John Bierce

A young adult light fantasy in the veins of Harry Potter, Rowan of Rin and Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic books.

Apprentice mages; Hugh, Sabae, Talia and Godrick might be on semester break but they certainly don't have much time for rest. Between training, pirates and sandstorms their journey through the Endless Erg is anything but quiet. Of course, reaching the dragon city of Theras Tel isn't much better when they find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy to oust the dragon queen.

While I enjoyed the first book, the second book in the series is substantially better. Tautly woven plot, action packed scenes, better fleshed out characters and more of a ensemble cast than just being about Hugh - I adored it. The worldbuilding was strong and I loved Alustin and his affinity for paper. I mean sure, I've read badass librarians before but a paper mage was a bit of a new twist on an old classic and it was epic.

The guards were rather shocked when Alustin stopped lecturing them about the stages of a Tsarnassian forest’s growth cycle after a forest fire and started cursing like a dockworker. They were even more shocked when he pulled a sabre covered in spellforms out of midair and hacked through the cage’s lock in a single blow. When the sword vanished again and thousands of pages of paper came flying, so far as they could tell, out of Alustin’s right hand, well, it didn’t seem likely that they could get that much more shocked, yet they accomplished it. The paper wrapping and suffocating them into unconsciousness still managed to surprise them the most, somehow.

Bierce, John. Jewel of the Endless Erg: Mage Errant Book 2 (pp. 199-200). Kindle Edition.

Hugh was staring at the door when it happened. A large, unsealed envelope came sliding underneath. The guards started, then one leaned down to pick it up. The other guard leaned over to look. The instant the first guard opened it, several sheets of paper flew straight out and plastered themselves to the guards’ faces. The guards promptly began cursing and trying to pull the pages off, but the paper somehow molded even closer to their faces. Within seconds their cursing had turned to muffled noises of panic. Not long after that, they crumpled to the ground. As soon as they did so, Alustin strode into the room, smiling broadly. “You know, I used to find it disturbing how often guards fall for the mysterious letter under the door trick, but it honestly gets funnier every time now.” The apprentices all stared at him in shock. “Are… are they…” Hugh began. “They’re still alive,” Alustin said. “Just unconscious.” “You’re a paper mage?” Talia asked, incredulous. “You can’t be a paper mage, they can’t be battlemages!” Alustin just raised an eyebrow at her. “It wasn’t too long ago that none of you thought you could be battlemages, either. And I did mention that no one thought I could be a battlemage, didn’t I?”

Bierce, John. Jewel of the Endless Erg: Mage Errant Book 2 (pp. 200-201). Kindle Edition.



Totally awesome. There were rather a few new little twists on the usual tropes and ideas. I love a good bag of holding but the tattoo of holding - I want one.
“You’re going to ward it,” Alustin said, pulling his arm back out of midair, holding a sheet of paper. Hugh noticed a spellform tattoo glowing bright blue on Alustin’s arm— the exact blue of Kanderon’s wings— that rapidly faded into invisibility. “How’d you do that?” Talia demanded. Alustin glanced at his arm. “Oh, Kanderon gave me that. Tattooed an extradimensional storage space onto my arm. I just let people think my bag is the extradimensional storage space.”

Bierce, John. Jewel of the Endless Erg: Mage Errant Book 2 (pp. 201-202). Kindle Edition.

Actually to be fair I also really love the idea of Talia's spellform tattoos. Anyway my biggest issue was the romance. It was just weird. The characters feel young and because of that, the romance just felt out of place. Especially with Hugh flushing red every time it's even hinted at. I did like that Sabae takes charge to figure out what they're all moping about, gives them advice and implements her solutions. That is one thing I really enjoy about this series - the communication. The friendships between them are all bolstered by being willing to discuss their issues and fears and support each other as needed. They give each other space but are willing to step in and push when they have to.

I loved Talia and her love of explosions. They were awesome. And her and Godrick hiding the evidence of the dragon they killed was hilarious. I really liked that in a lot of ways none of them conform to the roles they're given. Like Godrick - is big strong and manly - but is intelligent and capable of being more than just a hammer hitting a nail. All of them are more than they are perceived to be and I rated it.

The plot picked up speed towards the end as well and I was completely hooked, wanting to know what was going to happen next. And I was pleasantly surprised by where it did go. I think the book worked better for focusing more on the ensemble nature rather than just Hugh's story. There was some of it in the first book, but this one really hit its stride and it was great. It was pretty funny and fairly original for all you can easily pick what the author's read and been influenced by.

A new favourite to be sure, 4 stars.… (más)

A middle grade/young adult light fantasy in the veins of Harry Potter, Rowan of Rin and Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic books.

Hugh of Emblin might have been told he was a mage but he certainly doesn't feel like one. His first year at Skyhold Academy has been fraught with wonky and failed spells, bullying and despair. But all that changes when Alustin Haber, Librarian Errant, chooses Hugh and two other mages, Sabae Kaen Das and Talia of Clan Castis to be his apprentices and includes Godrick Wallbreaker in their training. The four become fast friends and find in each other the acceptance, care and loyalty they've been looking for.

This was a good straightforward fantasy, with your chosen one, steadfast friends, obvious evils and minor bully. There's nothing particularly unique here but it solidly delivers an engaging tale. It's on the younger side of the young adult audience and Hugh definitely sounds younger than his supposed fourteen years of age. He felt closer to the twelve mark which might make it a bit too simplistic for older readers.

The plot was a bit thin in parts but enjoyable nonetheless. The magic system is mostly familiar with a few unique twists. I don't think I've read of a crystal or scent mage before and I liked Talia's flame flavoured bone and dream affinities even if I have seen them before. Hugh can be a bit whiny at times (and I guess there were reasons...demons influencing his thoughts, etc...) but in general he's pretty likeable and his social anxiety is very relatable. The rest of the characters were a bit flat in parts but I liked them all too. I really loved the dynamic between them. They were all so nice to each other and supportive and it was great.

My favourite part was the magical library - because it's a MAGICAL LIBRARY!!! I mean what reader could possibly go past that? Honestly seeing that in one of the reviews was probably the main reason I picked it up to begin with. I loved the librarians using paper origami animals to find books and the concept of the Great Index. And Alustin's title - Librarian Errant was awesome - I mean a battlemage employed to retrieve rare books - freaking cool. To be fair it's not a new idea and I've seen similar concepts before (A.F. Kay's Divine Apostasy series with Ink Lords is th most recent to come to mind) but I love books. I loved Hugh's unique approach to getting them out of the labyrinth. And the idea of bonding with the library was epic. I was only disappointed to find there's no sentient library but rather a head librarian sphinx. Still cool. But bonding with a library is hard to let go.

Overall a fun adventurous tale with likable characters and intriguing magic. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.… (más)