An intoxicating coming-of-age story

4.5/5 Stars

An intoxicating coming-of-age story packed with action, high stakes, a dangerous quest, conspiracy, and twists. Mike Mollman dishes out a gripping classic fantasy that kept me on my toes.

In Becoming a Druid we meet a young man named Grahme. His dream? To become a Druid! What stands in his way? Himself and a mind-controlling mage.

Let me explain, Grahme is talented but can often be his own worst enemy. Often angering those he meets due to his hubris and quick tongue, including his mentors. After his second master refuses to continue Grahme’s training, Lord Boswan, takes him under his wing and tasks him with his final quest to become a druid. On his quest Grahme learns he is not the only one seeking a flower of myth as a tyrannical mind-controlling mage and his own people hunt him down.

There were several aspects I loved about this, the first being how effortless it was to delve into the world of Pretanni, despite being thrown in. As Grahme is traveling through the world I enjoyed exploring Pretanni alongside him. From factions, religious differences, druids, animorphing, magic, gods, centaurs and more, the world is rich.

I will say, I wasn’t immune to Grahme’s hubris. Often, I found myself mad with Grahme due to his behaviour. And before you ask, yes, I did yell at Grahme through the pages…a few times. Yet despite this, I continued to cheer him on. I couldn’t help but feel for him and grow to like him as he journeyed for his quest. His personality and choices all felt believable, and his arc was thoughtfully executed.

The magic system is nature based and added a sense of realism to the fantasy elements. There were several aspects from the magic, tone and intrigue that often reminded me of various tales of Merlin, King Arthur, and the Mists of Avalon by Marrion Zimmer Bradley. The religious aspects also felt familiar with some similarities to paganism.

Now, the quest itself felt episodic and spans several months with a decent side cast. While Mike Mollman’s storytelling is efficient, I appreciated the small moments that helped further build tension, relationships and thickened the plot.

Speaking of the plot, it never failed to keep me guessing and I often felt compelling to continue reading. Through everything that goes on, you’re often kept in the dark and there were plenty of twists to keep me fully invested.

In addition to reading the physical copy (review copy provided in exchange for an honest review) and listening the audiobook (purchased myself) I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator, James Meunier’s performance.

I’d highly recommend this for fans of classical fantasy. It also works as an accessible entry to classic fantasy for anyone interested in the genre. Personally, I look forward to continuing the series and exploring more of the Pretanni and Mike Mollman’s writing.

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