Reviews

Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher

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okevamae's review against another edition

4.0

This was a really enjoyable little novella! Not sure why it was published under the Kingfisher pen name, though - maybe the cannibalism and allusions to child murder were deemed too scary for middle grade?

pondwyn's review

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

fjordic's review

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Well crafted story, lovely word-smithing

zainabsaba's review

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

katieinca's review

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2.0

2.5? Shades of Terry Pratchett here and there. Maybe after more time away I'll look back on it more fondly because of the great internal (and mage-armadillo) dialogue and upgrade it to a 3. But the plot has an odd, wandering pace (until it doesn't). And only Oliver and the armadillo feel real. The whole point of the quest is to get help from the Cloud Herders, but for 80% of the book we're really just trying to survive the road and the forest. When we meet them, poof, they're vaguely mystical and wise and *snap* here's the rain, end the book.
I think it suffers in comparison to A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, but I'm not sure if I would have liked it better if I'd read it first, or if I just wouldn't have been all that inclined to pick up more by T. Kingfisher.

crimsoncor's review

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5.0

This is one of the shorter and more YA-ish of Kingfisher's books. Still an absolute delight. You start to think it never felt too serious, and then you remember it features a 12-year-old boy being driven from his village by an angry mob (and some more beautiful Pratchett-esque writing on the nature of crowds), plus kidnapping, the morality of being casual in the death of others, children being sold, etc. and you realize you just think it isn't serious because there is a delightful armadillo and some cloud sheep. At some point maybe she'll write a book I don't love but that day is not today