A Blight of Mages

Originally posted here.

Despite its length, I got through the book in four days, even though I've been busy with other things as well. The writing, characters and world-building all caught my imagination and would not let me go. Before I was even done reading the book (a couple hundred pages in), I went onto Goodreads and marked her other books to read, because I loved reading this so much.

Miller's writing is fantastic. I love the way she strings words together. Her diction and syntax both resonate with me. Obviously, she's fairly wordy--otherwise filling up so many pages is tricky--but I love verbosity. Miller is also funny; it's not the main point of the novel, but there were several lines that definitely made me laugh.

Her show more characterization is like insanely good. Barl, the main character, if you can choose but one of the cast to focus on, is 22 and as fiery a heroine as anyone could desire. Possessed of mage skills that outstrip those ranked above her (because Dorana's rankings are based not on skill but on status, which sounds a lot like our world), Barl desperately wants to be judged for her talent. She dreams of attending the based college for mages in Dorana, but is repeatedly denied. Barl is passionate, hard-working, cleverer than pretty much everyone, arrogant, stubborn, and bemoans those with a 'child-ridden fate' (40). Of course, I loved her.

I use her solely to illustrate the awesomeness of the characters. In lesser detail, here are some other wonderfully drawn characters. Morgan Danfey is prideful, a bit sexist, alluring and powerful. Remmie, Barl's twin brother, lacks her overt strength, but possesses serious loyalty and steadfastness. Venette is a nosy matchmaker, but she has people's best interests at heart; she is loving, and blinded by those emotions. Everyone feels real and believable, and, like with real people, you don't necessarily always know where you stand.

Ordinarily, I am not often surprised by books. Most plot twists are like ummm, yeah, you foreshadowed that like crazy on page 10 and expect me to be surprised? Well, recently, there have been quite a few that have swept the rug from under my feet, and A Blight of Mages falls into that category along with the YA novel Never Enough. With Miller's book, it's not so much that I couldn't see these possibilities coming as her setup made me root so hard for the other outcome that I was still blindsided.

Something to know: this book is seriously dark, which is part of what surprised me, because it's pretty light and then WHAM. Don't get too attached to anyone, because like a lot of good storytellers, Miller is not afraid to do terrible things to her characters, and there's a good chance some will not survive. There are some parts of this that are going to be haunting my thoughts for some time to come.

A Blight of Mages is a prequel to Miller's Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series, which I really wish I had on hand like RIGHT NOW, because THAT ENDING. Anyway, if you like epic fantasy, you should really, really go get this or Innocent Mage posthaste (depending on whether you like to read series in publication or chronological order). show less

I hated Barl. She was so incredibly arrogant. She doesn't get admitted to the "best school"; so she refuses to apply to any other. She believes she is so talented that only the best is good enough for her. Her problem keeping a job is not because she isn't from a first family; it is because she thinks she is better than anyone else. So she thinks she should get only the most important jobs and resents doing the more routine necessary jobs. When one of her co-workers tells her that they would like her to recognize that they are talented mages; Barl first thought is they are not as talented as she is.

I could almost care about Morgan, but there isn't enough about why he feels and acts the way he does. I think the author is holding back to show more reveal more as the series goes on, but I just don't care about these people. show less

After a slow start, I really enjoyed this book (as I have enjoyed the rest of the series). It was quite hard to get past Barl and Morgan's arrogance at first and to be honest, they never got over their arrogance even when disaster had occurred. But most of the characters in the book are arrogant in some way. If you've read the main series, then I think you'd enjoy this and it gives a different perspective on the "saintly" Barl and the "wicked" Morg.

A Blight of Mages by Karen Miller is a prequel to her Kingmaker, Kingbraker duology. I read the duology The Innocent Mage and Innocence Lost, many years ago, when they first came out (circa 2005, and golly was that cliffhanger between the two of them painful to wait through). A Blight of Mages tells the story of how the world in Kingmaker, Kingbreaker came to be how it was and why, in the future duology, the world needed saving.



I had only faint memories of Kingmaker Kingbreaker when I started reading (centring mostly on the presence of aforementioned cliffhanger) and it took me a little while to work out exactly how the characters related to the future world, but that had little effect on my enjoyment. This definitely isn't the kind show more of prequel that needs the original series to be enjoyed.

The story follows two powerful mages, Barl and Morgan. Barl is unranked (meaning not a member of the noble class) and as a result is not allowed to enter the illustrious College. She is frustrated working for her artisan boss who doesn't appreciate her powers and who is jealous of her better mageworking. Instead of encouraging her, he seeks to thwart her at every turn. The fact that Barl knows she's a better mage than most and isn't afraid to say so, doesn't really help her case.

Morgan is a ranked mage and the youngest to be admitted to the Council of Mages, which rules over all matters of magical law. He too finds it frustrating that other mages won't recognise his superior talents, particularly two of the other mages on the Council. Having access to more resources he strives to create better and more powerful incants in his spare time. In the course of events Morgan and Barl's paths cross and they find in each other kindred spirits.

A Blight of Mages was an enjoyable read. Barl's part of the story deals a lot with the injustice of class systems — ultimately ironic if you've read the future duology — and somewhat dramatic consequences of perpetuating the system. On the other hand, it was nice to see that there was gender equality in Miller's world, with women able to take on the same roles as men depending only on their magical abilities (I have absolutely zero recollection whether this was also true in the duology). Indeed Barl herself is one of the most powerful mages to ever come along and the fact that she is female is never an issue. Which is nice, given how many fantasy worlds are oppressive to women.

The only time I lost interest in the story was close to the end where there is a gap of several months summarised in a few pages and then the story jumps to a whole new character's point of view. It seemed to me like that time, and the new character, could have had an entire novel all of their own. On the other hand, that would have necessitated an extra storyline or two in addition to the main story already present in A Blight of Mages and I can understand the author not wanting to make the prequel into a duology of its own. And the new character was important to setting up some aspects of the duology. Happily, the story picked up back to the usual pace after that and ended with an appropriate bang.

All in all, A Blight of Mages is a solid fantasy read that stands alone well (although if read first, I can see it acting as a gateway drug to the duology). I recommend it to fantasy fans and fans of Karen Miller's other books, particularly those set in the same universe. (On the other hand, if Empress of Mijak is the only book of hers you've read/enjoyed, A Blight of Mages is entirely dissimilar.)

4 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. show less

This, the prequel to the excellent pair of duologies in the Kingmaker Kingbreaker universe is the story we've been waiting for, It is eminently readable on it's own, and I would suggest it as the entry point for the series. Set 600 years before the others, it deals with the romance between the mages of Barl and Morgan, and how it all went wrong. As ever, Karen's excellent characters drive a plot through a well imagined world.

Barl is a young unranked mage working in a local Artisan's workshop making clocks. She knows she's better than this and capable of far greater magics, but her passions always run high and self-control is not one of her strengths. This surprisingly, doesn't effect her magical abilities, but does greatly effect her show more ability to get on with people. Fortunately for her, her brother Rennie is a source of much calm and restraint. Barl is forever getting over-excited, and causing harm, before returning home thoroughly apologetic and contrite - until the next time. Morgan is almost the reverse, although equally highly imbued with magical abilities, he is older, male the sole son of a querulous, ill, father and heir to a great estate. Morgan has great restraint and calm exterior, driven by his father to become one of the land's greatest mages - but also to marry settle down and provide a son for the family name to continue. Recently elected to the Council of Mages he finds these petty politics somewhat distracting from his great works. He is sure he can sense an impending disaster to the land, and only if he can just get these spells to work, will the land be saved. When Barl applies to the Council for permission to study at the Mage College, (something as an unranked mage she does not normally have the right to do - an injustice which seethes through her everyday), she meets Morgan, and power attracts power. Together they can work wonders.

Those who've read the succeeding books, will know what comes next, but in some ways this spoils the tension and drama, and I feel this book will best be read as starting point, without that knowledge. Although the ending third is somewhat rushed, it does tie up all the plot points we come to expect with just a couple of minor exceptions. The immortality spell that Barl creates, is mentioned, and then seemingly forgotten throughout the rest of the text. Already a long book, there are a couple of big jumps in time and events which maybe could have done to have been more fully explored - creating a duology of prequels as in the rest of the series. Or else maybe less time could have been spent on some of the earlier scene/character setting. The Olken get particularly short shrift, although enough details are laid for the founding of the future books.

The interplay between Barl and Morgan is superb, many great sparkles of dialogue, from the first anguished meetings tot he blossoming of romance, and then the sudden sour realisation that it has all gone wrong. Morgan is perhaps less well crafted than Barl, initially I had no problems but it is never fully explained why he feels so driven to protect the land, or why he suffers no doubts about his course of actions.

Overall though his is yet another excellent offering from Karen Miller, something I feel every fantasy fan should read. show less

She is a fiery and talented mage, disregarded by the nobility because of her low birth. He is nearly as talented, but his money, high birth, and connections mean he has access to everything she desires. She ends up in his complete control, doing the dishes at his estate and bound from using her magic. In this situation they fall madly in love with each other.

I expected this prequel to be a love story, but I did not expect it to call on some of the most ridiculous romance novel stereotypes that exist. Starting with two characters that are both powerful and interesting, the author has really let us down. Rather than show how they're drawn together by any normal or magical means, we're meant to believe he loves her obsessively at moment show more one, and that she returns the love despite their weird power dynamic and his frightening temper. The first two hundred pages are arguments that do not further the plot, and then it's into this disturbing relationship. This is not the novel I expected after reading the original books.

I have taken a break on page 350/500, and will finish this review when I finish the book. show less

I really don't know what to say about this book. I started out really liking it, got bored about a third of the way through, started liking it again, and BANG it ended so abruptly, I was left hanging. Obviously when it was written the author intended to write another book. I'm torn as to whether I want to continue on with the series or not.