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youngling80 's review for:
Warrior Mage
by Lindsay Buroker
adventurous
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
I read this several years ago and had forgotten about it. I stalled out somewhere in book 2 and never finished the series, but decided to come back and give it another shot (mainly because I was looking for something that I could listen to during workouts that I didn't have to think too hard about).
Our protagonist, Yanko, is the last of his family born with magic, and with that carries the overwhelming weight of his family's expectation that he will be the one to restore their honor after his mother has turned pirate against the empire. After narrowly failing his entrance exam into Stargrind (a school to train warrior mages) , Yanko returns to work at the family's salt mine. After the mine is attacked and overrun with rebels, he ends up on a quest to find an artifact that will help his struggling nation, but he's not the only one in pursuit of the artifact. Pursued by warrior mages and mage hunters, will Yanko and his friends be able to complete their quest?
Yanko's honesty and integrity combined with his sweetness and innocence, all wrapped up in a healthy dose of awkwardness make him one of the most endearing characters I've encountered. You feel empathy for him, shake your head and groan at him, laugh at his self-deprecating humor ... in short, he's the classic "nice guy". Daniel Henning really hit the mark as Yanko in the narration. The supporting characters are varied and interesting as well.
The story itself is interesting, if a little unbelievable at times, but it's entertaining. Lindsay Buroker books have a tendency to build throughout the series, so I'm sure that some of the things that I'm not so sure about after this book, will be developed as the series progresses. I'm giving it a 3.75 because it was an entertaining and lighthearted read. But clearly it didn't stick with me, as I didn't remember having finished it previously.
Our protagonist, Yanko, is the last of his family born with magic, and with that carries the overwhelming weight of his family's expectation that he will be the one to restore their honor after his mother has turned pirate against the empire. After narrowly failing his entrance exam into Stargrind (a school to train warrior mages) , Yanko returns to work at the family's salt mine. After the mine is attacked and overrun with rebels, he ends up on a quest to find an artifact that will help his struggling nation, but he's not the only one in pursuit of the artifact. Pursued by warrior mages and mage hunters, will Yanko and his friends be able to complete their quest?
Yanko's honesty and integrity combined with his sweetness and innocence, all wrapped up in a healthy dose of awkwardness make him one of the most endearing characters I've encountered. You feel empathy for him, shake your head and groan at him, laugh at his self-deprecating humor ... in short, he's the classic "nice guy". Daniel Henning really hit the mark as Yanko in the narration. The supporting characters are varied and interesting as well.
The story itself is interesting, if a little unbelievable at times, but it's entertaining. Lindsay Buroker books have a tendency to build throughout the series, so I'm sure that some of the things that I'm not so sure about after this book, will be developed as the series progresses. I'm giving it a 3.75 because it was an entertaining and lighthearted read. But clearly it didn't stick with me, as I didn't remember having finished it previously.