The Prodigal Mage [Anglais] [Relié]

I absolutely loved Kingmaker/Kingbreaker, and I really wanted to love The Prodigal Mage as well. The things I loved about the previous novels don't hold true in this book. I loved Asher's character and really understood where he was coming from in The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage. I liked his attitude and ability to set everyone straight. In The Prodigal Mage he comes off as a bitter old man. Asher and his wife argue and fight nonstop in this book. It really bothered me. When they aren't arguing with each other, they are yelling at their kids. Have you ever had to sit and listen to a couple argue with themselves and yell at their kids for long periods of time? If you have, I'll bet you didn't enjoy it. Well that's what you are in for with The Prodigal Mage. Asher doesn't want his children to use bad magic, but he won't explain to them why. So of course, being kids, they do it anyway. When Asher's son Rafel is told not to go into the whirlpools or over the mountains, of course he wants to. It's what kids do. I have to say that most of this book is arguing and debating about the same tired issues. We knew the world wasn't going to be wonderful after the end of The Awakened Mage, and the problems the world faces in The Prodigal Mage are predictable. Of course the two races are going to fight for supremacy and not work together. Of course the people will expect the all powerful Innocent Mage to fix all of their problems in an instant. Of course not everyone trusts Asher. Sigh. The inaction and slowness of Kingmaker/Kingbreaker did not bother me at all because I loved the characters. Even without the characters there was a meaningful plot. I can't say the same about The Prodigal Mage. The characters are all extremely grating, and there is no plot to speak of, just danger. As other reviewers have said, this book is mostly setup, so don't expect any kind of conclusion here. The ending was a bit too predictable to me, and feels like a repeat of the previous novels. I don't think I want to continue with this series, though it pains me to say so since I really do love the world created. The problems the people deal with are real, and they bicker and complain just like real people. On one hand realism is nice, on the other hand if I wanted to hear people complain I would go to a city council meeting, because that's what this book feels like, one big complaint fest.

There was a good 400 pages to build up the story to where it gets interesting. 400 pages of redundancy and set up, going over and over the same things, making this book not at all enjoyable as a stand alone novel. The book starts out with young Rafe speaking of how he was only 6 years old when he first realized he wanted to adventure beyond the borders of Lur, and then the set up to bring you there, which should have been an interesting hundred or so pages, was 400 pages of boredom and the same issues over and over again. If you haven't read the kingmaker duo, the first half of this book will be beyond boring and painful to get through, because its only purpose is to put aside Asher as the hero of the story. Well, if you're picking up this book as a new series without the influence of the previous, we're already set up with Rafe as the main character of this book, so 90% of the story being about why Asher was no longer the hero is pretty much a waste of my time and strained my patience. When it finally gets interesting, and Rafe finally goes on his quest over the mountains, the book ends 50 pages later in a horrible cliffhanger. I'd recommend waiting until book 2 comes out, skimming over the first half of this book, and then reading the rest.

I was a big fan of the original series, Kingmaker Kingbreaker. I think this is a great follow-up to that series after many years. Some other reviews talked about how Asher sounds like a grumpy old man now. I believe that is justified in his character arc - he's been battling ignorance of the kingdom over the past several years, and Prince Gar isn't around to help with the public image. If you remember, Asher was never very good at public relations...it was just that people respected his boss and friend, Gar.

Now I won't pretend that this is better than the original series. It would be some difficult footsteps to follow. I believe the character development of Asher was very well refined as compared to the development of Rafel. I am very curious about his sister, who is allegedly the focus of the next book. I like her character, though she's only a side character in this book.