the book thank you very much. It picked up slightly at page 90 with some proper violence but it wasn't enough to not DNF. 800 pages is a lot to ask when the pain set in early.

The book's fine, I suppose. I won't begrudge higher raters their opinions, and I generally agree with the common characterizations of the book in its many favorable reviews. But I am going to rant a bit here, as is my prerogative.

(I just noticed that this and another self-published book I had to bail on in recent memory, the big one by M.L. Wang, share author initials. I must hereby never attempt another book by M.L. Anyone.)

Why did I try to read this book? Because it was on my TBR list for over a year, a short list that I keep curated with only books that I still genuinely intend to read in the foreseeable future. Why did it go on that list in the first place? I can't remember exactly, but I'm sure it had something to do with that amazing cover art. I mean, look at that thing. LOOK AT IT! Gorgeous and professional, as is the rest of the book as a physical or digital product.

Why did I read it at this moment in time? I briefly found myself between books without a strong compulsion to start anything in particular, it was the longest-standing book on my TBR that I had ready access to at the moment, helped by a current Kindle Unlimited free trial, and I was fully open to yet another epic fantasy book.

What is this book's great crime? Not being good enough. Its most common praise is that it's "classic" fantasy and I can see that, but to me it was classic in that it's like a 1980s fantasy written with the expectation that only teens will pick it up, without being explicitly a young readers' book. It's classic in that it's tired and predictable. Contemporary fantasy can be so good, with exceptional growth in the genre, and I honestly believe that for authors as a group, the skill of writing fantasy has advanced over the past decades. This book didn't keep up with all that. Although it met certain standards for prose, character, worldbuilding, plot, all that, it wasn't at all elevated.

I think it's okay to set expectations for self-published material based on traditional publication experiences, even compare it to the best of traditionally published books. At a minimum, any book, regardless of its pathway to publication, should be at least as good as stuff that, even if it's not the absolute greatest, is at least pretty good. Dragon Mage was good, maybe even very good, for self-published epic fantasy, but of course that's an indictment of the label more than praise for the book. I'm sure nobody wants any pity points based on path of publication. Of course a self-published book can be as good as a traditionally published one, even a great one of such, and some are. Very, very few considering the total number of books that get pushed out every year. This just isn't one of them. And it's not like it's in a subgenre that's underrepresented in trad pub; this is epic fantasy and there is so much A-game material on the shelves right now, you can't play around.

The first 100 pages of Dragon Mage were predictable. Aside from the standard tropes, it repeatedly says, "gee I sure hope this bad thing doesn't happen," and then it happens on the next page. Certain worldbuilding or spatial details seemed poorly thought out. The main character's autistic traits were presented rather on-the-nose. For my taste, the POV was too loose; a tighter focus could have made the experience significantly more compelling. I quickly found myself skimming description to get to the next beat, because nothing was pulling me into this world.

For all that it succeeds in certain measures, the thought occurred to me while reading that, if I were an acquisitions editor with a traditional publishing house, this wouldn't have been nearly good enough to buy. I know that's not the only goal; I know some self-published fantasy is good enough that it could just as well be traditionally published but the author chose not to go down that path for any number of reasons. But in this case I don't think that would have even been an option.
 
What was the earliest clue? The book's multiple awards. "Winner, 2021 Readers' Favorite Book Award for Fantasy. Winner, 2021 Independent Publisher Book Award for Fantasy. Finalist, 2021 Next Generation Book Award for Fantasy." None of these things are any indicator of quality, and when an author pays to enter these vanity awards and touts the results, I have to question their judgement. From everything I can see, every book that enters one of these competitions is a winner. When you've got 130 different genre and subgenre categories, and each one has multiple categories of winners, including multiple "honorable mentions", and the more you pay the more categories you can be considered in, winning means nothing. I'm both aghast at the ubiquity of these "contests" and jealous that I didn't set one up first, because they seem like huge moneymakers. I could still create my own, sure, but could I live with myself? I'm rough enough on those self-published books that I lambast without essentially scamming their authors too. (In fairness, the costs for these contests are not outrageous, and the good feelings they deliver to the participants are perhaps worth it for them; but they sure don't do a damn thing for generating sales or indicating value to readers. They're just one cog in a vast grinding machine that sucks money out of would-be writers, the only industry truly supported by the glut of self-publishing since the doors were thrown wide open in the late 2000s. I could go on about all this, but I'll save it for now.)

