The Innocent Mage Quasi-Review

So, while I've given up reviews to a certain degree, I would like to stand out on a ledge for a bit and talk about The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller. I can't tell you how I came across Karen as a writer, but I think it was through her Stargate books. She's down in Oz-land (Australia) so her books are mostly available in the UK and difficult to find in the US. I subscribed to her blog some time ago and have been loosely following her writings. When I saw her book was being published in the US, I piqued my interest but didn't go much further than that.

Until I started to see more rumblings about her book. And good reviews.

So, I managed to finish the first part of her book and was pleasantly surprised. It's about Asher, the proverbial farm boy (fisherman's son in this case) who goes to the big city to make some money. In the process he comes to be the employee of the Prince. The Prince likes him so much, he moves up from stable boy to assistant.

Nothing too terribly exciting, but there are enough secrets layered into the story, that you want to know what happens. The two "races" are magic and non-magic people. There's a huge wall on the edge of their land that keeps back some hidden danger. And there's a secret group of non-magic people who can actually do magic, despite it being forbidden. And they want Asher to fulfill the proverbial prophecy.

So, there's enough here to keep you reading, but the real question is how well does it end. This particular series, called "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker," is only a duology. She does have more books coming for the series, but they're still in the works.

Bottom line, it's good so far, but yet to be determined on how well it will finish.