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apar's review against another edition
3.0
I read Melissa McShane's Extraordinaries series last year for r/fantasy's Fantasy of Manners Bingo square, and I really enjoyed it - the characters, the magic system, the world building...all of it felt really fresh and well thought out. This book feels like its almost, but not quite, there yet.
The Summoned Mage is the story of Sessika and her summoning to a parallel world. It is written in the form of her diary, a detailed account of her experiences in this new world. The format works well given the premise - we are just as lost as Sessika in this new world she's been pulled into, and the format allows the reader to get into her head and figure things out as she does. I liked Sessika, she's pretty badass, strong, independent and very capable, with enough of a sense of humour to lighten the tale. She makes new friends, falls in love, and learns about magic and scholarship in this new world, and finally finds a place she belongs. My only quibble with her character is that we don't learn enough of her non magical life (although that makes sense given that it's her personal diary). But it left me feeling like her character was half drawn - I'd feel more connected to her if I got a better sense of who she is outside of her experiences with and around magic. For instance, she writes that she didn't have any friends in her home world, but nothing in her early interactions with people in the new world shows us her underdeveloped social skills.
On the other hand, most of the secondary characters, Teleral (sp?) and the God-Empress in particular, are well developed. McShane gives us a good villain in the God-Empress, one who is insane, intelligent and unpredictable. For around half the book, she pops in and out of the narrative, terrifying Sessika, who is never certain what to expect. The diary format works well in capturing how scary the God-Empress is in her insanity, and I'm looking forward to see more of her shenanigans in the rest of the series.
The hero, Ceadric, is not a bad character exactly, but he isn't anything new - you know he's going to be the hero the minute Sessika starts calling him Smug Git, and the whole stoic, mysterious, self contained thing is over done in pretty much every genre I've read. However, I appreciate the fact that the romance isn't front-and-centre right from the start of the book, and Sessika's diary isn't filled with Ceadric from the very beginning (although I worry that neither of these is going to be true of the sequels!).
The magic system is one of the strongest elements in this book. 'Pouvrin' from her home world is unknown in Castavir, and 'Th'an / Ma'than' from Castavir are completely new to Sessika. We get a pretty good introduction to both as she describes understanding one system, and her experiences with the other. However, (I should probably stop comparing, but it's difficult not to!) the magic system descriptions are not as...scientific as those in the Extraordinaries. Again, it felt a bit unfinished, but not to a point where it hurts the story in any way. I'm hoping there's more discussion on what the magic is and how it works in the next two books.
My only real problem with this book is that the world building feels unfinished. Unlike the Extraordinaries, which is set in our world (but with magic) during the Napoleonic wars, the Convergence series is set in an all new world, and I think McShane handled the integration of magic in 19th century Europe / India far better than she did the creation of a whole new world. The world didn't feel as fully realised as it should have, and that takes away a bit from the excellent magic system and premise. While the next two books promise more exploration of the world, world building is not the kind of thing that one should have to wait for book two, y'know? Maybe one of the problems was that most of Sessika's experiences are limited to two settings - the academy and the palace, so we don't get enough of an idea of what makes this place unique. Ugh I'm doing a really terrible job of explaining why I think the world building is lacking...
McShane's writing style, or Sessika's, is very clear, to-the-point and simple. The format by necessity gives us only one person's viewpoint, but Sessika is engaging enough that it doesn't detract from how entertaining the story is at all. Overall, The Summoned Mage is a very readable novel, with quick pacing, especially in the second half. The magic system and premise of the book are intriguing, and the cliffhanger ending makes me eager to read more. So while this wasn't as good as the Extraordinaries, I'm looking forward to book two.
The Summoned Mage is the story of Sessika and her summoning to a parallel world. It is written in the form of her diary, a detailed account of her experiences in this new world. The format works well given the premise - we are just as lost as Sessika in this new world she's been pulled into, and the format allows the reader to get into her head and figure things out as she does. I liked Sessika, she's pretty badass, strong, independent and very capable, with enough of a sense of humour to lighten the tale. She makes new friends, falls in love, and learns about magic and scholarship in this new world, and finally finds a place she belongs. My only quibble with her character is that we don't learn enough of her non magical life (although that makes sense given that it's her personal diary). But it left me feeling like her character was half drawn - I'd feel more connected to her if I got a better sense of who she is outside of her experiences with and around magic. For instance, she writes that she didn't have any friends in her home world, but nothing in her early interactions with people in the new world shows us her underdeveloped social skills.
On the other hand, most of the secondary characters, Teleral (sp?) and the God-Empress in particular, are well developed. McShane gives us a good villain in the God-Empress, one who is insane, intelligent and unpredictable. For around half the book, she pops in and out of the narrative, terrifying Sessika, who is never certain what to expect. The diary format works well in capturing how scary the God-Empress is in her insanity, and I'm looking forward to see more of her shenanigans in the rest of the series.
