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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What a fantastic start to a unique fantasy series.
We follow Zorian, a mage in training who is stuck in a time loop. The story is packed with magic, intrigue, and clever worldbuilding. What I loved most was how the time loop mechanic was used; it’s not just a gimmick but a tool for deep character growth and exploration of the world. Zorian’s development from a somewhat cynical student to a more thoughtful and skilled mage is satisfying to watch.
The magic system is intricate and well thought out, and the pacing keeps you hooked as Zorian uncovers secrets and hones his abilities. However, the book can feel a bit dense at times, especially with the sheer amount of detail about the world and magic. Some readers might find the slower sections a bit overwhelming, but if you enjoy immersive fantasy, it’s worth the effort.
Overall, I found Mother of Learning: ARC 1 to be a refreshing and engaging read, though it might not be for everyone due to its complexity. Solid 4 stars!
We follow Zorian, a mage in training who is stuck in a time loop. The story is packed with magic, intrigue, and clever worldbuilding. What I loved most was how the time loop mechanic was used; it’s not just a gimmick but a tool for deep character growth and exploration of the world. Zorian’s development from a somewhat cynical student to a more thoughtful and skilled mage is satisfying to watch.
The magic system is intricate and well thought out, and the pacing keeps you hooked as Zorian uncovers secrets and hones his abilities. However, the book can feel a bit dense at times, especially with the sheer amount of detail about the world and magic. Some readers might find the slower sections a bit overwhelming, but if you enjoy immersive fantasy, it’s worth the effort.
Overall, I found Mother of Learning: ARC 1 to be a refreshing and engaging read, though it might not be for everyone due to its complexity. Solid 4 stars!
Love some timey-wimey action. Audiobook narrator really elevated the experience.
Bonus points for a magic school, and I do think it’s written better than Harry Potter. Easy to visualize and delightfully gripping.
There is admittedly something **extra special** that draws me to some books and makes me want to swim in their words and worlds and make me weep with emotion (Babel comes to mind), and this series does lack that for me. But I’d still recommend to readers looking for a good time (…get it? …. I’ll see myself out)
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrator: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: 4.5/5⭐️
Bonus points for a magic school, and I do think it’s written better than Harry Potter. Easy to visualize and delightfully gripping.
There is admittedly something **extra special** that draws me to some books and makes me want to swim in their words and worlds and make me weep with emotion (Babel comes to mind), and this series does lack that for me. But I’d still recommend to readers looking for a good time (…get it? …. I’ll see myself out)
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrator: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: 4.5/5⭐️
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun progression fantasy in the best traditions of the interwebz.
Like it’s clearly not a Great Narrative in the best literary traditions and ✨that’s okay✨. The author clearly isn’t a native speaker and this type of story has it’s own narrative quirks.
What a feat to write such a cult classic even if it’s niche as f.
Consumed the first Arc in audiobook format and the narrator did a great job.
It really does feel like listening to a playthrough of a game or a dnd campaign being converted into a streamlined story. The character builds and attitudes reminds me of anime (especially in the way they are voiced) in the best possible way.
As far as having your setting being a closed time loop in a more or less closed space, the author does an excellent job keeping the cohesion and coherence.
Like it’s clearly not a Great Narrative in the best literary traditions and ✨that’s okay✨. The author clearly isn’t a native speaker and this type of story has it’s own narrative quirks.
What a feat to write such a cult classic even if it’s niche as f.
Consumed the first Arc in audiobook format and the narrator did a great job.
It really does feel like listening to a playthrough of a game or a dnd campaign being converted into a streamlined story. The character builds and attitudes reminds me of anime (especially in the way they are voiced) in the best possible way.
As far as having your setting being a closed time loop in a more or less closed space, the author does an excellent job keeping the cohesion and coherence.
[Review for the full series since I read it as a single book]
I really love this book! It's so long and goes into so many details, it's delightful. I've read it twice so far and it's definitely one I'm going to continue to reread. It ended very satisfyingly but I could have just kept reading it forever.
That said, I don't think it'll appeal to everyone. There's a lot of focus on the magic system, figuring things out a bit at a time, solving very specific problems, iterating on ideas and designs, and things like that. It's not very character focused (the main character is also kind of a jerk at the start, though this does improve). The overall plot direction is pretty clear from early on and the joy is in the details - if you don't want to read lots of details about different kinds of magic, you definitely won't enjoy this.
This book wasn't traditionally published so there are a LOT more details than you see in a professionally edited book..... but that's what I love about it! Seriously, SO many details, it's fantastic. If, like me, you're autistic and like magic, you'll probably be really into this.
In some ways it's similar to The Martian (which I'm meh about) and The Goblin Emperor (which I LOVE): things happen and keep happening and you get details about most or all of them, and there's an overall plot in there but it's not always a focus. If you really like discovering different magic systems you'll probably like this (the Frontier Magic series is also great for this).
I really love this book! It's so long and goes into so many details, it's delightful. I've read it twice so far and it's definitely one I'm going to continue to reread. It ended very satisfyingly but I could have just kept reading it forever.
That said, I don't think it'll appeal to everyone. There's a lot of focus on the magic system, figuring things out a bit at a time, solving very specific problems, iterating on ideas and designs, and things like that. It's not very character focused (the main character is also kind of a jerk at the start, though this does improve). The overall plot direction is pretty clear from early on and the joy is in the details - if you don't want to read lots of details about different kinds of magic, you definitely won't enjoy this.
This book wasn't traditionally published so there are a LOT more details than you see in a professionally edited book..... but that's what I love about it! Seriously, SO many details, it's fantastic. If, like me, you're autistic and like magic, you'll probably be really into this.
In some ways it's similar to The Martian (which I'm meh about) and The Goblin Emperor (which I LOVE): things happen and keep happening and you get details about most or all of them, and there's an overall plot in there but it's not always a focus. If you really like discovering different magic systems you'll probably like this (the Frontier Magic series is also great for this).
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mother of Learning took me back to my teenage years of reading for hours on end, and just flying through a book. I've been a consistent reader over the years, but it's really been a while since this feeling got replicated.
While Mother of Learning deals with a time loop, which naturally hampers plot progress as much of what you are confronted with are repetitions (with some minor and occasionally major diversions), it rarely ever feels slow, which is quite an accomplishment. Similarly, while the geographical scope is small (or rather "contained", perhaps?), as a reader I felt like I was learning about the world and the magic system quite organically. Much thought seems to have gone into fleshing out especially the latter, probably because many of the plot's (and main character's) main concerns lie with the intricacies of how magic functions and shapes this world.
It took me a bit to see eye-to-eye with the main character, who does not come off as particularly likeable in the beginning, but as character growth is one of the main pillars of this work (and I guess genre?), you really get into his head and experience this growth almost "first-hand".
The only "detractors" so far are a wish for a bit more plot progress (considering it was quite a chunky book of about 600 pages), and more fleshed out side-characters - which I have much hope for, considering this was just ARC 1 of 4.
While Mother of Learning deals with a time loop, which naturally hampers plot progress as much of what you are confronted with are repetitions (with some minor and occasionally major diversions), it rarely ever feels slow, which is quite an accomplishment. Similarly, while the geographical scope is small (or rather "contained", perhaps?), as a reader I felt like I was learning about the world and the magic system quite organically. Much thought seems to have gone into fleshing out especially the latter, probably because many of the plot's (and main character's) main concerns lie with the intricacies of how magic functions and shapes this world.
It took me a bit to see eye-to-eye with the main character, who does not come off as particularly likeable in the beginning, but as character growth is one of the main pillars of this work (and I guess genre?), you really get into his head and experience this growth almost "first-hand".
The only "detractors" so far are a wish for a bit more plot progress (considering it was quite a chunky book of about 600 pages), and more fleshed out side-characters - which I have much hope for, considering this was just ARC 1 of 4.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Animal death