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A review by nonesensed
The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso
5.0
Amalia is a Cornaro, which means her whole life as been staked out from day one. She is her mother's sole heir. She is supposed to invest herself in the politics of the empire. She isn't supposed to sneak around and read books on magic she can't even perform herself. She still does this. This minor rebellion lands her in more complex politics than she's ever had to face before.
When I heard the premise of "a setting where people with magic are enslaved by the government to work for the military", I had a very set idea of what the story would be about. It'd be about the poor magician who's captured and fighting to escape enslavement. Turns out, this book is far from that black and white in its morals. While it's extremely clear that the idea of forcing people to join the military based on a thing they can't control is Bad, the problem of having people born with the ability to literally murder everything and everyone around them with a tantrum makes the need for a solution other than "live and let live" is also very clear.
In addition to the complex moral decisions the characters need to deal with, there's also a threatening uprising! And the POV is of the person who's "captured" the mage and needs to deal with the guilt from that! And there's a traitor somewhere! Maybe!
At the halfway point of this book, I just went out and bought book 2 & 3, that's how intriguing the setting, characters and plot were. Recommended!
When I heard the premise of "a setting where people with magic are enslaved by the government to work for the military", I had a very set idea of what the story would be about. It'd be about the poor magician who's captured and fighting to escape enslavement. Turns out, this book is far from that black and white in its morals. While it's extremely clear that the idea of forcing people to join the military based on a thing they can't control is Bad, the problem of having people born with the ability to literally murder everything and everyone around them with a tantrum makes the need for a solution other than "live and let live" is also very clear.
In addition to the complex moral decisions the characters need to deal with, there's also a threatening uprising! And the POV is of the person who's "captured" the mage and needs to deal with the guilt from that! And there's a traitor somewhere! Maybe!
At the halfway point of this book, I just went out and bought book 2 & 3, that's how intriguing the setting, characters and plot were. Recommended!