Battle Mage
An infernal army on the march. An unholy demon at its head. The one person who can stop it is a weakling nobody trusts.
Falco Dante knows only guilt. The son of a traitor, the sickly young man yearns to fight like the heroes of old. Instead, he earns further shame when he interrupts a dragon summoning, allowing a demon horde to destroy his village.
Desperate to make amends, Falco enters the demanding Academy of War in the hope of at last becoming worthy to defend the kingdom. And though he begins to unlock the magic within, the would-be champion fears it won’t be enough to defeat an invincible foe.
Can Falco escape his family’s legacy and forge a destiny to save the realm from eternal darkness?
Battle Mage is a sweeping standalone epic fantasy. If you like classic fellowships, breathtaking conflict, and underdogs fighting impossible odds, then you’ll love Peter A. Flannery’s fiery quest for freedom.-Goodreads
Title: Battle Mage
Series: The Souls of Wrath #1
Author: Peter Flannery
Page Count: 827
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Date Read: November 13th, 2024
Opening
After our previously scheduled monthly buddy read seemed to bomb with most of us, we decided to pivot and turn what was going to be a mini buddy read into a mostly main buddy read with Battle Mage by Peter Flannery.
This one has been on my want to read list for a couple of years now. I'm not sure specifically where I heard about it. It might have just been some buzz in the online bookish community in general but it sounded really interesting and the cover drew me in as well.
Pacing
The pacing worked really well for me. This was one of those longer reads that I wasn't sure if I was ready for. I've been taking a bit of a break from big thick epic reads and it looked like it was time I got back up on that horse. Even though this was a higher page count than my last few reads it didn't feel like it. I did however, opt to listen to the audio narration by RD Watson for this one. It turned into an immersion read in the second half for me which I'm really glad I went that route.
As enjoyable as the narration was, there was a thick accent to deal with at times and plenty of French themed names for me to keep up with. Having the visual of the read while listening really helped me understand and get into the story more. I would definitely recommend an immersion read for anyone that might be available for.
World Building
The world building was really good in Battle Mage. There was some excellent political intrigue to navigate throughout this story. The geography seemed rich as well. The magic is certainly front and center which I suppose can be expected by the name of this book. While trying to avoid too much of a spoiler I will say it was interesting to see the different types of magic and the differences between different factions or understanding of these magic users. Let alone the interaction between magic users and those without.
I hope it won't be much of a spoiler as it can be seen on the cover but the inclusion of the dragons was nice but the interaction and story to unfold with the dragons and characters was done so well!
Character Development
The character development was also top notch in my opinion. I made some notes early on as it relates to this topic because I could already see there were going to be quite a few characters to keep track of. I thought the author did a great job incorporating histories of characters, castes as well as physical hurdles to overcome for some characters. It really set the table and the follow through did not disappoint at all. This story is full of characters whether they are considered a main protagonist or one of those supporting. There was growth to be found throughout.
One of my favorite characters from this book was still Sir William Chevalier. He was such a complex character and a joy whenever he had scenes in a chapter.
Closing
In closing I will say this story had a lot of emotional ups and downs. Some great feel good moments as well as some really heart breaking ones. If you're not prepared for these kinds of feelings you might want to hold off on diving into Battle Mage until you think you are ready.
With that being said, if any of the above sounds good, Battle Mage could be well worth your time. As I mentioned above, if you get the opportunity for an immersion read I think this is the perfect book for it. The audio narration is done really well but my brain really benefited from visually following along with the story as well.
Scoring
Pacing 5.0 / 5.0
Worldbuilding 5.0 / 5.0
Character Development 5.0 / 5.0
