City of Mages: Mage War Chronicles Book One
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Description
This book is COMPLETELY FINISHED as of 3/10/22, with a sequel currently serializingHERE.
Born a fire mage, destined for something greater.
For hundreds of years, Sombria has lived in peace thanks to the delicate balance the Council fosters between those with magic and those without. But unrest is brewing under the surface of Sombria, and the Council's tenuous hold may be on the verge of collapsing.
All Alara ever wanted was to become a soldier, fighting to protect Sombria from the bruya rebels that threaten its borders with their chaotic magic and lawlessness. In order to succeed, she must first conquer her worst fear--her own innate magical abilities.
Quenti, raised to hate the oppressive thumb of the Council, has only ever wanted a life of peace away from those who wish to control her. When her abilities are revealed, she finds herself at the center of a world she grew up despising, where magic is suppressed under the illusion of control. And her only means of escape may lie in trusting those she grew up doubting most.
When Alara is given one final chance to prove she's worthy of being called a Mage of Sombria, the key to her success may lie within the untrusting Quenti. And Quenti doesn't plan on making things easy. Though as their two lives come crashing together, trusting each other may be the only choice they have to survive what's coming.
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This story is completely written, but these postings on Royal Road double as a beta run, so please feel free to point out typos or inconsistencies.
š Content Guidelines: Mild language, PG-13-level violence
Information
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- ajcerna
Royal Road Stats
- Rating
- 4.1/ 5.0
- Followers
- 153
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Community Reviews(4)
- PotassiumRoyal Roadā ā ā ā ā 5.0This fiction appears to begin as a standard young adult magic school fic, but then, as they say, slowly at first and then suddenly, it changes into something different. It is still to early to tell where the plot will take us, but it appears to be interesting. It also bears comment that the author has managed to avoid infodumps so far, perhaps a tad much. In all, an interesting story to be read so far.
- luda305Royal Roadā ā ā ā ā 4.5The worldbuilding is top notch.Ā It's an extremely novel world which seems to draw upon Andean cultures. Bruyas, l'lamas, tortillas, potatoes, Sombria, etc. Like, 7 out of 5 stars. It's so f***** good.
Tonally, I'm not quite sure what the story is going for.Ā It starts rather grim/dystopian: a government that kidnaps magical children and represses mages under an illusion of making sure they can control their powers.Ā One of the two protagonists is one of these recently kidnapped children who had been hiding her powers in her village. It then shifts to a bit of young adult/older children adventurous fun (?).Ā It seems like the two protagonists get friendly, but then they suddenly get very cold with each other.
Alara is, well I'm not quite sure how old she is, but she's definitely a petulant, stubborn child. She's apparently has great natural talent as a mage, but she fears her own magic for a reason not yet disclosed, but a past trauma finally explained in ch. 19. Moreover, she's adamant that she's doesn't need to address this but instead rely on her non-magical fighting skills, despite it begin abundantly clear that she literally cannot reach her goal if she doesn't use her magic.Ā Like, she's at a freaking magic school to become a magical solider and doesn't want to learn magic. This would be a bit like if Michael Phelps decided to become a runner, rather than a swimmer. It's a little frustrating, especially given the obvious self-denial and self-lying she engages in. Now, of course, being understanding of a person's trauma is important in real life, but it doesn't really make for compelling reading of a magical fantasy.
Quenti is the recently-kidnapped and forcibly enrolled into school students. She's rather keen on escape, but she seems to wait a fair bit before doing so. She's a sympathetic character, but it's very hard watching her free agency be taken away from her by people who insist that they are doing what's best.
I'm honestly fairly surprised that Alara i - nugito_bambinoRoyal Roadā ā ā ā ā 4.5When I read the synopsis I thought this would be a "magic school" coming of age story. I was right about the coming of age but the scope is much larger.
This is an action-packed story with great writing. I give it high marks among the standard RR fanfare.
The good: leads are well-developed - one more than another but the story is clearly set up for a second book so I believe this will be balanced later. It has an interesting take on challenging long-held beliefs. The magic system is basic but has some fun twists. The mezo-american themes were surprising and enjoyable.
Opportunities for improvement: the side characters have a variable level of development and they adhere too strongly to tropes once the tone of the story is more clear. There's too much serendipity (i.e. deus ex machina's) for me - I think the characters could have solved problems themselves without narrative support. I thought the balanced ideological debate, seen in the beginning, was ruined by the emergence of a clear Big Bad.
Overall, this novel doesn't resonate deeply with my personal tastes. However, it's well written with clear and interesting themes that are worth exploring. I could see some readers quickly marking this as a favorite. It's well written even if I don't agree with all the plot points. I almost want to describe it as a professional-level YA novel as I could easily see this as a book sold in a Barnes and Noble or some such. Give it a shot, this novel will surprise you. - Emerson FortierRoyal Roadā ā ā ā 4.0Everything here is pretty standard YA fare, a magic system built around the elements, a school for mages in a mildly oppressive governmnet with an underground city, but well executed and flavored with a refeshingly new (to me) setting in Andean (South American?) culture. Fans of the YA fantasy genre will find something to enjoy in this story.