Fresh off the heels of the events from the second book, I dove straight into the third. As always, I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers. Mordecai, having just dealt with the embers of the last conflict, now faces a new threat that could consume him if he falters. There are a handful of plotlines running through the novel. However, I’m going to focus on the primary pair of actions.
While this novel is definitely fantasy, the author bent the genre by introducing elements of a political thriller for the book’s primary plot. While Mordecai has no ambitions to be more than he is, the rest of the world is not so inclined to leave him alone. As the novel progresses, though it’s setup early in the story, there are three major players in this fast-paced battle for power: Mordecai, the King of Lothian, and the Shining gods.
Despite exploring the magical system of this world, Michael Manning only dipped his toes into it in the first two books. Even though he used the events of the previous two entries to detail Mordecai’s development of his skills, there was a single aspect of his abilities left unexplored. A deficiency that The Archmage Unbound quickly corrected. With each discovery, Mordecai’s power increases, which amplifies the uneasy truce between the three powers.
One of those revelations explored the basis of the Anath’Meridum. Though besides giving us more knowledge of the world, the author used this piece of trivia to advance the second major plotline of the novel, the shiggreth. While the author introduced us to these monsters in the second book, their actions and the newly introduced characters, we learn so much more about these monsters and their leader.
Between a rock, the shiggreth, and a hard place, the King and the Shining gods, Mordicai is forced to choose how to deal with these dangers. However, as with any dual problem, the moment you plug one up, the other always intensifies and gets worse. With each new page, the machinations of the King, the Shining gods, and even the shiggreth are unveiled. Each revelation builds the tension, driving the plot forward. The pace of the revelations drove me forward, spurring me on towards the end.
Speaking of the novel’s climax, the author did a marvelous job of weaving the various plot points to create a magnificent crescendo that was a perfect capstone to this story. While there are several outstanding questions and unresolved plots, the ending was highly satisfying. Once more, I wholeheartedly endorse this installment of the Mageborn series, though you should read the first two installments before reaching for this one.
Click here to read my review of The Blacksmith’s Son
Click here to read my review of The Line of Illeniel