Customer Reviews

Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom

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As much as I love fantasy, I don't read a lot of that genre nowadays, since it's so hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, with so many authors trying to be the next Tolkien or Rowling. Nevertheless, I had seen some favorable comments about "Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom," and I noticed that it was a short book, so I downloaded it for my Kindle.

It's a nice concept. The author, Maria E. Schneider, has created a mythical magical kingdom and introduced the reader to this realm through three short stories featuring the main characters. In a different twist, instead of having a world inhabited by ordinary people with a scattering of wizards, witches, and the like, in Sage, everyone is a magician of sorts, with each person specializing in a certain form of magic. The first character we're introduced to is Demetria, an aging grandmother who is a Master Gardener, having the ability to communicate with and influence plants. Demetria's husband, Ward, is a Stone Master, who has the power to manipulate stones (which comes in very handy in one of the stories).

In the first of the three stories, "Toil Trouble and Rot," Demetria discovers that the kingdom's crops are rotting due to a magic fungus introduced by Sage's arch enemies, the Rats who live just beyond Sage's borders. Demetria and Ward, with their children, Gavin and Xylia, set off to determine the extent of the damage and to destroy the fungus. With help from their friends, each of whom has a special magical power, they go in harm's way to battle the fungus, which is as deadly to humans as it is to plants.

"Dungeons and Decay," the second story, is about a search for Demetria and Ward's son Gavin, who is missing and is feared to have been captured by the Rats in the kingdom of Ratdom. In "Call to Arms," the third story, Demetria and Ward and their friends are involved in some nastiness by creepy crawlers from the Slithering Kingdom.

Sage is a magical kingdom, but the magic is white magic, or earth magic, where the human inhabitants are finely attuned to their natural surroundings and can subtly influence and communicate with objects like trees and stones and animals. There are no wizards hurling lightning bolts or casting evil spells in Sage, which was a relief from the typical fantasy story. In that sense, Sage is reminiscent of an earlier time in history when people were more aware of the natural world and their surroundings. Demetria, Ward, and the others in Sage are interesting characters and certainly sympathetic ones as they go about protecting their land from the dangerous, evil creatures who surround them.

Ms. Schneider's writing is very polished and professional, and I found no spelling or grammar errors. Also, the Kindle formatting was perfect. I take neither of these for granted, and the author obviously took a great deal of care in editing, the bane of many authors today.

I'm not sure what kind of reading audience "Sage" is targeted toward, but in my opinion, it's suitable for children through adults. There are some scenes that might frighten a very young child, but any kid who made it through Harry Potter would certainly be okay with "Sage."

My only negative comment - and it's a very minor one - is that there are only three stories in the book. The magical realm that Ms. Schneider has created certainly invites more stories, possibly even a full-length novel about Sage and its people and their relationships with other lands and people beyond its borders.

In the fantasy genre, it's getting harder and harder to find new books that are both original and well written. Maria Schneider has written a winner with "Sage."

As other reviewer have done a great job of summarizing the book, I won't repeat the summary here. I was nervous about purchasing the book based on the idea that it was 3 short stories. It's not that price was an issue - the author set a very low price which more than compensated for the length of the book. I was just a little leery because of the basic limitation in shorter works. In a short story, the author has very little time & space to set up the characters. In a fantasy setting, where the author has to set up a world for the characters and then set up the characters, short fiction is even harder and it takes a lot of talent for an author to overcome this. I thought Ms. Schneider did a great job. The world-building was a little sketchy but the characters and the story content more than compensated.

My only complaint is that I'd really like to see more stories, or better yet a novel, set in this world. While there weren't any loose ends in the stories themselves, there are endless possibilities.

It was an unexpected pleasure to find a different kind of 'hero' in an interesting story. After 44 years of voracious reading of science fiction and fantasy, it takes something both new and well written to get my interest. Maria E. Schneider succeeded on both counts. Try it; I bet you'll like it too!

Demetria is a character that we can all relate to and the magical kingdom she works to beautify (she's Master Gardener) and protect is a place we would all like to visit. Demetria's strength is her intelligence, compassion and willingness to get doing what needs doing to make her home safe and comfortable.

These stories are the perfect length to enjoy either on their own in little bites or all at once. You can read one while waiting for the laundry to be done or enjoy all between favorite full-length novels.

I'm with Granny above, try them, they are tasty little treats!

Let me start off by saying that if you're looking for an epic fantasy about a boy who would grow up to be king or about a journey towards salvation then you will not find it. What you will find here is a wonderful story about a grandmother and her devotion to protect her kingdom and also her family. Yes, that's right a grandmother. Not only is the protagonist a grandmother, she is also a Master Gardener with the ability to communicate with plants.

