Accidental War Mage

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The audiobook for Book 1 is available onAudible,the eBook is available on Kindle Unlimited andAmazon, and the paperback can be orderednearly anywhere books are sold, probably even atyour favorite local bookshop. Book 2 isavailable for pre-order(and will stub in late July). Book 3 startshereif you want to dive right in.

In a militaristic empire where war mages are prized and steam knights celebrated, Mikolai reluctantly signed up to be a steam suit mechanic to avoid conscription into the regular infantry. In this world, magical talent is rare, precious, and a pathway into the nobility. But Mikolai is a peasant from a small farming village with simple ambitions: Stay alive and do the right thing.

When an unfortunate accident leads to Mikolai's assignment to a special task force commanded by the notorious war mage Ognyan Spitignov, surviving with a clean conscience becomes very difficult. Ognyan's mission: To stamp out resistance to imperial rule in newly-conquered territory. However, Mikolai will try everything in his power to make the best of a bad situation - and he has more power than he realizes.

Mikolai's journey will take him through the horrors of war and the grinding clash between empires. Can he find his feet fast enough to stand up against a cruel world? Can he save himself and his friends from the enemy - and from the Imperial Army itself? And will he be able to live with himself afterwards?

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2023
Author: Tom Writing Quietly

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 2,325
Views: 166,836

Chapters(25 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

Auntie May's Little CousinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
[Disclaimer:] I took part in a shotout swap witht he author, but the review is all on me.
Accidental War Mage is a story that I found myself enjoying. A man trying to leave a simple life, makes a silly mistake and ends up in the worst situation possible for that goal. The style isn't particularly original, but it's well-written in a way that doesn't distract from the story itself. And the story is smooth. As in that before I realized I had consumed the first ten, maybe fifteen chapters. I also liked the steampunk-magic mix-up. The world setting is interesting too.
Maybe, separately, those elements wouldn't be all that awesome, but being able to put them together so smoothly is what makes of Accidental War Mage an eccellent story for anyone with a love for military stories.
TrboDawgRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Inventive world building and well crafted characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this fictionalized travelogue of a magical Eastern Europe. I really enjoyed the ability of the author to Interweave multiple points of view without excessive use of exposition. Dialog was smart, believable, and character appropriate. Most importantly, to me at least, the editing and grammar/spelling was impeccable. A greatly entertaining read. Can't wait for the next volume.
ausl0serRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I hate writing wordy reviews. I think it's disrespectful to the author and prospective readers, BUT i actually have something to gush about here.
Tom is not only writing quietly, but also with a level of quality rarely seen. He has created a gripping story, realistic characters, and a fantastic world that is still visceral and relatable. Not only that, his writing is truly elegant, his nostalgic style takes me back to my childhood of reading books written when authors were still artists. 10/10 all day long
The incredibly rich and vast world, and the sense that you're viewing it through the somewhat unreliable gaze of a very modest man who is out of his depth is perfect. The beautiful prose with its characteristic footnotes and the main character's unintentional observational humour has only improved. I can't recommend this one enough.
celerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Mikolai blunders around the world, generally trying to take care of his people, himself, and others. It is fortunate that he is very observant, and unfortunate for him, but very fortunate for the readers, that he is almost entirely unaware of anything about himself. Very strongly recommended to anyone in the mood for deadpan fun mixed with action and politics.
drandreasRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Lots of lore and mythology in here. An interesting AU steam/magic punk earth. The Grandmother is by far my favorite character. The writing style too is very unique and reminds me a bit of Tolkien at times due to the diary and historian style the story is written in. It actually adds a decent amount to the story and makes it unique which I love. The MC also is not completely overpowered and gets hurt. He has plot armor of course but it is at least a little believable. The story is a bit on the dark/grim side but I don’t mind that at all. Looking forward to more of this wonderful tale.
Cheers!
wehateellaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I've read a couple of hundred stories on royal road, and this is one of my favourites! I hate trying to dissect why I love (or hate) media, because in the end it's always the sum of a bunch of little things. What I'll say, is that I love well-written well-crafted novels with lots of interesting things going on, and Accidental War Mage hits all these points.
Accidental War Mage is beautifully written, has interesting and compelling characters, an enticing story, great action, is very funny (more like a black comedy than something that's cracking cheesy one-liners), and also has some amazingly and subtly interwoven European historic & folklore references.
Style
I'd generally say that Accidental War Mage's prose is generally fairly workmanlike (that's not a bad thing, just a thing, brando sando is the same), but there's also lots of little flairs, and the characters have their own unique voices. I think the prose fits the main character well too - he views himself as a simple, straightforward man, and sees the world in the same way. I also found accidental war mage deeply and darkly funny.
Story
The story is tight and compelling. A lot of the time it feels like a rollercoaster ride where the main character is just hanging on trying to survive and do what he considers best for the situation. I guess you could call it a 'fish out of water' type thing, but I don't think that does the story justice. I absolutely love how the author has used and abused European folklore and created his own alternate magical-steampunk medieval European history. I can tell that it must have taken a massive amount of work to craft. It seems obvious to me that the author has put a lot of planning into his narrative, and it definitely pays off!
Grammar
Always impeccable, and author quickly fixes any issues pointed out.
Character
The characters are unique, interesting, and feel like real people. This includes the protagonist and his coterie, and any side characters and/or antagonists the main cha
CidolphusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is really, really unique compared to others on this site. It's not often you see slavic/balkan influence in fiction, especially in a fantasy world, but the author does this in a really great way that reminds me of some old classics like Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (There's even an Ivan Ivanovich later in the story).
The style is gritty, in first person, and has these moments of long monologues that remind me a lot of older literature, which I like a lot. I love detail, I love worldbuilding, and this story does a lot of it while the main character, Mikolai, talks about his past and his memories of serving in the area.
I'm not quite sure why the story is labeled as a comedy (and Accidental War Mage personally doesn't really fit the vibe of story). There are some pretty fun and comedic moments, but the reason they're funny is because of their juxtaposition with the messed up stuff that's happening around them.
I can definitely see why some people, especially in this site where people crave fast action and plot progression, might not like it when Mikolai 'rambles' on about some seemingly random stuff, but that's because its his character. The narration is unreliable since everything is in his perspective, and it feels, well, human when he goes into these little weird moments of his.
The grammar itself looks spotless. I didn't notice anything and there's actually a pretty wide variety of punctuation such as colons, em-dashes, etc which is cool.
Now, the story itself is very dark. It's a very gritty and deep plunge into war, but rather than take place in a fantasy world, the author introduces fantasy elements into our already existing world. There are mentions of Wallachia and Ruthenia which were regions in europe before they were renamed, and there are some more familiar nations that still exist today such as Romania. I don't particularly dislike this choice, but I don't love it as well.
The magic in this story is a lot different from the conventional e
ConfusedscistudentRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I found this book completely by accident but it's very well written - I loved the unreliable narrator and his fatalist gone, and though at times the MC's obliviousness stretched disbelief, it was very funny. Also loved the steampunk worldbuilding and the alt-earth history in a fantasy setting. Can't wait to read the side-story material - I would definitely read all of it!
DOOMBUNNYakaKIPARoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Starting with grammar as that’s the easiest one. 99% perfect with a single missing apostrophe, added/missing space or whatever every couple of chapters. Quality of a published work but not perfect.
Characters are easy too in the sense that they feel deep yet often unexplored. In a good way that’s tied to how the story functions, that is. Anyway, each character we get a glimpse into is most often unique and I really hope we get to see more of them, as I cannot accept where the story was cut off. Never been so interested in the endings of such a large and diverse group of characters in a book despite most of it being experienced from Mikolai’s angle.
Style is where the story truly shines. From the way the chapters are named to the general readability despite long sentences to the classical feel. The unreliable narration and the misunderstandings and the general mix of chaos and order is an absolute treat that makes the world feel dynamic and believable, adding so much depth across the board, especially for the characters and the growth of the plot’s evolving and changing scope. My one issue could possibly be the vocabulary being too advanced and the author expecting a bit too much from the readers, but I see that as no fault of his as much as I see it my own.
Story I won’t talk about much as it’s something to be experienced, but what a ride it has been. I’ll give it full 5 starts across the board when I get my conclusion to all the characters in the book, whether it be…
The little girl with the shovel’s agenda, Quentin’s hopefully successful relationship, the conclusion regarding the sultan and his sister, Ragnar and the blonde mermaid’s fates, Mikolai and Katya’s marriage, and whatever will become of the Golden Empire and the Raven’s Battalion after the last chapter.
So, yeah, can’t say if it’s the best story I’ve ever read but my investment in it borders on unhealthy. I can’t wait for further expansion upon this enthralling world and will be most disappointed if I n
ImMichaelCannonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I’ve been working through Accidental War Mage for the past week of relocating between countries. And I had despaired each time I had to put the book down, I wanted to keep going. I definitely appreciate the quiet words and power that Mikolai presents. They’ve gathered a loyal group in traveling home. I’m looking forward to their next adventures.