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A review by samstrong
Battlemage by Stephen Aryan
2.0
TL;DR: For a novel called Battlemage, there was a surprising lack of battlemaging going on.
There were a few enjoyable moments in this surprisingly short (for an epic fantasy) novel. Ultimately though, there were too many ideas and all of them were under-developed. We didn't spend long enough with any of the characters for me to really connect with them, or for them to distinguish themselves from their archetypes. Two entire perspectives (along with several sub-plots) could have been dropped and others strengthened without dropping the word count. Despite this, the action was well described and suitably visceral, and some interesting themes occasionally poked their heads over the battlements.
There were a few enjoyable moments in this surprisingly short (for an epic fantasy) novel. Ultimately though, there were too many ideas and all of them were under-developed. We didn't spend long enough with any of the characters for me to really connect with them, or for them to distinguish themselves from their archetypes. Two entire perspectives (along with several sub-plots) could have been dropped and others strengthened without dropping the word count. Despite this, the action was well described and suitably visceral, and some interesting themes occasionally poked their heads over the battlements.