Minor Mage

<b>You didn’t need to be a wizard to realize that if the rains didn’t come, it was going to get very bad in the village. But you also definitely didn’t need to be a wizard to know that Oliver’s mom was not going to let her twelve-year-old son hare off to the distant Rainblade Mountains.</b><br /><br />Oliver, who is twelve, and a very minor mage, along with his familiar, an armadillo, are on a mission to bring rain back to his village. They were going anyway, but the villagers ended up kind of <i>encouraging</i> them when Oliver's mom was away.<br /><br />My friend thought this was quite satisfying, and I'd agree, although I doubt we mean in the same way. It's quite emotionally complicated for what begins as a fleshed-out folk tale. I was quite sad for Oliver in the beginning, though it was leavened with touches of humor. Then there was a suspenseful bit, then a sort-of-funny-but-gruesome bit, then adventuresome, and horrific, and sad-but-lovely... well, you get the picture. It's not the straightforward sass and magic of the Jackalope. As they say on Facebook, "it's complicated."<br /><br />An interesting little fact that a number of reviews touch on is that Vernon was told this wasn't suitable as a young adult book, presumably because of the horror elements. That, I think, is suspicious; I think it was probably decided as unsuitable because Oliver ends up learning a young person's hardest lesson:<br /><br /><b>"Oliver was already on his knees, but he bowed his head, feeling complicated things he didn’t know how to deal with. When kindness came from murdered ghosts and lost pigs, and the adults that were supposed to help you were monsters that walked like men"</b><br /><br />I was particularly fond of the armadillo (no name needed) and the clouds. Creative and just a touch melancholic.

Enjoyed this one too. I have no idea why editors didn't think it could be published as a children's book. 12-year-old hero, check. Cute animal familiar, check. Story told in a dozen modest chapters, in a suitably lean style, check. What's not to like?<br /><br />Also, miracle, the mom didn't have to die or be awful or neglectful or whatever for the kid to have an adventure, yay!<br /><br />Anyway, I suspect more young readers have access to e-book readers these days, so at least the thing isn't actually cut off from its target audience. Pass the word (and the book) to your younger reading friends.<br /><br />Ta, L.

