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Schooled in Magic #24
Child of Destiny
Eight years ago, the Sorcerer Void saved Emily's life. To Emily, Void became, in so many ways, the father she'd never had. And yet Void kept a secret from her. To save the Allied Lands from themselves, to keep them from being destroyed by the necromancers or torn apart by their short-sighted rulers, he embarked on a plan to launch a coup and reunite the long-dead empire, a plan that can only end in total war or a permanent living death. He must be stopped.
And now, all that stands between him and his goal is his adopted daughter, Emily herself.
Gathering her allies, Emily prepares herself to return to Whitehall, to face the most dangerous opponent she has ever faced. But as she pits the new world against the old in a desperate bid to undo Void's work before it is too late, she is forced to confront a deadly truth...
Is it possible that Void might be right?
And now, all that stands between him and his goal is his adopted daughter, Emily herself.
Gathering her allies, Emily prepares herself to return to Whitehall, to face the most dangerous opponent she has ever faced. But as she pits the new world against the old in a desperate bid to undo Void's work before it is too late, she is forced to confront a deadly truth...
Is it possible that Void might be right?
466 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2021
109 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
April 19, 2023
24 books and 2 Novellas later.
Time for jumbled thoughts.
It's a very easy story to get caught up in. If you go looking for holes, you'll most likely find them. If you just want to enjoy the story, you should have no problem doing so. So that's up to you.
Nuttall isn't the best writer, but he tells a good story. Probably my biggest gripe is that he repeats himself many times over with certain things. "Can't put the genie back in the bottle" being one of those examples that was repeated too much.
Quite a few things are brought up throughout the stories and either never brought up again or just never resolved. Nothing important, but Chekov's Gun stuck in its holster was a little bit painful.
But I'd rather focus on the positive. It's insane, to me, that I read all 24 (plus 2) books in less than 4 months. It was near impossible to not start the next as soon as I finished on, let alone stopping anywhere in the middle of a book.
To anyone that wants to compare it to Harry Potter, it's very different, but much better in some ways and not as good in others. The fact that Nuttall compares to or references HP many times started and continued to be annoying through most of the book, but towards the end it actually made more sense. HP definitely wins as far as characters. It's not just the main 3 that everyone will remember forever, but so many of the side characters too. But with SiM, I wouldn't say there are too many that would stand out over time. I think some of this might be just hampered by the naming of the characters. You have a badass battle-mage chick whose name is Barb. And I don't know if I could remember a single character's last name. But with HP, well, Potter, Granger, Weasley, Dursley, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Longbottom, Malfoy, etc. And that's having not seen any movies or read anything in 10-12 years. I'll have trouble remember most of the characters from SiM a year from now.
That being said, the magic is 10 times better in SiM. It's very well thought out and much more imaginative. There are more than just the 15 spells used over and over in HP. There are basically an infinite amount of spells and many different ways to cast the same spell, but with different results with power or strength. And this is with all aspects of magic, whether it's offensive or defensive spells, defensive wards, enchanting, alchemy, soul magic, blood magic, and so much more. And as complicated as some of it got, Nuttall did a great job of clearly laying it all out for the reader.
And I've written too much already. One more thing, a bit of a gripe, is that after having read all of it, I was disappointed with the end. Not how the "final fight" ended, but so much left undone and just left to the imagination of the reader. With so many characters, creatures, relationships, and places introduced, it just seemed like we have no idea what happened to most of them. You get a dragon at the very beginning and one other randomly around book 18 and then never any other explanation about them. And this is with so many of the things introduced.
Anyway, that's enough. I definitely recommend this series to HP and magic/fantasy fans in general if you want something that's engrossing and easy to follow.
Time for jumbled thoughts.
It's a very easy story to get caught up in. If you go looking for holes, you'll most likely find them. If you just want to enjoy the story, you should have no problem doing so. So that's up to you.
Nuttall isn't the best writer, but he tells a good story. Probably my biggest gripe is that he repeats himself many times over with certain things. "Can't put the genie back in the bottle" being one of those examples that was repeated too much.
Quite a few things are brought up throughout the stories and either never brought up again or just never resolved. Nothing important, but Chekov's Gun stuck in its holster was a little bit painful.
But I'd rather focus on the positive. It's insane, to me, that I read all 24 (plus 2) books in less than 4 months. It was near impossible to not start the next as soon as I finished on, let alone stopping anywhere in the middle of a book.
To anyone that wants to compare it to Harry Potter, it's very different, but much better in some ways and not as good in others. The fact that Nuttall compares to or references HP many times started and continued to be annoying through most of the book, but towards the end it actually made more sense. HP definitely wins as far as characters. It's not just the main 3 that everyone will remember forever, but so many of the side characters too. But with SiM, I wouldn't say there are too many that would stand out over time. I think some of this might be just hampered by the naming of the characters. You have a badass battle-mage chick whose name is Barb. And I don't know if I could remember a single character's last name. But with HP, well, Potter, Granger, Weasley, Dursley, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Longbottom, Malfoy, etc. And that's having not seen any movies or read anything in 10-12 years. I'll have trouble remember most of the characters from SiM a year from now.
That being said, the magic is 10 times better in SiM. It's very well thought out and much more imaginative. There are more than just the 15 spells used over and over in HP. There are basically an infinite amount of spells and many different ways to cast the same spell, but with different results with power or strength. And this is with all aspects of magic, whether it's offensive or defensive spells, defensive wards, enchanting, alchemy, soul magic, blood magic, and so much more. And as complicated as some of it got, Nuttall did a great job of clearly laying it all out for the reader.
And I've written too much already. One more thing, a bit of a gripe, is that after having read all of it, I was disappointed with the end. Not how the "final fight" ended, but so much left undone and just left to the imagination of the reader. With so many characters, creatures, relationships, and places introduced, it just seemed like we have no idea what happened to most of them. You get a dragon at the very beginning and one other randomly around book 18 and then never any other explanation about them. And this is with so many of the things introduced.
Anyway, that's enough. I definitely recommend this series to HP and magic/fantasy fans in general if you want something that's engrossing and easy to follow.
June 7, 2022
I'll try to be lite on spoilers, but just in case I've marked it as such...
I'm on the fence about this book, and I feel troubled about it.
I have followed the entire series and been excited for every following tale. I loved reading about Emily's growth and the associated trials and tribulations.
However, compared to some of the intrigue and insinuated plot aspects of the earlier tomes, I can't help but feel like this is a weak ending.
I acknowledge that Emily's solution is poignant and even poetic, however I can't help but feel like there is a demon oriented plot that seems to be missing. Admittedly I haven't read Void's Tale yet, and this may answer my curiosity. If so I'll amend my review etc.
There is a demon or presence that has been watching Emily the entire time. Often from inside the Nexus points. It's been hinted at. And their fingers have been in the downfall of Void's father, and his brother.
There are hints of a greater arc behind the obvious tale. And it leaves me wondering a) where Mr Nuttall really wanted to take the tale; or b) is there more?
I'm on the fence about this book, and I feel troubled about it.
I have followed the entire series and been excited for every following tale. I loved reading about Emily's growth and the associated trials and tribulations.
However, compared to some of the intrigue and insinuated plot aspects of the earlier tomes, I can't help but feel like this is a weak ending.
I acknowledge that Emily's solution is poignant and even poetic, however I can't help but feel like there is a demon oriented plot that seems to be missing. Admittedly I haven't read Void's Tale yet, and this may answer my curiosity. If so I'll amend my review etc.
There is a demon or presence that has been watching Emily the entire time. Often from inside the Nexus points. It's been hinted at. And their fingers have been in the downfall of Void's father, and his brother.
