Wizard

The Mage Saga #1

by Ken H. Warner

Necromancy has been forbidden in the Five Kingdoms for centuries, its secrets erased from existence... until now. High Prince Henry’s dark mage, Dredmort, has discovered a mythical artifact that will provide him with the power to unleash an ancient evil not seen in Anoria for centuries.

Khaldun lost his parents to the plague when he was only a child. The wayfarer sorcerer, Nomad, has raised him and trained him to be a wizard like his father. Living in the shadow of his father's legacy, Khaldun longs to prove himself. But will a confrontation with the high prince lead to his early demise?

Mira grew up with the wayfarers, but her mother sent her to a faraway holding to live with her father many years ago. Older now, she's chosen to return to the troupe, immediately rekindling her relationship with Khaldun. Although Mira's also a mage, her powers have taken a strange turn--making her a target for the high prince.

But the very night that Mira returns, their world is turned upside down. When soldiers pursue a rogue messenger through their camp, Khaldun and Mira find themselves drawn into a conflict that could forever alter the future of the continent. The high prince is now poised to plunge Anoria into darkness and despair; can Khaldun and Mira stop him before it's too late?

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy

341 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 30, 2021

Reviews

[Merry Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new paranormal fantasy that keeps you engaged from the beginning. With characters that include Mages, Wizards, Witches and Dredmort, Prince Henry's dark mage who wants to bring back dark magic banned long ago. All this for control of the continent by employing the illegal Dark Magic. The protagonists, Khaldun and Mira together try to thwart Prince Henry's and his dark mage, Dredmort and save the continent. This is a fast paced book with lots of twists and turns and surprises along the way. With the use of some very unusual magic, will Khaldun and Mira succeed, will they be able to stop the evil? This book is very fast paced and keeps you turning pages to see what will happen next that you just can't put it down. Very different paranormal fantasy than you will usually read! I look forward to see where this series leads. I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Warner has an intriguing premise with his character's abilities; it isn't one that I've often seen pursued, and for that, I was grateful. He has created a world while not unlike our own, is endowed with "powers" outside the natural that is completely different from our own. Nicely balanced. Lots of potential with this storyline.

I did feel some of his idioms were inaccurate for his "time period" (anachronistic, if you will), which is really odd - how does one define a time period in a fantasy novel? Hmm.

Well-paced adventure; excellent descriptions and world-building. I'd have given more stars if the idioms fit the implied era.

I received an ARC copy; this is my honest review.

[Gail Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author.

I never knew that there were differences between mages, wizards and sorcerers, but now I do.

This is a tense and exciting story of magic, princedoms, soldiers and the hunger for power that assails some people.

Ken Warner writes a story that pulls his reader along in a desperate need to find out what happens next and who will survive. It’s one of those books that you hope you will not finish but at the same time can’t wait to get to the end to see what happens.

I found myself getting to know the characters and to hope that they would win through against the odds.

This is book one and I am looking forward to book two in the series.

[T.A. Burke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice cover. I finally settled on a way to express my dissatisfaction with the writing: it's like those old video games where the hero walks up to various non-player characters and gets a comment in a text bubble from them.

I would characterize the story as elementary.

[Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story about a couple of mages trying to stop a dastardly noble from conquering the entire continent. Our two main characters, Mira and Khaldun, are mages who are still in training to master their craft and increase their power, strength, and abilities. The term mage covers all of the tiers and styles of magic: Wizards and Witches being the lower or common level, while Sorcerers and Sorceresses are the strongest.

Mira and Khaldun are caught up and embroiled in a mission to recover a mysterious artifact before another mage, Dredmort, acquires it and uses it to bring back the banned practice of Necromancy and help the despicable Prince Henry to conquer the other princedoms.

Personally, I like seeing stories that shy away from the "chosen one" trope (don't get me wrong, it has its place, but not every story needs to go that way), so I was pleased to read a book that has the main characters get into the adventure only because they just happened to be in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time. They may or may not be the right people for the job, but they're they only ones there to do it.

I read the Deluxe Kickstarter Edition, which is a faux leather bound book with sprayed page edges and beautiful full color art. The printer didn't seem to have super high quality control, unfortunately, as my copy had inconsistent levels of printing from page to page as well as pages with ink smudges. While this doesn't detract from enjoying the story, it could be an issue for some people.

[Akos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprisingly poorly written fantasy, with extremely shallow characters and bad dialogs. I only made it through the first 100 pages and I put it down, because I lost faith in it to turn around.

It is "fast paced", because there is a complete absence of exploration the feelings or the motivations of the characters. There are so many missed opportunities to make this story more engaging.

When at some point the main characters have a mission of sorts to recover something that is magically hidden, I thought to myself, ok now we are getting somewhere. This "adventure" however was wrapped up in a single page! I am not kidding: a journey to near the enemy, finding a magically hidden place, exploring it and retrieving THE artifact. Without any conflict or a hint of danger. Rant over.

I recommend to spend your precious time on something else if you are considering reading this.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for a great read! From the moment I started reading “Wizard” I could not put it down. My partner and I had gone away for a break and I had downloaded the book on Saturday night and finished the last twenty minutes of it on Sunday morning before breakfast! I rarely find books that grab me to that extent but I had to find out what happened. Enjoyed every minute of it!” In a word “unputdownable” if there is such a word! [I was privileged to receive a free copy from the Author and of course delighted to provide a review.]

[Jim Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent fantasy with a well written storyline and great interesting characters. Contains plenty of magic, lots of suspense. and several twists. A real page turner with a fast-paced plot. Very enjoyable epic fantasy that I highly recommend. Can't wait for the next book in this fantastic saga.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has an old world, epic journey, Renaissance feel to it. The added magical elements enhanced the drama. The characters were really well written. Nomad is my favorite but Mira and Khaldun were great characters as well. I think I love how mysterious Nomad seems. The plot is tense and dramatic and edgy. Good book!

[Christinaraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story with its fast pace, magic, and characters. Khaldun and Mira are the main characters and end up on a quest that was a blast to read. Easy to read and hard to put down I lost myself in the story and had to see where it went and what these two would have to face.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful beginning to a new series that witches and mages and more. Twists and turns that you don’t see coming. Definitely draws you in

[Desiree Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

I was searching for a new epic series to read and found this one. Absolutely love the characters and world building. Definitely reading more from this author!

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read through kindle unlimited

[JAMIE FRATES · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Great read for anyone who like magic and action. Can’t wait to read the rest to see how it ends!

[Jake O'Malley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It really peaked my interest from the first few pages. I literally became attached to the characters and their stories immediately I couldn't wait to read more.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wizards and stuff are just not my thing, only tried it because I really liked the Kwan books. Didn't really finish, just skimmed to the end.

[Allison Kopelowitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Very basic. I won't be continuing the series.

[Mark Aldrich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned after 3 chapters. There plot might have been good, but I couldn't get past the writing. And the audible narration is terrible (imo)

[Mikaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this but it all felt predictable. TBD if I continue the series