Anyway, that's Dragon Mage. You might like it if you don't mind an undemanding, traditional story told well enough.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE DRAGON MAGE by M.L. Spencer was a book that intrigued me the moment I heard about it. I was a big fan of her Rhenwars Saga books and was interested in what she might do next. I enjoyed the Chaos Cycle books but they required you to have read the Rhenwars Saga books to really get the most out of them. This was going to be a expansive work and the equivalent of a novel trilogy in one with almost a thousand pages of text. Well, after a couple of weeks of reading, I've finally finished it. What did I think? It think its quite good.

Aram Raythe is a young village boy dreaming of becoming a sailor. His potential to do magic, though, is stronger than any other in centuries. His childhood friend, though that's using the term loosely, Markus just wants to escape his abusive father. A bard with knowledge of the old world comes to the village and discovers Aram's gift but, honestly, things repeatedly go south for both with the typical hero's journey being horribly interrupted by unexpected tragedies. Aram is destined to become a Champion but it is questionable whether anyone he knows will still be alive by the time it happens.

I should point out that I'm inclined to like it already since I, too, am neuroatypical and this stars a protagonist that is on the spectrum. The people of the fantasy world don't have much of an understanding of autism, however, so Aram is merely "weird." I feel like some of Aram's symptoms are exaggerated but not so much that they are unbelievable.

Certainly, I saw some of my own situation in his portrayal. I especially liked Aram's monofocus on knots and how he had a massive cavern full of thousands of knots he'd made over the years. I also liked the fact that he found the idea of mixing food disgusting, though I believe those who forced him to mix them as a way to "toughen him up" were vile and should die horribly. Seriously, worse than Ramsey Bolton, all of them.

This is a fairly straightforward high fantasy and if you're looking for Hopepunk, which I still don't get as a title, I think this is a pretty good example of the genre. It is about a heroic young man who overcomes his issues through perseverance to fight against the evil bad guys that are in need of a thorough posterior kicking. I've mentioned in other reviews that I find M.L. Spencer to have been strongly influenced by the Wheel of Time and I still see that here but, despite its 1000 pages, a lot happens with very little padding.

Of the two protagonists, I prefer Markus as a character because he's a bit more cynical and pragmatic. He's a guy who is constantly trying to make the best of a very bad situation. Not to spoil the book but at one point, he finds himself among people he utterly hates and would love to kill but just sucks it up because they're the only way he can survive for the time being. I like that as its an unexpected writing choice.

I very much enjoyed this novel and I think people looking for an enjoyable old school fantasy novel will find this to be a welcome antidote to the grimdark explosion currently out there. It reminded me of Dragonlance with all its dragon riders, focus on the power of friendship, and other fun. Not to put down this series, but I think the writing is better too (unless we mean the Legends trilogy because I will defend that to the death). Solid and entertaining work.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the mostly excellent reviews, I expected a lot of Dragon Mage, and ultimately it fell flat for me. It's never good when I start a book with high expectations, and I really should know better by now.

Dragon Mage is a traditional (at times too traditional) epic high fantasy, it's also a coming of age story, and the protagonist is autistic (that last bit was perfectly executed by Spencer).

Unfortunately, most of the characters feel underdeveloped, their relationships simplistic, and the plot is pretty linear and predictable.

While Dragon Mage is well-paced, and the prose flows easily, I felt like there was not enough substance to justify the book’s length and a few hundred pages could have been cut.

The tale did, however, hold my attention, and I enjoyed the ride despite my complaints.

That is why I definitely recommend Dragon Mage to everyone who likes comforting tropes, traditional epic fantasy, and YA themes.

[Dom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Dragon Mage. I had heard so much good about it and I really liked the sound of it from the synopsis, so I’m happy it ended up as good as I had hoped. Some of the storytelling, while not unique, was really good and quite refreshing to see. You have a main character who is autistic, and I like the way this is portrayed, focusing on the way people interact with him, how they treat him, and how he feels about that treatment.

Outside of that, there’s a really good story about friendship, and about learning that the world isn’t necessarily what you thought it was, and about how you react to that, what you do, and what you’re willing to fight for.