There are hints of a greater arc behind the obvious tale. And it leaves me wondering a) where Mr Nuttall really wanted to take the tale; or b) is there more?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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December 28, 2021My favourite character in the whole series was void. Hated the ending
November 2, 2021
Amazing, when I first started the series I was hesitant. It sounded like a mix of Harry Potter and some thing else I can’t recall, I started reading the book and it started going into inventions and that kind of turned me away. I like medieval sorcery settings, And this didn’t seem to be that in the beginning but then I tried it again after the fourth time And decided that I wanted to give it a chance because it had magic and it had magical school mixed in, I noticed when I got to the fourth chapter I was hooked; I couldn’t put the book down. 24 books later Now I’m wondering what I’m gonna do with my time until the next series starts.
This series is amazing I enjoyed every book. I won’t give any spoilers because I would not want to ruin it for anyone else this book is not Harry Potter rewritten this book is what Harry Potter should of been. Now that I have read all of the books and I also read all of Harry Potter the author from Harry Potter missed a huge opportunity to to grow Harry Potter into something amazing but after reading this series I feel like she could’ve did better with growing hairy into a great sorcerer who would then be able to beat Voldemort. And this was something that Christopher was able to do with Emily.
Don’t give me wrong I love Harry Potter, and I only reference him in that series because everyone compares this series to it.
Christopher please continue with Emily.
This series is amazing I enjoyed every book. I won’t give any spoilers because I would not want to ruin it for anyone else this book is not Harry Potter rewritten this book is what Harry Potter should of been. Now that I have read all of the books and I also read all of Harry Potter the author from Harry Potter missed a huge opportunity to to grow Harry Potter into something amazing but after reading this series I feel like she could’ve did better with growing hairy into a great sorcerer who would then be able to beat Voldemort. And this was something that Christopher was able to do with Emily.
Don’t give me wrong I love Harry Potter, and I only reference him in that series because everyone compares this series to it.
Christopher please continue with Emily.
May 30, 2022
What a fun ride this series was. Emily is a great character and how this started out as a magic school story but turned into an epic fantasy was fun. I loved how it ended, even though I thought the ending would go another way. Christopher G. Nuttall is an imaginative dude and I am impressed he wrote this and all his other series while going through some real-life hard stuff. Hats off to him and his work ethic. I highly recommend this series. Start from the first book, Schooled in Magic, as everything that happens in this one builds from the first book. If they ever do a series, PLEASE get Millie Bobby Brown to play Nanette. (No, not Emily. Ms Brown would make a great Nanette.) Seeing this series end feels a little like saying goodbye to a dear friend. These books were well paced, gave you characters you cared about and it's just one hell of an adventure. There aren't many ways to say a book was great, so I'm giving it the five stars they deserve and I hope to see more interesting magical adventures from Mr. Nuttall. (Don't get me wrong, he writes one hell of a space opera series too.)
September 29, 2021
Beyond Fantastic
An exciting ending to the current arc of the series Schooled in Magic. An incredible effort in exciting fantasy story telling, eat your heart out JK Rowling!
The exciting adventures of what author Chis himself describes as, to paraphrase 'a thinking hero' a young person, growing up and discovering magic, (and growing into a mature, powerful young woman in her early 20s over the course of the series), who at no point waits for the grown ups to sort things out for her, but thinks for herself, is the kind of hero we desperately need more of!
This book is an exciting read, but it will be an even better read, if you read some or all of what comes before. If you haven't, near the back is a 'story so far' short precis- As much as you can be quick covering the highlights for what's has happened over 20+ books.
I'd suggest reading it first if you are new to the series, then begin the book.
Enjoy!!!
An exciting ending to the current arc of the series Schooled in Magic. An incredible effort in exciting fantasy story telling, eat your heart out JK Rowling!
The exciting adventures of what author Chis himself describes as, to paraphrase 'a thinking hero' a young person, growing up and discovering magic, (and growing into a mature, powerful young woman in her early 20s over the course of the series), who at no point waits for the grown ups to sort things out for her, but thinks for herself, is the kind of hero we desperately need more of!
This book is an exciting read, but it will be an even better read, if you read some or all of what comes before. If you haven't, near the back is a 'story so far' short precis- As much as you can be quick covering the highlights for what's has happened over 20+ books.
