The Reluctant Mage (Fisherman's Children - Book Two)

Title: The Reluctant Mage
Author: Karen Miller
Series: Fisherman's Children
Preceeded By: The Prodigal Mage


Ratings

Score: 4/10
How likely I am to read the next Book: Not Likely
      (Note - In this case, the next book is a prequel)

Review

I'd heard good things of Karen Miller, and her Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series. In fact, I don't remember anyone ever saying something negative about it. I hadn't read the previous books in the sequence, but I asked my Brother to summarise it, before starting on this book. It sounded captivating, and I launched myself into the book with interest.

Ten minutes later I decided I should make tea, maybe tidy up a bit. Do some studying. Unfortunately, after the three weeks it took me to struggle through the last book I reviewed, I found myself stuck again. That was a dissapointment.




I found that not a lot happened. There was a lot of travelling, but not a lot of plot-building. Or for that matter, much character building. The (main) characters were slilghtly rounder towards the end, but given that they had spent so much time doing nothing but travelling, it's hard not to be disappointed by that.

The writing style itself was generally quite nice, and easy to follow, and I find myself thinking that I may just try to read some of her other books (I know she wrote some Star Wars ones - which followers of my blog will know I read quite a few of). But I think it was the sparse plot that let Miller down here.

I can't help but think that it could have been squashed down and appended to the previous book, which wasn't overly long (at least, by page count. I don't know if that dragged or not.)

To be fair, I think I skipped bits while reading this. In the same way I skip the songs from the Lord of the Rings. If it doesn't interest me I skip a page ahead. See if it's more exciting there. Now I wouldn't normally do this when reviewing a book, but I was getting bored, and especially after already forced myself to read through a difficult book, I wanted a good read.

So in some ways I feel that I haven't given it the fairest of chances. I didn't like it that much, but the writing style was good, and my brother assures me that it was a good book (although he too took longer to read it than I would have expected him too).

So Overall, I'm going to say this book is average. I'm not going to recommend it. But I'm not going to tell you not to read it. If you know you like Miller's stories, you're probably in a better position to decide than I am. Otherwise, perhaps a library copy would be best.


More Information

Main Protagonist(s):Two Females
Main Antagonist(s): Male
Main Relationships: Heterosexual
Genre: Fantasy
Brief Synopsis:

It's been many months since Rafel ventured over Barl's Mountains into the unknown, in a desperate bid to seek help for their ravaged land. With his father's Weather Magic exhausted, there seemed no other hope. Now this too has died.

Only Deenie believes Rafel still lives, sensing her brother in tortured dreams. She also knows she must try to find him, as only Rafel's talents could heal their land. The prospect terrifies Deenie, yet she sees no other choice.

She soon learns of a dangerous new power. Deenie comes to suspect that not only is her brother involved, but that the evil their father destroyed is somehow reborn. And if she can't save Rafel, then through him, Morg's vast power could once again command their world.

ISBN: 1841497851
Website: Author's Book Page (Not a great page...)
Amazon Link: US UK
Pages: 544
First Published: 2010
Publisher: Orbit