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Small Magics for the Traveling Wizard
Pax never asked to be the assistant to a forgetful old wizard who barely remembers her name—let alone get dragged across Asturia on a wild hunt for a mythical magic door. But when a charming foreign bard shows up at just the wrong moment, and talking corpses start pushing her toward adventure, it’s clear she doesn’t have much of a choice. Maybe this ridiculous journey will help Pax figure out why her magic is so weak she can barely light a candle—or why she remembers a family no one else believes existed.
Answers might be out there, but so are reanimated farm animals, man-eating furniture, and an unsettling number of sarcastic magical creatures. Worst of all? The wizard she’s stuck with is growing more powerful—and less stable—by the day. If Pax can’t figure things out fast, he might just start blowing people up for fun.
Answers might be out there, but so are reanimated farm animals, man-eating furniture, and an unsettling number of sarcastic magical creatures. Worst of all? The wizard she’s stuck with is growing more powerful—and less stable—by the day. If Pax can’t figure things out fast, he might just start blowing people up for fun.
251 pages, ebook
Published December 10, 2025
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 27, 2026
I did something unusual for me with this one: I bought a book that wasn't on sale.
I read far too much to pay full price for every book I read, especially since I seldom know going in whether it will be any good, but in this case, I wanted to support a fellow NZ author (I was made aware of the book by a review on the SpecFicNZ website), and the preview had convinced me that I would be in good hands.
Having said that, it did have a couple of editing issues that didn't turn up until after the preview. One was dialog punctuation. The convention that isn't observed here is the one that says that if you start a new paragraph of dialog with the same speaker and no tag in between, you don't finish the first paragraph with a closing quotation mark. This tips the reader off that the speaker is still the same. This book several times includes the closing quotation mark, and in at least one case misses out both the closing and opening quotation marks when starting a new paragraph.
Also, if you put a dialog tag in the middle of a sentence of dialog, you don't treat the end of the tag as the end of a sentence, close it with a full stop and start the second part of the dialog with a capital; instead, you use a comma at the end of the tag and continue the dialog with the same capitalisation it would have if the tag had not been there.
There are some misplaced apostrophes as well, mostly to do with plural nouns and constructions like "a few days' journey," where, because we would say "a day's journey" and not "a day journey," the apostrophe is required, and comes after the s.
Otherwise, though, the copy editing was good, the prose smooth and capable. Most people wouldn't even notice the issues I've mentioned, apart from maybe being confused about who was speaking a couple of times without necessarily knowing why.
This is more epic fantasy than my preferred cozy fantasy, with a high body count among named characters who we've got to know and, in some cases, like. But what I liked about it was that it wasn't just made-from-box-mix standard epic fantasy. Yes, the protagonist , and there's a quest with a lot of walking. But there's a fresh twist on the tropes that are used, and the worldbuilding isn't just ordered by the yard from the generic fantasy world shop; some thought has gone into it. For example, there are three gods and three moons. Ninety-nine fantasy authors out of a hundred would then have a legend in which the three gods and the three moons were identified with each other in some way, but this one specifically does something else less expected with it. And there were several other little touches that made me think, "Here's someone who understands something about how our actual world works, has taken note of the little oddities and asymmetries in real cultures, and has built a world that feels authentic as a result." For a New Zealander, too, there are little Easter eggs like the night-booming parrots and the mountain parrots with red under their wings. And it has a sense of humour that is all too often missing from epic fantasy, without being a comedy, as such.
Having said that, it depicts what is currently the norm for cozy fantasy, a culture in which gender is fluid and not binary, and also where plural marriage is common - though it was called out that the same was not true in other nearby cultures. This can easily feel like 2020s-progressive-orthodoxy box-ticking, and because neither of these cultural features was particularly important to the story, it did feel a bit that way to me, but it wasn't too obtrusive either. And it was well incorporated into the background culture, not just a difference that made no difference.
