Zak Shareef

This is the third book in this series that I���ve read. In the first book, A Wizard���s Role, we meet the Awen���s. There is Jason, the father, leader, etc. Then, there is his son Joshua who has an ego no matter that he can back it up with talent, he hasn���t earned the experience quite yet to go with it. Next, there is Marcus, Jason���s brother. Marcus is a significant part of the Guard, which is an organization of very talented Magicians who hunt and kill rogue wizards. The Awen���s are very powerful Wizards, with the exception of Marcus who is just a Magician.

I pointed that out because of the protagonist in the first book, being Joshua, is also the protagonist in this third book I���ve read, A Mage���s Play. The difference in the character is astounding. In my other review I noted how I thought that Joshua needed some humbling to his ego. I was glad to see he wasn���t so cocky, but I wasn���t sure if I liked how broken he became.

The plot opens quite a few years after the ending of A Wizard���s Role. We find Joshua has left his family and is working a mundane job, drinking in bars, and stumbling into his neighbors apartment at odd hours to smoke some ���special��� stuff. We also meet Stelz, who is a man behind the scenes who pulls strings to get people to do what he wants. In the opening, he states that he wants Joshua broken so he can be put back together however Stelz would like.

In this story, Joshua cast a spell that became his last. And, although he is still a wizard, he is now unable to cast in spells. Joshua does sometimes talk more like a textbook would read than I���d like, he finds himself a selfless mission. So, his neighbor introduces him to Ananda who has a curse that will kill her or make her insane. Joshua who fumbles over his words with her decides to take on the task of figuring out. He has to decide how far he���s willing to go and to what lengths to save her.

It���s a good story and I���m excited for another part in it. I liked, too, that the editing in this book was much better than that of old ones. I will say that you are going to have to use your brain to keep up. There are books you can read and turn your brain off so that you can flow within the other world. This isn���t one of them. If you turn off your brain, it���s likely that every few pages you���ll be saying, ���Huh?���
… (meer)

In A Wizard���s Role, we meet the Awens. There is Jason, the father, leader, etc. Then, there is his son Joshua who has an ego no matter that he can back it up with talent, he hasn���t earned the experience quite yet to go with it. Next, there is Marcus, Jason���s brother. Marcus is a significant part of the Guard, which is an organization of very talented Magicians who hunt and kill rogue wizards. The Awens are very powerful Wizards, with the exception of Marcus who is just a Magician.

A Magician���s Purpose gives a deeper look into Marcus��� side of things as well as the make up of the family. I was very happy to see this, as I was intrigued in the first book of Marcus��� character. We follow Marcus and other points of view to see how he tracks down the person summoning these demons that kill people and his brother, Kyle, who is dispatching them. I won���t spoil the plot, but I was saddened and happy with Marcus��� resolution to the problem.

There was definite improvement for the plot in this book. Not only do we get to see the politics side that was hinted at the first one, but the ending brings about intrigue as to the future of the characters. There is some editing that could stand to be done as I saw some grammatical and repeated words occasionally. This interrupts the reader���s experience, but they���re not all over the place I have seen in other works. Definitely looking forward to A Mage���s Play.
… (meer)

No wands or staffs are needed in this new-ish take on wizardry. In it, we follow Joshua from an attack in a bar to being told by his uncle he can teach him no more and should try to learn more from his dad. Joshua is a seventeen year old in with daddy issues who is in his summer before his senior year. He is typical in the sense he is in to girls and has an ego. Home Joshua goes and his temperament grows to angry since he looked forward to being with his uncle more. After fighting with his father and realizing some things, off he goes to home and then to a carnival of sorts where he meets up with two female companions and a good friend.

The storyline is a good premise. I like the world building and differentiation between magicians and wizards. I also liked the concept with ���techies��� who are regulars that have some tech to allow them to also use magic. The only issues I would say that I have is that Joshua has an exceedingly large ego, and I hope he learns some humility in the future.

The other is there are times Joshua the know-it-all gives lots of drivel and over explains some things. At times, I felt like I was reading a textbook instead of being a part of a new world. I don't think it takes too much away from the story. This author is good and I fell into the story initially because of how good the bar scene was written. I also know that while it felt like a textbook minutely, I needed those explanations to some extent to understand what was going on. It just seemed over explained in a few instances. Still, the story is a good one and I look forward to reading the next.… (meer)