I felt this was a story of two parts, with distinct sections where there was a bit of a change. While you could argue that an 800-page book could be split into two if that’s the case, I like that it wasn’t as I feel that as one volume, it’s a better story than what we might have got if it was in two parts.

[Athena (OneReadingNurse) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Storytellers On Tour and M.L. Spencer for having me on the tour for Dragon Mage!

This is a truly exceptional work of fantasy and I 100% believe that anyone with even a casual interest in fantasy *needs* to grab this book!

The plot & story: I find a few things unique about the plot, which for the book’s size, NEVER slowed down.  982 pages went by like nothing and I still wanted more of everything.  It is told from rotating points of view over the span of about 10 years, where Aram and Marcus start as village boys and eventually become great warriors, fighting a war against old evils

Add in a morally gray and complicated villain, some truly evil archons, dragons, void creatures, sentient horses, bound mounts, trials and training, so much lore, a split world that makes sense, and I am just barely scratching the surface of things you’ll find within the story.

It starts with a prologue where a dragon falls in battle, an unnamed man standing solo against a much greater mage: it hooked me.  This is an accurate description of my face once the prologue was explained in the book: 

The Characters: are actually some of the most interesting I have seen in fantasy. 

Aram is somewhere on the autism spectrum, seeing the world in colors and knots.  It was a joy, and sometimes a horror, watching him grow into his potential.  Warning: ML Spencer is not nice to these characters, she breaks your heart about 20 times.  I just loved Aram. He is a magic Savant, which hasn’t happened in 400 years and he has amazing innate magic

Marcus is the opposite of Aram… Someone impervious to magic.  Every mage needs a shield, right?  It was interesting to see this dynamic work together and how Marcus and Aram handled their individual and joint tragedies.  It’s quite hard not to love Marcus when he takes a beaten, bullied Aram under his wing as a boy

Sergan: just see this motherf*cker in action.  Will he redeem himself or just be an evil c*nt the whole time? You’ll have to read about how the sorcerers withOUT innate magic, obtain magical essence.

The dragons: to avoid spoilers just let me say that the dragons are amazing, with their own personalities, and their own battle scenes.  There are a lot of side characters but they all add something special to the story, even if you have to wait for it

The Magic: there are so many layers of magic in the book.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen knot-based magical essence, and I was on board because it was a world-plausible explanation for Aram’s fixation with knots.  The magic validated him, and he validated the magic, and it was amazing.  There are also, then, obviously many dark ways to use magic… 

…and the world below’s innate magic.  The variations in the sorcerers abilities was interesting too. The good vs evil balances and Savant vs Impervious were both pretty cool ideas.

Ah cripe, what else … Plotting that you’d never guess.  Family ties.  Found family.  The cutest tiny hint of romance (100% clean) ever.  Did I say sentient quasi magic  horses? More evil plots? 1200 year old snarky old men?  Oh, warrior and mage training! Battles that never get boring?  Heart breaking tortures and no feelings spared on the paths to redemption, alternated with *just* enough warm fuzzies to make everything beautiful? Balance is everything in this novel.

Just… You just have to read it. You really just have to read it

[Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

ML Spencer is a masterful writer. Over the years, I have become used to reading for pleasure, but in the long run, nothing more. Good to very good books have a tendency to fade in memory, and I've spent a lot of time reading just "very good" book. This isn't to knock the authors I enjoy and their works, after all I enjoy adventure stories, and am often moved by beautiful writing. However, I'm still used to closing a book at the final moment, feeling gratified, but then easily forgetting it the moment I start something else.

But Dragon Mage is more than just "something else". Words fail me to describe just how hard this book moved me. One of the boldest and most beautifully realised fantasy novels I have ever read, I was captivated from the first page, and not for one moment did my enjoyment ever let up.

There is no "good and bad" to discuss here. With Dragon Mage, I have only the good- no, wait, only the GREAT to discuss.

Let's start with the first: the characters. Our lead character, Aramon Raythe, is a soon to be classic example of a fantasy protagonist, mark my words. Spencer has done something I have never truly seen before, at least done well: she has created a lead character with autistic traits, and through his eyes, we see the world through a well realised mind set. We see his limitations, his hidden strengths, his thought processes. How he sees the world is of vital importance to both his journey and this story, and it was a wondrous thing to behold, watching Aram (as his name is shortened too) form lasting relationships, and grow in his understanding of the world around him.