The characters had a good balance of capable-but-self-doubting, especially the protagonist, whose viewpoint we're in, and their backstories drove their current actions in ways that made sense. The bard worked a wonderful and completely bardlike trick at one point which resolved a dangerous situation solely through cleverly chosen words said confidently. The very elderly wizard was believably dangerous because he wasn't always completely in touch with reality. The fights were not overdescribed slogs, but quickly resolved and fairly deadly, which added a note of realism. I could mostly keep the minor characters straight and distinguish between them, and since there were about half a dozen, this is something not every author can achieve.
I did feel that the guidebook of the title could have come in more, and there could have been more occasions, especially later in the book, where the protagonist used minor magic cleverly to solve problems.
All told, it was an enjoyable adventure with appealing characters in a well-thought-out fantasy world, definitely at a higher level of ability than a lot of fantasy writing I've come across. The author has put in some thought and some work in places that often get neglected, and it shows.
I read far too much to pay full price for every book I read, especially since I seldom know going in whether it will be any good, but in this case, I wanted to support a fellow NZ author (I was made aware of the book by a review on the SpecFicNZ website), and the preview had convinced me that I would be in good hands.
Having said that, it did have a couple of editing issues that didn't turn up until after the preview. One was dialog punctuation. The convention that isn't observed here is the one that says that if you start a new paragraph of dialog with the same speaker and no tag in between, you don't finish the first paragraph with a closing quotation mark. This tips the reader off that the speaker is still the same. This book several times includes the closing quotation mark, and in at least one case misses out both the closing and opening quotation marks when starting a new paragraph.
Also, if you put a dialog tag in the middle of a sentence of dialog, you don't treat the end of the tag as the end of a sentence, close it with a full stop and start the second part of the dialog with a capital; instead, you use a comma at the end of the tag and continue the dialog with the same capitalisation it would have if the tag had not been there.
There are some misplaced apostrophes as well, mostly to do with plural nouns and constructions like "a few days' journey," where, because we would say "a day's journey" and not "a day journey," the apostrophe is required, and comes after the s.
Otherwise, though, the copy editing was good, the prose smooth and capable. Most people wouldn't even notice the issues I've mentioned, apart from maybe being confused about who was speaking a couple of times without necessarily knowing why.
This is more epic fantasy than my preferred cozy fantasy, with a high body count among named characters who we've got to know and, in some cases, like. But what I liked about it was that it wasn't just made-from-box-mix standard epic fantasy. Yes, the protagonist , and there's a quest with a lot of walking. But there's a fresh twist on the tropes that are used, and the worldbuilding isn't just ordered by the yard from the generic fantasy world shop; some thought has gone into it. For example, there are three gods and three moons. Ninety-nine fantasy authors out of a hundred would then have a legend in which the three gods and the three moons were identified with each other in some way, but this one specifically does something else less expected with it. And there were several other little touches that made me think, "Here's someone who understands something about how our actual world works, has taken note of the little oddities and asymmetries in real cultures, and has built a world that feels authentic as a result." For a New Zealander, too, there are little Easter eggs like the night-booming parrots and the mountain parrots with red under their wings. And it has a sense of humour that is all too often missing from epic fantasy, without being a comedy, as such.
Having said that, it depicts what is currently the norm for cozy fantasy, a culture in which gender is fluid and not binary, and also where plural marriage is common - though it was called out that the same was not true in other nearby cultures. This can easily feel like 2020s-progressive-orthodoxy box-ticking, and because neither of these cultural features was particularly important to the story, it did feel a bit that way to me, but it wasn't too obtrusive either. And it was well incorporated into the background culture, not just a difference that made no difference.
The characters had a good balance of capable-but-self-doubting, especially the protagonist, whose viewpoint we're in, and their backstories drove their current actions in ways that made sense. The bard worked a wonderful and completely bardlike trick at one point which resolved a dangerous situation solely through cleverly chosen words said confidently. The very elderly wizard was believably dangerous because he wasn't always completely in touch with reality. The fights were not overdescribed slogs, but quickly resolved and fairly deadly, which added a note of realism. I could mostly keep the minor characters straight and distinguish between them, and since there were about half a dozen, this is something not every author can achieve.
I did feel that the guidebook of the title could have come in more, and there could have been more occasions, especially later in the book, where the protagonist used minor magic cleverly to solve problems.
All told, it was an enjoyable adventure with appealing characters in a well-thought-out fantasy world, definitely at a higher level of ability than a lot of fantasy writing I've come across. The author has put in some thought and some work in places that often get neglected, and it shows.
November 21, 2025
Embark on this dungeons and dragons side quest with S.A. McKenzie. She includes the smallest of details to ensure that your adventure is not just bountiful but picturesque. The scene setting is descriptive and you will even taste the smells with the protagonist. There is something special about an author who utilizes vivid imagery and truly makes the world come alive. That is what you find here in Small Magics for the Travelling Wizard. Each line will have you on the edge of your seat for what comes next in this novella.
McKenzie gets the pacing right for this novella and creates a degree of suspense and answers that really bring the novel together. Too often novellas leave us with despair in lack of details but this narrative delivers. Although, I will argue that the scene setting is beautiful – but I did want a bit more world building that novellas just do not allow the space for. I really wanted to hear more about Asturia as a world.
I hope you like giant spiders because that is what Pax, the protagonist is going to see. Hopefully there is only one. A strong protagonist that is truly refined by the details in dialogue and setting. I appreciated each aspect of Pax that we learn and how each detail unfolds into another. There is no wasted space in this narrative and that was truly the art of the writing here. Thank you Cloaked Press for the advanced digital arc.
For more reviews, recommendations, and impressions visit my blog, http://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com
McKenzie gets the pacing right for this novella and creates a degree of suspense and answers that really bring the novel together. Too often novellas leave us with despair in lack of details but this narrative delivers. Although, I will argue that the scene setting is beautiful – but I did want a bit more world building that novellas just do not allow the space for. I really wanted to hear more about Asturia as a world.
I hope you like giant spiders because that is what Pax, the protagonist is going to see. Hopefully there is only one. A strong protagonist that is truly refined by the details in dialogue and setting. I appreciated each aspect of Pax that we learn and how each detail unfolds into another. There is no wasted space in this narrative and that was truly the art of the writing here. Thank you Cloaked Press for the advanced digital arc.
For more reviews, recommendations, and impressions visit my blog, http://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com
December 12, 2025
A Captivating Journey with a Truly Magical Protagonist
I adored “Small Magics for the Travelling Wizard” from the very first page to the last. S.A. McKenzie has crafted a narrative that is both gripping and wonderfully humorous, making it an absolute pleasure to read.
While the quest nominally follows Joran’s search for the silver doors, the heart and soul of this story belongs to Pax. She is an utterly engaging character, and her transformation from Joran’s assistant into a strong, independent force in her own right was a joy to witness. The supporting cast is equally well-drawn, each adding depth and intrigue to the journey. I was particularly fascinated by Badger; discovering his and Pax’s shared past alongside her was a masterful storytelling choice.
McKenzie’s worldbuilding is exceptional. The novel introduces a host of original landscapes and creatures that feel fresh and immersive, many of which are decidedly not benevolent, adding a perfect edge of danger to the adventure.
This is a fantastic start to what I hope will be a longer series. I was thoroughly captivated and, like many other readers, I am eagerly awaiting more tales from this enchanting world. Highly recommended!
I adored “Small Magics for the Travelling Wizard” from the very first page to the last. S.A. McKenzie has crafted a narrative that is both gripping and wonderfully humorous, making it an absolute pleasure to read.
While the quest nominally follows Joran’s search for the silver doors, the heart and soul of this story belongs to Pax. She is an utterly engaging character, and her transformation from Joran’s assistant into a strong, independent force in her own right was a joy to witness. The supporting cast is equally well-drawn, each adding depth and intrigue to the journey. I was particularly fascinated by Badger; discovering his and Pax’s shared past alongside her was a masterful storytelling choice.
McKenzie’s worldbuilding is exceptional. The novel introduces a host of original landscapes and creatures that feel fresh and immersive, many of which are decidedly not benevolent, adding a perfect edge of danger to the adventure.
This is a fantastic start to what I hope will be a longer series. I was thoroughly captivated and, like many other readers, I am eagerly awaiting more tales from this enchanting world. Highly recommended!
December 16, 2025
This book is fun, fast-paced fantasy adventure with a lot of humor and heart! Pax's journey, from reluctant assistant to a questing hero, is full of quirky characters, magical mishaps, and a whole lot of wit. With an intriguing mystery surrounding her past, magical weaknesses, and the wizard's growing instability, there's plenty to keep readers hooked.
The unique blend of humor, action, and magic makes this story a perfect choice for fans of lighthearted fantasy. If you're looking for a fun read with memorable characters, sarcastic creatures, and a dash of danger, this book is sure to enchant you. Prepare to embark on an unpredictable journey through Asturia, where laughter and peril go hand-in-hand! 🧙️🌟
The unique blend of humor, action, and magic makes this story a perfect choice for fans of lighthearted fantasy. If you're looking for a fun read with memorable characters, sarcastic creatures, and a dash of danger, this book is sure to enchant you. Prepare to embark on an unpredictable journey through Asturia, where laughter and peril go hand-in-hand! 🧙️🌟
December 2, 2025
I really enjoyed this one.
We follow Pax who is the assistant to a wizard because she doesn’t have enough magic to be a full wizard herself. Said wizard ends up wanting to travel to a far away plateau to find the silver doors. A phenomenon he’s been searching for, for most of his life. So of course they are off on their epic quest.
The characters are great. We have pax herself who’s a little complicated, a talking badger, a bard, a cursed prince and of course our wizard. Plus a gaggle of other characters popping in.
I was invested in the whole quest. The end felt a little abrupt to me but it’s listed as book one so there will be more. I’m glad there will be more as I still have a number of questions that weren’t answered.
I believe this one is due to be published in the next couple of weeks so not too long to wait. I definitely recommend it.
We follow Pax who is the assistant to a wizard because she doesn’t have enough magic to be a full wizard herself. Said wizard ends up wanting to travel to a far away plateau to find the silver doors. A phenomenon he’s been searching for, for most of his life. So of course they are off on their epic quest.
The characters are great. We have pax herself who’s a little complicated, a talking badger, a bard, a cursed prince and of course our wizard. Plus a gaggle of other characters popping in.
I was invested in the whole quest. The end felt a little abrupt to me but it’s listed as book one so there will be more. I’m glad there will be more as I still have a number of questions that weren’t answered.
I believe this one is due to be published in the next couple of weeks so not too long to wait. I definitely recommend it.
December 10, 2025
I really had a great time reading this story. It followed a lighter almost cosy style, adventures of Pax and her travelling companions. I enjoyed the style.of humour used here. It is set in an alternative world, the world building was robust and full of details but I did not feel swamped by it. Character deaths/disappearances do happen, so don't get too attached! Plenty of questions are answered during this story, but there is plenty more for us to discover in the following books, which I am looking forward to reading!
December 10, 2025
I have conflicting feelings for this book. The world building is vivid, however I feel like it drowns out the plot in places. I feel like the romance portion could have been built up a bit more. I'm not asking for sex scenes but I didn't feel invested in the various characters and their relationships. I do like the found family portion of the story.
March 11, 2026
I loved this novel. When I finished I didn't want to leave the world yet. The world building was unique, the characters interesting, and the plot progressed well. Some aspects of the story were a surprise, a few things I was able to predict, but all of it was entertaining. The story has a nice amount of humour within the story, and great character development for our MC.
December 10, 2025
I received an eARC copy of this book via Cloaked Press and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Short, but interesting story with highly descriptive world building.
Delightful and varied characters.
A great start to a potentially wonderful series.
Short, but interesting story with highly descriptive world building.
Delightful and varied characters.
A great start to a potentially wonderful series.
December 1, 2025
I received this as an ARC, and I'm so lucky I did! I need more Pax adventures!! Excellent world building, both humorous and touching, and I really, really need to know more about Gereg. :D
December 13, 2025
excellent fantasy romp!
December 4, 2025
This was a fun adventure! Liri is my fave she's very funny. I liked her and Pax they were cute! I think I would have liked to spend a little more time in some areas and less in others, but overall an enjoyable read.
Thank you to Cloaked Press for ARC!
Thank you to Cloaked Press for ARC!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews