I just finished a book called "Innocent Mage" by Karen Miller. I am a bit put off at the ending, however. It is the first half of a two part series. This is particularly maddening as it is one continuous story that is published in two volumes. Now I am stuck with a cliffhanger that I won't see the other side of until I buy the other book, "Awakened Mage." Well on with the review.
The story is set in the fantasy land of Lur. The kingdom of Lur is peopled with two races, the olken and the doranen. The Doranen are the nobility, a blond haired fair race with the command of powerful magic, and the olken are the commoners, with dark hair and no magic. The main character is Asher of Resthaven, a rude and forthright olken, harsh almost to the point of unlikeability. And it follows his trip to the capital city of Dorana to seek his fortune. I found the characters interesting and fairly realistic, but unbending and static despite their depth. The story has some Prophecy Ex Machina, that I dislike (except of course for self-fulfilling prophecy which I find delicious) and some generous flexibility given to the friendships of adverse personalities.
The world seems an over-simplified construction with idyllic society and utopian government, but this is somewhat explained by the fact that the kingdom was created to be a utopia by Barl their ancestor-deity.
Will I read the other half? Yeah I have to. The supporting characters refer to Asher (behind his back) as the innocent mage, and hint that he is the only hope for Lur, and I find it so strange considering he is a magickless olken that I must find out. Oh well Its a decent book despite my nit-picking
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