Shadow Magic

Darkling Mage, Book 1

By: Nazri Noor

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

The gods are dying. But for one man, death is only the beginning.

Murdered as a ritual sacrifice, amateur thief and professional charmer Dustin Graves mysteriously survives, finding himself gifted with strange, dark magic. Then more dead bodies turn up. Some are human, but one is a god of the old world, slain at his own doorstep.

Mortal or divine, the bloodshed must end, and Dust is the mage for the job. But first he must contend with a succubus, a talking sword, a spider queen, a goddess of magic, and eldritch abominations from beyond the stars. No big deal...right?

If you like snarky heroes, snappy dialogue, and a bit of grit and gore, you'll love the first standalone audiobook in Nazri Noor's series of urban fantasy novels. Explore the Darkling Mage universe and discover a taste of Shadow Magic today.

©2018 Nazri Noor (P)2019 Nazri Noor

Not Everything Is As It Seems

Dustin Graves.. Darlking Mage, Hound for the Lirica (?), Dead Man. At first Dustin's job is fairly simple. Search out stolen or missing magical artifacts & turn them into his bosses at the Lirica. A magical police department if u will. Dustin's job title is that of a "hound". Things start out pretty normal-ish, but then after a few events unfolds & eventually things become topsy turvy for him, Dustin begins to truly wonder who the bad guys are & who aren't the bad guys. Luke Daniels once again KILLS it with his style of narration.

Great read. Phenomenal narration..

This was a good read, but I won’t be moving on. A reviewer on Goodreads gave away a spoiler that you don’t read about until book six and I’m not remotely interested in that kind or information. You can't un-read a spoiler.

This had some great characters: a succubus, a talking sword, a spider queen, a goddess of magic, and eldritch abominations from beyond the stars. It was about Dustin Graves who’s murdered and brought back by, I guess you’d say a Sorcerous. It was a pretty exciting book, but the author (or the reviewer, not sure which, really) ruined the entire series for me.

I loved the MC’s, Dustin, Vanitas (the talking sword,) Sebastian, Herald, Odessa and Prudence, and I liked Thea for a while.

No romance and the F-bomb was used 24 times.

As to the narration: There is no way I would have enjoyed this book without the narration of Luke Daniels. He’s totally awesome. He reads with the best feelings and emotions than any other narrator I’ve ever listened to.

good stuff

this books well written, its got this sort of comedy/action thing going on but it keeps them separate, no slapstick fistfights here.

Dust is a likable and relatable guy, though i wish the side characters had a little more personality, the only one to really stand out is Bastion but thats because everyone has their own Bastion in real life that they have to deal with.

Luke Daniels, as always is amazing in this, and his style of reading really favors a book with as many jokes as this.

i look forward to the next in the series.

Good First Book

Finished on a sick day. Good book, literally laugh out loud at points. Some characters are a little stock. Parts (although not all) of the story were predictable. Obviously the parts that aren't are spoilers!

The main character could be a "Mary Sue," but there is an in-story reason for that.

You need to set up rules in urban magic and the system used is surprising yet believable. Part of the setup pays off later in the novel in an interesting way.

You have to get started somewhere, and the second book setup is one of those unexpected things. So I'm starting book 2 now. Not sure why Audible is offering me book three.

Voice actor is superb. I do hear a Patrick Warburton as Seinfeld's Puddy in one of the characters and Dustin Hoffman's Shifu in Kung Fu Panda. But it fits with my mental image of the characters .

Hilarious and Imaginative

I loved the audiobook. I normally struggle to pay attention when listening instead of reading, but between the narration and writing, I listened to the whole thing in 3 days.
Nazri has a way of bringing the world and characters to life that I truly admire. So much of the story shocked me (in the best way).

YOU MUST READ IT!

Interesting but...

The narrator is on me of my favourites, always does a great job. The story on the other hand was just ok. There were some good moments but a lot of dull ones too. Not sure if I will continue the series.

Nazri Noor Rocks

Shadow Magic is the first book in the Darkling Mage series. The main character, Dustin Graves, was killed as part of a ritual sacrifice and how has the power of transporting himself from place to place via shadows. He has become a thief for a shadow agency that investigates paranormal events. In true Nari Noor fashion, there is plenty of snark from Dustin. I enjoyed this book and look forward to listening to future books.

Luke Daniels did an excellent job with the narration. He is easy to listen to and his voices for the various characters were spot on.

If you like urban fantasy in the D & D vein, this is the series for you. Lots of tongue in cheek humor and paranormal baddies.

***I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my own, unbiased review.***

Solid start to a new urban fantasty series.

Shadow Magic is the first book in the Darkling Mage series, a new urban fantasy series (At least new to me) and it's a blast. Like many UF books, the main character is a bit on the snarky side, which is exactly how I like it. Solid story with plenty of action, and I really enjoyed the magical world Nazri Noor created. Dustin Graves (our almost unwilling hero) has some unique powers and I look forward to checking out more of his adventures in the future.

Luke Daniels is one of my favorite narrators and as always he doesn't disappoint. He delivers his usual spectacular narration, bringing the world and its inhabitants to life. I'd seriously listen to this guy narrate a phone book.

I received a copy of this audio title in exchange for an unbiased review.

A blast! I literally got this for Luke Daniels.

If you enjoyed the Iron Druid Chronicles, this story seemed to have some of the same "flavor". And if you haven't listened to the Iron Druid Chronicles yet, then DO IT!
The story was fast paced and I was never bored. I predicted a bad guy early on, but I think the author meant to hint at that.
It was enjoyable. I'll be getting the rest of the series to listen to, as soon as Luke Daniels finishes recording them all!

more please

what Harry Dresden might have been like as a young man in different circumstances. I enjoyed the narration and look forward to more.