Battle Mage is a six hundred-page standalone epic fantasy. It’s filled with armies of walking dead, demons, knights and dragon riders with magical powers called battle mages.

Battle Mage

The story begins with an introduction to the main character, a sickly orphan, Falco Dante. His blacksmith apprentice best friend, Malaki, wants to win the local tournament to gain a place at the Academy of War. Falco, on the other hand, has no wish to emulate his late father, a former battle mage who went mad.

Due to an approaching army of the Possessed, Falco and others of his age, Malaki, Bryna and Meridith, must evacuate their homes and travel to the city of Wrath. The Possessed catch up with the teenager and the other townsfolk. The encounter reveals Falco’s potential as a battle mage. He is, however, hamstrung by his sickness and frequent nightmares that allude to the danger he’ll pose if he were to wield a battle mage's powers. Suffice to say, Falco becomes one, because this is a story that follows Falco’s journey from a sick young man to a warrior who, for good or for bad, will alter the course of the war with the Possessed.

The story’s villains include the possessed souls of defeated human warriors, demons whose presence alone can make an entire human army despair and the Marchio Dolor—the Marquis of Pain and the brains behind the war with the humans. Their evilness ranges from mindless violence to premeditated acts designed to cause the greatest possible anguish. There are also human villains: those who fear Falco and want him to fail in his attempt to become a battle mage.

While Falco is the story’s protagonist, Battle Mage also follows the exploits of his friends: Malaki becoming a knight; Bryna learning to lead a company of reprobate archers and Meridith uncovering a dark secret while becoming a mage. All three subplots nicely intertwine and drive the main story. For me, these main characters all contributed to the significant theme of friendship. Unsurprisingly for an epic fantasy story, the other themes covered include leadership, loyalty, love and sacrifice.

The world building is broad and laced with Italian and German and possibly other European names and places I didn’t recognise. A sequence of letters, replies to a request by the Queen of Wrath for an alliance, neatly describes the complex politics of the region. Every kingdom has its own way for dealing with the Possessed, which takes humanity closer to the brink.

And then there are the battles. The author is happy to kill, maim and torment his characters, which makes for tense reading. I usually found myself wondering how the heroes would get themselves out of the corner they’d been backed into. The solutions to their predicaments often came as a pleasant surprise.

Battle Mage isn’t perfect. The story takes a couple of detours from the main arc, but they only added flavour to the world building and the characters. While Falco’s transformation from sickly servant to a battle mage capable of calming a terrified army with a thought could have done with more scenes, it didn’t stop me believing in his battle mage capabilities. And though I often anticipated what would happen next, I didn’t know how it would occur.

If you love epic fantasy, I think you’ll enjoy Battle Mage.

Image: amazon.co.uk, 29-Jun-20

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