Courtesy tumbler.com
In the wake of the popular Harry Potter series, I became obsessed with sorcerers. Karen Miller’s Kingmaker, Kingbreaker universe takes on a new view of the use of magic in an orignal land.
In this universe, there are actually five books (in order): “Innocent Mage”, “Awakened Mage”, “The Prodigal Mage”, “The Reluctant Mage”, and “A Blight of Mages.” The “A Blight of Mages” is actually a prequel to the events that happen in the other books, however, it was published last in the series.
Now, to explain all the storylines of these would take forever, so let’s start with the general information that you need to know about these books. The first book begins with Asher of Restharven who sets out to the magical capital of Dorana, hoping to earn enough money to make sure that he and his father are cared for. While there, he saves the prince and is thrown into employment in the castle. As with many stories like this, Asher and the prince have dark prophecies following them which could ultimately spell their doom and the doom of their entire country. I can’t really say what happens in the second book because it hinges on critical events of the first, and I don’t want to spoil it.
“The Prodigal Mage” and “The Reluctant Mage” take place in the same universe, but it’s many years after the first two occur. Again, I can’t really tell you what happens because it would ruin the first two books for you. “A Blight of Mages” is a prequel that details how the country of Lur came into being. Barl, a young mage, has a power that calls to her, however, only nobles are allowed to learn magic. She’s banned from learning magic forever because her power leads her astray; this brings her to Morgan, a member on the Council of Mages. Barl’s power intrigues Morgan, and he wants to use it to his own devices. What happens after that? Well, you just have to read.
This series provides interesting characters, detailed landscapes and heartbreaking conflicts. Karen Miller does a great job bringing this world to life, and it’s honestly one of the best magic-based stories I’ve read. I definitely would recommend this series if you’re into magic and sorcerers and crazy twists. Happy reading!
– Lauren Pirc, Assistant Blog Editor
