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secondhandbookshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I did not enjoy this one.
I read it over two days and could not tell you much about it except that there are five different types of mages, a war between monarchy vs libertarians, and that babies can be dragons.
The characters moods, tones & personalities wildly change throughout the story, but the main character did start and end with the same thought - making it home.
Also cows fight demons.
I read it over two days and could not tell you much about it except that there are five different types of mages, a war between monarchy vs libertarians, and that babies can be dragons.
The characters moods, tones & personalities wildly change throughout the story, but the main character did start and end with the same thought - making it home.
Also cows fight demons.
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
booksthatburn's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
SERVANT MAGE has the density of an epic fantasy in a novella-sized package, told from the perspective of a character who would usually be incidental to this kind of story.
Fellian is an interesting and well-defined character, I like her a lot, and she's what got me through this book. She's a commoner chosen for a specific but not unique skill, being used by people with a particular political angle and strategic goal that has very little to do with her everyday life. Where this fell apart for me is that it tries to fit a novel and a half of worldbuilding into a novella, gradually turning into a confusing blur of names and motivations that left me unsure of the point until the very end. In the final third of the book, Fellian is still asking questions about who people are and why things matter, and at one point is rebuked for doing so. It’s especially frustrating because this means the author knows it’s unclear, teases with the possibility of an answer and then declines to offer it when it would be most useful.
Even though there were a lot of details, most of them weren't useful in terms of understanding the secondary characters and their motivations. They seemed to fit character archetypes pretty generically and I kept mixing up who was who.
I think it's supposed to be a slow burn reveal that actuallyboth sides of this conflict suck and the Monarchists aren't as great as they seemed at first, but since the very first thing they do is kidnap Fellian and enlist her help under false pretenses which rob her of any meaningful agency for long stretches, I didn't spend any time thinking they were good. It ends up being a struggle between the group that will straight up murder a baby and the group that thinks it's fine to just cut one a little bit if it's for the greater good. By the end, it was impossible to think of either side as good, which is definitely the point of the book, but it felt like 20% kidnapping, 40% adventure, 35% confusing piles of unnecessary detail, with the final 5% as a manifesto about ordinary people making a difference for themselves while the bigger powers tear each other apart.
Fellian is an interesting and well-defined character, I like her a lot, and she's what got me through this book. She's a commoner chosen for a specific but not unique skill, being used by people with a particular political angle and strategic goal that has very little to do with her everyday life. Where this fell apart for me is that it tries to fit a novel and a half of worldbuilding into a novella, gradually turning into a confusing blur of names and motivations that left me unsure of the point until the very end. In the final third of the book, Fellian is still asking questions about who people are and why things matter, and at one point is rebuked for doing so. It’s especially frustrating because this means the author knows it’s unclear, teases with the possibility of an answer and then declines to offer it when it would be most useful.
Even though there were a lot of details, most of them weren't useful in terms of understanding the secondary characters and their motivations. They seemed to fit character archetypes pretty generically and I kept mixing up who was who.
I think it's supposed to be a slow burn reveal that actually
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Excrement, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
misterwisp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Short but quite good! Things play out in a satisfying way. It's a story about being on the bottom of society and whether or not who is in power means anything behind the rhetoric. The world building is quietly efficient. I felt like the characters were well evoked and it was easy to tell what was going on with them. I feel like this escapes some usual fantasy cliches and tropes. It's my first Kate Elliott book and I'm left interested in trying more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Classism
Moderate: Trafficking and Grief
Minor: Body horror, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
lacee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
mandkips's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Murder
bookishlysimsy's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery
Representation: Side Polyamory (multiple)robin_leeann's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC copy of the book in exchange for a fair review!
In Servant Mage, Fellion gets taken out of indentured servitude without much of a choice, on the promise that she'll help rescue some people from mines. However, she has some cards up her sleeve that she doesn't share with anyone.
Fellion is one of the strongest female characters I've seen in a while. I especially love her choice at the end because it's not something that happens a lot at least in YA fiction. But perhaps I need to get off the YA train more often. I do like how her story slowly unfolds and how unapologetic she seems.
The world-building was great as well. I liked the concept of how the mages got their power.
The only thing I wished was that the side characters and the story was a little more fleshed out. Some parts didn't seem as smooth.
But overall, I'd recommend this book! I enjoyed reading it.
In Servant Mage, Fellion gets taken out of indentured servitude without much of a choice, on the promise that she'll help rescue some people from mines. However, she has some cards up her sleeve that she doesn't share with anyone.
Fellion is one of the strongest female characters I've seen in a while. I especially love her choice at the end because it's not something that happens a lot at least in YA fiction. But perhaps I need to get off the YA train more often. I do like how her story slowly unfolds and how unapologetic she seems.
The world-building was great as well. I liked the concept of how the mages got their power.
The only thing I wished was that the side characters and the story was a little more fleshed out. Some parts didn't seem as smooth.
But overall, I'd recommend this book! I enjoyed reading it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death