The Dark Sorcerer's Intern: A Humorous Urban Fantasy

The Dark Sorcerer's Intern, Book 1

By: Gavin Brown

Narrated by: Daniel Wisniewski

A supernaturally inept student lands himself an internship with the world's most infamous sorcerer in the first book of this humorous fantasy series.

Bryce Alexander isn't exactly on a path to wizardly renown. In fact, his latest rejection from the Arcane Arts program at the Kotodama Institute has pretty much guaranteed his dream of attending magical college is over. But rather than give in to despair and join the manager training program at Samba Smoothies, he does something incredibly daring, unexpected, and . . . stupid. He sneaks into the Queens warehouse where the Dark Sorcerer Zambrano has recently been spotted and offers up his service as an apprentice.

The good news is Bryce is somehow so unattuned to magic that he isn't even affected by the literally crushing effects of Zambrano's defenses. The bad news is Bryce is somehow so unattuned to magic that he has literally zero chance of ever becoming a sorcerer. Still, Zambrano is convinced Bryce's mystical maladroitness could be an asset when it comes to infiltrating the hiding places of his enemies, and he enlists him as an intern to assist him in his supposedly nefarious causes.

Suddenly, Bryce has gone from slinging protein shakes to navigating a world of preternatural grudges, cursed objects, demonic power plays, and FBI plots. Because interning for the Lord of Havok isn't taking memos and running out for coffee; it's engaging in an otherworldly battle, in which Bryce's total lack of supernatural skills could spell the difference between life and apocalypse . . .

Filled with fast-paced action and side-splitting banter, The Dark Sorcerer's Intern is the first installment of a contemporary fantasy guaranteed to keep you laughing and guessing to the very last word.

©2025 Gavin Brown (P)2025 Podium Audio

Great Ride

Great book, great universe of magic, fun to read with a flowing plot. The audiobook voices are great also

Hilarious!

Loved the humor, and the characters. The narrator was excellent, great voices for each character. Looking forward to the sequel!

A tale of Magic in the modern world with twists turns and many a chuckle

This is a fantastic start to what promises to be a delightful Trilogy. The world building, magical realism and character development all come together to create delightful tale. many adventures are had and secrets of magic revealed. The narrator is a perfect choice and does a phenomenal job bringing this engaging tale to life. I eagerly await the next volume and promise this is worth a listen.

Wit, adventure, and snark.

There is no shortage of magical fantasy in circulation these days, though Gavin Brown's new novel stands out as a fresh, imaginative, and hilarious take on the now classic "wizard coming of age" story. The author takes our modern world as it exists—as many of us relate to—then overlays a magical realism onto it and fills it with colorful characters, intrigue, and a compelling struggle for our hero.
A particular and personal appreciation that I have for Gavin's world is that Magic does not belong solely to the elite or as a sort of congenital inheritance of being born into it, such as it does in a certain very popular book series about young students of magic going away to a school.
Wit, adventure, and a full complement of snark; it had all the elements of a page-turner for me, though, considering I listened to it, I'm not sure what the idiom would be. Though it needs to be said: I do hope the reader will narrate the subsequent novels in The Dark Sorcerer's Intern series; it was exceptionally well-done, Daniel was highly expressive without being tiresome and every one of the character voices felt right.
Very much looking forward to the next books.

A fast-moving and fun read

This is a rollicking jaunt, with a wise-cracking narrator, through a world that looks a lot like our own – but not quite. When he signs up with the Dark Sorcerer and a demon duck, Bryce embarks on one weird and dangerous adventure after another, facing wizards, lava demons, international cutthroats, government agents, and a mysterious billionaire. Along the way, he looks for answers to the questions “What is magic? How does it work? And why can’t I do it?” But he must also confront other questions: What is friendship? Who can I really trust? And how much should a talent-free human be willing to risk to save the world? And that’s all just in Book 1. I can’t wait to see what Bryce and Zambrano will be up to in Book 2.

Great from top to bottom

Excellent narration, clever, snarky writing that's smart, and a fun light-hearted story that's fun from start to finish!

Great mix of fantasy and reality!

I liked how it basis itself in the real world while still adding a mix of fantasy