The hero, Ceadric, is not a bad character exactly, but he isn't anything new - you know he's going to be the hero the minute Sessika starts calling him Smug Git, and the whole stoic, mysterious, self contained thing is over done in pretty much every genre I've read. However, I appreciate the fact that the romance isn't front-and-centre right from the start of the book, and Sessika's diary isn't filled with Ceadric from the very beginning (although I worry that neither of these is going to be true of the sequels!).
The magic system is one of the strongest elements in this book. 'Pouvrin' from her home world is unknown in Castavir, and 'Th'an / Ma'than' from Castavir are completely new to Sessika. We get a pretty good introduction to both as she describes understanding one system, and her experiences with the other. However, (I should probably stop comparing, but it's difficult not to!) the magic system descriptions are not as...scientific as those in the Extraordinaries. Again, it felt a bit unfinished, but not to a point where it hurts the story in any way. I'm hoping there's more discussion on what the magic is and how it works in the next two books.
My only real problem with this book is that the world building feels unfinished. Unlike the Extraordinaries, which is set in our world (but with magic) during the Napoleonic wars, the Convergence series is set in an all new world, and I think McShane handled the integration of magic in 19th century Europe / India far better than she did the creation of a whole new world. The world didn't feel as fully realised as it should have, and that takes away a bit from the excellent magic system and premise. While the next two books promise more exploration of the world, world building is not the kind of thing that one should have to wait for book two, y'know? Maybe one of the problems was that most of Sessika's experiences are limited to two settings - the academy and the palace, so we don't get enough of an idea of what makes this place unique. Ugh I'm doing a really terrible job of explaining why I think the world building is lacking...
McShane's writing style, or Sessika's, is very clear, to-the-point and simple. The format by necessity gives us only one person's viewpoint, but Sessika is engaging enough that it doesn't detract from how entertaining the story is at all. Overall, The Summoned Mage is a very readable novel, with quick pacing, especially in the second half. The magic system and premise of the book are intriguing, and the cliffhanger ending makes me eager to read more. So while this wasn't as good as the Extraordinaries, I'm looking forward to book two.
spetestar's review against another edition
5.0
Spoiler
not super into the "we've known each other two months and been together 2hr but yeah I'm cool marrying you because I know I'll love you forever thingOtherwise, loved it. Great worldbuilding, the magic was a little confusing (or maybe it was just me, reading it at 10pm every night right before bed), loved the characters and relationships, and can't wait to read the next in the series :D
daisymama's review
3.0
This book is by the same author as Burning Bright, which I loved. And this one was really good, too. I enjoyed how real the narrator’s journal entries sounded, and enjoyed the honesty of the main characters with each other (good communication, no silly jumping to conclusions), but... the cliffhanger ending was very abrupt, and I needed a few more details to be tied up to feel like I really had just finished a complete book.
apar's review
3.0
I read Melissa McShane's Extraordinaries series last year for r/fantasy's Fantasy of Manners Bingo square, and I really enjoyed it - the characters, the magic system, the world building...all of it felt really fresh and well thought out. This book feels like its almost, but not quite, there yet.
The Summoned Mage is the story of Sessika and her summoning to a parallel world. It is written in the form of her diary, a detailed account of her experiences in this new world. The format works well given the premise - we are just as lost as Sessika in this new world she's been pulled into, and the format allows the reader to get into her head and figure things out as she does. I liked Sessika, she's pretty badass, strong, independent and very capable, with enough of a sense of humour to lighten the tale. She makes new friends, falls in love, and learns about magic and scholarship in this new world, and finally finds a place she belongs. My only quibble with her character is that we don't learn enough of her non magical life (although that makes sense given that it's her personal diary). But it left me feeling like her character was half drawn - I'd feel more connected to her if I got a better sense of who she is outside of her experiences with and around magic. For instance, she writes that she didn't have any friends in her home world, but nothing in her early interactions with people in the new world shows us her underdeveloped social skills.
On the other hand, most of the secondary characters, Teleral (sp?) and the God-Empress in particular, are well developed. McShane gives us a good villain in the God-Empress, one who is insane, intelligent and unpredictable. For around half the book, she pops in and out of the narrative, terrifying Sessika, who is never certain what to expect. The diary format works well in capturing how scary the God-Empress is in her insanity, and I'm looking forward to see more of her shenanigans in the rest of the series.
The hero, Ceadric, is not a bad character exactly, but he isn't anything new - you know he's going to be the hero the minute Sessika starts calling him Smug Git, and the whole stoic, mysterious, self contained thing is over done in pretty much every genre I've read. However, I appreciate the fact that the romance isn't front-and-centre right from the start of the book, and Sessika's diary isn't filled with Ceadric from the very beginning (although I worry that neither of these is going to be true of the sequels!).
