A review by wmhenrymorris
A Young Man Without Magic by Lawrence Watt-Evans

I really like the premise and the stripped down, anti-heroic approach as well as the emphasis on discussion and rhetoric. But it still doesn't quite get there -- I didn't find the main character as unlikeable as some other readers, but he is maddeningly hapless. I do think, though, that with some more development of a couple of the female characters and a bit of pruning and rethinking, it could have been much better.