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The Spellmonger #15
Marshal Arcane
The Witch Queen Strikes!
Minalan the Spellmonger has a problem: Mycin Amana, the undead consort of Korbal the Necromancer, is not only occupying one of the largest castles in the kingdom, she’s also occupying the recently-dead body of his former lover, rapist, and mother of his children, Isily of Greenflower. As the crises in the heart of the kingdom grows, Minalan is tasked to force the so-called Witch Queen of Darkfaller from her new stronghold using any means necessary. Unfortunately, the castle belongs to his rival in the royal court and future monarch Prince Tavard, whose ideas about how to do this are archaic and doomed to failure. Mycin Amana is a master sorceress more than four thousand years old; Prince Tavard is an entirely mundane and completely self-absorbed knight in his twenties. If Darkfaller is to be re-taken, Minalan knows, he will have to use the cacophony of ancient memories inside his head to do it.
Alas, those memories are driving him mad as they daily impede his progress as much as they advance it. His bouts of depression, obsession, anxiety and rage are only getting worse as he plans a daring raid to rescue the hundreds of magi that Mycin Amana plans to turn into an army of undead Nemovorti. Even as he is producing incredible wonders from his workshop at breakneck speed, the whispers flow across the kingdom about his sanity to the point where Minalan is now referred to as the Mad Mage of Sevendor. His best friends begin to conspire to murder him. His allies question his judgement. And his foes close in as they sense his weakness.
But Minalan’s challenge is clear: become the greatest wizard in history or not only see his war against Darkfaller fail, but leave his entire world to certain doom. Threading the needle between catastrophe and salvation has never been more difficult or cost so much. Yet as King Rard promotes him to Marshal Arcane – the official responsible for facing the magical threats to the kingdom – Minalan is forced to balance his temporal powers with his thaumaturgical ones and navigate the violent shoals of insanity. But can he do that without losing the confidence of his friends? The trust of his allies? The hope of his people? The good-will of the enormously powerful Sea Folk? A new title and position is helpful, but it will take courage and daring to see Minalan the Spellmonger become the Marshal Arcane!
Minalan the Spellmonger has a problem: Mycin Amana, the undead consort of Korbal the Necromancer, is not only occupying one of the largest castles in the kingdom, she’s also occupying the recently-dead body of his former lover, rapist, and mother of his children, Isily of Greenflower. As the crises in the heart of the kingdom grows, Minalan is tasked to force the so-called Witch Queen of Darkfaller from her new stronghold using any means necessary. Unfortunately, the castle belongs to his rival in the royal court and future monarch Prince Tavard, whose ideas about how to do this are archaic and doomed to failure. Mycin Amana is a master sorceress more than four thousand years old; Prince Tavard is an entirely mundane and completely self-absorbed knight in his twenties. If Darkfaller is to be re-taken, Minalan knows, he will have to use the cacophony of ancient memories inside his head to do it.
Alas, those memories are driving him mad as they daily impede his progress as much as they advance it. His bouts of depression, obsession, anxiety and rage are only getting worse as he plans a daring raid to rescue the hundreds of magi that Mycin Amana plans to turn into an army of undead Nemovorti. Even as he is producing incredible wonders from his workshop at breakneck speed, the whispers flow across the kingdom about his sanity to the point where Minalan is now referred to as the Mad Mage of Sevendor. His best friends begin to conspire to murder him. His allies question his judgement. And his foes close in as they sense his weakness.
But Minalan’s challenge is clear: become the greatest wizard in history or not only see his war against Darkfaller fail, but leave his entire world to certain doom. Threading the needle between catastrophe and salvation has never been more difficult or cost so much. Yet as King Rard promotes him to Marshal Arcane – the official responsible for facing the magical threats to the kingdom – Minalan is forced to balance his temporal powers with his thaumaturgical ones and navigate the violent shoals of insanity. But can he do that without losing the confidence of his friends? The trust of his allies? The hope of his people? The good-will of the enormously powerful Sea Folk? A new title and position is helpful, but it will take courage and daring to see Minalan the Spellmonger become the Marshal Arcane!
768 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2022
226 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
About the author
Terry Mancour
43 books1,180 followersTerry Mancour is a New York Times Best-Selling Author who has written more than 30 books, under his own name and pseudonyms, including Star Trek: The Next Generation #20, Spartacus, the Spellmonger Series (more than 11 books and growing), among other works.
He was born in Flint, Michigan in 1968 (according to his mother) and wisely relocated to North Carolina in 1978 where he embraced Southern culture and its dedication to compelling narratives and intriguing characterizations. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in Religious Studies.
Terry, his beautiful wife and three children live just outside of Durham, N.C. atop Red Mountain. He was nominated for the 2018 Audie Award for Best Fantasy for the audiobook for Spellmonger (narrated by John Lee), the first book in his Spellmonger Series.
He has plotted the Spellmonger Series for at least thirty books, in addition to his Spellmonger Cadet (young adult) series, stand-alone novels, short stories and novellas set within the Spellmonger Universe, all of which will be published by Podium as audiobooks. He is also the author of a series of sequels to Golden Age sci-fi master H. Beam Piper's novel, Space Viking, as well as original sci-fi novels.
He was born in Flint, Michigan in 1968 (according to his mother) and wisely relocated to North Carolina in 1978 where he embraced Southern culture and its dedication to compelling narratives and intriguing characterizations. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in Religious Studies.
Terry, his beautiful wife and three children live just outside of Durham, N.C. atop Red Mountain. He was nominated for the 2018 Audie Award for Best Fantasy for the audiobook for Spellmonger (narrated by John Lee), the first book in his Spellmonger Series.
