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Magic by the Numbers #4
The Archimage's Fourth Daughter
Alodar placed his hands on Briana’s shoulders, paused for a moment more, and then said softly, “The answer is no.”
“You can’t do that!” Briana yelled back. “Even the Archimage has limits to his power. You admitted as much yourself. You cannot order me around like some serf of an Arcadian lord.”
“I do not order you to stay because I am the Archimage,” Alodar said. “I do so because I am your father.”
Briana felt the anger well within her like a brush fire suddenly out of control. She clinched her teeth so as not to say more. The library page had a key to this council chamber, she thought fiercely. It might take more than a single kiss to get it, but that is what she would have to do.
“You can’t do that!” Briana yelled back. “Even the Archimage has limits to his power. You admitted as much yourself. You cannot order me around like some serf of an Arcadian lord.”
“I do not order you to stay because I am the Archimage,” Alodar said. “I do so because I am your father.”
Briana felt the anger well within her like a brush fire suddenly out of control. She clinched her teeth so as not to say more. The library page had a key to this council chamber, she thought fiercely. It might take more than a single kiss to get it, but that is what she would have to do.
- GenresFantasy
421 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2017
19 people are currently reading
492 people want to read
About the author
Lyndon Hardy
11 books149 followersNew York Times best-selling author of the Magic by the Numbers fantasy series.
One Last Heist, the seventh book in the series, is now available.
I meld my knowledg in physics with the fantasy of alchemy, sorcery, and wizardry to produce tales in which there are constraints and limitations. Magic is not omnipotent. When the protagonists are in a jam, they are not saved with a simple bibbity, bobbiity, boo.
With the exception that book 5, Magic Times Three, involves the same protagonists as book 4, The Archimage's Fourth Daughter, all the books in the series have different leading characters. They can be read in any order.
I have some experience with adventures in our universe as well -- orchestrating the classic Rose Bowl Card Stunt in 1962. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_R...
I have yet to come up with a plot in which a stamp collector saves the universe.
Wikipedia: Lyndon Hardy
One Last Heist, the seventh book in the series, is now available.
I meld my knowledg in physics with the fantasy of alchemy, sorcery, and wizardry to produce tales in which there are constraints and limitations. Magic is not omnipotent. When the protagonists are in a jam, they are not saved with a simple bibbity, bobbiity, boo.
With the exception that book 5, Magic Times Three, involves the same protagonists as book 4, The Archimage's Fourth Daughter, all the books in the series have different leading characters. They can be read in any order.
I have some experience with adventures in our universe as well -- orchestrating the classic Rose Bowl Card Stunt in 1962. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_R...
I have yet to come up with a plot in which a stamp collector saves the universe.
Wikipedia: Lyndon Hardy
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 10, 2017
Alodar is back.
But only briefly - through him, we meet his daughter Briana, who takes on a quest for adventures worthy of the sagas, and, she hopes, a way out of a hastily contracted marriage.
I was a big fan of the "Magic by the Numbers" fantasy series in the 1980s, which approached magic with a scientific attitude. In "Master of the Five Magics," we followed Alodar as he mastered the magic systems of his world, ultimately becoming the Archimage. There were three books about this world in quick succession, then nothing. With this new book, we readers can re-enter that fantasy realm.
It starts with a shrouded alien asking for the Archimage's help. Briana seizes the opportunity to prove herself before anyone else can be assigned to the task. She ends up on a strange place, where the balance between magic and science is quite different than on her home world.
The book then bounces between two parallel stories: Briana's quest to find traces of the alien exiles placed into this strange world unbeknownst to the natives, and the quest of those exiles to escape and prosper at the expense of the natives. Briana must first find her feet in this strange new world, and then figure out how to accomplish her mission. I won't spoil you with details of either story, but the new world is well-realized, Briana's growth from naive adventurer fun to see, the ways both Briana and the exiles have of learning about a world new to them are clever, and the well-described balance between science and magic is fascinating.
In addition to the story, the author has added a glossary of words and concepts used in the book, with pointers to web pages with further information. The glossary has a brief introduction to things like Alchemy, a strategy for winning at Clue, the historical evolution of the concept of Money, and other arcane lore to supplement enjoyment of the story.
I found the book to be delightful on its own, and a worthy return to a favorite fantasy series.
But only briefly - through him, we meet his daughter Briana, who takes on a quest for adventures worthy of the sagas, and, she hopes, a way out of a hastily contracted marriage.