I'd suggest reading it first if you are new to the series, then begin the book.
Enjoy!!!
September 5, 2021
Satisfactory Ending to a Story
I have to admit, I was leary about what was going to happen after the reveal about who the puppet master in the Allied Lands was. Having it end in an epic battle that caused Emily to abandon the moral compass so painstakingly established over 23 books was a frightening possibility. One I did not want to experience. I am glad however that Chris did not either pull any punches, or take the easy way out. Threading this particular needle was tricky and oddly satisfying. Usually, when irresistible forces meet, the end dooms them all. In a crafty way I did not expect, Emily and Void meet their appointed destinies. Well done. I look forward to the future forays into the Unamed world.
I have to admit, I was leary about what was going to happen after the reveal about who the puppet master in the Allied Lands was. Having it end in an epic battle that caused Emily to abandon the moral compass so painstakingly established over 23 books was a frightening possibility. One I did not want to experience. I am glad however that Chris did not either pull any punches, or take the easy way out. Threading this particular needle was tricky and oddly satisfying. Usually, when irresistible forces meet, the end dooms them all. In a crafty way I did not expect, Emily and Void meet their appointed destinies. Well done. I look forward to the future forays into the Unamed world.
September 28, 2021
If you have made it to here you are obviously a fan of Christopher Nuttall's reasonably priced, read on multiple device fantasy books - I am I love this "schooled in magic" series and never want it to end. I think the author improves with ever volume even though he has used time travel, which is a plot device I hate, he has made it work.
The world has been built up so well there are still endless things I want to know - the fae, who built the buildings that became the schools and what happened to them, the tunnels under each nexus, who built the nexus network and much much more. Also I want more Emily, and Nanette and so many other great characters.
Great ending to the arc, hope the series continues for a long while
The world has been built up so well there are still endless things I want to know - the fae, who built the buildings that became the schools and what happened to them, the tunnels under each nexus, who built the nexus network and much much more. Also I want more Emily, and Nanette and so many other great characters.
Great ending to the arc, hope the series continues for a long while
September 17, 2021
A great end to a story Arc
I only give 6 stars to Hugo/Nebula winners.
Master Nuttall is part of a generation of excellent story crafters.
I am honored to be old enough to see the average level of story craft rise from hack/pulp to interesting, intelligent, story telling.
All praise to excellent world building. Mature, thoughtful analysis of really difficult political cultures.
I salute you M.N. and your generation of eBook authors.
I only give 6 stars to Hugo/Nebula winners.
Master Nuttall is part of a generation of excellent story crafters.
I am honored to be old enough to see the average level of story craft rise from hack/pulp to interesting, intelligent, story telling.
All praise to excellent world building. Mature, thoughtful analysis of really difficult political cultures.
I salute you M.N. and your generation of eBook authors.
February 26, 2023
I am not wild about the ending. The main plot is done, but there is so much still up in the air. The final solution seemed too pat and too obvious. I have thought all along that once a the time travel genie is out of the bottle then you can't put it back in. I sort of thought the Witches book would use that trope, but no, it was saved for the end.
Overall the series was amazing. the end, less so.
Overall the series was amazing. the end, less so.
September 11, 2021
Tremendous Finale
Nuttall writes a tremendous finale to his Schooled In Magic series. While a bit slow at the start, it picks up and carried through to a thunderous ending.
I have really enjoyed this series, I found it to be one of his best, with many intriguing concepts and always well written. Highly recommended
Nuttall writes a tremendous finale to his Schooled In Magic series. While a bit slow at the start, it picks up and carried through to a thunderous ending.
I have really enjoyed this series, I found it to be one of his best, with many intriguing concepts and always well written. Highly recommended
September 21, 2021
Great series
Having read all 24 books in the series, I must admit I was very satisfied with the conclusion. Obviously while I hope to enjoy further stories of Emily in the future, there is something deeply satisfying when a tale has a well crafted begining, middle, and end like the Schooled in Magic series does. I highly recommend this series.
