Minor Mage

This was cute, as Ursula Vernon usually is, and it was meaningful, as Ursula Vernon usually is. A twelve-year-old mage is sent on a quest to bring rain to his drought-ridden village, with only an armadillo familiar and three spells to his name. It's about the way large groups of people can think, and how that can make people worse than they really are, and it's about the toughness of doing the right thing when no one else will, and when it will have a terrible cost. Plus the armadillo is pretty funny, and there's a teenage boy with a compulsion to make harps out of the corpses of murder victims that shriek in the presence of their murderers. Dark stuff, communicated lightly, and very good, as Ursula Vernon usually is.

Oliver is a minor mage with a sarcastic armadillo as a familiar. While Oliver's warrior mother is out of town, the other villagers send Oliver to the Rainblades to bring back rain from the Cloud Herders, despite the fact that the old mage who taught Oliver was senile and neglected to tell him how this could be done. Nevertheless, Oliver sets out - as he was planning to do anyway, before the townspeople turned into a mob - along the road, through the forest, and into the mountains. Along the way, he encounters terrifying ghuls, bandits, and a fellow minor mage called Trebastian whose only magic is making screaming harps out of murder victims' bones, and who is being chased by a murderer. Against all odds, Oliver, the armadillo, and show more Trebastian make it to the Rainblades, where the Rain Wife asks what Oliver has to offer in exchange for rain - and Trebastian steps up to sacrifice his magic to save Oliver's village.

Apparently there was some debate between the author and her agent and editor about whether this was a children's novel, but I agree with the author that it is - for a certain kind of child.

Quotes

Scared people did cruel and stupid things... (24)

Fear was bad, fear and boredom together were practically unbearable. (39)

"Treat you like a small child until they need you, and then expect you to move heaven and earth and bring down rain," the armadillo muttered under his breath. (74)

Magic was basically all in your head until it wasn't. (108)

...if you could fix things, you should... (142)

From Acknowledgments:
I'm just here to write about sarcastic armadillos. (164) show less

Oliver is a very minor mage. He only knows three spells and has an armadillo for a familiar. That doesn't stop him from setting off on a quest to bring rain back to his drought-stricken village when the villagers demand Oliver's help. Oliver is the only mage they have.

I don't care what the editor thinks, this is a charming middle grade tale about believing in yourself, doing the right thing and helping your friends. The story is told in a style that reminds me of one of Grimm's Fairy Tales, including some scary moments and a couple deep themes. It's an interesting blend of lightheartedness and melancholy as Oliver travels on his quest, making some profound realizations about the world.

Oliver is 12 years old and a determined hero even show more though he has self doubts. This makes him highly him relatable. Who didn't have doubts when they were that age? Or your current age for that matter? I know I did and do. The armadillo is wonderfully snarky and a loyal companion for his minor mage. Oliver meets some interesting people on his journey, including a young bard named Trebastian. Vernon's creativity is amazing. I have no idea how she thought up his very odd ability of making harps. I would read a whole book based on that idea. show less

Oliver is a 12-year-old, as he will tell you, “very minor mage.” His age notwithstanding, his village sends him and his familiar, an armadillo, on a quest for rain. Along the way, there are ghouls and a minstrel who makes harps out of the bones of murder victims. It’s a nice mix of humor and grimdark fantasy. Kingfisher says she thought it was a children's story, but her publisher said, "Nope, it’s aimed at adults."

This is a really cute, fun novella about a young (very young) wizard sent off to bring the rain home to his village. I thought the concept and execution had the feel of some of the fantasy stories I read when I was a kid, so I wasn't at all surprised to read in the afterword that the author thinks it's a children's book. (However, it seems her publisher disagreed, since it's published under T. Kingfisher instead of Ursula Vernon.) While it does get dark in places, I don't feel that it gets too dark for anyone the age of the protagonist (12-years-old) to read and enjoy. However, I also don't feel you need to be young to enjoy this one; adults will get as much enjoyment from it as teens, though perhaps they will find that enjoyment in show more different places.

I do really appreciate how different themes from classic fairy tales and fables are woven together in this story, and the way the hurdles are big, but not insurmountable. This is a very enjoyable read, with lots of fun quotes and good messages. I highly recommend it. show less

You didn’t need to be a wizard to realize that if the rains didn’t come, it was going to get very bad in the village. But you also definitely didn’t need to be a wizard to know that Oliver’s mom was not going to let her twelve-year-old son hare off to the distant Rainblade Mountains.

Oliver, who is twelve, and a very minor mage, along with his familiar, an armadillo, are on a mission to bring rain back to his village. They were going anyway, but the villagers ended up kind of encouraging them when Oliver's mom was away.

My friend thought this was quite satisfying, and I'd agree, although I doubt we mean in the same way. It's quite emotionally complicated for what begins as a fleshed-out folk tale. I was quite sad for Oliver in the show more beginning, though it was leavened with touches of humor. Then there was a suspenseful bit, then a sort-of-funny-but-gruesome bit, then adventuresome, and horrific, and sad-but-lovely... well, you get the picture. It's not the straightforward sass and magic of the Jackalope. As they say on Facebook, "it's complicated."

An interesting little fact that a number of reviews touch on is that Vernon was told this wasn't suitable as a young adult book, presumably because of the horror elements. That, I think, is suspicious; I think it was probably decided as unsuitable because Oliver ends up learning a young person's hardest lesson:

"Oliver was already on his knees, but he bowed his head, feeling complicated things he didn’t know how to deal with. When kindness came from murdered ghosts and lost pigs, and the adults that were supposed to help you were monsters that walked like men"

I was particularly fond of the armadillo (no name needed) and the clouds. Creative and just a touch melancholic. show less

I agree with Ursula, this is a children's story. Rich and dark, but it's a...not quite a coming-of-age story, Oliver still has some growing to do both physically and mentally, but a growing-up story. He finds out what he is and is not capable of, on many levels - from escaping the ghuls, to using them, to leaving Trebastion, or not. Lots of fascinating magic, of many sorts - creatures, and ghosts, and Treb's magic, and Oliver's own, and the Cloud Herders...he never does get an explanation for the rains not coming to his village, hopefully whatever stopped them before won't interrupt next year. He's a very enjoyable character, one I'd like to see more of later. And of course the writing is excellent, the viewpoint(s) interestingly show more skewed, and the whole thing delightful - it is by Ursula Vernon, after all. show less