By his side is his best friend Markus. A brilliant, beautiful friendship this is. He is more than just the token Samwise Gamgee cliché (this isn't a knock to the Tolkien character), he is instead given a fully developed character arc, and in many ways, the story is as much his as it is Aram's. Together, and at times apart, we observe the heartbreaking tests and trials of friendship and life, put to the extremities of the human limits. It's a shockingly dark world at times, but Spencer manages to balance the cruelty of life with the beauty of it too. This book is so much more than just Aram and Markus, but I shall not divulge anymore in regards to this books diverse cast of characters.

Secondly, the plot. Dragon Mage is classic fantasy at its finest, it takes a lot of well worn tropes, and breathes a new, fresh and thoroughly modern sense of vitality into it that is just so invigorating to read. Elements of Earthsea, Pern and The Wheel Of Time permeate the essence of this books story and worldbuilding. I found it a fascinating, layered and complex read that, in all honesty, is rarely so well executed. Why, do you ask? Because by the time you finish Dragon Mage, you are left feeling as if you've been on a multi volume journey through a series that spans many, many thousands of pages.

Yet, shockingly, Dragon Mage isn't even 1000 pages long. I absolutely adored this, not a wasted word, not a wasted sentence. Not one thing is to be found out of place.

And finally, the writing, it's exquisite.

Take this quote:

"Think about all that the wind is and all that it does. Where it goes. Where it comes from. The wind knows everything, for it travels everywhere, and it’s with us always. It endures. It feels. It speaks. Sometimes it whispers. Sometimes it rages. Give it a listen sometime. See what it tells you."

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

I have no idea how to continue this review. All I can say is, fans of fantasy at its most ambitious and traditional will find plenty to enjoy.

ML Spencer instantly joins a list of authors I hold most dear, sitting comfortably alongside Ursula K LeGuin, Robin Hobb, Tad Williams, Raymond E Feist, J.K. Rowling, Carol Berg and J.V. Jones as an author I know I will never be able to live without.

10/10

And finally, the book itself: the hardcover is one of the best looking books I have ever seen. The cover art, the layout, the illustrations inside: it's got the feel of a very expensive deluxe edition, and looks better than most books releases by traditional publishers these days. Exquisite! And thank you personally to M.L. Spencer for sending me personalised booklates and bookmarks, this is one of the most wonderful books in my possession, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since a finished it a couple of weeks ago.

[Read By Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

People have been giving Dragon Mage rave reviews and I fully expected to love it. Unfortunately, the hype failed me a bit here. This was probably a 3.75 star for me, rounded up to a 4 star for a great protagonist that is representing those on the spectrum in a lead role, something that is very rare in a fantasy book (or really, at all). Spencer gets major props for that.

Unfortunately, there were other things that just didn't work for me. This review may come off a bit negative because I'm going to focus on those things (due to most reviews I've seen giving it a full five stars) but I do want to say off the hop- I enjoyed this book. It is a good book, written well, and you would never go wrong in my book by picking it up.

But it is very inspired by classic fantasy tales, and those just tend to bore me. This one is done very well, yes, but it still follows the same outline. The "twist" is mostly just that the protagonist has autism. Aram is a wonderful character that I enjoyed a lot, but a classic fantasy tale is still a classic fantasy tale. There aren't many surprises here. Markus, the second lead, is also a good character and reminds me a lot of Sam from LOTR, so instantly wins me over. However, we reach my first problem pretty early.

Aram and Markus become best friends VERY quickly. Like, almost immediately. After Aram spends the entire beginning (and most of the novel, really) lamenting how hard it is for him to make friends. And then almost immediately after they become friends, they both find out that they are a True Savant and True Impervious, respectively, the first two the world has seen in hundreds of years.

I'm sorry. I know fantasy has lots of coincidences. But this one drove me CRAZY for the whole book. I kept waiting for some kind of reveal about why. Like, they were both put in this small town to hide them away from the world as babies, or something. Nope. They just both happen to be living in this extremely small town, and Markus is the only person Aram is ever capable of becoming friends with, and he does so immediately, exactly a day before he finds out they're two of the most special people in all of existence. Ugh.

But that's just a contrivance to get the story going. Fine, okay. But my second problem is just how bland the plot was to me. Maybe it's because the magic system is very vague, and Aram was constantly "full of potential", and then would just power up to get out of whatever situation was necessary just at the right time (which is my big problem with classic fantasy magics). Or maybe it's because everything is so black and white in this book. Characters are good or bad- and when our leads change perspectives, any of their friends who helped them are now on the "bad" side and that's that- no discussion necessary. It was incredibly surprising just how little time was spent on Aram and Markus having to deal with fighting people who had been kind to them or friends with them not that long ago. But they're on the other side now, so no time to explore that!

The dragons were well done in this book, but I don't think they were used as effectively as they could have been. Maybe because most of the combat scenes with them are just people on them shooting essence at each other, I dunno.

And this book is LONG. Listen, I love long books. Almost all my favorite books are long. If I can't kill a burglar with my hardcover, don't even bother me with it. But this is one of the only times that I felt that the story did not justify the length. I think this book could have been 150-200 pages shorter and the story would have been equally effective.

But overall, it's a worthwhile read. I am not at all upset I read it. I am glad it's done though, because it was a monster of a book. If you like dragons or that classic fantasy feel, you are going to really enjoy this one.

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

Dragon Mage is a coming of age, indie fantasy novel. This book had been on my radar for a long time now, with people raving about it, raving which I am happy to agree with - this book is a pure delight, it’s wonderful in nearly every way.

I adored this, M.L. Spencer has managed to craft an exceptionally magical story of impressive scope woven with heart, humour, tragedy and explosively exciting action. Dragon Mage very much feels like a love letter to traditional high fantasy, hitting every note on that front extremely well. Whether it’s dragons and other fantastical creatures, sorcerers, warriors, prophecies and magical dimensions - if you love traditional high fantasy, then Dragon Mage will provide for you in spades.

My favourite aspect of this book is our main character Aram, and his extremely heartwarming relationship with his best friend, Markus. Aram is a character who is on the autism spectrum, and seeing his heartbreaking trials and tribulations as a child as he develops into a confident, capable young man is nothing short of invigorating and inspiring. It’s very rare to see a protagonist on the spectrum in fantasy. It’s even rarer to see that portrayed in not just a positive light, but true to problems that could come with this. Aram is such a wonderful character, who is so easy to root for and empathise with, and his character growth is nothing short of excellent. The entire dynamic between him and Markus is nothing short of special, I challenge anyone who reads this to not be touched by the genuine bond between the two characters. In a world where often those on the spectrum are ridiculed, it’s so refreshing to see such a powerful portrayal where the character is more capable than most.

Whilst this book is not without its minor issues, such as pacing and over use of certain tropes; overall it is an excellent love letter to traditional high fantasy. It’s an intricate magical adventure of high stakes, and a whole lot of heart, with heroes coming from the unlikeliest of places.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to keep this non-spoiler review short as I'm finding it hard to put into words how much I loved this book.

Dragon Mage revolves around Aram Raythe, a misfit boy living in a small village who loves knots and sees everything in colors. All his life, Aram has been shunned and treated harshly because he's “different,” and all Aram desires in his life are to make friends.

Dragon Mage was fantastic. One of the best classic Fantasy books I've read to date. It is a chunky one at 800+ pages but I flew through it.

The plot is mostly fast paced. The book definitely reads as multiple plots/stories in one as we follow Aram throughout his teenage years. I felt like it was the perfect portrayal of events throughout Aram's life without a dull moment. The jumps in time made it just so entertaining and nothing felt crammed in.

I felt like M.L. Spencer did a great job with her characters. Dragon Mage is the first book I've read where the main character is on the Autism spectrum and I feel it was portrayed very well. I loved all the loveable characters and really loathed and hated the horrible characters. Some of the events that happened really tore my heart out and Spencer did a fantastic job at making me feel some full on emotions about the human characters and animal characters.

The world building was fantastic too. I won't spoil the story but I loved the various settings and they were so vividly explained and everything just felt so beautiful whilst also dark during the horrific events that take place. The magic system was unique and whilst it was mostly explained, I felt it wasn't too technical or bogged down and felt like just the right amount of portrayal.

Overall an addictive read.

[Steve Kimmins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm, looks like I’ll be out of step with many of the current mainly 5* reviews of GR friends whose opinions I respect! Not so much to my taste as I’d hoped.

