The Wizard's Curse

The Sorcerer's Oath #2

by Jenny Ealey

As civil war spreads through the realm of the sorcerers, the woodwolf become under attack by unknown abductors. When his attempts to prove his loyalty and protect his people go disastrously awry, Sorcerer Prince Tarkyn finds himself distanced from his companions and threatened by a curse. Trying to save his new people from his vengeful twin brothers, Tarkyn faces pressure from sorcerers and woodfolk alike. Soon, he is drawn in a battle he's not ready for. As the curse threatens to corrupt the woodfolk and loyalties around him grow thin, can Tarkyn wield his powers to save his people? This is the large print edition of The Wizard's Curse, with a larger font / typeface for easier reading.

Genres: Fantasy

970 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2015

About the author

Jennifer Jane Ealey was born in outback Western Australia where her father was studying kangaroos on a research station, one hundred miles from the nearest town. Her arrival into the world was watched, unexpectedly, by their pet kangaroo who had hopped into the hospital. Having survived the excitement of her birth, she moved firstly to Perth and then Melbourne where she spent most of her formative years. She took a year off to ride a motorbike around Australia before working as a mathematics teacher and school psychologist in England and Australia, a bicycle courier in London and running a pub in outback New South Wales.
She now lives in a country town just outside Melbourne, working by day as a psychologist and beavering away by night as a novelist. She has written two detective novels and has just completed The Sorcerer’s Oath, a series of four fantasy novels; Bronze Magic, Wizard’s Curse, The Lost Forest and finally The Wizardess. She is now working on the Dark Amulet Series. Book 1, The Pale-Eyed Mage, is finished and on its way to the publisher

Reviews

[Don Neuendorf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for these books. The world building is good. The system of magic is interesting. The plot is a little different than the usual coming of age thing.

Unfortunately, the book never seems to get off the ground. Even one of the characters says, "you seem to sort out one episode of ill feeling just in time for another to pop up and take its place." (pg729) And she's got it exactly right. The first two books are entirely about "ill feelings," cross cultural misunderstandings, relationships, dealing with emotions. The plot about an exiled prince and the fate of the woodfolk and the kingdom are only a thin outline on which to hang all of this psychological drama.

Having finished book two, I realized that nothing had really happened in two volumes! Then I happened to glance at the author's CV and saw that she is, by profession, a psychologist. I must say, she is probably very good at her day job because she displays a penetrating understanding of the conflicting emotions of her characters, and she reflects the complex interactions of the feelings of dozens of people from multiple cultures. Impressive, if you like that kind of thing, but I find it gets old.

Finally, one quibbling objection: everyone in these books seems to have an eidetic memory. After 1400 pages they can all still remember details of exactly who said what from the very beginning of the tale. I don't find that realistic. If you're going to build an entire series on the detailed thoughts and emotions of all your characters, you'll have to acknowledge that a good deal of what people do is the result of remembering things differently, listening indifferently, and refusing to remember what doesn't fit their own narrative.

[J Todd Cumming · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Prince Tarkyn continues, and the quality found in the first book continues! The second book in the series features new characters and new challenges for the exiled prince. The pacing is smoother that the first book, with plenty of twists and excitement that makes this novel hard to put down. I look forward to the next book, and wonder what will happen when Tarkyn finally confronts his evil brothers.

[Bob Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable Fantasy World

This author has done her due diligence and created a very well written story of the characters in the world she has created. Looking forward to the next chapter!

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a lot of repetition going on. Lots of internal healing done by Tarkyn. Still lots of whinging about the sorcerer's oath. I won't be continuing the following books.

[Christie Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. For those just starting the series, the book leaps straight in where the last one left off, so it cannot be read out of order. I’d also recommend rereading the first book if it’s been awhile and details have gone hazy.

I enjoy the characterization, especially of main character Tarkyn. He tries to do good, and usually succeeds, yet he has enough weaknesses to be realistic and loveable. I sometimes do not understand some of his flashes of anger at breaches in protocol, but I know enough of his background to realize where they come from. The relationship between the two cultures, woodfolk and sorcerers, is quite believable. I’m impressed by how this author managed to show the depth of two completely different cultures and how they might interact. The other characters are also realistic and relatable. I especially appreciate Sparrow and Midnight, two of the children. I find in fantasy that too often young children are displayed as innocent victims and rarely have their own characteristics, but this was not the case here. The relationships between the characters are the heart and main focus of the story. They are real, interesting, and satisfying, though the relationships too often become developed through long discussions of feelings.

I wanted to mention also that this series uses omniscient point of view to good effect. This point of view isn’t used often, and even rarer, used well, so this story took a little adjustment but did a good job with it.

I think the plot could use some work. While I enjoyed some individual episodes that were complete with build-up, climax and resolution, they didn’t seem to work together for the whole of the plot—they do work together for the characterization, which is the focus and what the author was going for, but I feel like there should have also been some plot point that connected the different events. The characters are given a challenge, carry out their plan, and succeed, for the most part without many setbacks, or the setbacks seem to be too easily overcome.

Overall I highly recommend these books. I love being immersed in the world and spending time with these characters. The magic, setting, and cultures are everything you could ask for in a fantasy.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was better than the first, although I did forget why they were even heading across the mountains in the first place with all the intrigue and other things that happened. I'm still not sure I enjoy all the emotional outpouring and subsequent reconciliation although it is a nice change to see characters retain some anger and hold a grudge, just like real life. I get the impression the author is attempting to portray more life-like characters and the large bumps encountered along the way are probably reflective of that. It is much appreciated! All in all, though, it's an interesting read.