The Prodigal Mage (Fisherman's Children) [Hardcover]

Karen Miller (Author)

Book Description

Series: Fisherman's Children | Publication Date: August 10, 2009

Many years have passed since the last great Mage War. It has been a time of great change. But not all changes are for the best, and Asher's world is in peril once more.

The weather magic that holds Lur safe is failing, and the earth feels broken to those with the power to see. Among Lur's sorcerers, only Asher has the skill to mend the antique weather map that governs the seasons, keeping the land from being crushed by natural forces. Yet, when Asher risks his life to meddle with these dangerous magics, the crisis is merely delayed, not averted.

Asher's son Rafel has inherited the father's talents, but has been forbidden to use them. Many died in the last Mage War and these abilities aren't to be loosed lightly into the world. But when Asher's last desperate attempt to repair the damage leaves him on his deathbed, Rafel's powers may not be denied. For his countrymen are facing famine, devastation, and a rift in the very fabric of their land.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In an appealing series kickoff, following on the heels of the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology (The Innocent Mage, The Awakened Mage), returning character Asher of Restharven must come to grips with the realization that his skills are still needed to keep the land safe, and that his son Rafel's powers might even outstrip his own. When Rafel was a baby, Asher had put a blocking spell on his magical abilities as a precaution-hiding them to keep his son safe-but now Rafel chafes at these restrictions. The story stalls on this disagreement, and Asher's reasoning, besides being is not all that convincing, grows tedious. The conflict deepens though when the weather destabilizes to the point of catastrophic failure, and Asher has spent all his Weather Magic; the only hope now is for someone-namely Rafel-to travel across Barl's Mountains in hopes of finding a magical library. Strong characters with clear viewpoints carry the story forward to a solid, yet surprising ending. The book's main weakness is a lack of exposition; for much of the narrative, Miller assumes readers are familiar with the Asher's story. Still, this new series shows great potential.
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About the Author

Karen Miller was born in Vancouver, Canada, and moved to Australia when she was two. Over the years she has held down a wide variety of jobs, including horse stud groom in Buckingham, England. Find out more about Karen Miller at www.karenmiller.net.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Orbit; 1st Edition edition (August 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316029203
• ISBN-13: 978-0316029209
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.8 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,012,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen Miller was born in Vancouver, Canada, but was raised in Sydney, Australia where she still lives today. She wanted to be a writer from early childhood, but that took some time to happen. While she was waiting she worked as a public servant, a receptionist, in the horse industry, in local government, in publishing, in telecommunications, as a college lecturer and ran her own science fiction/fantasy/mystery bookshop. She fell in love with Star Wars when she saw it on the big screen, the very first time it was released in 1977. That love affair has lasted her whole life. So far she's written six mainstream fantasy novels and two Stargate SG-1 tie-ins.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Prodigal Mage, March 24, 2010

By 

Ithlilian "Ravenous Reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prodigal Mage (Fisherman's Children) (Hardcover)

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.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars slow slow slow, August 18, 2009

By 

Ava Jamshidnejad (oakland, california United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Prodigal Mage (Fisherman's Children) (Hardcover)

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.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Painful to read!!, September 1, 2009

By 

Arraan "RJ" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prodigal Mage (Fisherman's Children) (Hardcover)

I'm conflicted when it comes to this book, the author takes way to much time to set the scene and it was painful to listen to the characters complain and argue about there lot in life. Asher's indifference to magic is beyond annoying the decisions that the main characters make is beyond stupid, and one characters hate and arrogance is just way to contrived. With all that said I made it to the end and hope to read more just a little less contrived.