I appear to be in a very unusual binging mood, this being the second series I’ve binged recently. I’ve been meaning to read it since forever, mostly due to John Bierce’s fun online presence, even the abominations he calls sandwhiches on Twitter. Oh, and he mentions everytime someone complains about the queerness of the series he makes it gayer, you know I gotta suport that attitude (plenty of the core group characters turn out to be queer!). I’m glad I finally got to read the series because it’s so much fun.

Mage Errant is a YA Progression Fantasy set at a magic school, with excellent mushy found family vibes. If you’re unfamiliar with Progression Fantasy it’s a subgenre where characters start off fairly weak and get stronger as the books go on. They tend to have hard and detailed magic systems, sometimes even measurable levels (not here though). I think it’s one of the more tricky subgenres, because they explain and focus so much on the technical aspects of the magic, you gotta be in the mood for that specific thing for it to work, as there is plenty of exposition and infodumping going around.

Luckily I was very much in the mood for this, for one thing it’s in a magic school setting and I’ve always loved “sitting in” on such classes, and for another there’s SO MUCH STUFF. So many different kinds of magic, creatures, spells, and creative ways to use them. There were two things that made this particularly fun:

• almost everytime we learn something new, we see it used in action in a pretty short amount of time. This also makes the battle scenes so much fun and creative.
• the setting varies significantly book to book, so it’s not 5 books all set at school, it goes:
  1. school first year
  2. summer holiday – takes place in a new setting
  3. school second year
  4. another trip, that takes us through several new settings
  5. back to school for year 3

I thought the setting switch was very clever and worked so well because I was so excited to be back at school each time, and it also allowed the world to feel wider and more lived in than it usually does in school series.

The other thing I wanna say about is the excellent vibes this series has. I truly love these characters and want only the best for them. You know the kind of found family that makes you go awwwww repeatedly. Overall I’d say the books are pretty feel good and optimistic, light and quick reads, but there are a few heavier moments here and there along the way. Really I love all the characters, but Talia, the barbarian who thinks there’s no problem a big enough explosion can’t fix is my favorite. She’s fierce, unapologetic chaos, while also dealing with her own shit and insecurities. Between her red hair, blue tattoos and enthusiasm for fights, I can’t help but wonder if Clan Clastis aren’t inspired by the Nac Mac Feegle from Discworld. They also get plenty of page time to be their own people, grow and so on.

Oh and there be dragons, just not from the start. But like, lots. And other big magic beings, it’s awesome.

Another thing the series did well is keep me hooked. I had only planned to read 1-2 books, but each time the last quarter was so fun and left me with some many questions that I couldn’t not pick up the next one. Book 5 most criminally ends with cliffhanger and book 6 only comes out next year! Woe!

I’ll try and give my thoughts for each book in the series separately, so the short review for book 2 will probably  somewhat spoil book 1 and so on, read as far as you’re ok with. If you haven’t read the books at all I’d rec stopping with this post after the review of book 1, since even the blurbs give out info. I also have some hidden full-series spoiler thoughts at the very end. Later Edit Dia: My thoughts kinda ran out I’m not sure this format works well for me. 

• Genre: Progression Fantasy
• Age group: Young Adult
• Pub. date: 2018 –
• Format: Ebook
• Pages: 178 – 246 – 362 – 545 (oh noes my cat was squashed) – 449
• Goodreads link

Into the Labyrinth

Hugh of Emblin is, so far as he’s concerned, the worst student that the Academy at Skyhold has ever seen. He can barely cast any spells at all, and those he does cast tend to fail explosively. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’s also managed to attract the ire of the most promising student of his year- who also happens to be the nephew of a king. Hugh has no friends, no talent, and definitely doesn’t expect a mage to choose him as an apprentice at all during the upcoming Choosing.

When a very unusual mage does choose him as apprentice, however, his life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is the final test for the first years- being sent into the terrifying labyrinth below Skyhold.

The first book is really short and really sweet. Hugh is a sad boy who keeps getting bullied and even his teachers all give up on him. His first semester at Skyhold is a nightmare I just want to give him all the hugs. The wanting to hug him continues for a long time tbh, because even when things start looking up he has such a hard time believing it. He always puts himself down and had no faith in himself. Must protec. Reminded me of Talia in Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey.

The book is called Into the Labyrinth and that’s the main end of year exam at the school. And that is fun and actiony and dangerous, but it’s not my favorite space in Skyhold. No, the coolest space is the library. I love a good magical library and this one has it all, the weird books, the danger, the massive scale, the mystery, excellent 10/10 library, would risk life to browse.

Ok if you haven’t read the first book probably best to stop here

Jewel of the Endless Erg

After surviving Skyhold’s deadly labyrinth, Hugh and his friends are looking forwards to an uneventful summer. Their teacher Alustin has chartered a sandship for a training expedition into the vast sea of sand known as the Endless Erg, aiming for the wealthy and powerful desert city of Theras Tel. Hugh’s happier than he’s been in a long, long time, and he’s quite excited for the fresh air, sunshine, and quiet.

Of course, given Hugh’s luck, their summer is going to be anything but quiet. They’re about to be plunged into a morass of pirates, monsters, warring cults, flesh-tearing sandstorms, and a conspiracy against Indris Stormbreaker, the dragon queen of Theras Tel herself.

At least Hugh’s going to get plenty of fresh air and sunshine.

This book was tons of fun! What’s not to love about magically powered sand-ships, close knit sailing family, huge sandstorms and a city run by dragons! I loved how the switch from school to adventure worked. Even though their teacher is still constantly teaching and making them practice, the change of pace and scenery works so well.

Even within the book I liked how a good chunk was desert sailing (which again, so cool) and the other chunk was in a new city, dealing with dragons and trying to solve a mystery.

A Traitor in Skyhold

Hugh and his friends have, to his great displeasure, become the center of attention among the student body at Skyhold. It turns out that surviving the depths of the labyrinth and helping stop a coup both tend to attract notice. If Hugh had his way, he’d happily go back to being just another anonymous student. He has more than enough to deal with already as he starts his second year, between his crushing load of schoolwork, training as a prospective candidate to the Librarians Errant, and navigating a long distance relationship.

Oh, and the fact that Hugh and company have been dragged into trying to catch a traitor on the Skyhold Council doesn’t make life any easier. Nor does it help that the traitor is working with the demon Bakori, who lurks in the depths of the labyrinth below Skyhold, waiting for his chance at revenge.

The plot thickens my friends. It becomes clearer and clearer that all is not as well as it seems, and different and strong interests are at play at Skyhold.

I’m gonna put this vaguely to avoid spoilers, but I thought one thing this book did very well was examine the YA tropes it was using.

Storywise we’re back to school, it feels great to be back (though not everyone’s enjoying the new fame) I loved the new classes and challenges those brought. Again the fighty actiony sequence at the end is really cool and I just loved the ways that all the kids get smart about using their magic.

The Lost City of Ithos

Half a millennium ago, Kanderon Crux and her allies banished the city of Imperial Ithos from the world of Anastis, in a desperate attempt to defeat the Ithonian Empire. Her dread weapon, the Exile Splinter, even erased the memory of its location from the universe. Now it’s returning, bringing the Exile Splinter back with it. The great powers of the continent are desperately hunting for the site of the lost city, knowledge lost even to Kanderon herself. None know what ancient Ithonian weapons and enchantments might still be found in the ruins, but even the Exile Splinter alone would be a prize justifying war.

Hugh and his friends find themselves dragged along on the search, where they’ll face enemy warlocks, sea monsters, liches, unnatural storms, and even a man-eating tiger. There’s something they’re not being told about the lost city, however.

Something that has even Kanderon and the other great powers terrified.

So this one was a chonker! I didn’t think to check that about half way, when I felt like I should be further ahead than I was, comparing to the previous books in the series. While I still enjoyed it, it was too long for my taste. It’s paced well and there’s lots of different stuff happening, but while I like them all, it felt kind of jarring to have such a big change of pace mid-series.

I loved that we got to see so much of the world in this one. All of it was so visually stunning, a city made of an unusual material, the dangerous ocean, a creepy swamp and more. There’s so much playfulness and creativity in the ways magic can shape this world. I also liked the way the relationships between the character deepened in the extra page range.

The Siege of Skyhold

The Havath Dominion is marching to war.

Humiliated in the ruins of Imperial Ithos, the Exile Splinter stolen from their grasp by the ancient sphinx Kanderon Crux, Havath’s Duarchs have assembled an army that dwarfs the entire population of Skyhold. Led by their Great Powers, monsters and mages individually capable of leveling a city, they pose a threat that even Kanderon, one of the mightiest of Great Powers, and her equally monstrous allies might be unable to stop.

As the Havathi forces push closer and closer to Skyhold, Hugh and his friends train relentlessly, hoping to make a difference in the oncoming siege. While they venture into dangerous realms of untested experimental magic, though, they’re already caught up in currents far beyond their control.

Once you’re a pawn in the games of the Great Powers, there’s no escape.

This book is wild. First thing I did when I finished was go scream on r/MageErrant  because oh boy that was a cliffhanger and this book left me feelings that I needed to voice (screams provided below under spoiler tags)

Most of this book is an over the top, intense, wild fight. I thought I had gotten to a time in my life where I was just bored by fight scenes, but these were so much fun. Everytime I was starting to think well this is getting slow, bam! new shit! There are so many kinds of magic, lots of payoff for stuff we learned before, really cool big scale stuff. Just lots and lots of fun.

I dunno how I’m expected to wait months for the next book, help.

Spoiler discussion of the last book, massive spoilers: