Inexperienced Mage

Reawakening Saga #1

by D.W. Jackson

Thousands of years after the fae wars, magic is now a thing of legend and the once great empire is reduced to hundreds of separate countries. Farlan a rich and powerful Queendom is one such country where men are treated as second class citizens, and often sold into slavery at an early age. Mark a young man has been trained since his childhood to be one of the most sought after slaves produced by the academy. At auction he is purchased by the queen, but on his way to the capital they are attacked allowing him to escape before he is permanently branded. During his escape he comes across a dilapidated tower and finds a book of magic and starts his own self tutelage, learning he has a talent for magic he makes his way to the capital to see if he can make his own path while holding onto his freedom along the way.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, High Fantasy, Amazon, Adventure

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2013

About the author

D.W. Jackson was born in McAlester Oklahoma, Attended College at Oklahoma City University, and Northeastern State University. As soon as he graduated high school in 2001 he joined the Oklahoma National Guard. In 2003 he was Sent along with five others from his unit to Iraq where he spent slightly over a year in deployment. After returning home he worked as a pipeline surveyor traveling all across the U.S. in 2009 he took a job as a correctional officer for the state of Oklahoma where he worked at both a medium and minimal security level prison. In 2012 his heath declined and was unable to continue working. With time on his hands and out of books to read he decided to pursue his dream of being a writer.

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book at random and I have to say I gambled and lost. The title would be more accurate as "The Inexperienced Author". Between lazy storytelling, a completely cliche storyline, unbelievable story progression, terrible editing/proofreading, AND the authors kind of creepy tendency to forget entirely the age of his characters this story was painful to read. I finished only to give myself a guide for what not to do in my own writing. Though the fact that this got published does make me rather hopeful at my own chances of getting published.

As a specific note the age thing refers to the fact that the min character is 14. He gets grown women constantly hitting on him and even outright propositioning him. If that doesn't creep you out completely think about how you'd feel if it was a 14 year old girl being propositioned by grown men. Just no.

[Ares · Rating 1 out of 5]

I expected more from the resume on goodreads but I was disappointed from the first pages, the rhythm of the story, the pacing, the story telling, the grammar blatant faults added to a complete lack of world building, character development and lack of originality have all lead me to a painful finish of the book.

I was frustrated at the main character's foolish decisions, he's supposed to be intelligent and logical, yet he risk his freedom at every opportunity, so much so that I labeled him as masochist toward the end, but everything work out for him after all, why bother with suspicion when everybody is honest.

Another point that I find remarkable is that he find killing really easy, which I generally welcome with good heart but here it feel so forced and childish that I couldn't bring my blood thirst to appreciate it...
Also I was bored by his daily routine, I wasn't prepared for a merchant slice of life book even more so because it was done so lazily.

The idea was good but presenting it is always so much more difficult, I hope the author grows and acquire more of every skill.

[Wolfgarr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series so far (up to book 5) But i do have a gripe i want to voice.
The entire plot premise of a boy/young man etc who is so ignorant of woman and sex is really really old and overused in this series. It was cool at first..Even expected...But after the 4th book its just painful. I really do detest it when writers make their characters out to be idiots. There are more then a few instances in the series where you just shake you head and think.."WTF is the author thinking, why is he making the main char out to be a idiot"..

Overall though a pretty good series.. Worth a one time read (up to book 5 where i am at now)

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is not finished. I like the plot and storyline but things are too easy for Mark and his difficulties disappear without effort. The book is not descriptive enough and the characters do not develop. HOWEVER, there is a lot of potential here. The author needs to go back and spend a few months fleshing out the story. Then once that it is done, it needs to be given to a good editor to fine tune a few aspects. This could be a great series.

[Oana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to leave a very unflattering review here, but I think several of the 1 star reviews sum it up for me.


From the looks of it the author's only been writing for about 3 years. I would suggest they do some more reading to get an idea of how to structure a book.

Maybe they have improved with the subsequent books in the series, I hope to come back at a later date and see how they develop as an author.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a ton of fantasy in my life. While this is a first for a new author, and despite the issues people have mentioned, I enjoyed reading it. I read it straight through. If I had any comment for the author it would be to spend much more time on world building and detail. Although that said, I realise there are more books in the series, so I'll have to see how they are to be fair.

[Geli · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
The plot just wasn't believable, the main character one dimensional and the magic uninspired.

[ElDani · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series was mentioned to me by somebody who had a good eye for unknown gems and I trusted my past experiences when I heard of this recommendation. Well, I couldn't disagree more! Although I'm a male, the premise of this female dominated society sounded like an interesting read - unfortunately, that alone doesn't make for a good tale.

No matter what other faults this book has, the most glaring one in my mind is the nonexistent proofreading. I'm not even talking about editing (which I doubt there was much of), but only the basic proofing of typing and grammar. A basic error like "show us where you talents truly lie" is just one of many that jumped out at me when I opened the book to a random page of the first chapter.

I always say that deficits in the technical quality of writing can be something to (reluctantly) live with, but only if the tale is interesting and immersive. Most of the time, a badly proofread story is accompanied by many other problems as well and it's my reason for rating this book accordingly. Instead of going into detail too much, I'll just link to Jon's review which sums up many of the problems I've recognized.

[Sneha · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book appears to be a very good attempt of writing but just as a rough draft.

[Mhead · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the story

I have read these almost three times. I don't understand how the editing is so very bad or enen not been updated. He's written many books now, so what is the deal with the editing. It should be updated. I mean, sometimes i don't think he is a high school graduate. I have read other works and asked those authors about their editing; they have said that they dont read their works. If you dont read your works-get someone who knows something about English or the written language to help you. Of note, I have not read any of your other series. I'm rereading this one because i found it again and still like it. The editing not being fixed when you've written so many more-just makes me that much madder. Could also be that you did fix it, but didn't update the singular books.

[Melissa Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit apprehensive after reading all the bad reviews, but the story was actually quite enjoyable. True, there was a staggering amount of horrible grammatical errors and the MC was good at everything with little effort, but the tale flowed nicely. And as for his sexual nativity, give me a break...he's only fourteen years old! Although this isn't an epic novel, for a quick happy easy to digest story, I would definitely recommend this.

[Robert Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second time of reading this series. I had forgotten the story but it is coming back to me. I find the storyline and characters to be good but am put off for a second time by the spelling and grammar of my kindle version. Verbs missing, duplications misspellings abound. I have tried to report them but have now given up as I think I must have done so the first time round and they are still as bad. Worth reading if you can get round the typos.

[Imkmoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I will Never be a Slave"

Mark is a boy in a women's world, preped for auction and worth lots of gold to the right buyer.
After escaping from a botched hold-up, Mark comes across a hidden trove of books from the lost magic skills and teaches himself all he can.
In the end, while saving the queen and her daughter, he's recaptured...

Great read! Read in 2 days

[Patrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

too simple too easy

[Muhammad Gibran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this is my favourite plot and storyline but unfortunately i can only give this book 2 stars rating. I try to read this book several time, but always stop after a couple chapter. Finally after exhausting my reading list I started to read this book again and able to finished this time.

First of all, this book is short, only 200 something pages long. I wonder how interesting the storytelling can do in this thin book. Unfortunately my fear came true, something feel missing or incomplete in this book. I think the author could add another extra sentence or paragraph between sentence or paragraph so some scene is more clear or richer. Editing could be more through. I really really hope there will be a revised version later.....

As the story goes, I like it. the characters is likeable, although not deep enough. 

Now that I read the 1st book, I looking forward to read the 2nd one. 

[Stephen Levesque · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thousands of years after the Fae Wars, magic is now a thing of legend, and the once-great empire is reduced to hundreds of separate countries. Farlan, a rich and powerful queendom, is one such country where men are treated as second-class citizens and often sold into slavery at an early age. Mark, a young man, has been trained since his childhood to be one of the most sought-after slaves produced by the academy. At an auction, he is purchased by the queen, but on his way to the capital, they are attacked, allowing him to escape before he is permanently branded. During his escape, he comes across a dilapidated tower and finds a book of magic and starts his own self-tutelage. Learning he has a talent for magic, he makes his way to the capital to see if he can make his own path while holding on to his freedom along the way.
This is not a bad book, it is easy to read, but some what amateurish in places and needs a spell check badly. The plots move on in a reasonable fashion, but you know that the author hasn't been writing long. I would still read the series, but not pay top dollar for it. A Good read everyone.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must confess that I mainly read "Inexperienced Mage" in lack of other works to read and the cheap price tag.
While there is a lot of holes and the rushed feeling you can get by the protagonist progressing to fast comparing to reality (there should always be some connection the the so call "real world" otherwise things can get silly).

Take the example of the speed Thad learned his craft by a few sentences in the book he found, the power he unlocked in a couple of months could be compared to an powerful and knowledgeable mage who has experience of a lifetime behind him or her.
And with the ease an "Inexperienced Mage" kills people makes one wonder how the mages was exterminated in the first place.

But ignoring the plot holes there was still some fresh ideas behind the way Thad used his magic. Thad crafted with his imagination guiding him and showed me a mage who finally bent the rules of magic.

The story get silly sometimes but I enjoyed it more than I initially thought.

[Riki Strydom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to that that I did not like the way this book started. The story is about a boy that is made a slave, but he is the best at everything and on top of that he make a lucky escape. This escape leads him randomly to a book that teaches him how to do magic... There is absolutely no difficulties in his path that get the heart racing to wonder how he will ever get out of this situation. Plus everyone just from the start likes him, nobody shows any sort of hatred towards him. Well that’s my negative input. As for what I like about the book it’s a fun and ever growing story. The characters are well developed and very likeable. It all goes along at a brisk pace without making it feel as though you are skipping crucial parts. As for the grammar that a lot of people are going on about yes there are a lot of errors, but the is a review of the story! I look forward to see what the next installment has to offer.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. One of which is how, despite the prejudices against him, he grows not only into a great mage, but a great person. Throughout the story, Mark (/Thad) takes on more and more responsibilities and, despite the difficulties of upholding them while in hiding, he continually flourishes under these responsibilities.

It may be a stretch, but I view this work of feminist fiction, mainly because it's reversal of the typical misogynistic society is flipped on its head, causing the reader to think more about the nature of prejudice. I liken it to that YouTube video that portrays a society where homosexuality is the norm and where heterosexuals are ostracized and called names like "breeder." It asks the question: What if the tables were turned? If you were oppressed in the same way and had to live with it every single day of your life?

Overall, the book is short, but sweet and great at making us ask questions about the world we live in.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story hobbled by lazy writing.

If you can manage to ignore the poor editing, your enjoyment will surely be stymied by the lazy writing. There are glaring plot holes, a magic system that isn't, a protagonist that becomes an adept magician almost overnight, characters that react to situations in completely unbelievable ways, an utter disregard for a supply and demand economic model, and a sprinkling of deus ex machina to round everything out. Despite all that, I still wanted to like the book because the storyline is interesting, but not interesting enough to survive these myriad of flaws.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So not bad for a first attempt, theres some obvious mistakes and the story doesn't always flow naturally in my opinion but I did like the book and I'm considering trying the next one. The concept of magic is interesting and I've always liked the 'last of his kind' type storyline. Its fast paced which is nice and you don't get bogged down in a lot of unnecessary details. While the mistakes in this book are excusable in a self published debut I will be hoping for some improvements in the next volume and find myself wondering how he will continue the story as I don't think similar events in this book will be enough to carry onto the second.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book in my opinion, I really enjoyed the story and found the idea of men being second class citizens and being sold into slavery a interesting idea and I think it flowed well if you go into it with an open mind, at the same time I had a few problems with some of the main char progression, I think the main char progressed in there "study's" really fast to a point of being ridiculous (considering the topic of study had been apparently lost for join dress of years), this doesn't ruin the story and if you can just look past the progression and look at it for the awesome story it is I think you would enjoy it as much as I did

[Shauna Closen · Rating 3 out of 5]

First things first, there aren't a lot of spelling errors anymore, at least not in my Nook copy. New editor, but still a couple errors that unless you're really looking for them you won't notice.

I was a little disappointed at that start, I expected a high fantasy novel, but it comes off like a teen fantasy instead. There isn't a lot of world building, just the basics really.

Though, once I got into the story I really enjoyed myself and moved right onto the second one.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it!! I saw quite a few people comment about the poor editing, it is why I give 4 stars instead of 5, but as far as the story I enjoyed the book a lot. My biggest peeve about the book, to be fair this peeve can't affect the rating other then make it a 4 or 5, is the fact that it ended. Can't wait for the next book!

[Ron Sturm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I read this book real fast, then had to read it again! It is a enjoyable read about a young boy and his experiences with life. I actually checked and found book 2, bought it, and will read that next!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best book I have ever read, nor the worst. It was an enjoyable pastime. Somewhat predictable, often slightly preposterous, but still all in all, an enjoyable read. Enjoyable enough that I am pressing on with the next book in the series.

[Jason K Dach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, fun read.

With a quick, straightforward prose this story of magic found again, after many years, move quite quickly. Moving so quickly I was finished before I realised. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. I'm downloading the second book to see what happens.

[Andrew Fielding · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to give this book 5 starts because even though it was rife with bad grammar, Spelling and misused words I was so caught up in the story I could not put it down and had to immediately move on to the next book when finished.

[Kayleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing starts out a little jolty but greatly improves as the book continues. A very interesting world, and I'm greatly looking forward to reading more. If the writing improved so much in one book, the series is set to be a very good read indeed!

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it overall, but would have liked the story to be longer with more emphasis on the development Mark's magical ability.