Sophomoric ego-porn for 15-year-old boys

What was most disappointing about Terry Mancour’s story?

Prepare to be told how amazing the main character is... by the main character... every 15 minutes, and while you're at it prepare to be told how this makes getting sex from farm maids (married or not) easy as pie, every 30 minutes... because that's functionally all this is. - Sure there are other elements present, too... but if you genuinely hate sexism, and a protagonist droning on about how great he is, without *EVER* encountering any valid conflict... you won't hear any of the other parts, because your tolerance for unbidden bravado will be filled for the day. You'll also find that if lazy or childish anachronisms bother you, (such as King Arthur calling something 'Hella pimp!' in the 11th century etc.) you'll find this book to be a rainbow of pain. Yes, it is a bit annoying that a wizard in a locale that is still developing siege weapons and crossbows understand particle physics, but that's not the stuff I'm referencing. This person *specifically* invokes the northern California surfer vernacular. He calls people a "tool", and warriors go out to gather "intel". The following is an actual quote, "When my name was called as one of the successful candidates, I was amazed. I'd thought I'd screwed up royally!" - "" -Sincerely, Min, Medieval Wizard at War with all of Goblinkind

The prosecution rests.

47 people found this helpful

Good story marred

Any additional comments?

A good story reasonably told. I get the impression the story is an excuse for the author's adolescent sexual fantasy, and that distracts from the story in my opinion.

41 people found this helpful

Listen to the Critics

Seriously. I read a lot of negative reviews, but in a moment of temptation I bought this book anyways (what can I say... I have a weakness for crappy high fantasy).

I'm pretty much really sorry I did. This story goes on several hour long tangents that have no relevance to the plot, stars a lead with absolutely no personality, and has two heavily objectified female support characters who seemingly has the sole story function of getting banged so the author can feel better about his life.

there is almost no imagery: the whole story was "then this happened. then this happened. then this happened." there was almost no character growth. the fight scenes felt as dusty and dull as an academic tome on abstract tactics. the magic system had no real definition, and contradicted itself half a dozen times. the scenes that Could have been juicy, emotional, and rich in detail were almost universally exceptionally bland.

none of this information is new: everything I've said has already come up. I just wish id listened.

217 people found this helpful

Terrific Book! A great adult fantasy series.

Would you consider the audio edition of Spellmonger to be better than the print version?

Do you love a good coming of age fantasy where the young promising lad leaves his tiny village, comes of age and power, returns to marry his childhood love and live happily ever after? This is not that. If you would rate a great book with one star because the "F" word is used, save yourself and the author the bad review and move along. Now, for the rest of the adults, don't hesitate for a second on purchasing this book! I loved it! My wife whom is only mildly interested in any sort of fantasy, loved it. I will go ahead and add a note about the next two books here. Book two is not quite as good as this one in my opinion but still very good. Book three is as good or better than book one. The narrator is excellent.

324 people found this helpful

After this, I won't read anything by this auther

Story started out well. Good background on various types of magic. Protagonist develops nicely. He is a skirt chaser, which is fine. But the authors emphasis on the youth (underage) of the skirts he chases is objectionable to me.

8 people found this helpful

Shockingly good, best book in years

Any additional comments?

Pros:
-Great engaging story
-Skillful narration
-Protagonist has a sense of humor that was very unexpected for the genre but makes him so much more relatable.
-Manages to be unique in a crowded, tired genre. Mancour wrote a masterful book.

Cons:
-Some listeners might not like the long descriptions of scenes/settings/events/etc (I do, however)

Verdict:
This is the best book I've listened to/read in YEARS! Minalan is funny, interesting, complex, horny, has a sense of humor that I've found to be unprecedented in the genre, and is just a very real character in a detailed and exciting world. You will not regret this purchase.

212 people found this helpful

A great start to a new fantasy series.

If you have read the publisher's summary it might seem, as it did to me, that this is just a mindless fantasy war story. Fortunately, it is not.

The 18+ hours of writing are put to good use in developing good characters as well as world building. The characters have distinct personalities and motivations with a Harry Dresden like main character. That is, he's a smart, decent, and powerful wizard who becomes very sarcastic whenever he's in a jam (which is often).

The action scenes are all very well written and spaced out nicely throughout the book keeping things from getting to dull. In between the action you learn about the characters, the magic system, and that there is more to the story than a simple warmongering horde of goblins.

If you enjoy fantasy this book would be a good edition to your collection.

154 people found this helpful

Mostly Good

Excellent worldbuilding only slightly dampened by a seeming preoccupation with sex. Will be buying Book 2. Recommend to high fantasy fans, but be warned that it gets a little pulpy toward the end.

6 people found this helpful

Finally. I've been waiting for the audio version of this series for two years.

I'm not going to review just this book. The entire series is a work of art. And what surprised me at first is the fact that the first few books are the boring ones yet they contain a lot of action. When the author really gets into the world building (especially Minalan's property, best I can describe without spoilers, is where the story really takes off. ) that makes the long books worth it. Listen to it or dive into to reading them, you can't go wrong. I've read them all up to date and I will still purchase the audio because they are that good.

98 people found this helpful

Shocked at the positive reviews.

I really am shocked. Rushed conclusion, endlessly repeating explanations, gratuitous lechery, and inconsistent characters. The setting and the world building have potential but the actual text feels completely unedited from original manuscript. I might not have been so annoyed if the entire last chapter had been removed, as it literally just rehashes everything that was revealed to the main character in the previous chapter. The whole time the rehash is happening the main character is obstinately refusing to understand basic concepts he knew all about throughout the book. Absolutely aggravating. Horrible finish to a below average book.

The performance was fine, if a little stiff. Maybe that was the intention, it matched the character well.

223 people found this helpful