I was a big fan of the "Magic by the Numbers" fantasy series in the 1980s, which approached magic with a scientific attitude. In "Master of the Five Magics," we followed Alodar as he mastered the magic systems of his world, ultimately becoming the Archimage. There were three books about this world in quick succession, then nothing. With this new book, we readers can re-enter that fantasy realm.
It starts with a shrouded alien asking for the Archimage's help. Briana seizes the opportunity to prove herself before anyone else can be assigned to the task. She ends up on a strange place, where the balance between magic and science is quite different than on her home world.
The book then bounces between two parallel stories: Briana's quest to find traces of the alien exiles placed into this strange world unbeknownst to the natives, and the quest of those exiles to escape and prosper at the expense of the natives. Briana must first find her feet in this strange new world, and then figure out how to accomplish her mission. I won't spoil you with details of either story, but the new world is well-realized, Briana's growth from naive adventurer fun to see, the ways both Briana and the exiles have of learning about a world new to them are clever, and the well-described balance between science and magic is fascinating.
In addition to the story, the author has added a glossary of words and concepts used in the book, with pointers to web pages with further information. The glossary has a brief introduction to things like Alchemy, a strategy for winning at Clue, the historical evolution of the concept of Money, and other arcane lore to supplement enjoyment of the story.
I found the book to be delightful on its own, and a worthy return to a favorite fantasy series.
October 27, 2017
In Lyndon Hardy’s sprawling masterpiece, The Archimage’s Fourth Daughter, we explore a series of worlds through the eyes of Brianna, a flame-haired young beauty attempting to flee a marital contract hastily made with a cad. The fourth in Hardy’s series of Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery books deals with thaumaturgy, alchemy, magic, sorcery and wizardry, all of which, Brianna’s father, Alodar the Archimage, has mastered. But it also deals with many familiar modern-day institutions, people and places: universities, cafes, computers and gangs. Spellbinding, fun read.October 28, 2017
Hardy has added a worthy sequel to this series of suspenseful, insightful and ingenious stories of The Archimage by relating the story of a daughter whose imagination, wiles and resolve affect the futures of two disparate worlds.
The characters challenge your imagination and the story fully satisfies throughout.
The characters challenge your imagination and the story fully satisfies throughout.
October 23, 2017
The glossary alone is worth the price of "The Archimage's Fourth Daughter." The story is an excellent fantasy adventure read. Hardy builds an alien world, similar to earth, but with a few exceptions. The biggest exception is they use magic to do things that we earthlings do with machines. Hardy gives us an exciting adventure with characters I could relate to, both the good and the bad. Briana, the titular protagonist is a likable and principled young woman of noble birth, destined for a noble person's marriage. She escapes that and then assembles a team to fight a brotherhood of villainous exiles. There's a lot of good and interesting adventure packed into "The Achimage's Fourth Daughter."
April 12, 2018
Great story that i enjoyed reading. The main character is Briana who happens to be the Archimage daughter. Here we have Briana who travels to a different world where the magic and science is different from her own world. Loved the plot, characters, time frame, magic, adventure, and alchemy. A must read for any and all book lovers everywhere.
May 9, 2019
Not long ago I would have told you I had no interest in fantasy novels. Lyndon Hardy has proven me wrong. I've learned there are no bad genres, just bad books. Hardy's novel is definitely not one of the bad ones. Interesting story with compelling characters. A fun ride from start to finish.
July 22, 2018
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Lyndon Hardy's The Archimage's Fourth Daughter is the fourth novel in the Magic by Numbers series. The previous novels are Master of Five Magics, Secret of Sixth Magic and Riddle of the Seven Realms. This novel is an interesting and entertaining approach to the portal fantasy genre, because it's something different and captivating.
As many readers are aware of, portal fantasy novels normally tell of humans who travel to other worlds through portals. This novel is a delightfully different kind of a portal fantasy novel, because it tells of a person from another world who comes to our world and faces problems due to knowing nothing about our way of life.
Before I begin to analyse and review the contents of this novel, I'll mention that I haven't read any of the previous novels yet, so this is my first contact with the author's fiction. If I'm not mistaken, this novel has more characterisation and less worldbuilding than the previous novels. I gather that when the first three novels were published, they were different from other fantasy novels due to the laws of magic that prevented the characters from using magic to save the day. In this novel, the author also writes about the laws of magic, but now he focuses more on writing about the characters and their lives.
I think it's good to mention that this novel can be read as a standalone novel. You don't need to know anything about the previous novels in order to enjoy it, because it's different from them and has a new protagonist.
