The Mad Mage of Sevendor

Spellmonger, Book 14.5

By: Terry Mancour

Narrated by: John Lee

The Journals of Minalan the Spellmonger.

After his eventful trip to the non-magical molopor in the distant domain of Anghysbel, Minalan’s return to civilization and magic finds him challenged by the changes wrought in the crypt of Szal the Yith. With nine distinctive sets of memories, besides his own, Minalan struggles to define himself in a turbulent time.

Things have never been more dire for the nascent Magelaw and the kingdom of Castalshar: the Duchy of Merwyn is encroaching the borders, the pirate realm of Farise is raiding shipping to a dreadful degree, and the dark lord Mycin Amana has captured Darkfaller, the largest castle in the land merely a few dozen miles away from the capital in the heart of the kingdom.

While that brazen act halted the civil war brewing between the ascendent magi and the deteriorating aristocracy of knights, the Spellmonger’s influence and intervention has never been more important. But is he up to the task?

With his brain buzzing with memories and feelings that aren’t his own and a list of vital tasks he must accomplish in order to save the world of Callidore from destruction, Minalan sets pen to parchment to chronicle his days in the heat of the struggle. His journal reveals the internal conflicts he battles, insights into his role and place in history, the difficulties managing his own political rise, and the constant effort of keeping his mind sharp enough to handle it all.

Yet the cracks are showing. People are talking about the Spellmonger, who mutters to himself and indulges in strange practices. His moodiness and distraction are visible for all to see, eroding some people’s confidence in his ability to lead . . . and leading others who sense vulnerability to strike out at the master mage. Violent episodes and fits of melancholy punctuate his struggles with sanity. He details his self-doubts, his petty grievances, his deep brooding about his family and life in general, all as a means to keep himself sane.

But people will whisper, and whisper they do. It’s becoming obvious: the Spellmonger has clearly become the Mad Mage of Sevendor!

©2022 Terry Mancour (P)2022 Podium Audio

BRILLIANT

Every book leads to the next and then on to the next linking the story and showing a shadow of what could be in the next one. But this doesn’t offer a shadow but so many things as to prove just as mad as Min himself

I liked it, but I didn't love it.

I'm a big fan of the Spellmonger series, but I had a hard time staying excited about this book. I have enjoyed the books that overlapped the main Spellmonger storyline but were from a different character's perspective. I just don't feel like this 'journal approach' does it justice. That said, I am still very much looking forward to the next book.

And as always John Lee was stellar!

You would almost think our hero sane..

told from the perspective of the Mad mage we are brought into a world where we go along with and accept the unfathomably weird and bizarre behavior as a natural consequence of what happened to the main character in the previous book. and then as you get to the end of it you realize oh my gosh this guy took a magic wand I started blowing the f*** out of s*** on the side of the mountain for no reason and I totally had sympathy for him. An absolutely fantastic experience with an unreliable narrator (character, not John Lee, Lee is amazing), and lots of satisfying world building detail for those of us who are In Too Deep into the Spellmonger series.

I am speechless

This book is by far one of my favorites in the series. The delving into Min’s mad mind is insatiable. The ending had all the hairs on my body standing on edge!

Another mindbendingly awesome tome!

That's gonna need to be reread immediately just to fully take it in, so my brain is ready for #15.