Dark Apprentice

Fall of Magic, Book One

By: Val Neil

Narrated by: Thomas Judd, Reba Buhr

Length: 15 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

A psychopathic wizard. An immortal mage. An epic battle of wills.

Nikolai doesn’t want much out of life: sex, immortality, and the power to disembowel anyone who crosses him. But with dark magic forbidden, his only option is Medea–a mage so deadly even the Enforcers give her a wide berth. Despite dire warnings that her apprentices don’t survive, Nikolai won’t stop until she agrees to train him. After all, he’s a killer himself.

Barbaric and brutal, the training is a far cry from what Nikolai expects. When a mysterious illness strikes Nikolai down, he suspects he’s found the secret to Medea’s longevity. He resolves to find out what happened to her previous apprentices. If he can locate the source of her power, he can turn it against her.

Medea swore off training dark wizards–none of them take the craft seriously and the ungrateful bastards always try to kill her. This one definitely seems the backstabbing type, but magic is dying out and she hasn’t felt such magical strength in centuries. If she can control the boy, show him that magic is more than curses and necromancy, he might obtain the power he desires. If not, well....

What’s one more dead apprentice?

If you enjoy dark fantasy with quirky, morally grey characters and humorous banter (but no romance), this is the book for you!

©2021 Val Neil (P)2022 Val Neil

Exciting and Intriguing Story of Magic

Medea is a mage with immortality and more knowledge of magic than any single person has ever known. Nikolai is a man who wants power, knowledge, and immortality using dark magic even if it means killing Medea. All through his training, Nikolai plots and plans Medea’s death; after all, it won’t be the first time he has killed, and it won’t be the last. Now magic is dying thus threatening his future.

The author, Val Neil, creates a complex story full of meaning and hidden nuances that enhances the story in ways one does not expect. Her main characters are strategically created to have a richness and depth one would not expect. Subtle nuances are provided to help define and build a meaningful bond between the listener and characters, and the characters themselves. The story moves at a steady pace with an intriguing storyline. I thought the dialogue to be authentic and further moved the story forward.

The narrators, Thomas Judd and Reba Buhr did an excellent job of performing the book. They both captured the essence of each of their main characters and portrayed them accurately. Although I normally enjoy one narrator, the use of two in this book was well done enriching the story.

I highly recommend this book and series; I am looking forward to hearing more and learning the fate of Nikolai and Medea.

Really like this book

The characters are fun and disturbing. Nikolai, the mage is one of the most paranoid SOB that you will ever meet. plus, he is a pure narcissist. Madia is just plain weird but very likable. I really like that Madia is not cruel or mean, but has a moral code that she has developed over her long years of life. Really looking forward to the second book in this series!!!

Psychology mixed with Fantasy!

The psychology of the characters takes this book to another level! The author did an amazing job of showing the reader the mindset of two completely different people!

a book in the gray where all the best story's live

Good setup for the world gives us the why's and how's but doesn't feel the need to hold your hand. The female lead is great! strong and powerful but with reality of being human.
The male lead is the issue parts of him read well then they don't like a good runner putting on too small shoes you know the talent is their and should be great, but it's off. then you go back to him being written well then not so much.
for example bigger magic pool no that's stupid dark magic, being able to heal from life ending damage no its stupid I want power!!! dark magic, but he is smart and none emotional his interplay with woman good ,his inter play with his best friend great. how's and why on those relationships are constant . idk the ending gives hopes those issue are done with since the plot point that seem to drive the issues are over. Buy the book I'll read this book again and the next book too.

Will be waiting on the rest of the series

Book was a little slow - as all 1st Books of a series are. Need to treat the Character and Planet building with care. Having said that, both the main characters and the entire system of magic are particularly interesting. Hopefully the series can transition into working more into the overarching storyline quickly since I’m anxiously awaiting Book 2!

Its complicated.

The performance is solid. I just could not get into the story with the main characters. Cant really get behind Nikolai's thinking. Dude has major mental issues. You would think if an immortal mage who is old as hell is telling you what magic is, you should shut up and listen. Not whine like a child. Medea is not much better. Chick has some real anti social issues. Yet has a real need to teach. Not really a thought out train of thought there. All in all the story is more of a slice of life about two porcupines dancing around each other.

Gripping story!

I loved this story. The characters feel true-to-life. The author apparently went to great lengths to render them as accurately as possible. The only problem with that is it makes the main character, Nikolai, extremely hard to like. I felt like slapping some sense into him. His decisions and thought processes were more than frustrating - they were at times infuriating. But I did really enjoy Medea - a total bad-ass! The ending is satisfying and it left me wanting to know how the story will progress in future books. Finally, the voice acting was superb.

disappointing

Five minutes in and the book was disappointing. It's preview was misleading and provided a different book than advertised.