What makes The Archimage's Fourth Daughter fascinating is that, in many ways, it's a charmingly old-fashioned fantasy novel and has a familiar feel to it, but is distinctly modern with an urban edge. The author writes surprisingly well about our culture and way of life. His descriptions about such things as sex and wealth are quite thought-provoking yet entertaining.
The Archimage's Fourth Daughter tells of Briana, who is the Archimage Alodar's daughter. This novel is her coming of age story, but it's also a tale about her brave and great adventure in another world.
At the beginning of the story, Briana thinks that she has been stupid, because she has gotten betrothed to Slammert. She has found out disturbing facts about her fiancé and is not happy about her situation... Briana attends a high council meeting, during which an alien visitor from another world makes the council members an offer they can't refuse in the name of progress and gives them an opportunity to travel through a magic portal to another world. In exchange, they have to keep an eye on the exiles who have been banished to a hellish world... Briana wants to be the person who goes through the portal to the other world where the exiles are. When she is forbidden by her father to do so, she decides to take matters into her own hands and secretly uses the portal. Soon she finds herself on modern-day Earth and notices that things are quite different there than back at home... Meanwhile, the banished exiles are making their own plans to escape their predicament...
This is all I'll write about the story, because I don't want to reveal any spoilers. I'll only mention that the story is good and there are a few surprises in store for readers.
Briana is an interesting protagonist. The author fluently tells of her feelings and describes how resourceful and clever she is. She is a determined and talented young woman who doesn't give up easily. She does her best to find out where the exiles are and whether they're using magic or not. She also wants to avoid getting married to Slammert. Her transformation from a disoriented and naive adventurer to a heroine is fascinating to behold.
It was fascinating to read about how Briana acquainted herself with Earth's culture, because many things felt strange to her. When Briana spent time on Earth, she found out that life was not easy and one had to find work, use computers and know many things. Her efforts to understand the local culture were fascinating and made for an enjoyable - and occasionally amusing - read, because she didn't understand how things worked and how people did things. The author examined Briana's reactions in a realistic way, because he told of how our way of life feels like for a person who knows absolutely nothing about what happens in our world.
What happens between Briana and Jake is entertaining, because Briana uses and manipulates Jake to get what she wants. While Jake does what Brianna wants him to do and helps her, he thinks that there might be something in it for him, becase he is sexually interested in Brianna.
It was also interesting to read about what kind of a relationship Jake had with his father. Their relationship was not warm, but distant. I'm not going to reveal any details, but I can mention that what Jake does behind his father's back is intriguing. I also enjoyed reading about Ashley and what she did, because the author writes well about her life and work.
The author writes fluently about the alien exiles who have been banished to Earth and tells of their doings. They're worried about the Faithful noticing if they use magic and try to live unnoticeable lives while planning their escape. Because they have rings of eternal youth, they're immortal and can outlive humans.
One of the best things about this novel is that the author has created laws for magic. This is great, because there still is a surprising amount of authors who have not created any kind of laws for magic and its use, but treat magic as an almost limitless source of power that allows characters to save themselves when they're in danger. Because I have a background in IT engineering and IT research, I value laws of magic very much and respect authors who have limited the use of magic by creating distinct laws that add realism to their stories.
I have to mention that I was impressed by the balance between magic and science, because it's one of the things that makes this novel good. I was also taken by the amount of humour, because the story has quite a lot of it and there are a couple of quirky scenes which are wonderfully amusing.
The glossary at the end of this novel is useful and informative to readers, because it can be used to check names, terms and concepts mentioned in the story. The glossary has a few links to websites on which readers will be able to find more information about certain things.
Although I enjoyed this novel and found it captivating, there were a few minor flaws in it. It would've been nice if the exiles were a bit more fleshed out, because that would've added more depth to the story. Another thing which bothered me was that there were a couple of scenes in which a slower pacing might have worked in favour of the story, because it would've made the scenes more believable.
I give this novel strong four stars on the scale from one to five stars, because it's an entertaining and fast-paced fantasy novel. I liked it a lot and was captivated by the story. I found the author's writing style satisfyingly swift and found myself having a good time when I began to read the story. After I finished reading the story, I said to myself that I definitely have to read the previous novels, because I want to find out what happens in them.
My final words are:
Lyndon Hardy's The Archimage's Fourth Daughter is intriguing fantasy entertainment for readers who are looking for something entertaining to read. It's an enjoyable portal fantasy novel that will please readers who enjoy good and compelling stories.
Lyndon Hardy's The Archimage's Fourth Daughter is the fourth novel in the Magic by Numbers series. The previous novels are Master of Five Magics, Secret of Sixth Magic and Riddle of the Seven Realms. This novel is an interesting and entertaining approach to the portal fantasy genre, because it's something different and captivating.
As many readers are aware of, portal fantasy novels normally tell of humans who travel to other worlds through portals. This novel is a delightfully different kind of a portal fantasy novel, because it tells of a person from another world who comes to our world and faces problems due to knowing nothing about our way of life.
Before I begin to analyse and review the contents of this novel, I'll mention that I haven't read any of the previous novels yet, so this is my first contact with the author's fiction. If I'm not mistaken, this novel has more characterisation and less worldbuilding than the previous novels. I gather that when the first three novels were published, they were different from other fantasy novels due to the laws of magic that prevented the characters from using magic to save the day. In this novel, the author also writes about the laws of magic, but now he focuses more on writing about the characters and their lives.
I think it's good to mention that this novel can be read as a standalone novel. You don't need to know anything about the previous novels in order to enjoy it, because it's different from them and has a new protagonist.
What makes The Archimage's Fourth Daughter fascinating is that, in many ways, it's a charmingly old-fashioned fantasy novel and has a familiar feel to it, but is distinctly modern with an urban edge. The author writes surprisingly well about our culture and way of life. His descriptions about such things as sex and wealth are quite thought-provoking yet entertaining.
The Archimage's Fourth Daughter tells of Briana, who is the Archimage Alodar's daughter. This novel is her coming of age story, but it's also a tale about her brave and great adventure in another world.
At the beginning of the story, Briana thinks that she has been stupid, because she has gotten betrothed to Slammert. She has found out disturbing facts about her fiancé and is not happy about her situation... Briana attends a high council meeting, during which an alien visitor from another world makes the council members an offer they can't refuse in the name of progress and gives them an opportunity to travel through a magic portal to another world. In exchange, they have to keep an eye on the exiles who have been banished to a hellish world... Briana wants to be the person who goes through the portal to the other world where the exiles are. When she is forbidden by her father to do so, she decides to take matters into her own hands and secretly uses the portal. Soon she finds herself on modern-day Earth and notices that things are quite different there than back at home... Meanwhile, the banished exiles are making their own plans to escape their predicament...
This is all I'll write about the story, because I don't want to reveal any spoilers. I'll only mention that the story is good and there are a few surprises in store for readers.
Briana is an interesting protagonist. The author fluently tells of her feelings and describes how resourceful and clever she is. She is a determined and talented young woman who doesn't give up easily. She does her best to find out where the exiles are and whether they're using magic or not. She also wants to avoid getting married to Slammert. Her transformation from a disoriented and naive adventurer to a heroine is fascinating to behold.
It was fascinating to read about how Briana acquainted herself with Earth's culture, because many things felt strange to her. When Briana spent time on Earth, she found out that life was not easy and one had to find work, use computers and know many things. Her efforts to understand the local culture were fascinating and made for an enjoyable - and occasionally amusing - read, because she didn't understand how things worked and how people did things. The author examined Briana's reactions in a realistic way, because he told of how our way of life feels like for a person who knows absolutely nothing about what happens in our world.
What happens between Briana and Jake is entertaining, because Briana uses and manipulates Jake to get what she wants. While Jake does what Brianna wants him to do and helps her, he thinks that there might be something in it for him, becase he is sexually interested in Brianna.
It was also interesting to read about what kind of a relationship Jake had with his father. Their relationship was not warm, but distant. I'm not going to reveal any details, but I can mention that what Jake does behind his father's back is intriguing. I also enjoyed reading about Ashley and what she did, because the author writes well about her life and work.
The author writes fluently about the alien exiles who have been banished to Earth and tells of their doings. They're worried about the Faithful noticing if they use magic and try to live unnoticeable lives while planning their escape. Because they have rings of eternal youth, they're immortal and can outlive humans.
One of the best things about this novel is that the author has created laws for magic. This is great, because there still is a surprising amount of authors who have not created any kind of laws for magic and its use, but treat magic as an almost limitless source of power that allows characters to save themselves when they're in danger. Because I have a background in IT engineering and IT research, I value laws of magic very much and respect authors who have limited the use of magic by creating distinct laws that add realism to their stories.