Well, this is a good example of how to write a children’s fantasy book well. <br><br>Writing good children’s/ middle grade books is hard. Think of all the pitfalls to avoid: the need to create the setting and the plot that is relatable and interesting yet not too simplistic; the language engaging yet not condescending; the characters relatable but believable and not just a walking bag of stereotypes and Mary-Sue-ness. It’s not rare to see critiques of children’s books being dismissed because “it’s for the younger readers”, because there are some who think it’s ok and excusable for children’s literature to be not as well-written and frankly shoddiest than the offerings for supposedly more discerning adult readers.<br><br><b>I’m happy to say that <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/52369824.Minor_Mage" title="Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher" rel="noopener">Minor Mage</a> is a very well-done book, regardless which audience (more- or less-wrinkled one) chooses to read it.</b><br><blockquote> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1595457098i/29854629._SX540_.jpg" width="400" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </blockquote><blockquote> <i>“Oliver was a very minor mage. His familiar reminded him of this several times a day. […]<br>He was a very minor mage.<br>Unfortunately, he was all they had.”</i> </blockquote><br>Twelve-year-old Oliver is indeed a very minor mage, but the only one his village has ever since his predecessor died. His training may have been a tad lacking (the prior mage was very old and possibly a tad senile), but he is hard-working and resourceful and studious, and takes his job and responsibilities quite seriously. He is good with plants, and knows a few charms, but so far has mastered only three spells - and one of them is for tying shoelaces, so its use is a bit limited, one would think. <br><blockquote> <i>“He’d been so sure, back in the village, that he could do this. He’d been worried about bringing extra socks, as if that mattered at all in a world with man-eating monsters in it.”</i> </blockquote><br>None of that matters when the drought worsens, and the formerly nice villages form what amounts to a mob (<i>“There is something about a group of people that is less than the sum of its parts”</i>) and in no uncertain terms force Oliver to go on a quest to the far-off mountains to somehow bring the rain back. In between his village and the mountains are bad lands - as we learn, there are ghouls and bandits and haunted forests and just ordinary terrible people — <b>a bit too much for a very minor mage who is twelve and secretly misses his mother.</b><br><blockquote> <i>“A real wizard wouldn’t be huddled in a ditch wishing for his mother.<br>(In this, at least, Oliver was dead wrong—many wizards over the ages, some of them very major mages indeed, have found themselves curled in ditches and wishing desperately for their mothers. But they tend not to mention these things in their memoirs.)”</i> </blockquote><br>Good thing he is not alone! Oliver has a familiar - <b>a very snarky armadillo&gt;</b>. I’m not sure what the ratio of armadillo-years to human-years is, but Armadillo does provide a much-needed adult sarcastic presence and guidance and is simply awesome. <br><blockquote> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1595457098i/29854630.jpg" width="400" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br>(I’m not the only one who immediately remembered this, right?)</blockquote><br><blockquote> <i> “Do they have names?” Oliver asked, rather interested. Communication with another species, even a pig, was something none of his books covered, and the armadillo didn’t quite count.<br>“Do they have—yes, they’re called Bacon and Pork Chop.” The armadillo hopped in frustration. “Of course they don’t have names! They’re <b>pigs</b>!”</i> </blockquote><br>I loved this book. I loved the characters. I loved the adventures. I loved how Oliver was so relatable and had to work for things and think and grow up a bit. I loved how even in a generally lighthearted story there were very adult undercurrents that reminded of scary and sad things that even childhood cannot insulate you from. I loved that this book had a heart, basically.<br><blockquote> <i> “It didn’t matter that I was young, my village sent me anyway.” And he still resented that, but love and pity and resentment were all mixed together and he didn’t have any way to untangle them.<br><br>“Yes,” agreed the Rain Wife. “That is the price your village paid. You will never love them with your whole heart again. The shadow of what they did in their fear will lie between you forever. But they will be alive, nonetheless, and learning to bridge that shadow—or decide not to—is the work of adulthood.”</i> </blockquote><br><b>Would I hand it to a kid of mine to read? Without a doubt. </b><br><br>4 stars.<br><br>———————<br><br>My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2020: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3295830569">https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...</a>

