In Battlemage, Peter Flannery presents a world where demons, dragons, mages and brave heroes live. Is there at least a bit of originality in this clichéd story?
Magic, demons and dragons
The story begins in Caer Dour, a town in Valencia. The main character, Falko Danté, who lives there, does not have an easy life. His father went mad and killed several other mages, after which he was slain along with his dragon. As if that were not enough, Falko is ill and therefore very weak, which is of course used by his peers stronger than him. However, the idyllic mood quickly dissipates, because crowds of Possessed people headed by a demon are heading towards the settlement. Fortunately, the inhabitants can count on the support of the army and the battle mage, who is the only one who is able to fight an equal fight with the commander of the hellish army. In addition, a tournament is to be played at the same time, in which the nobles will demonstrate their skills, and thus they will deserve a place at the Academy of War Art. Unfortunately, not everything goes as intended by the inhabitants, magicians,
From Zero To Hero
The characters are quite clichéd. Falko Danté is a slut at first, but as it happens in such stories, he finally manages to face his tormentor, who, unfortunately, does not stand out from the row of bullies that appear in numerous novels. Not only that, probably in the next volume Falko will turn out to be the chosen one who will probably save the whole world. His best friend, Malaki, is a steadfast warrior who copes with all adversities and even starts an affair with the gifted archer Bryna, who comes from a noble family. The heroes are archetypal, but on the other hand they are not irritating in any way. I followed their actions with pleasure, but at the same time I was indifferent to their fate. When it comes to supporting characters, there are a few more interesting people, although neither their presence,
Factory execution
I caught two errors in the text – in one place there was no denial, and in another the structure of the dialogue was disturbed. In addition, the workmanship is solid, the illustrations posted have their charm. I only have doubts about the cover, and more specifically the font used and its arrangement, because at first glance, the association with Peter U. Brett’s Demonic Cycle may come to mind . Thus, the binding itself shows the greatest flaw of the whole novel, i.e. the lack of its own character.
Is it worth jumping on a dragon?
The Battlemage is a typical fantasy story set in a conventional world where standard heroes live. It’s nice to read, you can even get caught up in Peter A. Flannery’s story, but I have a feeling that I’ve already read the story. I miss some breath of freshness in it. The universe created in the Battle Mage did not intrigue me in any way. The main antagonists are demons whose sole purpose is to wreak havoc, and feed on the pain and suffering of people. Unfortunately, but Peter Flannery was late, because a much more interesting story with the murderous hellishspawn is the Demonic Cycle of Peter U. Brett. Admittedly in the Battle Magethere are some intrigues, you can see that something is in the air, but these are fairly predictable elements. In summary, the book is easy to read and pleasant, but for me it is a bit too little. Everything is only correct here, and I expect more ingenuity from the writers. Good reading to start your adventure with the fantasy genre, but on the other hand, I will definitely not recommend the Battle Mage first , because in my opinion it is better to reach for the classics, or for something at least a bit more ambitious, i.e. the Demon Cycle mentioned earlier .
PS: Will I be waiting for the next part? When I get my hands on a sequel, I have time and I want to, I can read it, but at the moment I don’t feel the need to learn about the fate of Falk Danté.
