[Book Review] Advent (Red Mage Book 1)
I read a lot. Like, a lot. I definitely get my money's worth out of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited. So I thought it would be fun to start reviewing the books I read. Mostly sci-fi/fantasy genre fiction, so don't be disappointed if you don't find abstruse prose in the demesne of my literary sights. See how annoying that is?
These reviews are not about the plot of the story. I guess they are meta-reviews about whether the book is worth reading or not. It's more about the experience of reading the book rather than the story itself.
You can check everything I'm reading on Kindle at my goodreads
OK, on to the review.
The dust jacket:
Drew Michalik was working in a top-secret facility in Washington, D.C. when the Advent began. As all electronics in the world simply ceased to work, blue screens filled with information appeared before him.
Drew was given access to a mana interface and a limited number of reality-altering crystals called Xatherite. Following the instructions on his vision-impairing screens, he ‘slotted’ his Xatherite and changed his fate: he gained the ability to cast spells. Now alone in the dark, he must battle through the government bunker-turned-dungeon in a desperate bid for survival.
Escape is only the beginning, the first of his many problems in the changed world. Drew will be tasked to not only survive… but to guide the rest of humanity safely through the anarchy.
OK, up front this was a struggle to get through in the beginning. It seemed extremely derivative of Tao Wong's System series. Even after reading it, you can clearly see major themes and elements that are the same. That's not all bad, Wong's series is really good.
After the first 50 pages or so I started to get into it. There are some over-arching clues that the various religions of Earth have some basis in inter-dimensional war, which is kind of fun.
The magic system seems both overly complex and trite at the same time. Each person has various colors of crystals they can place in their personal mana structure. And that structure can take different forms. One guy who is good with a gun has a gun-shaped mana structure. Another guy has a person-shaped structure. There are constellations, rings, and more.
What I did like about the magic system was the linked effects. Abilities or spells that are closely tied together in the mana structure can create combined effects, which makes a lot of sense. Our main character has a sort of ice blizzard and a fire effect in close proximity. Combining them creates some sort of burning ice, which is neat.
All in all it's your typical hero's journey of a ho-hum guy being placed in extraordinary circumstances and becoming the hero.
Overall rating: I'll read the next one.