Customer Reviews

A Young Man Without Magic

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a big fan of both the fantasy of manners and swashbuckling genres, and this book appeared like it might be a good example of both. Alas, this book has neither the wit of a fantasy of manners, nor the panache of a swashbuckler.

It starts off quite promisingly with some nice world-building. But it goes nowhere. Our hero is bland and unlikeable, and what passes for a plot is largely driven by him failing to dissuade his even more unlikeable friends from doing things which are (literally) criminally stupid. In fact, it is the sort of book where the characters' actions are routinely so stupid that they stop and discuss just how stupid they are -- before going ahead and doing them.

The villain is only marginally villainous at best. The hero is inept; the only thing he seems to be really good at is starting major riots. (Which probably means he is responsible for more innocent deaths than the villain!) Most of the other characters are paper-thin. The love interest, in particular, shows no noteworthy characteristics at all, and seems to exist mostly so that her relatives can drag the hero into further plot.

The ending is a complete mess. Without getting into spoilers, the majority of the plot threads are left unresolved, and the hero goes from being crazily heroic to being completely unheroic in the space of about two pages. It is utterly unsatisfying.

I found this book not really up to the usual standsrd for Lawrence Watt-Evans. The story is interesting enough and shows promise but never quite delivers. The characters are realistic and believable and suit the story.

I have enjoyed many of this author's previous novels, but this one just didn't quite get there. For one thing, the story didn't have an ending. The plot built nicely towards a conclusion, but then it sort of fizzled into nothing. Oviously there is a second book planned, but this one needed to have a better ending to encourage me to follow the story on. At the end I felt cheated for having read so much story to end up with nothing in my hand.

Will I buy the next book? Possibly, but I certainly wouldn't buy the hardback version. I'll wait until a paperback version comes out and make my decision then.

Anrel Murau finishes his education in the capital, and returns home to find that the Walsian Empire is indeed in trouble. Failing harvests and the depredations of a sorcerous aristocracy have left the people on the edge of rebellion. Caught up in events beyond his control, Anrel soon finds himself on the run from the law, having inadvertently fomented a rebellion. But Anrel never wanted to be a revolutionary, and he desperately wants out of his new role...if only events will allow it.

Overall, I found this to be a quite good book. Admittedly, I can't compare it to the works of Rafael Sabatini, but stacked up against such wonderful classics any other work is likely to look like a poor relation. But, having read it just for itself, I found it to be a quite enjoyable story, with interesting characters and an interesting milieu. As for me, I am very glad that I read it!

I have heard a few reviewers rip this book up. Admittedly it has a slow start but it is worth the read. Very different from Watt-Evans' previous novels. I found it very easy to get through and am excited to see the next one. A good story of a young man looking for his direction in the world and being thrust into a life as a fugitive for speaking out for injustice in a cause he is not sure he believes in while trying to accept a talent he has long denied. If you have enjoyed Lawrence Watt-Evans previous work it's definitely worth the read.

A Young Man Without Magic (2009) is the first Fantasy novel in The Fall of the Sorcerers series. It is set is a world where the Old Empire fell centuries earlier. Within a half century, bureaucrats and sorcerers disappeared.

Six centuries ago, the Grand Council created the New Walasian Empire, with a nonmagical emperor ruling over all the Land. The bureaucracy, however, was headed by magicians. The Langraves controlling the provinces, Bargraves ruling the towns, and Margraves governing the marches were all sorcerers. The magistrates and advisors were lesser sorcerers.

The practice of magic was only allowed to registered individuals. Any other magic users could be arrested as witches and hanged. Yet the commoners were dependent upon witches for minor magics.

In this novel, Anrel is an orphan raised by his maternal uncle Dorias Adirane, Bargrave of Alzur. Although his parents were very talented in sorcery, Anrel is known to have no magical talents.

Valin li-Tarbek is a young wizard with minimal talents. He came from a common family and was fostered by Anrel's uncle. He and Anrel are best friends.

Saria is the daughter of Dorias and Anrel's cousin. She is also a sorcerer with more talents than Valin.

Allutar Hezir is the Landgrave of Aylix Province. He also lives in Alzur rather than Naith, the provincial seat.

In this story, Anrel is returning to his home town after four years studying in Lume, the capital of the Empire. He took courses in history, law, and rhetoric. He could not find a job there, but he hopes that Dorias can find him a position within his home province.

When Anrel reaches the town, Valin is waiting for him. Valin has finished his studies in sorcery, but also cannot find a job. Anrel learns that Valin has been so immersed in social discussions in Naith that he is really not looking very hard for work.

Valin is an idealist, but doesn't know much about commoners. Anrel thinks that he is completely out of touch with the real world. Valin complains that the sorcerers are not giving enough attention to the common people, but he is not going out of his way to provide such services himself.

As Anrel and Valin are talking, they learn of the arrest of Urunar Kazien -- the baker's son -- for stealing herbs from the gardens of the Landgrave. Allutar has sentenced him to death for the crime. Valin is outraged and goes to the Landgrave's house to demand justice.

Anrel goes along with him and tries to calm down the young sorcerer. But Valin will not listen and expresses his opinions to the Landgrave. Allutar doesn't really listen to Valin and only points out his rights of high and low justice.

Valin continues to complain to Allutar and eventually expresses his outrage in the wording of a challenge. The Landgrave promptly accepts the challenge and Anrel becomes the second for Valin. Then Allutar kills Valin in the sorcerous duel.

Anrel is now outraged himself. After the funeral, he goes to Naith and makes a speech espousing Valin's thoughts. The commoners of the town start a riot and Anrel has to flee from the town authorities.

This tale follows the actions of the pragmatic Anrel as he becomes a folk hero. In his flight from Naith, he meets a family of witches. He gets into even more trouble trying to protect them.

This novel is very enjoyable. But be aware that you may lose sleep while reading it. One wants even more and fortunately there is a sequel.

This story ends badly for Anrel. He blames himself for everything that goes wrong. The next installment is Above His Proper Station.

Highly recommended for Watt-Evans fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of organized magic, exotic cultures, and determined young men. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

Anrel Murau is a young scholar who has returned to his uncle's estate in the country after four years at university in the tumultuous capital city of Lume. In the Walasian Empire, magicians are Lords, and Anrel, despite being from an aristocratic family, has failed his magic tests and is designated a commoner. This suits him. He saw his parents killed by magic when he was a young child and remains haunted by their deaths. He also saw the unrest in the Empire as the magic sustaining the Empire is crumbling and famine threatens stability. He hopes to lead a quiet, safe life as an unassuming clerk. Unfortunately, events lead him to an entirely different sort of life.

The book is dedicated to the memory of Rafael Sabatini, and Sabatini's style of humble, but capable hero, thrust into unwanted adventure at which he excels, is definitely an influence on the character of Anrel and his unwilling role as orator and revolutionary. However, the wild romanticism of Sabatini seems almost reasonable and sensible compared to Anrel's beaux gestes. For a level-headed, intelligent fellow, Anrel finds himself committing some wild actions that lead him into all sorts of trouble. Still, it does make for excitement, adventure and suspense.

This seems to be the first book in a series. I found it interesting enough to, perhaps, wish to read more.

The above ***** reviewer has done well in her review, covering the main plot points and themes.

However, having enjoyed so much the author's Ethshar series and Dus series, both series among the best in fantasy literature, I have to admit I was mildly disappointed.

The writing skill is still there, and the characterizations, but the author has spent too much time designing a new world. And- why bother, since Ethshar is so well loved? This would have been better served setting it in Ethshar. That would have also allowed the story to come to an end, as this really doesn't. That was annoying.

If you're a Watt-Evans fan, skip this until book 2 comes out. Or check it out of the library. If you are not a Watt-evans fan, try one of the other two series first.

I was torn between *** & ****, but went for ****. It's like 3 1/2.

In a refreshing break from magically empowered heroes comes Anrel Murneau, a young man raised by his sorceror Uncle who has lived a life quite ordinary. With society ruled by the magically inclined,he lives beneath the radar.

No matter how much power you have, oratorical gifts can inspire citizens more strongly than well crafted spells. He becomes Alvos, the Orator, and defends the weak and common man at great cost. His survival, as he runs from Lord Allutar, includes swordplay, yet he manages to stay alive much to the dismay of the ruling class.

"A young Man Without Magic" is truly a delightful book. Lawrence Watt-Evans writes well, and keeps readers entertained while making some great historically accurate truths. The Pen (or tongue) is mightier than spells or curses. Ideas cannot be stopped, and Evans will not be stopped from producing a 2nd book in the series.

That, is a great thing!

Anrel Murau is the main character of the story, and is an
ordinary enough man. He is the son of two powerful sorcerers
who perished long ago in an unknown accident. Unfortunately
for him, he did not inherit any powers of his own (hence the
title, A Young Man Without Magic). Yet, he is happy. When he
returns home after four years of education in the capital,
he discovers that his best friend, Valin, has become
obsessed with the politics of the capital and the welfare of
human beings. He demonstrates this soon enough by bombarding
his friend with questions of the capitol, what the emperor
is doing, etc. When Valin finds out that the Landgrave
(owner of the province) is planning on executing a boy for
stealing herbs, he immediately goes to protest. Anrel goes
along with Valin, but none of their protests affect the
Landgrave in any way. A few days later, Valin finds out that
the Landgrave executed the boy, and goes to him again. This
time however, he is much angrier, calling the Landgrave a
foul, heartless creature and letting loose at him. The
Landgrave asks Valin if he is challenging his right to be
the Landgrave, and Valin says yes, not knowing that he just
challenged the Landgrave to a duel of leadership. When he is
told this, he is aghast, but there is no way to undo the
damage. When the duel comes, the Landgrave quickly disposes
of Valin. Anrel, seeing his dead friend, feels he needs to
let his friend's voice be heard. He makes a speech of all of
Valin's beliefs in the town square, and then runs off to
demand justice.

I, as a student, have read hundreds of novels of all
genres. None of the books I have read, however, have as much
confused and bamboozled me as A Young Man Without Magic, by
Lawrence Watt-Evans. Set in the Middle Ages, this book is a
completely different spin on sorcery, witches and wizards.
Others who have read the book will agree that politics play
a big part in this. No, not Barack Obama and the White
House, but the citizen's debate on taxes and the gossip of a
new order coming into play.

Pretty confusing, huh? That's how I felt after reading it.
Lawrence Watt-Evans tried to make it stand out in the realm
of fantasy novels, but all he succeeded in doing was making
it utterly confusing and boring. This wasn't the kind of
book in which I wanted to turn the pages to see what would
happen; it was the kind of book that I wanted to toss in the
garbage. The author had a lot of good ideas, but he didn't
execute them well. For example, the idea of sorcery. That
was interesting, but he hardly made any instances of
characters using spells in the book. The only main event in
which sorcery was used was Valin's duel. Another example
was the map in the beginning. One section of the map said
The Mystery Lands. What do you think is there? Well, you
don't find out in the book, because no characters go there.
Why bother having something intriguing if you won't even
mention it again in the book? Did you just put it there so
that people will read the book to find out, and be
disappointed? All of my questions remain unanswered. In
conclusion, A Young Man Without Magic just doesn't compare
to the other books of its genre.

This book has a Content
Rating of 3 because it is very confusing and has a very
difficult word choice. It is more recommended for high
school or college students.

Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer
Flamingnet Book Reviews
Teen books reviewed by teen reviewers

This book is the first in a new series about a magical world that is both familiar and very different from the normal run of fantasy worlds.

It is not a planet where magic just happens to work, but a small continent worth of land stabilized by magic within borders. At the borders the natural laws that we know start to break down and finally fail. This land was created long before by master magicians that departed soon afterwards, and whatever they did to create the world is staring to run down. The central empire is dominated by sorcerers, all of whom are granted titles when their powers are recognized and they register their true names with the non-magical emperor. The Emperor can cancel the powers of any sorcerer on the list of names, acting as a check on the good behavior of the sorcerers who dominate the great mass of un-magically talented citizens. Or that is the theory anyway; crises of various sorts have led to the calling of a magical constitutional convention of sorts, the Grand Council, that holds the power to rewrite all laws of the empire. Corruption and intrigue abound.

In this seething cesspool we find a most unexpected hero, Anrel Marau, a young man without magic who is descended from a magical family and fresh out of university. He reminds me very much of the character of the bachelor in Don Quixote, who is called by his father to justify his university tuition by explaining this madman who has shown up on the father's doorstep. Anrel tries very hard to explain and deal with the various forces and foolhardy characters who buffet his life and disrupt his search for a comfortable position, without much success. He is heroic without wanting to be, a vengeful rebel with borrowed convictions, a bravo who never learned more swordplay than he thought would impress the girls.

The one thing he can never bring himself to do is quit. He tries again and again to build a place for himself and finds again and again that justice and circumstances require more of him.

Toward the end of the book the needs of circumstance drive him to face the fact that he is his parents' son, that he is must overcome the trauma of his young life and accept their magical inheritance, and that the world can be changed for the better by those that try.

The story is so action packed it is all the more jarring when it ends suddenly at 350 pages. I hope sequels follow soon.