The magic system is one of the strongest elements in this book. 'Pouvrin' from her home world is unknown in Castavir, and 'Th'an / Ma'than' from Castavir are completely new to Sessika. We get a pretty good introduction to both as she describes understanding one system, and her experiences with the other. However, (I should probably stop comparing, but it's difficult not to!) the magic system descriptions are not as...scientific as those in the Extraordinaries. Again, it felt a bit unfinished, but not to a point where it hurts the story in any way. I'm hoping there's more discussion on what the magic is and how it works in the next two books.
My only real problem with this book is that the world building feels unfinished. Unlike the Extraordinaries, which is set in our world (but with magic) during the Napoleonic wars, the Convergence series is set in an all new world, and I think McShane handled the integration of magic in 19th century Europe / India far better than she did the creation of a whole new world. The world didn't feel as fully realised as it should have, and that takes away a bit from the excellent magic system and premise. While the next two books promise more exploration of the world, world building is not the kind of thing that one should have to wait for book two, y'know? Maybe one of the problems was that most of Sessika's experiences are limited to two settings - the academy and the palace, so we don't get enough of an idea of what makes this place unique. Ugh I'm doing a really terrible job of explaining why I think the world building is lacking...
McShane's writing style, or Sessika's, is very clear, to-the-point and simple. The format by necessity gives us only one person's viewpoint, but Sessika is engaging enough that it doesn't detract from how entertaining the story is at all. Overall, The Summoned Mage is a very readable novel, with quick pacing, especially in the second half. The magic system and premise of the book are intriguing, and the cliffhanger ending makes me eager to read more. So while this wasn't as good as the Extraordinaries, I'm looking forward to book two.
The Summoned Mage is the story of Sessika and her summoning to a parallel world. It is written in the form of her diary, a detailed account of her experiences in this new world. The format works well given the premise - we are just as lost as Sessika in this new world she's been pulled into, and the format allows the reader to get into her head and figure things out as she does. I liked Sessika, she's pretty badass, strong, independent and very capable, with enough of a sense of humour to lighten the tale. She makes new friends, falls in love, and learns about magic and scholarship in this new world, and finally finds a place she belongs. My only quibble with her character is that we don't learn enough of her non magical life (although that makes sense given that it's her personal diary). But it left me feeling like her character was half drawn - I'd feel more connected to her if I got a better sense of who she is outside of her experiences with and around magic. For instance, she writes that she didn't have any friends in her home world, but nothing in her early interactions with people in the new world shows us her underdeveloped social skills.
On the other hand, most of the secondary characters, Teleral (sp?) and the God-Empress in particular, are well developed. McShane gives us a good villain in the God-Empress, one who is insane, intelligent and unpredictable. For around half the book, she pops in and out of the narrative, terrifying Sessika, who is never certain what to expect. The diary format works well in capturing how scary the God-Empress is in her insanity, and I'm looking forward to see more of her shenanigans in the rest of the series.
The hero, Ceadric, is not a bad character exactly, but he isn't anything new - you know he's going to be the hero the minute Sessika starts calling him Smug Git, and the whole stoic, mysterious, self contained thing is over done in pretty much every genre I've read. However, I appreciate the fact that the romance isn't front-and-centre right from the start of the book, and Sessika's diary isn't filled with Ceadric from the very beginning (although I worry that neither of these is going to be true of the sequels!).
The magic system is one of the strongest elements in this book. 'Pouvrin' from her home world is unknown in Castavir, and 'Th'an / Ma'than' from Castavir are completely new to Sessika. We get a pretty good introduction to both as she describes understanding one system, and her experiences with the other. However, (I should probably stop comparing, but it's difficult not to!) the magic system descriptions are not as...scientific as those in the Extraordinaries. Again, it felt a bit unfinished, but not to a point where it hurts the story in any way. I'm hoping there's more discussion on what the magic is and how it works in the next two books.
My only real problem with this book is that the world building feels unfinished. Unlike the Extraordinaries, which is set in our world (but with magic) during the Napoleonic wars, the Convergence series is set in an all new world, and I think McShane handled the integration of magic in 19th century Europe / India far better than she did the creation of a whole new world. The world didn't feel as fully realised as it should have, and that takes away a bit from the excellent magic system and premise. While the next two books promise more exploration of the world, world building is not the kind of thing that one should have to wait for book two, y'know? Maybe one of the problems was that most of Sessika's experiences are limited to two settings - the academy and the palace, so we don't get enough of an idea of what makes this place unique. Ugh I'm doing a really terrible job of explaining why I think the world building is lacking...
McShane's writing style, or Sessika's, is very clear, to-the-point and simple. The format by necessity gives us only one person's viewpoint, but Sessika is engaging enough that it doesn't detract from how entertaining the story is at all. Overall, The Summoned Mage is a very readable novel, with quick pacing, especially in the second half. The magic system and premise of the book are intriguing, and the cliffhanger ending makes me eager to read more. So while this wasn't as good as the Extraordinaries, I'm looking forward to book two.
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