'Writing for me is not about speeling, grammar or punctuation – that’s why we have editors.... No, writing for me is the ability to capture a story and put it in words.' - Fantasy Muse

Monday 10 March 2014

Mind Forged

Mind Forged: Book One of the Enchanters of Xarparion by T Michael Ford.


Front Cover







Description


Alex Martin was just a Blacksmith’s apprentice in a small farm town, who accidently enchants a cooking pot; I mean who doesn’t do that every now and then? But suddenly he finds himself on his way to Xarparion, the premier teaching academy for wizards on the planet! Just one small problem… He’s an Enchanter!  
Unlike other mages that can cast fireballs and summon elementals, and other cool stuff, Enchanters are only able to craft magic items. Once he gets there he finds he is in a class all of his own, literally! He’s the first Enchanter born in 700 years! And the dark forces of power wish it had been a lot longer, like never! Meanwhile, completely unknown to Alex, mysterious forces of light are also in play and are grooming him for a run at a Necromancer whose undead hordes control half the world! To help him he acquires, a half crazed mentor, an unwanted pixie and a hot sword slinger girlfriend that fights the zombie apocalypse every night in her sleep!  
And if those three weren’t enough to drive anyone crazy, the rest of his friends might! Mischievous fashion conscious druid girls, a dwarf, dragons, a talking sword, and the occasional marmot fill out the cast of characters for this adventure! 


My Review


After a brief, unsuccessful foray into horror, I decided to go back to fantasy. If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you know that I enjoy reading indie novels. I find them (mostly) cheap and it's always interesting to see the diversity in terms of storyline. Sure, you read some bad ones, but then again I've had my share of bad published books - only difference is that they're more costly. And so after reading the description and becoming intrigued by it, I had no hesitation buying Mind Forged.

The book is about Alex Martin, a Blacksmiths's son, who has a special talent. It's discovered that he's an enchanter, a special type of magic user that's capable of enchanting items. It's rare for a person to be an enchanter and there's only been one else before him, an elf called Rosa. He's taken to a magic school, where he's taught by his teacher and mentor, Rosa. He also learns how to fight from a beautiful dark elf, called Maya, who also acts as his love interest.

This is your standard fantasy book, littered with clichés. The plot was fairly linear and you could easily guess what was going to happen next. He sprouts special powers whenever he's in a tricky situation. The dialogue was also pretty cheesy/corny and had me cringing at times. 
But, after saying all that, I actually enjoyed reading the book. It was a light hearted fantasy book that didn't require much effort to read. It was a perfect feel good book and left me content when I finished. I loved the interaction between the characters and how warmhearted their relationships were. 

For a self-pub book there wasn't any obvious typos and the grammar was fine. Also for a story that emphasises about blacksmiths, it was nice to see that the author knew what he was writing about when it came to the more technical side of things. It's those little details that make a book more credible.


Conclusion


It's so easy to trash a book like this, but sometimes you have to look past the deluge of potential criticisms and be able to appreciate a book for what it is.

Not a book for those wanting a more edgy, contemporary fantasy novel. But if you're looking for something softer that doesn't delve into serious topics like torture, slavery, rape, etc... then I recommend this book. It's a perfect YA book, that's suitable for even children. I was sad to read the end and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel.


Out of 10 Stars:


6

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