He has plotted the Spellmonger Series for at least thirty books, in addition to his Spellmonger Cadet (young adult) series, stand-alone novels, short stories and novellas set within the Spellmonger Universe, all of which will be published by Podium as audiobooks. He is also the author of a series of sequels to Golden Age sci-fi master H. Beam Piper's novel, Space Viking, as well as original sci-fi novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
August 17, 2023
too much of a rehash of Mad Mage of Sevendor. We should have either one or the other.
December 14, 2022
Well, the series is supposed to be 30 books and so it seems the story is half over. A good time to look back. I've loved this series for years but I can't help but feel that it's been going in the wrong direction since Necromancer. On one hand, Terry's ability to consistently and quickly put out books makes you feel ungrateful to critique the content but on the other hand it seems more and more apparent that a certain spark that was there in the first 10 books has escaped. It's still good, it's still compelling and in Anghysbel it was briefly as good as it ever was but with Marshal Arcane it seems clear these problems are not going away. I will break them down into exposition, characterization, antagonists and action.
Exposition dumps have gotten more common and more tedious. Thaumaturge was especially bad with the long monologues about legal and fiscal policy from a character I don't have any investment in (Brother Bright) and pages of character lore including the entire family history of other minor characters (that bard guy). In Magelord, these sorts of things were discussed on the fly in the context of events happening between Min and Cei. Just two guys with two different skillsets developing land and figuring things out as it happens; gold tier world building. More and more, it seems like these sections where we flesh something out has just become exposition dumps that are out of place and seem to happen in a vacuum. Terle for example, the commander on the eve of a major battle to rescue hostages, stops considering his preparations and starts musing on why he's gay for what felt like 10 minutes (spoiler: he doesn't hate women, he just finds their behavior insufferable). This tangent at such a critical time is extremely out of character for Terle who until recently was a very disciplined commander which is my point; it was an exposition dump that existed outside of time and space and this just happened to be where it got shoehorned in. This is a major drop in quality compared to the earlier books where it had Min in a time and place experiencing things happening and then commenting on it verbally or in his narration. Now so much of the development of his lands or enchantments (which is stuff that I love) seems to be handled off camera so to speak. I understand he's delegating a lot of this stuff but there are ways to write that too; it's no reason to resort to these tedious monologues and conversations.
Characterization has gotten worse. I am definitely not a fan of the multiple viewpoints direction we seem to be going in. I like these characters but none of them have a voice in their viewpoint chapter. The Dara chapter doesn't have nearly the sass of her dialogue, I got zero sense of Banamor's voice in his chapter (which I should because we hear their thoughts and everything) and Terle... I don't understand why Terle has been rewritten as an impulsive, contemptuous, acid tongued gay man in the first place. The original Terle would never have single handedly started a civil war with the royal family without Min's knowledge over one person. A rescue of a lover, sure, but messing around with inter Ducal politics and the relationship between the royal family and the magi? It makes no sense. I just don't understand this drastic change that happened to a main character overnight, it feels like a retcon which is never a good sign. I don't even care if Terry wants to have a gay man or an impulsive wild card in the cast of characters, just don't retrofit an established character who used to play the dependable straight man (haha) to Min's more whimsical, tricksy style of leadership.
Similar to the characters having flat viewpoint chapters, the antagonists have become uncompelling. The Nemovorts were scary and imposing at first but now they seem more like impotent clowns. They could absorb your magic, had super strength and could fight off warmages three against one and you could only beat them with a special type of magic. It felt like there was finally a type of enemy who could beat a warmage one on one which was really needed because the warmage just beats everything else handily. Now they're barely mentioned as an actual threat, they just get shuffled into the list of types of enemies alongside wyverns and draugen. They make stupid mistakes constantly despite all of them being two thousand year old war criminals and you can just walk into a room full of them without any real concern as Min did exactly that. Tavard and the chivalry are not realistic at all either. They are so, so, so incompetent and delusional and arrogant that it just feels more like Terry personally dislikes the idea of knights and nobility which seems odd considering the setting of these books. There's a kind of ugly contempt for the chivalry that has started to really bleed into the narration and plot. They were always portrayed as incompetent meatheads compared to the magi but it was done better before. Characters like Koucey and Gimball were done right. Koucey was honorable in his way but buckled under pressure. Gimball was a corrupt bully but still had his sense of duty which compelled him to agree to fight a dragon under Min's command. Tavard in comparison reminds me of Dudley from Harry Potter; a completely flat, unreasoning, stupid bully who resents the magically gifted, self insert protagonist. A cardboard cutout to set up "and then I told him off and everyone clapped" situations. In this book it seems like there may finally be a hint of basic situational awareness coming to him but it feels far, far too late for any sort of redeeming qualities to be introduced. I prefer potent villains who have intelligence, articulate their motivations well and actually seem like they might win. Karakush is the only villain like this and he is done well. The chivalry need a character like him; maybe Count Moran one day.
The magic action has been broken for a long time now. There needs to be some sort of solution to the fact that hoxter pockets have completely broken the game. Standing armies of any kind are completely obsolete now that you can just endlessly drop boulders from the sky. Any Nemovort or giant spider can simply be stuffed into a hoxter; instant death. Considering so much of this series is about magical innovations in warfare and using Min's creations in new creative ways to fight battles, the underuse of these weaponss makes no sense and yet if they actually were used to their potential the battles would just be boring. It ruins the suspense of the battles when I know that the warmages have an endless supply of instant death spells and can rain hundreds of boulders from the sky.
Exposition dumps have gotten more common and more tedious. Thaumaturge was especially bad with the long monologues about legal and fiscal policy from a character I don't have any investment in (Brother Bright) and pages of character lore including the entire family history of other minor characters (that bard guy). In Magelord, these sorts of things were discussed on the fly in the context of events happening between Min and Cei. Just two guys with two different skillsets developing land and figuring things out as it happens; gold tier world building. More and more, it seems like these sections where we flesh something out has just become exposition dumps that are out of place and seem to happen in a vacuum. Terle for example, the commander on the eve of a major battle to rescue hostages, stops considering his preparations and starts musing on why he's gay for what felt like 10 minutes (spoiler: he doesn't hate women, he just finds their behavior insufferable). This tangent at such a critical time is extremely out of character for Terle who until recently was a very disciplined commander which is my point; it was an exposition dump that existed outside of time and space and this just happened to be where it got shoehorned in. This is a major drop in quality compared to the earlier books where it had Min in a time and place experiencing things happening and then commenting on it verbally or in his narration. Now so much of the development of his lands or enchantments (which is stuff that I love) seems to be handled off camera so to speak. I understand he's delegating a lot of this stuff but there are ways to write that too; it's no reason to resort to these tedious monologues and conversations.
Characterization has gotten worse. I am definitely not a fan of the multiple viewpoints direction we seem to be going in. I like these characters but none of them have a voice in their viewpoint chapter. The Dara chapter doesn't have nearly the sass of her dialogue, I got zero sense of Banamor's voice in his chapter (which I should because we hear their thoughts and everything) and Terle... I don't understand why Terle has been rewritten as an impulsive, contemptuous, acid tongued gay man in the first place. The original Terle would never have single handedly started a civil war with the royal family without Min's knowledge over one person. A rescue of a lover, sure, but messing around with inter Ducal politics and the relationship between the royal family and the magi? It makes no sense. I just don't understand this drastic change that happened to a main character overnight, it feels like a retcon which is never a good sign. I don't even care if Terry wants to have a gay man or an impulsive wild card in the cast of characters, just don't retrofit an established character who used to play the dependable straight man (haha) to Min's more whimsical, tricksy style of leadership.
Similar to the characters having flat viewpoint chapters, the antagonists have become uncompelling. The Nemovorts were scary and imposing at first but now they seem more like impotent clowns. They could absorb your magic, had super strength and could fight off warmages three against one and you could only beat them with a special type of magic. It felt like there was finally a type of enemy who could beat a warmage one on one which was really needed because the warmage just beats everything else handily. Now they're barely mentioned as an actual threat, they just get shuffled into the list of types of enemies alongside wyverns and draugen. They make stupid mistakes constantly despite all of them being two thousand year old war criminals and you can just walk into a room full of them without any real concern as Min did exactly that. Tavard and the chivalry are not realistic at all either. They are so, so, so incompetent and delusional and arrogant that it just feels more like Terry personally dislikes the idea of knights and nobility which seems odd considering the setting of these books. There's a kind of ugly contempt for the chivalry that has started to really bleed into the narration and plot. They were always portrayed as incompetent meatheads compared to the magi but it was done better before. Characters like Koucey and Gimball were done right. Koucey was honorable in his way but buckled under pressure. Gimball was a corrupt bully but still had his sense of duty which compelled him to agree to fight a dragon under Min's command. Tavard in comparison reminds me of Dudley from Harry Potter; a completely flat, unreasoning, stupid bully who resents the magically gifted, self insert protagonist. A cardboard cutout to set up "and then I told him off and everyone clapped" situations. In this book it seems like there may finally be a hint of basic situational awareness coming to him but it feels far, far too late for any sort of redeeming qualities to be introduced. I prefer potent villains who have intelligence, articulate their motivations well and actually seem like they might win. Karakush is the only villain like this and he is done well. The chivalry need a character like him; maybe Count Moran one day.
The magic action has been broken for a long time now. There needs to be some sort of solution to the fact that hoxter pockets have completely broken the game. Standing armies of any kind are completely obsolete now that you can just endlessly drop boulders from the sky. Any Nemovort or giant spider can simply be stuffed into a hoxter; instant death. Considering so much of this series is about magical innovations in warfare and using Min's creations in new creative ways to fight battles, the underuse of these weaponss makes no sense and yet if they actually were used to their potential the battles would just be boring. It ruins the suspense of the battles when I know that the warmages have an endless supply of instant death spells and can rain hundreds of boulders from the sky.
December 10, 2022
4.75 Stars 🌟
Well, I'm not sure how to say all I want to say - by that, I'm not sure if it will make sense or not...but here I go. First of all, let me get out of the way my love for this series. This series- that I found by accident- has completely ensnared me. I am completely and totally in love with our wayward (and now sometimes mad) Spellmonger.
But, here are my issues. First of all, I read each of the last three books when they came out - in the order that they came out. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I'm not really sure) I am a voracious reader. I read a LOT of books and that means there are a lot of books that I read in between the books that come out in this particular series. So, sometimes it takes me a while to remember the specifics of where exactly we are in the story, or where things were when we last left off. So, I went back and reread my reviews of books 14 and 14.5 before starting this book.
According to my reviews, I liked books 14 and 14.5. In fact, I was very appreciative and very pleased with those stories But, after reading THIS book, I realized that I was confused. Honestly confused. I ended up going back and rereading the end of book 14 (Hedgewitch) and completely re-reading book 14.5 (The Mad Mage of Sevendor) and only then, did I feel like I had a handle on what was going on. Now, this is just me.
The main issues I had with everything was that things did not really fall into place for me until I re-read book 14.5. If I had my rathers it would be to read books 14 THEN book 15 THEN book 14.5. The time span and events that are occurring within each of these books are overlapping. Each of the three books encompasses all of the same events - or at least the latest events. In ALL of the books we have mention of the Darkfaller Castle kidnapping and rescue. Starting in book 14, then resolving in book 15 but we are given details of the in between in book 14.5. So, in a way, that makes sense to read them in proper order, right? But no, because the events in book 15 make EVERYTHING in book 14.5 make sense. Yes, I read all of book 14.5 and thought I understood what was going on at the time - but I did not have the proper context. It was not until THIS book gave me an outline of current events that I was able to properly understand what I had read in book 14.5. Does this make any sense? Probably not. Again, it's probably just me.
So, getting that all out of the way, I did enjoy this book. Honestly, I think it made the last three books make better sense. My first reaction (remember, there were many books in between) but my first reaction was fury and a sense of anger that Minalan's friends were getting together behind his back to make plans to hurt or kill him if things got out of hand. It actually hurt my heart. But, then when I re-read the other books, things that did not truly make sense at the time or were not truly underscored all fell into place and I could finally understand what was at stake.
Anyway, I'm not going to beat a dead horse - I finally got what I needed as a reader, and that was to understand what was going on during all of these events. Yes, I had to re-read certain books and that is not always a good thing, but I was invested enough to decide to do it and I'm glad I did. Now, we have enough story progression to put us in a place that moves the story forward and gives us certain clues as to what might come next. With that being said, I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Is that a good thing? The fact that I am still completely in love with this story and eagerly awaiting what comes next means yes...it is.
So- now the wait for book 16 begins.......
Well, I'm not sure how to say all I want to say - by that, I'm not sure if it will make sense or not...but here I go. First of all, let me get out of the way my love for this series. This series- that I found by accident- has completely ensnared me. I am completely and totally in love with our wayward (and now sometimes mad) Spellmonger.
But, here are my issues. First of all, I read each of the last three books when they came out - in the order that they came out. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I'm not really sure) I am a voracious reader. I read a LOT of books and that means there are a lot of books that I read in between the books that come out in this particular series. So, sometimes it takes me a while to remember the specifics of where exactly we are in the story, or where things were when we last left off. So, I went back and reread my reviews of books 14 and 14.5 before starting this book.
According to my reviews, I liked books 14 and 14.5. In fact, I was very appreciative and very pleased with those stories But, after reading THIS book, I realized that I was confused. Honestly confused. I ended up going back and rereading the end of book 14 (Hedgewitch) and completely re-reading book 14.5 (The Mad Mage of Sevendor) and only then, did I feel like I had a handle on what was going on. Now, this is just me.
The main issues I had with everything was that things did not really fall into place for me until I re-read book 14.5. If I had my rathers it would be to read books 14 THEN book 15 THEN book 14.5. The time span and events that are occurring within each of these books are overlapping. Each of the three books encompasses all of the same events - or at least the latest events. In ALL of the books we have mention of the Darkfaller Castle kidnapping and rescue. Starting in book 14, then resolving in book 15 but we are given details of the in between in book 14.5. So, in a way, that makes sense to read them in proper order, right? But no, because the events in book 15 make EVERYTHING in book 14.5 make sense. Yes, I read all of book 14.5 and thought I understood what was going on at the time - but I did not have the proper context. It was not until THIS book gave me an outline of current events that I was able to properly understand what I had read in book 14.5. Does this make any sense? Probably not. Again, it's probably just me.
So, getting that all out of the way, I did enjoy this book. Honestly, I think it made the last three books make better sense. My first reaction (remember, there were many books in between) but my first reaction was fury and a sense of anger that Minalan's friends were getting together behind his back to make plans to hurt or kill him if things got out of hand. It actually hurt my heart. But, then when I re-read the other books, things that did not truly make sense at the time or were not truly underscored all fell into place and I could finally understand what was at stake.
Anyway, I'm not going to beat a dead horse - I finally got what I needed as a reader, and that was to understand what was going on during all of these events. Yes, I had to re-read certain books and that is not always a good thing, but I was invested enough to decide to do it and I'm glad I did. Now, we have enough story progression to put us in a place that moves the story forward and gives us certain clues as to what might come next. With that being said, I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Is that a good thing? The fact that I am still completely in love with this story and eagerly awaiting what comes next means yes...it is.
So- now the wait for book 16 begins.......
January 4, 2023
I read all previous in the serries and you always enjoy some more than others. This one I really liked. It is very fast paced, jam packed with action. The typical karakter building and world building is there but doesn't take away from the pace this book set. It felt like the grand finale without being the grand finale.
Love it.
Love it.
Read
December 20, 2022Another thrilling installment of Spellmonger. A transitional book, it's not one I will likely revisit time and time again like others, but as a part of the saga as a whole is relevant and needed. Terry Mancour continues to deliver a satisfying and enjoyable exploration of his world and my appetite is wetted for the next volume.
December 9, 2022
A decent book in the saga
Well written, I suppose my main gripe is a good amount of the book was re-telling plot points from the previous book with a different perspective. I am not a fan of that, knowing which Noble lady was the pretender in the later chapters made the "desire to keep reading" for example non existant, that being a minor story arc example. I also felt the push of the Mad Mage story arc was a bit off, all of his dearest friends were happy to plot to deal with Min, yet none talked to Min, they just judged his actions, feared him and made plans to kill him if necessary. Sure some consulted Rudy, yet even Min's wife did not get a few sentences of talking to Min to judge his state of mind, she simply laments Min's friends may have to murder him... And after all, min had done for everyone, particularly his wife whom he spared no effort to aid in her time of need over years, well all this rush to label Min mad, with no talking or confronting him, to planning to murder him, well it hurt the story IMHO, I did not have concerns over the Mad Mage,I just felt sorry Min is surrounded by crappy people who would rather plot against him rather then actually support and care for him when he needed it most, including his wife.
Well written, I suppose my main gripe is a good amount of the book was re-telling plot points from the previous book with a different perspective. I am not a fan of that, knowing which Noble lady was the pretender in the later chapters made the "desire to keep reading" for example non existant, that being a minor story arc example. I also felt the push of the Mad Mage story arc was a bit off, all of his dearest friends were happy to plot to deal with Min, yet none talked to Min, they just judged his actions, feared him and made plans to kill him if necessary. Sure some consulted Rudy, yet even Min's wife did not get a few sentences of talking to Min to judge his state of mind, she simply laments Min's friends may have to murder him... And after all, min had done for everyone, particularly his wife whom he spared no effort to aid in her time of need over years, well all this rush to label Min mad, with no talking or confronting him, to planning to murder him, well it hurt the story IMHO, I did not have concerns over the Mad Mage,I just felt sorry Min is surrounded by crappy people who would rather plot against him rather then actually support and care for him when he needed it most, including his wife.
April 27, 2023
4.5. Another enjoyable Spellmonger tale!
December 9, 2022
Very enjoyable
Excellent fantastic with a tiny bit of science fiction story. Excellent dialogue; the author has an awesome gift of gab. There's adventure, action, both cooperation and underdog fight with the higher powers. Even here and there a bit of romance; unfortunately, the author only has a man's understanding (not much), of that. (He should try an "Ilona Andrews"; only for romantic stuff, everything else is great). Here and there, there's glimpses of the future; of the story, I mean.
I'm looking forward to the next books in the series. This series is better than Honor Harrington!
Excellent fantastic with a tiny bit of science fiction story. Excellent dialogue; the author has an awesome gift of gab. There's adventure, action, both cooperation and underdog fight with the higher powers. Even here and there a bit of romance; unfortunately, the author only has a man's understanding (not much), of that. (He should try an "Ilona Andrews"; only for romantic stuff, everything else is great). Here and there, there's glimpses of the future; of the story, I mean.
I'm looking forward to the next books in the series. This series is better than Honor Harrington!
December 10, 2022
Always good
It’s hard to express just how invested I am in this series. The characters are more real to me than many of the “real” people in my life.
These books are always good, and if you have spent this much time in this series, you likely have to read them all. That said, I think this book should have been combined with the previous one containing Min’s journal entries since it addresses the same events. Also, this book needs editing in the worst way. I started counting just simple things but gave up around thirty or so.
I will read it again though in a bit because I like the series so much.
It’s hard to express just how invested I am in this series. The characters are more real to me than many of the “real” people in my life.
These books are always good, and if you have spent this much time in this series, you likely have to read them all. That said, I think this book should have been combined with the previous one containing Min’s journal entries since it addresses the same events. Also, this book needs editing in the worst way. I started counting just simple things but gave up around thirty or so.
I will read it again though in a bit because I like the series so much.
December 21, 2022
4.75 Stars 🌟
Well, I'm not sure how to say all I want to say - by that, I'm not sure if it will make sense or not...but here I go. First of all, let me get out of the way my love for this series. This series- that I found by accident- has completely ensnared me. I am completely and totally in love with our wayward (and now sometimes mad) Spellmonger.
But, here are my issues. First of all, I read each of the last three books when they came out - in the order that they came out. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I'm not really sure) I am a voracious reader. I read a LOT of books and that means there are a lot of books that I read in between the books that come out in this particular series. So, sometimes it takes me a while to remember the specifics of where exactly we are in the story, or where things were when we last left off. So, I went back and reread my reviews of books 14 and 14.5 before starting this book.
According to my reviews, I liked books 14 and 14.5. In fact, I was very appreciative and very pleased with those stories But, after reading THIS book, I realized that I was confused. Honestly confused. I ended up going back and rereading the end of book 14 (Hedgewitch) and completely re-reading book 14.5 (The Mad Mage of Sevendor) and only then, did I feel like I had a handle on what was going on. Now, this is just me.
The main issues I had with everything was that things did not really fall into place for me until I re-read book 14.5. If I had my rathers it would be to read books 14 THEN book 15 THEN book 14.5. The time span and events that are occurring within each of these books are overlapping. Each of the three books encompasses all of the same events - or at least the latest events. In ALL of the books we have mention of the Darkfaller Castle kidnapping and rescue. Starting in book 14, then resolving in book 15 but what we are given details of the in between in book 14.5. So, in a way, that makes sense to read them in proper order, right? But no, because the events in book 15 make EVERYTHING in book 14.5 make sense. Yes, I read all of book 14.5 and thought I understood what was going on - but I did not have the proper context. It was not until THIS book gave me an outline of current events that I was able to properly understand what I had read in book 14.5. Does this make any sense? Probably not. Again, it's probably just me.
So, getting that all out of the way, I did enjoy this book. Honestly, I think it made the last three books make better sense. My first reaction (remember, there were many books in between) but my first reaction was fury and a sense of anger that Minalan's friends were getting together behind his back to make plans to hurt or kill him if things got out of hand. It actually hurt my heart. But, then when I re-read the other books, things that did not truly make sense at the time or were not truly underscored all fell into place and I could finally understand what was at stake.
Anyway, I'm not going to beat a dead horse - I finally got what I needed as a reader, and that was to understand what was going on during all of these events. Yes, I had to re-read certain books and that is not always a good thing, but I was invested enough to decide to do it and I'm glad I did. Now, we have enough story progression to put us in a place that moves the story forward and gives us certain clues as to what might come next. With that being said, I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Is that a good thing? The fact that I am still completely in love with this story and eagerly awaiting what comes next means yes...it is.
So- now the wait for book 16 begins.......
Well, I'm not sure how to say all I want to say - by that, I'm not sure if it will make sense or not...but here I go. First of all, let me get out of the way my love for this series. This series- that I found by accident- has completely ensnared me. I am completely and totally in love with our wayward (and now sometimes mad) Spellmonger.
But, here are my issues. First of all, I read each of the last three books when they came out - in the order that they came out. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I'm not really sure) I am a voracious reader. I read a LOT of books and that means there are a lot of books that I read in between the books that come out in this particular series. So, sometimes it takes me a while to remember the specifics of where exactly we are in the story, or where things were when we last left off. So, I went back and reread my reviews of books 14 and 14.5 before starting this book.
According to my reviews, I liked books 14 and 14.5. In fact, I was very appreciative and very pleased with those stories But, after reading THIS book, I realized that I was confused. Honestly confused. I ended up going back and rereading the end of book 14 (Hedgewitch) and completely re-reading book 14.5 (The Mad Mage of Sevendor) and only then, did I feel like I had a handle on what was going on. Now, this is just me.
The main issues I had with everything was that things did not really fall into place for me until I re-read book 14.5. If I had my rathers it would be to read books 14 THEN book 15 THEN book 14.5. The time span and events that are occurring within each of these books are overlapping. Each of the three books encompasses all of the same events - or at least the latest events. In ALL of the books we have mention of the Darkfaller Castle kidnapping and rescue. Starting in book 14, then resolving in book 15 but what we are given details of the in between in book 14.5. So, in a way, that makes sense to read them in proper order, right? But no, because the events in book 15 make EVERYTHING in book 14.5 make sense. Yes, I read all of book 14.5 and thought I understood what was going on - but I did not have the proper context. It was not until THIS book gave me an outline of current events that I was able to properly understand what I had read in book 14.5. Does this make any sense? Probably not. Again, it's probably just me.
So, getting that all out of the way, I did enjoy this book. Honestly, I think it made the last three books make better sense. My first reaction (remember, there were many books in between) but my first reaction was fury and a sense of anger that Minalan's friends were getting together behind his back to make plans to hurt or kill him if things got out of hand. It actually hurt my heart. But, then when I re-read the other books, things that did not truly make sense at the time or were not truly underscored all fell into place and I could finally understand what was at stake.
Anyway, I'm not going to beat a dead horse - I finally got what I needed as a reader, and that was to understand what was going on during all of these events. Yes, I had to re-read certain books and that is not always a good thing, but I was invested enough to decide to do it and I'm glad I did. Now, we have enough story progression to put us in a place that moves the story forward and gives us certain clues as to what might come next. With that being said, I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Is that a good thing? The fact that I am still completely in love with this story and eagerly awaiting what comes next means yes...it is.
So- now the wait for book 16 begins.......
November 12, 2024
Minalan’s Return. Phenomenal !!
On returning from the region of the Jevolar in Anghysbel a place once thought of as mythical, Minalan has a hard road to recovery ahead. Not only does he have to deal with his own very real madness after his ordeal he also has to achieve his own goals.
He knew it would be difficult but civil war within the kingdom seems to be a heartbeat away. Disputes facing notable Magelords Terleman and Astyral against the Castali and Gilmoran nobles respectively. Prince Tavard Duke of Castal took offence against the perceived slight to traditional chivalric knights. He has an absolute distrust and loathing of the magi and is unable to see the value or need for them in the military. It cost him the biggest fortress in Castal, Darkfaller now in the hands of the Nemovorti a group of extremists exiled from Alkan Alon society who are responsible for the rise of Sheruel.
He’s going to find out the hard way why war magi are needed against the enemies facing the realm. Unfortunately, their enemies have a few surprises waiting for the humani.
Despite the frustration of consistently poor spelling and grammar issues that continue to plague this series it still doesn’t warrant anything less than a full 5 stars. It really is just that good.
On returning from the region of the Jevolar in Anghysbel a place once thought of as mythical, Minalan has a hard road to recovery ahead. Not only does he have to deal with his own very real madness after his ordeal he also has to achieve his own goals.
He knew it would be difficult but civil war within the kingdom seems to be a heartbeat away. Disputes facing notable Magelords Terleman and Astyral against the Castali and Gilmoran nobles respectively. Prince Tavard Duke of Castal took offence against the perceived slight to traditional chivalric knights. He has an absolute distrust and loathing of the magi and is unable to see the value or need for them in the military. It cost him the biggest fortress in Castal, Darkfaller now in the hands of the Nemovorti a group of extremists exiled from Alkan Alon society who are responsible for the rise of Sheruel.
He’s going to find out the hard way why war magi are needed against the enemies facing the realm. Unfortunately, their enemies have a few surprises waiting for the humani.
Despite the frustration of consistently poor spelling and grammar issues that continue to plague this series it still doesn’t warrant anything less than a full 5 stars. It really is just that good.
January 3, 2023
Another wonderful book
This was an excellent return to form from Terry Mancour. He did a great job giving us back the "fun" Minalan that we all love, and also ensuring that the point of view was meaningful and entertaining. This was particularly appreciated because over the previous book of two it seemed like the author was struggling with how to continue to allow us to experience the adventure of Minalan's life through his eyes. The previous book or two, at times, read like summaries of events (exposition) rather than allowing us to walk alongside our favorite characters. And wow what an adventure! I loved how we mostly experienced this one through Min's perspective, but also got to experience the perspective of other interesting characters on occasion. This was another excellent read, and I'm looking forward to book 16. Hopefully the author can keep writing books this outstanding, remaining focused on Min and his adventures and perspective (since that's the main reason I'm still reading this excellent series). Thanks for the wonderful book, Mr. Mancour!
This was an excellent return to form from Terry Mancour. He did a great job giving us back the "fun" Minalan that we all love, and also ensuring that the point of view was meaningful and entertaining. This was particularly appreciated because over the previous book of two it seemed like the author was struggling with how to continue to allow us to experience the adventure of Minalan's life through his eyes. The previous book or two, at times, read like summaries of events (exposition) rather than allowing us to walk alongside our favorite characters. And wow what an adventure! I loved how we mostly experienced this one through Min's perspective, but also got to experience the perspective of other interesting characters on occasion. This was another excellent read, and I'm looking forward to book 16. Hopefully the author can keep writing books this outstanding, remaining focused on Min and his adventures and perspective (since that's the main reason I'm still reading this excellent series). Thanks for the wonderful book, Mr. Mancour!
December 24, 2022
Like all great things the end is nigh. This is like a car the first were tight fast and story ran like a locomotive. The books age get fatter story lines get slower and more padding this book takes this to the limit. Padding? Remove the stuff that does little for the story line and you have about 3% of a book. To say this was just meaningless drivel would be wrong. It's fun enjoyable visit to a familiar land but storyline is appalingly boring and to call it slow would be to compare speed of light to a snail. It seems Terry just wants to drag his cash cow out as long as possible. There comes a point where it becomes obvious(3 books ago) give it up and just write the story the constant padding and drivel is appalling. The last 6 books have had the same lacklustre feel of stretching a story way to long and getting g nowhere. I have returned 4 of the last 6 books and considering this was my absolute favourite book author reader combination should tell how disappointed and flat
November 22, 2023
Great continuation of the story!
This book advances the main story and it sets things on the path to an exciting place. After reading this book you'll be eager to find out what happens next to Min & company! Will prince Tavard learn from his mistakes? Will Mycin Amana be defeated and relinquish captured Darkfaller castle? Or will she strike a winning blow to win back the good graces of Korbal the Neceomancer? Or even more mysterious,will we see a return of an unexpected former mistress turned bad from beyond ? You'll have these questions and more after reading this fantastic book and taking a journey that Herus himself would be proud of!
This book advances the main story and it sets things on the path to an exciting place. After reading this book you'll be eager to find out what happens next to Min & company! Will prince Tavard learn from his mistakes? Will Mycin Amana be defeated and relinquish captured Darkfaller castle? Or will she strike a winning blow to win back the good graces of Korbal the Neceomancer? Or even more mysterious,will we see a return of an unexpected former mistress turned bad from beyond ? You'll have these questions and more after reading this fantastic book and taking a journey that Herus himself would be proud of!
January 29, 2024
I felt like this was an improvement over the last few books in the series as it got back to being more of a complete book. Didn't end on a cliffhanger or just as tensions were building. Started with with the wizards assaulting the necromancer's castle in order to get back all the wizards stolen during the magical fair, and ended with another battle. Did more worldbuilding, slightly advanced the plot against Kobal and was overall great.
As with most Spellmonger novels, there were sections that could have been cut out without harming the story, but they help to further immerse the reader in the politics of this world and are generally entertaining enough.
As with most Spellmonger novels, there were sections that could have been cut out without harming the story, but they help to further immerse the reader in the politics of this world and are generally entertaining enough.
December 9, 2022
Great read
This was the story that we got glimpses of in"the mad mage of sevendor" and I like this format better. I'd suggest reading this first, and read the mad mage to get a different perspective.
A lot galena in this book, and we start to see the shape of the rest of this arc, with things going on in merwyn, with the gurvani, in castal, alshar, and remere. We have things set in motion with the Alka Alon, the enshadowed, the nemovorti and Farise.
Lots going on here. I can't wait for the next installment!
This was the story that we got glimpses of in"the mad mage of sevendor" and I like this format better. I'd suggest reading this first, and read the mad mage to get a different perspective.
A lot galena in this book, and we start to see the shape of the rest of this arc, with things going on in merwyn, with the gurvani, in castal, alshar, and remere. We have things set in motion with the Alka Alon, the enshadowed, the nemovorti and Farise.
Lots going on here. I can't wait for the next installment!
December 13, 2022
This was an amazing and compelling book. I couldn't get enough. It ended in a nice spot, but I am craving more. This series is amazing, I love the characters and story. The novellas are not required, but the most recent one, The Mad Mage of Sevendor really give amazing context for the first half of the book. It was truly amazing to have everything come together, even if the final battle was a tad rushed. I'd have loved more detail but understand why there wasn't.
It's about time Min did something about the brat.
It's about time Min did something about the brat.
December 15, 2022
Worth a review.
Fifteen books in and I still look forward to the next one. Everything that had me riveted from the beginning has not been diminished in the least. And each volume is substantial in content, consistency, depth, and quality. Enough is recalled to bring you back into the story without page after page of recaps presented as memories or blatant repetition. This is a series I'll likely revisit over time. I know I'll be glad I had the opportunity to read it. Thank you, Mr. Mancour.
Fifteen books in and I still look forward to the next one. Everything that had me riveted from the beginning has not been diminished in the least. And each volume is substantial in content, consistency, depth, and quality. Enough is recalled to bring you back into the story without page after page of recaps presented as memories or blatant repetition. This is a series I'll likely revisit over time. I know I'll be glad I had the opportunity to read it. Thank you, Mr. Mancour.
December 25, 2022
Enjoy your time
Another enjoyable listen/ read the book mad mage .5 was 2/3 the book but it was nice to be in others characters thoughts to progress
it and we got some b plot moving with others. He didn't need to remind us who was in his head at first but about halfway i got people reminded me. some were able to fit into the scene and didn't mind after the story went past the short story.
Another enjoyable listen/ read the book mad mage .5 was 2/3 the book but it was nice to be in others characters thoughts to progress
it and we got some b plot moving with others. He didn't need to remind us who was in his head at first but about halfway i got people reminded me. some were able to fit into the scene and didn't mind after the story went past the short story.
July 20, 2023
A little hard to believe I've read 15 of these books, but truly some of the best worldbuilding and characters around. This one is no exception - loved how much more character scenes we get with this transition to a more omniscient narrator perspective.
Wish the stakes were a little higher, just seems like Minelan gets too many wins, and the impact of any sacrifices is too mild.
Great book, looking forward to the next one!
Wish the stakes were a little higher, just seems like Minelan gets too many wins, and the impact of any sacrifices is too mild.
Great book, looking forward to the next one!
December 8, 2022
Good addition to the series. Progress along major plot lines
The madness from the last book leads to long internal dialogs. The developments in magic, in the nature of the enemy, and in Duke politics are each welcome and indicates ongoing development of the storyline. But pages of internal dialog.
The madness from the last book leads to long internal dialogs. The developments in magic, in the nature of the enemy, and in Duke politics are each welcome and indicates ongoing development of the storyline. But pages of internal dialog.
December 12, 2022
another great book
I’m glad that Terry is still writing this series and he hasn’t missed a beat with his latest book at first I was thrown off by how often perspectives changed in this book but it was well done and gave me some insight into some characters that were just names to me I eagerly look forward to that next in the series
I’m glad that Terry is still writing this series and he hasn’t missed a beat with his latest book at first I was thrown off by how often perspectives changed in this book but it was well done and gave me some insight into some characters that were just names to me I eagerly look forward to that next in the series
December 13, 2022
complex
There were times when I considered not giving it five stars. Just about every principle character from the series leads at least one chapter, so it seems at times that the narrative is scattered. But every one of them is focused in the same timeline, so it all comes together.
I continue to enjoy the series. Looking forward to the next one.
There were times when I considered not giving it five stars. Just about every principle character from the series leads at least one chapter, so it seems at times that the narrative is scattered. But every one of them is focused in the same timeline, so it all comes together.
I continue to enjoy the series. Looking forward to the next one.
December 15, 2022
Good as always
I like the continuation of the main story line. I'm disliking the repetition. The constant going over from different perspectives. To be honest everyone's perspective is very much like Mins. There seems very little point going over and over the same event. It all seems a little indulgent.
I like the continuation of the main story line. I'm disliking the repetition. The constant going over from different perspectives. To be honest everyone's perspective is very much like Mins. There seems very little point going over and over the same event. It all seems a little indulgent.
December 21, 2022
Greatly anticipated, greatly wrote.
I have been waiting for this to come out. It has a fast flow with no lag inbetween. It was interesting to watch Him struggle through his dilemma, and not kill everyone around him. The ending...... Who would have thought that finished like it did. Now comes the impatient time of waiting for what comes next.
I have been waiting for this to come out. It has a fast flow with no lag inbetween. It was interesting to watch Him struggle through his dilemma, and not kill everyone around him. The ending...... Who would have thought that finished like it did. Now comes the impatient time of waiting for what comes next.
January 23, 2023
Satisfying installment in the legend of the Spellmonger
Loved the insight into the journaled entries from The Mad Mage of Sevendor and the maturation of Mins former apprentices further down their own paths. I am greatly looking forward to the eventual Archmage book as that seems inevitable in Mins future.
Loved the insight into the journaled entries from The Mad Mage of Sevendor and the maturation of Mins former apprentices further down their own paths. I am greatly looking forward to the eventual Archmage book as that seems inevitable in Mins future.
January 23, 2023
Its a multi-viewpoint book. It's ok. The novel feels more like a setup book. Less like a novel, more of a short story anthology that has an overall "theme" / "story". It isn't the best of the series. After book 14, it is hard to follow up. We are halfway there to the series. Only 15 more books.
August 16, 2025
as fantasy goes this is as usual some of the best. Pictures in my mind perfectly from the artfull descriptions of the author. Horror, bravery n magic in graphic balance. excellent, as always. One of my favourite story tellers. such a long running series and still exciting and surprising. Can't wait for more.
December 10, 2022
More please
Terry does it again. In my opinion this series is on par with Tolkien. The entire series has kept my complete interest to the end. It leaves anxiously waiting on the next book
Terry does it again. In my opinion this series is on par with Tolkien. The entire series has kept my complete interest to the end. It leaves anxiously waiting on the next book
December 10, 2022
Great book!
One of my all time favorite book series and this book is a great addition to it.
Love the writing and story twists. No, I will not put in any spoilers here. Just know I highly recommend this book and the series. Can't wait for the next one!
One of my all time favorite book series and this book is a great addition to it.
Love the writing and story twists. No, I will not put in any spoilers here. Just know I highly recommend this book and the series. Can't wait for the next one!
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