In the first story, "Toil, Trouble and Rot", Demetria discovers a fungus infection is spreading over the kingdom of Sage. The fungus infection not only damages crops vital to the kingdom's survival, it is also hazardous to humans. Demetria suspects it's one of the kingdom's enemies, the Rats, who are behind this heinous act. She then sets off with her family in search of these perpertrators while using their powers to help Sage defend against the attack.

In "Dungeons and Decay", Demetria receives news that her son Gavin has gone missing and she fears that he has been captured by the Rats and taken to Ratdom. Her husband, Ward, a Dungeon Master with the ability to manipulate stones joins her in her journey to Ratdom to free their son.

In the final tale, "Call to Arms", a forgotten king warns of dangerous beasts from the Slithering Kingdom making camp on the borders of Sage. Demetria and her family sets off to investigate this threat and to put a stop to it.

Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom is an original and refreshing tale in the fantasy genre. It is not overcomplicated by strange magic systems or burdened by an overwhelming cast of characters. I found the characters interesting and likeable, especially Demetria. It is such a simple and fun story that you will find yourself unable to put the book down and must finish reading it in one sitting. Maria E. Schneider has created such a rich world with these three tales and is a book that can be enjoyed by all ages. After reading this book, I feel slightly cheated to learn that there are no more stories set in this world. I can only hope that Schneider will revisit this setting again.

I have a hard time reading on-line for enjoyment and I don't own one of those portable readers yet. That's to explain why it took me quite a long time to read this volume.

Once I did get to reading, I found this book virtually hard to put down. Sage is a wonderful fantasy kingdom described for the reader by the main character. Demetria is a plant wizard with the ability to control and speak to plant life, which does tend to make them grow very well. Her husband, Ward, is a dungeon master who can control stone.

All of the inhabitants of Sage have some type of magical affinity, whether to plants, stone, animals, and a variety of other talents.

The Rats who live in a neighboring kingdom, however, are not amiable with the humans of Sage. Therein lies much of the conflict in these stories. In the first tale, the Rats have sent a plague of rotten mold into Sage. Who better to fight this menace than Demetria, the master gardener? With great personal sacrifice, Demetria, assisted by other wizards, fights off the slime threatening her land.

In the second story, Demetria and Ward must rescue their son from the Rat Kingdom. They get some surprising help from those believed to be the guilty parties.

Okay, I'm writing this review before I've read the third tale, however, I will absolutely do so and know I will enjoy the heck out of it. I've become a Demetria fan. I look forward to seeing more tales from the land of Sage. But, Maria, let's get this book in print so I can take it to bed with me. Now, that's where I can read for enjoyment.

One last note for Maria: Fifty-five is NOT old!

The life of a fifty-five year-old Master gardener may not sound very exciting, but for Demetria, gardener and Master Magician in the Kingdom of Sage, it's anything but dull. With the Rat Kingdom threatening the western border, and the snakes of the Slithering Kingdom coming in from the south, Sage has its share of troubles. And since Demetria is the first line of her kingdom's defense, she keeps very busy.

Sage: Tales from a Magic Kingdom, is a collection of three novellas, each containing a well-plotted, magical adventure. Using only a few thousand words, the author creates a unique world peopled with interesting characters. There is a sense of adventure in every story as Demetria uses her plant magic to rescue her family as well as her kingdom. It's also a pleasant change to read about a heroine who defies stereotypes. Demetria may be grandmotherly and sweet, but she is a courageous combatant nonetheless.

This is a fun read, suitable for readers of all ages. I definitely recommend Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom.

This review was originally published on my blog, Cheap Thrills - [...]Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom

Why do people read fantasy? Why do they want to believe in magic? Is it something to do with religion? Who knows? Some academic somewhere has probably written a paper on the subject. My hunch is that it's related deep down to a desire for happy endings, common in we humans. As a skeptical guy who has a handle on reality (I like to think so) I've never read much fantasy - although I do like the Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter movies, which is something of a contradiction I suppose (like the man who reads Playboy for the articles I watch fantasy movies for the special effects). If you're like me and you're searching for an introduction to a genre that you might have previously avoided, you could do a lot worse than read these stories. The secret is to suspend disbelief and go with the flow. Don't allow logic or reason to interfere. These fantasies do what they need to do: ensure that good triumphs over evil, that magic wins out in the end, that friends and family are important, and that endings are always happy (well, happy-ish anyway). Along the way, you might even learn a thing or two about herbs.