The Unsuspecting Mage
I stumbled across this book purely by accident. It was listed on Barnes and Noble's free nook book list, so I downloaded it just because I could. It took me quite a while to finally get around to read it, but I did manage to finish it not too long ago. Now, It's not the finest work of literary genius, and there's some inconsistencies I've noticed in the story so far, including switching tenses, and other basic grammatical mistakes. The author is definitely still getting the hang of writing, and there is plenty to improve, but if you bear with it, there is a decent plot idea floating around in there somewhere. Unfortunately, it is written in a format closely resembling a D&D campaign setting .
I managed to read through the first book anyway, letting my own love for role-playing games and general fantasy carry me through it. While it seems to skip from scene to scene too quickly, I'll still give it points for some creativity when describing action scenes, and for unsuspecting uses of magic. But hey, you get what you paid for, and I feel I could have done far worse in reading this book.
The Unsuspecting Mage is the first in a series of 7 books called the Morcyth Saga, by Brian S. Pratt. It features a young boy named James, who is simply a book nerd who spends most of his day cooped up in his room reading and generally avoiding real life despite his grandparent's efforts to get him to find a job. He finally gives into their constant prodding and goes to apply for a strange advertisement for a job with little information given. It boasts that a candidate for this job requires intelligence and good character, and needs to be versed in fantasy novels and role-playing games. It offers only a promise of a chance to learn real magic, and hints at the need to travel.
Sure enough, the advertisement leads him to a small office in the city with only a small room off the main area. With nothing else to do in the office, he heads for that side door only to be whisked away to the middle of a forest in a strange land where an odd looking creature prompts him to head to the nearest town before disappearing. James has no way back, and the only thing he can do is learn to survive in this new world. He quickly finds he is capable of performing magic, though it takes him a while to learn to control it. With no real advice other than 'do what you feel is right,' he sets upon a quest for home that will take him through a number of adventures along the way.
Rating: 2.5 (Of 5)