Another great YA fantasy from T. Kingfisher, now a Hugo nominee for the Lodestar Award (for best YA book). Final review, just posted on <a href="http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/minor-mage/" rel="nofollow noopener">Fantasy Literature</a>:<br /><br />Oliver is a minor mage in two senses: he’s only twelve years old, and he only has three magical spells, and the one to control his allergy against armadillo dander doesn’t count for much. The aged and increasingly absent-minded village mage wasn’t able to teach Oliver much before he died. But he’s all the magic his village has, so when a severe drought strikes, Oliver is ordered by the frightened villagers to go to the distant Rainblade Mountains to somehow “bring back rain.” No one, including Oliver, is at all clear on exactly how this is to be done, but they are clear on the concept that it’s a mage’s job. The villagers conveniently wait to gang up on Oliver until his mother, a retired mercenary, is out of town.<br /><br />Oliver is frightened but willing; he was planning to do it anyway, though he resents being forced. (At least, he thinks, now his mother will be mad at the villagers and not him.) So off he goes, with only his armadillo familiar at his side, through (mostly) deserted fields with a few scattered empty farmhouses, like hollowed-out jack-o-lanterns, and then through bandit-infested forests. At least his armadillo familiar can speak, though it’s often rather snarky.<br /><br />On his journey Oliver meets Trebastian, a teenage wizard with only one, singular magical talent: he is compelled to make magical harps out of the bones and hair of murder victims. The harps then shriek when their murderer is in the room. Now a murderer accused by a harp Trebastian made of the bones of two young girls, who happens to be the popular mayor of the last town Trebastian was in, is chasing after him with a posse of his friends and relatives. But since Oliver is being chased by cannibalistic ghuls (ghouls), they figure it’s even, and Trebastian falls in with Oliver and his armadillo on the journey to the Rainblade Mountains.<br /><br />This is the story of their adventure. There’s magic, greedy bandits, flesh-hungry ghuls, evil humans and misguided ones. There are also some new friends and some life lessons learned.<blockquote>“It didn’t matter that I was young, my village sent me anyway.” And he still resented that, but love and pity and resentment were all mixed together and he didn’t have any way to untangle them. <br /><br />“Yes, … That is the price your village paid. You will never love them with your whole heart again. The shadow of what they did in their fear will lie between you forever. But they will be alive, nonetheless, and learning to bridge that shadow — or decide not to — is the work of adulthood.”</blockquote>Oliver is a well-rounded, believable main character. He’s more noteworthy for his determination and honor than for his magical talent. He’s resolved to do what is right, even when it’s difficult and dangerous for him. It’s heroism in a small, resolute package.<br /><br />T. Kingfisher excels in both the magical details, like gremlin-infested bread that has a tendency to explode and the gritty reality of making magical harps out of bones, and in the human ones. Oliver makes mistakes along the way, fervently wishes he could do more powerful magic, and frequently second-guesses his decisions — especially when they lead to someone’s death, though they were his enemies. His armadillo familiar Eglamarck is a delightful sidekick and a source of sound advice and love as well as sarcasm.<br /><br />Kingfisher comments in her afterword that she debated with her editors over whether <i>Minor Mage</i> was really a children’s book. She maintains that it is, and I agree, but it might be too intense for some young or sensitive readers. Oliver’s journey is sometimes harrowing, with encounters with a remorseless murderer, brutal bandits, and ghuls that bite into people’s throats (it's kind of gory). With that warning, <i>Minor Mage</i> is a solid fantasy quest adventure with some introspective and thoughtful aspects to it, a treat for readers from middle grade age to adult.<br /><br />I received a free copy of this ebook from the author for review. Thank you!

A delightful story about a 12yo mage plunged into a scary adventure because of adult cowardice, incompetence, and cruelty. All right, that doesn't *sound* delightful, but as ever T Kingfisher has got you. Oliver is scared and frequently completely wrong, and obsesses over things very like a 12yo, but he's also clear-sighted and kind in a way kids can be before adulthood makes everything both more complicated and simpler (by which I mean the point around the age of 40 where you go, "no, actually, screw this"). <br /><br />Lovely limpid writing, wonderful magic cleverly applied, a plot that handles terrible things lightly. A little slice of perfection.

I want a <b>sarcastic as fish, ever-snorting, skeptic armadillo familiar</b> for Christmas.<br><br>Also: <b>retired mercenary moms</b> + hahahaha + <b>harps made of dead people</b> + slightly starting ghouls + <b>potatoes that speak in tongues when you bake them</b> + the lack of tensile strength in hair (don't ask) = <b>I want more</b> and stuff.<br><br>And now for the unavoidable armadillo gif:<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1649752860ra/32799335.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>You are quite, quite welcome and stuff.

This is a little treasure of a book! Maybe it is a children's book, maybe it is not.The jury is still out on that, but I know I loved it.<br /><br />The star of the book is of course the armadillo. Then there is the minor mage who can work just three spells and one of those is for tying shoelaces together. It turns out to be amazing just what he can do with that. <br /><br />Of course there is more to the story than that. There are adventures, there are friendships formed, there are monsters and people who behave like monsters. Oliver accepts an enormous challenge for a young boy. Will he succeed?<br /><br />Read it and find out:) You will not be sorry you did.

I love this to bits.<br /><br />I mean, it's not really anything <i>new</i> in Vernon's oeuvre, but it's got bandits and monsters and snarky animal companions and surprisingly insightful psychology and skewed looks at fairy tale and folklore, all wrapped up in this breezy language that just pulls you along.<br /><br />Absolutely adore it.

Absolutely charming!

Seems like I forgot to comment on this one. It is a feel-good, well-constructed middle grade story. Has a likable kid protag with an amazing armadillo as familiar.<br /><br />PS: now can someone point me to a novel with a cute Llama?