The Innocent Mage (Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, Book 1)

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Название:The Innocent Mage (Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, Book 1)

Автор: Karen Miller

Издательство: Orbit

ISBN: 0316067806

Дата издания:2007-09-01

Страниц: 642

Язык:Английский

Формат:rtf, epub

Размер:5.00 MB

Like another reviewer, I was attracted to this book because of the cover - a really vibrant, eye-catching piece of work. I didn't expect too much out of the story itself; at most, maybe a day or three of mild entertainment. I'm glad to say that I was wrong.

Most of the characters of _The Innocent Mage_ are very well-developed and complement each other nicely. Especially great was the relationship and interaction between Asher and Prince Gar - Miller really got across in a plausible and enjoyable way how a bond of friendship might form between two vastly different men from totally different ends of the social spectrum.

I found the chapters told from Asher's point of view very amusing and especially entertaining. His dialect, no-nonsense attitude, and sarcastic humor were a joy to read.

However. The plot was a bit... shallow. I scarcely noticed while I was reading since the characterizations were so amazing, but after I got done reading I sat back and thought, "Y'know, there wasn't really too much that happened, except in the last 80 or so pages..." It would have been nice to see some more back-story on exactly how and why the Doranen came to be in Lur, apart from "Oh, there was a civil war and we had to run and found this shiny new kingdom here."

The main villain of the story, Morg, is another disappointment, at least in this first book. He's a caricature of the stock Dark Lord, complete with Dark Dominion, Other-Worldly Slaves and Assorted Monsters, and Unending Hatred of the Good Guys. I will say that he was a sneaky evil, rather than an over-the-top evil, which was a nice change.

If the characters hadn't been so strong, this would have been a three-star or possibly only a two-star book. But Asher and his friends and enemies were great, the plot as set up in the last few chapters looks set to take off like a rocket in the second and final book, and Miller's style of writing is just so accessible that I've got to give this four stars.