Synopsis:
The world is falling to the burning shadow of the Possessed and only the power of a battle mage can save it. But the ancient bond between battle mage and dragon is failing. Of those that answer a summoning too many are black. Black dragons are the enemy of humankind. Black dragons are mad.
Falco Danté is a weakling in a world of warriors, but worse than this, he is the son of a madman. Driven by the need to understand his father’s actions, Falco makes a decision that will drive him to the brink of despair. Is he doomed to follow in his father footsteps or will he have the strength to fulfil his destiny and become what he was born to be… a battle mage.
Review:
Battle Mage is a coming-of-age fantasy that follows a lot of the typical tropes. The protagonist is a teen and the unlikeliest of heroes, but he’s brave and has a lot of heart. Then he learns he has the unusual ability to become a battle mage, and it might just be up to him to save the world. But of course, he has friends to help him along the way, and there’s the classic crotchety old mentor in the cast too. There’s a demon-led army of Possessed (basically, undead human thralls) threatening to destroy everything in its path, and our young hero will inevitably have to face them.
So, I need to pause for second here and say this: I don’t enjoy writing reviews that are “iffy” like this one is going to be. I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I’d heard some great things about it previously, but this one just didn’t quite hit the mark.
Let’s begin with what I liked about the story:
Battle Mage was entertaining and had some great action. The battle scenes were well done, the plot was complex and pretty interesting, and there was good depth to some of the characters. The primary focus was Falco, the battle mage-in-training, and his story was definitely the most fleshed-out. We occasionally see things from the emissary’s perspective; he’s a mentor to many of the younger characters, and a renowned knight from a prestigious order. There’s also Falco’s best friend and would-be knight, Malaki, and periodically, enemy perspectives such as the Slayer or certain politically-minded magi.
It’s written in third-person omniscient, which is a style I don’t see too often in modern fantasy books. It’s not an easy style to pull off well, but I think Battle Mage succeeded there. Side note: I do find it harder to connect with individual characters when a story is told from that perspective, but that’s my personal opinion, not a reflection of the book itself.
I found the magic system interesting too. Mages (with the notable exception of battle mages) aren’t born with their abilities, but can train in various magical arts to gain them. Their magic takes a lot of time and energy to cast. They’re like a superweapon that can only be used once or twice during a battle before requiring significant time to recharge.
The battle mages are markedly different. They’re born with a wide array of abilities, but battle mages are very rare…which is probably a good thing, because they’re also incredibly powerful. They have a unique affinity with dragons, and most bond to a dragon at some point in their lives. Battle mages are also instrumental in combatting the fear demons exude, and there are plenty of demons to fight as the book progresses.
The in-fighting between the people in charge and the magi was a great element to the story, and at times, it was difficult to know which characters Falco could trust. The politics between kingdoms also contributed to the overall conflict between humanity and the demon hordes, though it wasn’t at the forefront of the storyline. There is a lot to like about the worldbuilding.
Now on to the part I struggled with for this review: The stuff I didn’t enjoy and couldn’t ignore.
Battle Mage is a very long book. While the second half was action-packed and had great pacing, the first half had portions that dragged. There was also a repeated lack of punctuation which affected the book’s readability. Between the pacing in the first half and the difficulty I had with the writing style, I had a tough time getting through this book even though the storyline was great. (Side note: There is an audiobook version available, which probably eliminates the readability issues I was having. But I’m not an audiobook person, so I read this as an ebook. If you happen to read the audiobook, I’d love to know your thoughts.)
If you can overlook its flaws and you enjoy coming-of-age fantasy stories, it may be worth checking out Battle Mage. There is a lot to like about this story.
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