In summary, a cracking old style classic fantasy, with dragons, YA heroes and action, sinister evil sorcerers and dark forces and a reasonable magical background. However, it was just a bit too full of YA tropes for me with a main character I didn’t really bond with.

In just under 1000 pages the author has created quite an epic, often produced by other authors in a trilogy format, so I appreciated being able to read this story to a conclusion in one go. It is easy reading, well paced, no dull boring sections. Also devoid of the long journeys common in epic fantasy. Although YA fantasy fiction isn’t to my taste in general, I’m tolerant enough to recognise its place for others, sometimes enjoy it anyway, and I’ve certainly seen more YA tropes wheeled out in greater density in other YA fiction. I’ve almost learnt to shut my eyes to the portrayal of naive young love, etc! Another noticeable YA aspect was the absence of swearing (almost - I was surprised when the F word appeared once towards the end of the story!), sex and any violence more gory than you might read in something like Lord of the Rings (although there is plenty of deadly combat). The magic system, based on reality being infused with threads of aether which could be manipulated by those with the talent, was pretty good. Being skilled in knots is critical to magical practitioners, and I like knots, an under appreciated practical skill!

The downside for me were the frequent strongly emotional descriptions, especially as experienced by Aram. I understood that the main character comes from a difficult place, Aram, a loner with strange obsessions. Nice touches like his eccentric obsessive compulsive behaviour, such as the way he arranges his food items on his plate. But his limited growth throughout the book irritated me. For most of it he remains self obsessed, harassed by feelings of worthlessness, self pity, fear and nervousness at being a possible failure. That didn’t endear him to me as an heroic lead!

For example;

“He was trembling, aching with a gut-twisting combination of guilt, grief, and horror.”

“A crushing mountain of despair drove him to his knees. It was unbearable. He threw his head back and screamed in fury and self-hatred.”

“...then turned slowly to face his worst fear.”

This last sample being his fear of chatting to a girl he likes a lot, not some demonic presence, and why I often dislike young love descriptions in fantasy!

I just found all this over-emotional self obsession throughout the storyline a bit too much for a lead character. I wanted to appreciate that he was a different sort of MC, not made of the traditional heroic material, growing into his role, but it was overdone for my tastes. It may not be for others who like emotional rollercoasters in their characters.

I was surprised to read that the author’s other works are more in the Grimdark realm of fantasy and I’m interested to check these out at some point as they may be more to my taste. The general plot, imagination and pacing were well done in this book.

I’m afraid only 3* from me, though I recommend it as a great storyline for others who enjoy YA fantasy with a strong emotional thread.

[Ettelwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF na 70%
Tohle nedělám často a nedělám to ráda, ale nezbylo zde nic, kvůli čemu bych tento příběh měla dočítat. Nezajímá mě konec, nezajímají mě postavy a nezajímá mě už ani svět. Asi jsem na sebe částečně naštvaná, protože jsem tak trochu podlehla svodům naprosto skvělýho hodnocení, abych dostala to, co jsem dostala. Obsahuje spoilery.

Dragon Mage je v první řadě kniha, která nenabízí ale vůbec nic nového. Pracuje s velice známými fantasy elementy a klišé prvky. Na tom není fakt nic špatnýho, špatný je až to, že je autorka nechává tak, jak jsou, nepracuje s nimi, nepřizpůsobuje si je, prostě je skládá za sebe a navozuje tím pocit už jednou přečtenýho příběhu a předvídatelné záležitosti.

Jedna z věcí, přes kterou jsem se nemohla dostat je vztah dvou chlapců, který tvoří jeden z důležitých aspektů příběhu. Vztah založený na formě instalove aka teď jsem ti zachránil zadek, strašně mi na tobě záleží, musíme se chránit a jsme BFF forever, i když se vlastně vůbec neznáme je pro tak důležitý prvek strašně nestabilní a pravidelně o sobě nechává vědět. Žádný vývoj vztahu je zde v rovině s absurditou toho, jak jim na sobě strašně záleží.

Když přejdu k samotným postavám, ani zde to nefunguje. Dragon Mage je coming of age fantasy. Což v překladu znamená fantasy, kdy se hlavní hrdina z dítěte vyvíjí v muže. Vývoj je zde v rozpětí několika let opravdu minimální. Další problém, naprostá absence jakýchkoliv emocí. Vidím o co autorce šlo, ale ty postavy jsou poloviční, nekladou správné otázky, vlastně je nekladou skoro vůbec. Nepociťují žádné výčitky svědomí, když je kvůli nim vypálena vesnice, dokonce si na ni ani nevzpomenou. Bard, Aramův otec ... to je vůbec nic z toho nezajímalo? Jak Aram, tak Markus upadali do absurdit. Svým jednáním, myšlením, vnímáním.

O nelogičnostech bych zde taky mohla vést monology, protože když někoho zradíte, hned mu zase důvěřujete. Jo a taky by mě dost zajímalo, proč je ten nejvíc super duper cool čaroděj, kterýho každý uznává a obdivuje, až někde úplně na konci jakési hierarchie čarodějů? No protože je to naprosto neschopnej týpek. Tady se to taky nepovedlo...

Stále mě nepřestává udivovat tak vysoký hodnocení.

[Julia Sarene · Rating 5 out of 5]

So the cat is finally out of the bag SPFBO wise, so I can post my review for this!

I damn well loved Dragon Mage. It's not a perfect book, but it really hit home with me, and I devoured this beast of a book in no time at all.

I've read quite some other books by ML Spencer before, and I enjoyed them all. Their weakness in my eyes was always in character relationships, which usually don't develop, but just spring into being. With Dragon Mage that stepped right into the background and wasn't an issue, because, and that's what I love most about this book, the main character is autistic. For him it feels just right that the social interactions and teh building of relationships is a bit different, and this puzzle piece fitting is why Dragon Mage made a full 5* rating for me.

It's a very classic style fantasy, with magic and dragons, and the fight of good against evil. I loved the nostalgic feeling it brought along, and was swept away by the world in no time at all.

The plot intriguing, and while the characters at times were a bit too close to some tropes, and therefore predictable, the main character more than made up for it in my eyes.

If you're looking for a really unique story that you never read before, Dragon Mage is not the right book.

If you're however in the mood for a traditional style fantasy, but with a great neurodiverse main character, this is just utterly brilliant, and I can't recommend it enough!

------------

Really enjoyed this one. Review/rating to come later, when we all read it and the full Fantasy Faction with all judges opinions is up, as it's in our SPFBO batch.

[Juliano Dutra · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. If you want to introduce someone to fantasy, hoping they'll become a fantasy fan, then give this book to them. It's a beautiful coming of age story of undying friendship, as two boys endure unspeakable hardships, but faith in each other never falters.
Aram was a character that you couldn't help but love, but with that love for him, you find yourself weeping at times for the hand he's been dealt, but luckily you can also smile occasionally too.
Markus was the type of friend we all wish we had, always supportive with an everlasting sincerity to their relationship.
The dragons were another standout in this story, with compassion and a special bond to their rider that sometimes tugged at your heart.
Dragon Mage was action, battles, scheming, unspeakable peril, with good always fighting evil. I found myself always turning the page, just to find out what will happen next, cause you love these characters so much. It's a great start to 2021.
(edit) June 13, 2021....
Was lucky enough to get an ARC of the audio edition from the author, which I believe will be available in July. Loved that edition also, as I listen to probably more audio than read in the book form. Ben Farrow narrates, whom I'm not really familiar with, but I felt he did a fine job with bringing the story to life, and I only had a complaint with one character's voice, so that's pretty good.
Looking forward to book 2.

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much freaking fun. It read like an old-school 90's fantasy novel but new and fresh like it's written for modern times. Which...well...it is.

Anyways...dragons and magic, action and friendships, trials...sorrow...it's all here, it's a helluva ride, and I loved it so much.

[Jesse Ward-Bond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally, after reading a book like this, I would put the book down and immediately begin composing my tirade against it. I would use my post-completion Goodreads review to vent some of the frustration that had built up after slogging page-by-page through an unrewarding story. However, I think that this book as few enough reviews that there is a non-zero chance the author will see my review, so I think in this case it is better if I explicitly and specifically highlight some of the ways in which I think this book could have been better.

1. It was pretty derivative
This is something I am normally very willing to overlook in fantasy books. It's almost a feature of the genre. There were just a few too many similarities to Eragon and Wheel of Time (portal stones = ter'angreal, whatever those creatures in the portal stones were called = eelfin/aelfin, etc).

2. Deus Ex Machina and MacGuffins
I couldn't get over how conveniently things seemed to happen to/for everyone. Aram needs a solution to the dragon killing lightning? Thank goodness he spent a couple hours reading a magic wall the day before that contained the exact riddle that could help him. Aram needs rescuing? Thank goodness there is a magic horse nearby? Marcus has taken a mortal wound? Thank goodness they were fighting in the one wellspring location in the world(s) that could heal mortal wounds. There were so many things that seemed to exist partially fleshed-out just to serve the plot: starswords (or w.e.), baelswords, those magic horses, great dragons, etc. etc. etc. Aram is the most powerful person in the world with barely any training, his best friend Markus is the only true impervious in the world.

3. Aram's signature move
Aram - as cool as his magic is - spends the entire book doing something epic and then immediately passing out for a day or two. This is cool if used in moderation, but it think it happened upwards of 10 times throughout this book.

4. The lack of characterization of side characters
The characters in this book had nothing to them.

Markus only existed to be Aram's friend (which, when paired with the fact that he is randomly the only person in the worlds who is truly impervious to magic, was very convenient).

Calise just existed as an altruistic healer turned love interest. There was one interesting point in which she got pretty pissed at Aram, but then a day later she turned back up and said "Don't worry, I forgive you".

The dragons had no personality. Or they all had the same personality? They just didn't seem to posses the sort of depths of consciousness that the author wanted us to believe. I this regard in particular I think the author could have been a bit more derivative of Eragon.

I actually thought Sergan started out really interestingly. I couldn't tell if he had good intentions or bad intentions, and this enigma really added depth to him. Unfortunately by the end of the book he was just another very cruel wizard.

5. The lack of characterization of Aram
I thought it was really cool that the author chose to make her main character be on the autism spectrum. This was something that I have never encountered before in a fantasy book and one of the few very great things about this book. However, the author seemed to pick and choose when trait would apply to Aram. Mainly it applied when there was an opportunity to misinterpret something literally, or during periods of obtuse self-doubt/humbleness. At other times, Aram was quite capable of making nuanced double-entendres, of interpreting peoples emotions, of being extremely emotionally expressive himself, and of doing things like inviting his friends to a campfire and sharing a jug of whiskey over jokes.

The other thing that bugged me is that he spent 4 years being tortured daily, and it had next to no impact other than some recurring nightmares. I was expecting Aram to turn into some sort of Sirius Black or Thomas Covenant type character, but he just blithely continued with his life after being rescued. The whole 4-year torture thing only seemed to serve as a convenient timeskip for the author to age her characters.

6. The lore and magic system
The lore needed a lot more fleshing out. Too often it seemed that things were introduced only when they were immediately relevant to the story. Additionally, I was confused about the magic system for the following reasons:
- Why is Aram so powerful, but can't seem to heal or harden strands or whatever?
- Why are there so many mages on the side of the enemy, but basically none on the good side except Aram? I understand that they were being culled in the world above, but couldn't understand why there were none in the world below.
- Why were the worlds even separate? Why was it so critical to keep them apart?
- Why are baelswords important?
- Why did Sergan need Vandra's essence when he was able to distill essence from the wellsprings?
- What even are the wellsprings?
- Why don't all the Archons work together? Any three of the magic users together could have just insta-killed Aram.

7. Idiosyncrasies in the writing
Overall I thought the writing in this book was fine, if a bit over-the-top in some places. I did find that there was one repeated idiosyncrasy that was particularly tiring: in situations where the author wanted something to impact the reader, she would lean on this particular technique.

 It was this.

I think that this sort of sentence-on-its own can be a useful tool to deliver impact in a line of exposition, but it became extremely tiring to read after a while, and interrupted the flow of the the author's writing.

Anyways. I've exhausted myself. Maybe I have also failed at my goal of not turning my review in a Tirade. Overall I thought this book had a lot of potential, particularly in the way the author can write such awesome action sequences. If I had piece of advice for the author, it would be to slow down the frequency of the action sequences and epic battles a bit and focus on developing the plot and the characters more. In this way, she can avoid turning absolutely everything in the book into a MacGuffin.