I have to mention that I was impressed by the balance between magic and science, because it's one of the things that makes this novel good. I was also taken by the amount of humour, because the story has quite a lot of it and there are a couple of quirky scenes which are wonderfully amusing.
The glossary at the end of this novel is useful and informative to readers, because it can be used to check names, terms and concepts mentioned in the story. The glossary has a few links to websites on which readers will be able to find more information about certain things.
Although I enjoyed this novel and found it captivating, there were a few minor flaws in it. It would've been nice if the exiles were a bit more fleshed out, because that would've added more depth to the story. Another thing which bothered me was that there were a couple of scenes in which a slower pacing might have worked in favour of the story, because it would've made the scenes more believable.
I give this novel strong four stars on the scale from one to five stars, because it's an entertaining and fast-paced fantasy novel. I liked it a lot and was captivated by the story. I found the author's writing style satisfyingly swift and found myself having a good time when I began to read the story. After I finished reading the story, I said to myself that I definitely have to read the previous novels, because I want to find out what happens in them.
My final words are:
Lyndon Hardy's The Archimage's Fourth Daughter is intriguing fantasy entertainment for readers who are looking for something entertaining to read. It's an enjoyable portal fantasy novel that will please readers who enjoy good and compelling stories.
May 31, 2018
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions remain my own.
Y'all. This book. I don't even know where to start.
Let me start with the good: The part I really liked was when Briana came through to the "new world," which was of course, modern Earth. Briana is has grown up in a medieval male-dominated style world, living a sheltered and privileged life due to her father's status. She has servants, she has magic, and she has money.
When she gets to Earth, she has none of that. Instead she winds up living on the streets and in shelters at first, because she doesn't understand how money works, she has no documents, and knows no one. She's befriended by a homeless man named Eddie who takes her under his wing and shows her how to survive. Before long, she's finds a place where she can wait tables and earn a little cash while she tries to figure out her next move. This was definitely the best part of the book. Not only was her struggle real, but it gave the author a way to discuss some modern day social issues, like the problem of homelessness, the divide between rich and poor, and problems with unjustified police engagement. I think this could have been taken even further, and really would have made a great book just by itself.
But it wasn't the main part of the book. We then get into these bad guys. Who are they? Why have they been on earth so long and what is their problem? I don't really know. They were just really unpleasant. I had a hard time seeing them as much of a threat. They never come above ground! How much damage can they do? And I'm not exactly sure what they looked like. The writer said they had tusks or something, they weren't human. I'm not sure Briana was either, but she passed as human. I didn't really get it. How had these dudes managed to survive for a hundred years, living underground with their weird wasp things?
Briana finally meets some humans who can help her with her quest, which I had almost forgotten by this point of the book, and that brings up the next set of problems I had with the book. Briana. I just didn't like the girl. When she was lost on a new planet, I felt sorry for her. I could only imagine how disorienting that must be. But for someone who's supposed to be smart, she sure took a long time figuring stuff out. She's so stuck in her old world way of thinking, that she can't tell when a man is hitting on her.
She chats up a guy because well, plot, and the next thing you know, she's invited herself to move in with him. He's kind of a creep, so he thinks, "Hey, hot girl I barely know, sure you can move it with me if you move into my bed." Like she's JUST introduced herself and he's already trying to get her clothes off. But honestly, what would most guys think? This strange girl wants to move in with you? Slow down!
So sure, he's a creep. But then she is all offended that he expects sex. She just wanted to move in with him and have him drive her places and buy her food. In return for what? Does she help with school work or house work? No. This other random dude who moves in too does that. She accuses him of using her, but he's just there to solve her problems.
I really lost interest in the second half of this book. The plot sort of limps along and the bad guys are bad and we get an epic battle at the end, but it wasn't worth it. I was really disappointed. This is book 4 in a series, but the series has been on hiatus for a long time, and I was assured I could jump in at this point, so I didn't read the previous book. It might have made a difference to me, but I just can't imagine that I'd want to go back and read them now. If you are into magic-based fantasy, I would say don't start with this one. Try his first book, Master of the Five Magics, which I guess is about Briana's father. But I'm moving on.
Y'all. This book. I don't even know where to start.
Let me start with the good: The part I really liked was when Briana came through to the "new world," which was of course, modern Earth. Briana is has grown up in a medieval male-dominated style world, living a sheltered and privileged life due to her father's status. She has servants, she has magic, and she has money.
When she gets to Earth, she has none of that. Instead she winds up living on the streets and in shelters at first, because she doesn't understand how money works, she has no documents, and knows no one. She's befriended by a homeless man named Eddie who takes her under his wing and shows her how to survive. Before long, she's finds a place where she can wait tables and earn a little cash while she tries to figure out her next move. This was definitely the best part of the book. Not only was her struggle real, but it gave the author a way to discuss some modern day social issues, like the problem of homelessness, the divide between rich and poor, and problems with unjustified police engagement. I think this could have been taken even further, and really would have made a great book just by itself.
But it wasn't the main part of the book. We then get into these bad guys. Who are they? Why have they been on earth so long and what is their problem? I don't really know. They were just really unpleasant. I had a hard time seeing them as much of a threat. They never come above ground! How much damage can they do? And I'm not exactly sure what they looked like. The writer said they had tusks or something, they weren't human. I'm not sure Briana was either, but she passed as human. I didn't really get it. How had these dudes managed to survive for a hundred years, living underground with their weird wasp things?
Briana finally meets some humans who can help her with her quest, which I had almost forgotten by this point of the book, and that brings up the next set of problems I had with the book. Briana. I just didn't like the girl. When she was lost on a new planet, I felt sorry for her. I could only imagine how disorienting that must be. But for someone who's supposed to be smart, she sure took a long time figuring stuff out. She's so stuck in her old world way of thinking, that she can't tell when a man is hitting on her.
She chats up a guy because well, plot, and the next thing you know, she's invited herself to move in with him. He's kind of a creep, so he thinks, "Hey, hot girl I barely know, sure you can move it with me if you move into my bed." Like she's JUST introduced herself and he's already trying to get her clothes off. But honestly, what would most guys think? This strange girl wants to move in with you? Slow down!
So sure, he's a creep. But then she is all offended that he expects sex. She just wanted to move in with him and have him drive her places and buy her food. In return for what? Does she help with school work or house work? No. This other random dude who moves in too does that. She accuses him of using her, but he's just there to solve her problems.
I really lost interest in the second half of this book. The plot sort of limps along and the bad guys are bad and we get an epic battle at the end, but it wasn't worth it. I was really disappointed. This is book 4 in a series, but the series has been on hiatus for a long time, and I was assured I could jump in at this point, so I didn't read the previous book. It might have made a difference to me, but I just can't imagine that I'd want to go back and read them now. If you are into magic-based fantasy, I would say don't start with this one. Try his first book, Master of the Five Magics, which I guess is about Briana's father. But I'm moving on.
December 1, 2017
I'm a good fan of fantasy, but most of the time the adventures happen in ancient and parallel worlds. However, in Lyndon Hardy’s novel, Briana, his heroine and the main character, end up exile here, in nowadays Earth.
Briana has a bright personality and she is determined to avoid her own pre-arranged wedding, so she rather runs away from her world where Sorcery is a common thing. Once on Earth, she realized there's no such thing as magic and earthlings manage their life with a different kind of trick, technology.
A captivating and intriguing novel. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes to enjoy a good story.
Briana has a bright personality and she is determined to avoid her own pre-arranged wedding, so she rather runs away from her world where Sorcery is a common thing. Once on Earth, she realized there's no such thing as magic and earthlings manage their life with a different kind of trick, technology.
A captivating and intriguing novel. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes to enjoy a good story.
November 10, 2017
Even though this isn't the first book in the series, I never felt as though I had to read the others in order to understand what was happening. Mr. Hardy structured this book as a stand alone. Best of all, no cliffhanger. The characters are likable, the story line is captivating and the worlds he created are interesting and, at times, strangely compelling.
November 27, 2017
I do not read much fantasy and I identify with the "Primitive and stupid" natives. Even so, the book is filled with humor and ends up resolving problems of major proportions. Hard to get into any of the details without spoiling the surprises. The writing is easy to get into and you will have a good time.
October 22, 2018
I enjoyed the first three books back in the series. So I gave this one a try, too. Good, but I still think the first one is the best. What makes these books remarkable is that they mix accurate science in with a magic system. I find this extremely rare and I wish there were more books like it. Now that I think about it, I can't come up with another example of someone else doing it.
January 1, 2020
Great read, very entertaining
The characters are good, although some of them popped up late and weren't as well defined. I'm hoping there is a fourth book.
The characters are good, although some of them popped up late and weren't as well defined. I'm hoping there is a fourth book.
March 11, 2020
with, now, a fifth book soon to be released, my favorite trilogy of all time is fast becoming my favorite series.
March 27, 2025
A mostly entertaining mix of ideas that never came together.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews