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A review by welgan
Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This review contains a few spoilers about themes in the book.
I began to read Minor Mage as my second T. Kingfisher book, after Swordheart. Because it was not romance and the main character was a 12 years old boy, I was expecting story directed towards a younger audience. Halfway through the book I tought "wait. This is absolutely NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK." (and it is interesting that this question is addressed by the author at the end in her author's note).
It is not a problem for me as I think the book was brilliant and the difficults matters were very interesting to read, and well-handled, but some scenes can be hard on some persons. If you're triggered by children in difficult situations, please read carefully the content warnings. It is not too grimdark and ends well, if that helps !
To me, Minor Mage is a modern telling of a fairytale. Dark and dangerous as old fairtales were, with monsters wanting to eat people, and people who are various degrees of monsters inside. And as such, it is very well done !
I was surprised by the philosophy and questioning. The first part of the book involves a lonely and almost surreal journey through a desertic landscape. The story questions some deep matters, such as responsability falling too early on young people without enough guidance, and the way a mob of scared people can do frightening things the individuals would never do on their own, expecially everyday people you know well.
I was expecting a funny, light-hearted story. While written with humor, the story is more reflective and a self-improvement and discovery quest than it is inherently funny. I was expecting the armadillo thing to be a comic relief, and the "minor mage" gimmick to be why it is fun. I was wrong and I am very glad about this : it is quickly shown that our main character is not bad or not very gifted at what he does ; he's in fact, very young and hadn't had time to properly learn before his teacher wasn't here anymore. Following the inner monologue of a benevolent 12 years-old forced to grow up to early to live up to the expectations upon him was interesting, sensible and totally subverted my expectations of a "minor mage".
Finally, I'd like to say my appreciation of the armadillo. He's much more than a funny sidekick, his relationship with the main character was deep and strong, and it was very heartwarming to read.
I began to read Minor Mage as my second T. Kingfisher book, after Swordheart. Because it was not romance and the main character was a 12 years old boy, I was expecting story directed towards a younger audience. Halfway through the book I tought "wait. This is absolutely NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK." (and it is interesting that this question is addressed by the author at the end in her author's note).
It is not a problem for me as I think the book was brilliant and the difficults matters were very interesting to read, and well-handled, but some scenes can be hard on some persons. If you're triggered by children in difficult situations, please read carefully the content warnings. It is not too grimdark and ends well, if that helps !
To me, Minor Mage is a modern telling of a fairytale. Dark and dangerous as old fairtales were, with monsters wanting to eat people, and people who are various degrees of monsters inside. And as such, it is very well done !
I was surprised by the philosophy and questioning. The first part of the book involves a lonely and almost surreal journey through a desertic landscape. The story questions some deep matters, such as responsability falling too early on young people without enough guidance, and the way a mob of scared people can do frightening things the individuals would never do on their own, expecially everyday people you know well.
I was expecting a funny, light-hearted story. While written with humor, the story is more reflective and a self-improvement and discovery quest than it is inherently funny. I was expecting the armadillo thing to be a comic relief, and the "minor mage" gimmick to be why it is fun. I was wrong and I am very glad about this : it is quickly shown that our main character is not bad or not very gifted at what he does ; he's in fact, very young and hadn't had time to properly learn before his teacher wasn't here anymore. Following the inner monologue of a benevolent 12 years-old forced to grow up to early to live up to the expectations upon him was interesting, sensible and totally subverted my expectations of a "minor mage".
Finally, I'd like to say my appreciation of the armadillo. He's much more than a funny sidekick, his relationship with the main character was deep and strong, and it was very heartwarming to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Child death and Murder
The violence is mainly explicit in 2 scenes (Ghuls are eating the throat of people in a very explicit way while very clearly menacing the child main character. Also, a teenager is beaten by an adult man while the powerless main character can only watch. ).