About

Battle Mage is a standalone novel written by Peter A. Flannery.

Battle Mage book cover

Blurb

The world is falling to the burning shadow of the Possessed and only the power of a battle mage can save it. But the ancient bond with dragonkind is failing. Of those that answer a summoning too many are black. Black dragons are the enemy of humankind. Black dragons are mad.

Falco Dante is a weakling in a world of warriors, but worse than this, he is the son of a madman. Driven by grief, Falco makes a decision that will drive him to the brink of despair. As he tries to come to terms with his actions Falco follows his friends to the Academy of War, an elite training school dedicated to martial excellence. But while his friends make progress he struggles to overcome his doubts and insecurity. Even Queen Catherine of Wrath has her doubts about Falco’s training.

While the Queen tries to unite the Kingdoms against the Possessed, Falco struggles to overcome his fears. Will he unlock the power trapped inside him or will he succumb to madness and murder like his father?

Review

The starting few chapters drew me in with a classic epic fantasy plot. When it took a dark turn and the horrors showed up, I almost quit. But I had been enjoying the book until then, so I decided to continue for a few more chapters.

Overall, the book kept me hooked for the most part. I didn't care for the 😱 dark setting, but it did provide characters I could root for. A good portion was spent in a military academy and training. For a change, the enemy POV had some interesting tidbits regarding how they referred themselves, their plans, magic system, etc.

The writing was easy to follow and there were plenty of scenes that had me emotionally engaged. For a standalone, the author did a good job of tying up various plot threads, but there were a few that were left hanging.

I'd recommend the book for those who like their fantasy dark and filled with gritty moments.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆

What others are saying

From Ian Miller's review on goodreads:

While there are some minor twists to the plot, the strength of the book lies in the way it is written. The world building is excellent, and the author manages to get the emotional content more or less right to hold the reader to feel for that character.

From Nikki's review on goodreads:

It certainly has the makings of an epic fantasy novel. Except at times it was a tad predictable and some parts of it could have played a bigger role and given it a deeper emotional anchor.

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2021 bingo categories:

  • New to You Author
  • Backlist Book
  • Cat Squasher: 500+ Pages
  • Self-Published
  • Has Chapter Titles