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Imperial Wizard

Written by: J Parsons
Narrated by: Matt Hicks, Melissa Green
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Publisher's Summary

An age has passed, a blight curses the land, and one hero stands above the rest to restore the balance.

Verdan Blacke is an Imperial Wizard, a researcher by preference but soldier by necessity. Surviving an intense battle, Verdan is cursed by a hex witch in her final moments. Without any good options, Verdan escapes the ever-increasing pain the curse inflicts by performing a self-made stasis ritual.

When the spell fades, and he has awoken, Verdan finds a world completely different from the one he left behind. Dark things work in daylight with impunity, once common knowledge is a mystery, and even the nature of magic that humans use has changed.

One wizard, a million problems, and the wrath of profound magic.

©2023 J Parsons (P)2023 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

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Best fantasy novel I've listened to this year

This title is a pleasant surprise - an original story filled with hints of something more, a main character who is special and powerful yet also human and fallible, and a plot that is moving forward but still has room to grow.

The plot is based around a wizard who puts himself in stasis to escape a curse...and wakes up thousands of years in the future, when the empire he lived in is now only a distant memory. Civilization has fallen hard, wizardry is no more, and humanity is barely hanging on. But as the novel progresses, we see that this isn't quite true - rather than being simply flawed wizards, humanity's magicians have developed an entirely new kind of magic - not as powerful as wizardry, but with potential - and threats. Meanwhile, humanity's old allies have disappeared and its enemies have grown more powerful.

The main character is likeable enough, but he also represses his feelings and may be a bit addicted to his magic. He surrounds himself with characters who themselves are interesting, with hints of back stories that are deeper than they first appear. Simply by being a wizard in this new world, our main character is uniquely powerful - but time and time again he realizes that this doesn't make him ALL powerful. It made for a refreshing take on the trope!

The narration is done by a team - Matt Hicks does the men and the narration, while Melissa Green does the women. I've always liked that kind of combo, and both are skilled narrators. The accents took some getting used to - which makes sense, since language has evolved over thousands of years! - but the voices too are sometimes odd, with characters having gravelly deep voices or high pitched squeaking. Once you get beyond that, both narrators are a joy to listen to.

I bought book 2 about 4 hours before finishing book 1 - I KNEW I'd enjoy it.

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