December Fantasy Thread - SPOILERS - The Innocent Mage
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1Morphidae
I'll be starting The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller in the next couple of days. I hope I can finish this one!
2majkia
I'd like to start it, but as I'm still shy of my 75 (but closing fast) I'm opting for shorter stuff. The moment I can get to it though, I will.
3reading_fox
I really liked this, it was a chance buy for me, just stumbled acorss it at a discount in a bookshop and thought it sounds fun. It was. Apparently I've not read this since about 2007! my review at the time. Maybe I'd be a bit harsher today?
Part fo that very rare fantasy beast a duology, it does end on a cliffhanger ready for the next book! Just so you're warned about that.
Part fo that very rare fantasy beast a duology, it does end on a cliffhanger ready for the next book! Just so you're warned about that.
4Jarandel
I didn't find it bad, I definitely wasn't awed either.
I find it odd that the native folk would have forgotten so well that they were invaded in the first place, that they used to have their own magic, that it's tapped to save everyone's butts and should make them as a whole as valuable to society as the newcomers and their weatherworking. To the point of not even knowing anymore that they can be mages in their own right (see the lines about someone nailed for trying to learn invaders' magic).
The lack of any thought, suspicion or curiosity regarding what lies outside behind the barrier in the general population is odd too.
If they knew and feared the enemy and devastation that lies beyond, it would be a somewhat believable incentive to contribute to maintaining the current social order and regulations regarding magic, but no one seems to think about that. Not once does a character seem to express the dread that he might be living in an isolated, fragile bubble surrounded by a dead world.
When it happens, snitching against (apparently mostly wannabe or falsely accused) native mages seems to be a exercise in pure spite or gratuitous submission to the invaders' rule. And the invaders themselves seem to frame it mentally as an encroachment upon their privileges and superior talents, rather than an endangerment of collective safety.
And if they don't really know (and apparently they don't, as even the high mage toward the end of this first book needs to take a peek himself), shouldn't more people be curious, or dubious about the enduring necessity of the status quo ?
I find it odd that the native folk would have forgotten so well that they were invaded in the first place, that they used to have their own magic, that it's tapped to save everyone's butts and should make them as a whole as valuable to society as the newcomers and their weatherworking. To the point of not even knowing anymore that they can be mages in their own right (see the lines about someone nailed for trying to learn invaders' magic).
The lack of any thought, suspicion or curiosity regarding what lies outside behind the barrier in the general population is odd too.
If they knew and feared the enemy and devastation that lies beyond, it would be a somewhat believable incentive to contribute to maintaining the current social order and regulations regarding magic, but no one seems to think about that. Not once does a character seem to express the dread that he might be living in an isolated, fragile bubble surrounded by a dead world.
When it happens, snitching against (apparently mostly wannabe or falsely accused) native mages seems to be a exercise in pure spite or gratuitous submission to the invaders' rule. And the invaders themselves seem to frame it mentally as an encroachment upon their privileges and superior talents, rather than an endangerment of collective safety.
And if they don't really know (and apparently they don't, as even the high mage toward the end of this first book needs to take a peek himself), shouldn't more people be curious, or dubious about the enduring necessity of the status quo ?
5Morphidae
Well, I finished The Innocent Mage and liked it. I'm giving it a 7 out of 10 stars. It lost a star because of that darned cliff-hanger*. ARGGH! I'm definitely getting the next book. The only reason I haven't ordered it from the library already is because I've maxed out my requests at the moment. Another ARGGGGH!
*A few other reasons, too. I found the small size of the country odd. How could it be self-sustaining? And the dragged out prophecy was annoying. We STILL don't know why he's "the one." Lastly, I saw what was coming with Durm and Morg a mile away. But I liked all the characters and how they were multi-dimensional. Most weren't all good or all bad. And I just love Asher. He's a trip and made me smile.
*A few other reasons, too. I found the small size of the country odd. How could it be self-sustaining? And the dragged out prophecy was annoying. We STILL don't know why he's "the one." Lastly, I saw what was coming with Durm and Morg a mile away. But I liked all the characters and how they were multi-dimensional. Most weren't all good or all bad. And I just love Asher. He's a trip and made me smile.
7majkia
Just finished. Dammit, cliffhanger. ugh. hate those. I found the beginning awfully slow going, but about the middle it picked up considerably.
I agree with comments above. I find it hard to believe no one was interested in what was beyond the Wall. And everyone accepting their proper place in the society seemed forced as well. Surely there'd be an Olken underground against the invaders?
Oh well. I doubt I'll continue it, but who knows...
I agree with comments above. I find it hard to believe no one was interested in what was beyond the Wall. And everyone accepting their proper place in the society seemed forced as well. Surely there'd be an Olken underground against the invaders?
Oh well. I doubt I'll continue it, but who knows...
