Ernie and the Mage Killer is a 2024 fantasy novel by Jools Warner. It is the author's debut novel. and is scheduled for release on April 15, 2024. I was provided with an advanced copy for review.
Ernie buried her magical past – but now her friends need her to dig it up. Ernie just wants to have a solitary pint at her local pub and forget about her past as one of the most promising young mages in England. But when an old enemy returns, she must restore the memories she suppressed and reclaim her powers. With the help of fiery Rennie, shapeshifting Vi, and an endearingly bureaucratic cat, Ernie comes to grips with her grief over the past and grapples bravely with the very mage who bested her before. The race is on to find him before he can bend the elements to his will and become an unstoppable tyrant. As she fights to end the mage-killer before he ends life as we know it, Ernie the earth-mage resolves not to let herself be uprooted again.
Ernie was a character I almost immediately connected with. I enjoyed her sense of humor and the ways she reacted to the strange situation she found herself in. I liked that she was an adult character who had plenty of training and experience, as opposed to a teenager needing to learn to wield her magic. Her character arc centered around grief, and learning how to move forward after processing her grief, as well as facing mistakes she'd made in the past. The other characters were engaging to read about, and added some extra depth to the world.
The plot of this book was very intriguing. It centered as much around Ernie's grief as it did around trying to stop the Mage Killer. It's a fun adventure story that really shows off the world the author created and a number of great ideas that she had. It takes the story a little bit to get started, but once the plot kicks off, I found it difficult to put the book down. The action scenes are exciting to read and the story builds up the tension very well as it progresses. I found the ending to be a bit rushed, but it was an enjoyable journey.
The writing in this novel was pretty good. The author had a distinct style of writing, and a specific kind of humor. