Mercenary Mage - Book One

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2021

Author

SR Fauth

• CHAPTER 3 - ET TU, MELTING SPACE STATION?
  Nov 1, 2021
• CHAPTER 2 – KETTLE, MEET POT
  Oct 25, 2021
• CHAPTER 01 - FIRE, BRIMSTONE, AND ROBOTS
  Oct 19, 2021
• PROLOGUE 00 - GODS AND THE FORCES OF THE UNIVERSE
  Oct 18, 2021

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• VnatorRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Mercenary Mage is a story just about that; a mercenary mage. But one who's been transported to a sci-fi universe and must use his wits and allies to survive in this strange, yet somewhat familiar world.
  Style:
  The style is great! Sentence and word flow, and the overall format are near perfect. I'm able to sit down and read through the text with ease, nothing with how the story is written getting in the way of my enjoyment or distracting me from the juicy content within. The only complaint I have is that the main character, who's described as a sociopathic a-hole, is only described as that. It may be due to the lack of neutrals and allies who are at his mercy, but we've only been told rather than shown such a characteristic. Though I'm certain the author will address that as soon as more characters are introduced!
  Grammar:
  The grammar is impeccable, I have zero complains about it. If there are any errors, then they're easily missed as I didn't catch any.
  Story:
  The story so far is definitely interesting, and I'm excited to see what the main character does in this new scenario. For now, it's just survival, getting his bearings, and planning out the road ahead. But from what I've seen, I'm optimistic about where it will go.
  Character:
  Great! The main character comes off as someone who's experienced in the harshness of the world, and it comes off as he tries to survive the new one he's placed in. The other two characters we've met with personalities have also been exceedingly interesting, despite the in-universe "limitations" of the first of them. Really goes to show how good of an author we have if they can bring life to something so literally lifeless :D
  Overall, I'm giving this story 5 stars. It's a great read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it!
• C. Ron IcklerRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  After a real home-run of an opening chapter, we get introduced to Reeve, our powerful protagonist, Red, his AI guide truned makeshift daughter, and Novu, his mini-me/'son.' In this developed, character-driven story, the fate of the world is at stake.
  Style: You've gotta get full scores with a beginning like that. It makes readers want to keep reading. Along with that, we get a lot of smooth, conversational dialogue and, for all you blue boxes fans, there's a good helping of those as well.
  Grammar: If there were any grammatical errors, they got fixed before I got to this story. Pretty much perfect.
  Story: Once again, the story is great. We have short-term and long term events, goals and lore, making for a very engaging read that keeps you guessing and interested. I love the overarching idea behind the world and find it very well done.
  Character: The characters run the show in this story, and each one has a unique, distinctive voice that is compelling in its own way. As we learn more about each character, investment in the story goes.
  Overall, a very well done story that can appeal to many people in and outside its stated genre, definitely worth a read.
• Daniel J HullRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It was just a matter of time before an author decided to flip the script on the isekai trope.  I've got to give kudos to the author for being the first that I've personnaly read.  The best part if the way in which it is done, taking a fantasy character and plunging him into a futuristic sci-fi world.  Mana radiation is brilliant, as are the various AIs and techno-wizardry.  The story's pacing is good and the descriptions of sci-fi items from a medeival fantasy world character's point-of-view is well done.  The expanations for how things work are great and the snappy banter between the protagonist is fun, swinging from acidic to comedic, sometimes in the same sentence.  Some of the banter and swearing seem more modern than medeival fantasy, but I just choke that up to the author's chosen style.I do hope the protagonist stays someone we want to cheer for, like an anti-hero.  I am glad he's not a goodie-two-shoes.  That puts another annoying trope to bed.  The only minor gripe about the writing that I have is with the small number of grammatical errors throughout, but these can be quickly cleaned up.  Overall, this is a fun read with an interesting premise and keeps you wanting more.
• Dylan KingRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Mercenary Mage is a well-told tale of a snarky, magic-wielding mercenary, who is transported to an alternate world. However, in defiance of the norms for this kind of story, he is transported to a sci-fi world. Immediately this is an excellent premise to hook readers on an Isekai heavy platform, that are fed up of the usual.
  Story:
  Without wanting to give away too much of the plot beyond what I've decribed in he summary, Mercenary Mage moves at a good pace, with its world-building excellently woven into the narrative. Reeve's snarky nature allows for a good amount of levity to keep things from growing stale, and in a more general sense, ShadowRat manages to balance his promises and pay offs well enough to sink his literary hooks into a reader and not let them go.
  One minor foible would be the prologue. If I were reading this outside of a review swap context, there's a fair chance I wouldn't have read any further than it. There's nothing there that's particularly grabbing, and 20 chapters in, I still can't see what purpose it served the story.
  Style:
  Shadowrat's prose is a definite highlight for me.  They have a strong voice, with clear and concise phrasing that flows really nicely. Honestly, I'm pretty envious!
  Grammar:
  Some missing commas between clauses, but nothing especially distracting.
  Overall, Mercenary Mage is an engaging, enjoyable read that I'll be continuing; even as a reader of neither sci-fi or isekais. Great characters and a gripping plot, tied together with really tight prose and a healthy dose of wit. If, like me, you're a bit turned off by the prologue: don't be! What awaits you on the other side is more that worth your while.
• Fost_NZRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Enjoying this story, it is interesting and different. Reeve is very OP, but in a way that is interesting and fresh. You know he'll overcome any challenge, generally with ease, but the author really makes you want to know how he will do it, as the solution is almost always unpredicable.
  The distinct personality of the supporting cast adds to the fun and the humour is inherent throughout the story.
• Hekate37Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Style: Shadow's style is distinct, fast-paced, and bold. Throughout several chapters, I found myself actually laughing aloud at the dialogue or at some crazy new character (like the space whale and Gorge). The style also gains momentum in the later chapters.
  Grammar: Grammar is one area in which there is room for growth. The mistakes are small and don't interfere with understanding, but sometimes affect the flow of the writing. The most common errors are with commas and homophones (your, you're, there, their, etc). A line editor would be adept at finding these mistakes.
  Story: I do not often read this genre, but I found the story intriguing, easy to follow, and exciting. The fights often have a greater purpose, such as providing Reeve with materials or factoring into the great game. I am excited for the worldbuilding to be expanded further in book 2.
  Characters: The characters are my favorite part of this story. Shadow does an excellent job (one of the best I've read to date) of giving each character a unique voice. The main character is wonderfully bloodthirsty and morally righteous at the same time.
  Overall, this is a very exciting read that never failed to surprise me. The worldbuilding is fleshed-out and fascinating, and the characters are disturbing, hilarious, and endearing all at the same time.
• Slifer274Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I used to be a huge fan of litRPG, especially in early quarantine, but that’s an era that I’m long past. This story, by all rights, should’ve fallen into the category of “fish out of water” stories that I just can’t get into, but it’s been pretty good at defying those expectations so far. Maybe I’m just uncultured, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone from a fantasy world get reincarnated into a sci-fi with slight litRPG elements (with a good explanation for the ‘system’ as well), which is honestly just pretty metal. I overall had a great time reading this and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi fantasy and has some time.
  Style: Paragraphs aren’t too long, the dialogue is snappy and does a good job at conveying the personalities of the characters, and the pacing feels pretty on point. One minor gripe I do have is that sometimes it feels like descriptions of sensations or events are a little short, but it’s not really an issue and more of a taste thing.
  Story: This is a pretty unique premise if I’ve ever read one. Reeve, a competent mage from an average fantasy setting, is isekai’d into a sci-fi setting where he accidentally genocides a slaver race, and that’s before the main story even begins. His Mana is lethal to the inhabitants of his new universe, and he’s slowly building it up within him.
  Grammar: For the most part, there are no major grammar errors. There are some super minor ones that all of us make, such as forgetting to put a comma in or having an extra apostrophe, but it’s really not a big deal and the work is fun and easy to read.
  Character: The main character is competent outside of their OP gifts! Part of the reason I was getting a little tired of litRPG was because so many of them had MCs that just steamroll through every encounter with raw strength and don’t even bother solving mysteries because they fix themselves when faced with the raw power of wish fulfillment, but our MC here led a professional life as a mercenary wizard of som
• BjorneRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I've read a few isekai with the MC being transported to a sci-fi world and more than a few with the MC going to a fantasy world but I think this is the first time I've ever seen one with a magical MC going from fantasy to sci-fi. Just that combination alone is what makes me want to read more.
  Besides the unique setup, it's well written and intriguing. The MC is powerful but completely out of his element and there's no telling if he's OP or not.
  Definitely worth following along as the story continues.
• NatarajaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I have to start by saying that I love the original idea! Reverse Isekai? Just by reading the blurb I already knew it was going to be awesome!
  The only thing that puts me off is that the MC is very isolated and there aren't really any secondary characters. I know some people like that but I don't... maybe that will come later in the story but it's too late for me.
  - Style & Grammar
  This is well written, no grammar, syntax nor style issues. The layout is good which makes the text pleasant to read. However, English is not my native language, so I may have missed some things...
  - Story
  I usually don't like systems, but I love the way the story system is brought, super original, works with the universe, I was hoping it would make the sequel more interesting than the normal one but the AI still turns out to be too helpful, pre-machining things for the MC. The dialogues are a bit long and I would have liked them to be better distributed between action moments.
  - Character
  The MC is intelligent, original, courageous, we get attached to him very quickly. It's a pity that the setting makes that his past doesn't have any importance in the story and that he starts again from zero emotionally speaking... especially that he doesn't meet anyone to develop an emotional relationship with before a lot of chapters (no one alive, non-AI, or a little bit human anyway).
• SmeowglivionRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I will be honest. I did read all the chapters within a day, came back to write a review and... everything vanished. The characters, the plot, everything. I only vaguely remembered the setting. So I did go back and reread last chapters... and then I became even more confused.
  But let's get down to it proper.
  So, everybody's favourite - Style. It's... good. I had issues with dumps of exposition in the first two chapters and abundance of blue boxes, but as chapters go on, author gets this problem under control. The writing itself is simple and clear enough. I've met a couple of instances with awkward phrasing, but they are far few and in between. Not even worth pointing out. Do be warned, however - author loves blue boxes. Every single chapter has at least one. Sometimes even more.
  I am of the opinion that blue boxes distract from reading, rather than enhance it, but since it's author's choice and not mine, I am not going to take a point off for that. 4.5 stars.
  Grammar is good. As a non-native speaker, on this category I usually put 5 by default, but if I see mistakes that actually ruin the impression, I put 4 or 3. Since I have noticed only a single typo, and it was a pretty hilarious one (Scared door. As author himself said in comments - that door was terrified. Joke, of course.). So 5 it is.
  Story is very linear so far. Sure, there is prologue, but gods hasn't really appeared in the chapters yet. Reeve wakes up in cryogenic chamber, gets a blue box, expands his base, gets new... companion, fights some enemies. The setup is there, it just didn't really go anywhere yet.
  Now, I had one problem, which is tied to the exposition problem above. Copious amounts of telling. Especially in Chapter 6, where the backstory of MC is revealed. Author did put a warning about exposition, and you better take it into account. I did, so I put 4 for the story and the setting together overall. I want to see how they grow.
  Characters. Mmm, Characters. I like the AI companion. Not the one