Book review: A Minor Mage by T Kingfisher
T kingfisher seems to be hitting the right spot for me in terms for the book length and type of book I like to read. This time I decided to read 'A Minor Mage` by her, which is a pretty short Novella.
I had initially thought I'd take a day to read it, maybe a day and half ; but actually finished it within half a day, so if you're looking for a short book with interesting world, definitely check this out.
Spoiler Free Review
A very young mage decides, and then is forced to go through a dark forest in order to bring rain to his village facing drought. Like her other books, the world is interesting, various magical creatures as well as abilities are used in interesting ways. Owing to the very short length, it is pretty quick paced, so there is always something or else happening to move the characters through the story, with very little moments of rest.
The author mentions that she initially had submitted this as a children's book, but publishers rejected it saying it is too dark for children. While I can see the point, I would have loved this books irrespective of those things when I was younger.
There is nothing much to say, apart from I would recommend to check it out if you have liked her books in past ; or want a quick read.
Spoiler Review
This contains some spoilers for the story!
Nothing major to add here either ; because of the quick pace there are no long-living secrets as such. Like every other book I have read of her, I wanted more to read about the world, or some things that were just in background in the main story. For example, how did the old mage brought rain back the first time? What did he give up in order to bring back the rain? What actually happened to the farmers living outside the village, were they all taken by ghouls? Why did no one notice it, were those farmers such disconnected from the village? And so on.
That said, unlike the Illuminations, I didn't have any major questions or gripes with this one. Overall this was a really nice read for me.
Final thoughts
This was an nice and quick read, full of her usual interesting world building. Due to the short length it stayed quick-paced and fun. I'd recommend this one strongly if you are looking for a quick read, or you like her other works.
Have you read this one? What are you thoughts on this? Let me know!