A Conjuring of Ravens

A Magepunk Progression Fantasy (A Practical Guide to Sorcery, Book 1)

By: Azalea Ellis

Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir

Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

In a world where magic is a science, Siobhan Naught is a genius.

But even geniuses need schooling.

Siobhan has just been banned from the country's only magical university. As the unwitting accomplice to the theft of a priceless magical artifact, she has suddenly become a wanted criminal. There are fates worse than death, and if caught, she will face them. Unwilling to give up on her dream of becoming the world's most powerful sorcerer, she resolves to do whatever it takes to change her fate.

Even if it means magically disguising herself as a boy and indebting herself to a gang of criminals to pay for university tuition.

With the coppers after her, the pressure of trying to keep her spot in the devilishly competitive magic classes, and the gang calling in favors to repay her debts, Siobhan will need every drop of magic she can channel.

©2021 Seladore Publishing (P)2021 Seladore Publishing

Lots of depth

Deep dive into character motivations, magic system, political landscape/ intrigue, history, etc. The plot moves steadily- certainly no rushing.

I would say this book/ series is an academic’s fantasy. It explores various aspects of higher education and learning, but within the framework of potions, spells, gang fights, power struggles, and so forth.

There is no climactic finish, as the next book picks up exactly where this one ends, building more twisted webs and subplots. Very enjoyable, and well written.

As of this writing I’m eagerly awaiting book four. Maybe we’ll get an epic conclusion? If not I’ll probably get book five too. Enjoy the journey, eh?

incredible

I was skeptical going in to this, the opening scene was a little obscure and didn't seem to directly relate to the book until much later than I expected. That aside the characters, the storyline, the world building, just everything is INCREDIBLE. I devoured this book, the second and absolutely cannot wait for the third. I'll be off hoping for fanfic about Professor Lacer, until the next book!
I will note that stuck with this book after the intro in part because I love the narrators work, and again was not disappointed at all.

Pretty good but hard to recommend until the next one comes out

Good book but the story only sets up then the book ends.
I like the world and the way magic works. The main character is a both smart and not so smart which is a little bit annoying but not unrealistic for a teenager.

The reader is a little bit crisp and precise for my tastes, I would have preferred if she relaxed a bit.

A great read

This was a wonderful read. The author did a great job with the characters & there is plenty of magic. This is a new author for me & I do believe I have another series to read.

Siobhan and her father steal a magical book. Her father is caught & goes to jail. Meanwhile Siobhan has nothing with her so she has to return to their room for her things. She knows the coppers will be watching for her so she has to break in. Of course as she is preparing to leave the coppers realize she's there and she goes out a window and runs. She gets help from a stranger but still thinks she will get caught. She didn't know the capabilities of a magical medallion in the book. It turned her into a boy so she was able to hide in plain sight.

Siobhan has dreams of becoming a great Sorcerer and she won't let anything stop her/him. As she struggles to pay for school & learn she will face many obstacles a long the way. She also learns that her father does not have her best interests in mind. A great read & the narrator was fabulous. Can't wait for book 2.

Absolutely wonderful listen.

This book was wonderful to listen to. The premise greatly intrigued me and it paid off. The narrator was wonderful and does a great job of bringing all the characters to life with distinct voices.

I am only sad I have to read Book 2 instead of listen and that Book 3 is coming at the end of the year. I am sure I will listen to them all in Audio and just hope that the same narrator is used.

The magic described in this book is wonderful. It is complex but makes sense. It is not dense, just detailed. It would have been very easy to fill the book with all that world building but the author has done a marvellous job of holding back and giving us just enough here and there to make us more interested.

I really enjoyed the school settings, the classes, the way the trope of a school antagonist is handled far more realistically. The main character in this stories struggles a great deal but it does not feel depressing or hopeless. I also very much enjoyed the several additional PoV characters who seem there to show us things the character themselves might not know or care about. I loved all of them and each felt like a distinct change and their voices were interesting and so were there though processes.

This is a great beginning to an epic adventure

The book starts off with an expensive expedition to a desolate waste to retrieve powerful artifacts from a lost civilization and a bunch of high powered magic users were killed off by the nightmare residents of the area.  The chapter ends with the team lead finding this book.

The main character is Siobhan Naught, her father seems to be some minor crook who gets them tossed from town to town and steals the book.  He is caught but she escapes and runs back to their room and sneaks in a window and flees with it.  The magic book had an artifact hidden inside and slips away from pursuing coppers and is rescued by a rich guy trying to improve the lives of the poor through some what shady means.  Hiding, Siobhan accidentally activates the artifact and it disguises her as a man, actually, transforms her. 

She was in that city because best magical academy on the planet is there and she was planning on taking the exams and attending.  Now?  She's a wanted criminal but not as a man.

The book is a bite of fresh air, the main character is a magic prodigy, picking up everything magical who thirsts for more, like a lot of really smart folks, they miss social clues and sometimes make bad decisions about normal things in life.  The magic system of this world is logical and well planned out, the book really gets into the knitty gritty of how the society works, the historical background, logistics of the economy with deeper stories that run underneath everything that break the surface like a monster rising from the deep.   It broke into my dreams after keeping me up late, don't recommend if you have important things to do the next day.  5/5 stars

Be patient.. excellent listen

The story starts incredibly slow and is a little hard to follow in the beginning. I casually listened to this for several weeks making very little progress. I almost moved on to something else but a little past halfway through the book it gets very interesting and the main character development really picks up.

I blazed through the second half quickly and immediately moved on to the second book. The second book does not suffer from the same slow start as the first. Amazing series.

Needs more suspense!

I enjoyed the book but for as long as it was, it could have used more action or close escapes something. Lots of description though so its Still Worth a Credit and I'm hoping the next book will pick up the pace.

well performed, well imagined

couldn't put it down. good narration, interesting magic and an even more interesting world make for a wonderful novel. the reaction to magic in the world feel real. just enough grit to make it feel dark and mysterious at times, but not enough to make the story truly depressing. suspenseful, yet gave room for times of curiosity and imagination on the part of the reader. a well done novel. looking forward to book 2

I need a hug

*a spoilery in terms of what mood to expect*

There is literally no good thing that happens for the main character. Just survival events.
Like if Harry Potter didnt have a dumbledor or hagrid to help him and no friends.