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A review by julesg
The Outcast Mage by Annabel Campbell
4.75
As I have mentioned before, I don't like epic fantasy. Why did I request a review copy of this book then, you ask? Sometimes you need to try the things you don't usually like and you find out you actually like it this one time - doesn't work with everything though, trust me, I am still trying to get my son(19y/o) to eat his greens.
Why did I like this book? Bear with me, I'm trying to make sense of it, but I might be rambling.
First of all, the story has a refreshingly modern feel to it. A lot of the story is set in a glass domed city that is in the middle of the desert. That alone made me interested in the story, how do they manage this; apart from the obvious answer: magic.
Then there is the protagonist Naila, a seventeen year old mage with no magical abilities. Let's not beat about the bush, she is a chosen one, but she's not the kind who suddenly can do all the things, suddenly knows what she does is for a good cause, yada yada. No, she is full of doubt and makes stupid yet very understandable decisions and mistakes. I felt for her and with her, and might have done the same in her situation. She's a very believable teenager. Ms Campbell, well done, you have no idea how often I normally get a sprained eye muscle from rolling my eyes so much.
Third, the disaster mage. Loved this character. Like Naila, Haelius is grounded in real life. He is the most powerful mage of the city, but he makes mistakes too and doesn't have all the answers. He doesn't sit in an ivory tower, he doesn't wear pristine robes, he likes to get his hands dirty, he likes to investigate what goes on in the city and that means visiting the non-mage parts of the city too.
Fourth, plot, world-building and character development move along at a good pace, there is no info-dumping and I got to know the characters due to the multiple-POV narration. Here's where you can see that the author of the book is an avid board and video game player and has a background in sciences. It's obvious that Ms Campbell thought about how she wanted to build the world and the magic system, she organised her thoughts and ideas and brought them to paper in an orderly fashion; and no, I do not mean bullet points, but information stacked on instead of information all over the place and looping back to the beginning and leaving out important parts.
In short, give this book a try if you want to read a fantasy novel with a fresh twist.
Why did I like this book? Bear with me, I'm trying to make sense of it, but I might be rambling.
First of all, the story has a refreshingly modern feel to it. A lot of the story is set in a glass domed city that is in the middle of the desert. That alone made me interested in the story, how do they manage this; apart from the obvious answer: magic.
Then there is the protagonist Naila, a seventeen year old mage with no magical abilities. Let's not beat about the bush, she is a chosen one, but she's not the kind who suddenly can do all the things, suddenly knows what she does is for a good cause, yada yada. No, she is full of doubt and makes stupid yet very understandable decisions and mistakes. I felt for her and with her, and might have done the same in her situation. She's a very believable teenager. Ms Campbell, well done, you have no idea how often I normally get a sprained eye muscle from rolling my eyes so much.
Third, the disaster mage. Loved this character. Like Naila, Haelius is grounded in real life. He is the most powerful mage of the city, but he makes mistakes too and doesn't have all the answers. He doesn't sit in an ivory tower, he doesn't wear pristine robes, he likes to get his hands dirty, he likes to investigate what goes on in the city and that means visiting the non-mage parts of the city too.
Fourth, plot, world-building and character development move along at a good pace, there is no info-dumping and I got to know the characters due to the multiple-POV narration. Here's where you can see that the author of the book is an avid board and video game player and has a background in sciences. It's obvious that Ms Campbell thought about how she wanted to build the world and the magic system, she organised her thoughts and ideas and brought them to paper in an orderly fashion; and no, I do not mean bullet points, but information stacked on instead of information all over the place and looping back to the beginning and leaving out important parts.
In short, give this book a try if you want to read a fantasy novel with a fresh twist.