Having read all 24 books in the series, I must admit I was very satisfied with the conclusion. Obviously while I hope to enjoy further stories of Emily in the future, there is something deeply satisfying when a tale has a well crafted begining, middle, and end like the Schooled in Magic series does. I highly recommend this series.
September 2, 2021
a brilliant conclusion
Wow this is definitely a hard hitting ending to the series. So many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down. I recommend setting some time aside to binge read this!
Wow this is definitely a hard hitting ending to the series. So many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down. I recommend setting some time aside to binge read this!
September 3, 2021
a great ending
This was a fantastic ending (for now) to the series I’ve been reading for years. I sincerely hope the author continues writing more about Emily and her allies, as this world is the most in-depth and interesting (IMO) of his magical worlds.
This was a fantastic ending (for now) to the series I’ve been reading for years. I sincerely hope the author continues writing more about Emily and her allies, as this world is the most in-depth and interesting (IMO) of his magical worlds.
September 8, 2021
The end of the arc
This book was an excellent end to the arc started long ago. It feels not like a show cancelled but the end of one season awaiting a new one. I do hope Emily gets to enjoy herself.
This book was an excellent end to the arc started long ago. It feels not like a show cancelled but the end of one season awaiting a new one. I do hope Emily gets to enjoy herself.
September 10, 2021
Consistently good throughout 24 books... I can't wait for more!
Mr. Nuttall is prolific and I've read many of his books but the Schooled in Magic series is by far my favorite. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys fantasy books of any kind.
Mr. Nuttall is prolific and I've read many of his books but the Schooled in Magic series is by far my favorite. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys fantasy books of any kind.
September 10, 2021
Still the same as for the jast 3-4 volumes. A improved Emily but not too much. Is better than the last book, but it is on the same line of a personage that is too stupid and haven't grown over 9 years old. At 20 somthing a person is mature. Make it mature.
September 11, 2021
a fitting ending?
I have enjoyed this series and feel that this is a good place to end it,yet I hope for a few more books to address the historical/political questions raised here. A fine job, Mr. Nuttall!
I have enjoyed this series and feel that this is a good place to end it,yet I hope for a few more books to address the historical/political questions raised here. A fine job, Mr. Nuttall!
September 7, 2021
Great story
The story is sad and hopeful at the same time. Hopefully the story continues in another book. It was enjoyable but I purposely slowed my reading to savor it more.
The story is sad and hopeful at the same time. Hopefully the story continues in another book. It was enjoyable but I purposely slowed my reading to savor it more.
September 10, 2021
School of Magic
A good finish to a long series. I hope to read more of Emily in the future. I have enjoyed every book in the series and the end has been a long time coming.
A good finish to a long series. I hope to read more of Emily in the future. I have enjoyed every book in the series and the end has been a long time coming.
September 18, 2021
Great read
As normal a great book to read can't wait for the next one. Always a pleasure to read his books
As normal a great book to read can't wait for the next one. Always a pleasure to read his books
September 22, 2021
Best yet
This tied up lose ends in one sense but opened up new possibilities for the future. Hope this isn't the last I read about Emily and her friends.
This tied up lose ends in one sense but opened up new possibilities for the future. Hope this isn't the last I read about Emily and her friends.
October 10, 2021
Beyond expectations.....what an end!!!!! Can't wait for what Emily does next😁😁😁😁😁😁
November 29, 2021
The end?
A good story but it's not clear where things go from here. Void is dead but is he really? Let's wait and see
A good story but it's not clear where things go from here. Void is dead but is he really? Let's wait and see
December 18, 2021
Great series
January 13, 2022
Solid finish
Quality books quality series. This was an epic and to a wonderful adventure, I couldn't be happier with how things planned out.
Quality books quality series. This was an epic and to a wonderful adventure, I couldn't be happier with how things planned out.
January 18, 2022
Very good read
I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like a very strong female main character with magic and lots of action..
I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like a very strong female main character with magic and lots of action..
April 1, 2022
The deeply troubling final battles.
October 8, 2022
A satisfying ending to a series I’ve been following for years
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews