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De Uitverkoren Magiër (2010)

by Karen Miller(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

902453254X (ISBN13: 9789024532544)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Luitingh Fantasy

series

The Fisherman's Children

review 1: "The Prodigal Mage" is new series by Karen Miller based on a previous popular Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series. The characters carry over as we get to see what happens after the triumph over Morg. Asher is still the stoic hero and he now has a family. We see the Olken have a happy life but the Earth is not well. It is suffering and it again boils down to Asher to do something for it. But there is were the fun and similarities end. For the most part of the book one can describe the mood as somber to fearful by the main characters. Asher moans the death of his best friend King Gar continuously to the point it really is depressing to read this book. Paralysis by inaction rather then Paralysis by fear, Asher doesn't want to use his powers and continually attempts struggles to let... more others do or improve on their own. So we have a novel whose pacing is glacial to say the least. I struggled I even considered giving up on it. But I have read far worse and decided to stay and try to find something to help out the situation. Be mindful I am giving it two (2) stars because it is not a bad storyline. I simply believe it was executed in the wrong fashion. This is supposed to be the launch novel for a new series after all. Could it be that had she not written so much "woe is me" she could have eaten into the main plot of the second novel? I will not find out at least not in the near future as I don't feel attracted to the prospect of another novel with so much pages used as filler for a plot I could divine in the first couple of chapters. The worst part is by the time you reach the end you already have an idea what will happen its been clear.So no, not a positive review. I try to find whats good but here its too little too far in between.
review 2: The Prodigal Mage is quite unique amongst fantasy novels that I've read. It is very much character-driven so you should not expect a breakneck paced plot. The father / son relationship is central to the story and is explored quite well.Rather than facing a human villain in this story, the main antagonistic force is the land itself - the weather. The land is dying, poisoned by left-over magic from a defeated dark lord. While this may sound potentially bland, I felt the sense of impending doom as much as any other book I've read. This is also not to say that this book doesn't have it’s fair share of human antagonists. There is plenty of conflict here - amongst people who have strong disagreements but must ultimately live together.This was my first Karen Miller book. While the first of a series, it also follows on from a previous series. This was not a stumbling block for me, it simply felt like I was stepping into a fully realised world with a very rich back-story. All I needed to know was explained, though the theology and religious beliefs of the world remained something of a mystery to me. This was fine though, it just made the world feel familiar yet exotic.The world-building was nicely done. The focus was not on geography, or even culture, it was all about the people. The inhabitants of this world had their own turns of phrase, which gave them a unique voice but without feeling clunky and unnatural. In fact, the dialog was one of this book’s biggest strengths. It definitely brought the characters to life.In the third act, the plot headed in the direction I had been hoping for. The book ended on a big cliffhanger which left me keen to get into book 2 so I can continue this adventure. less

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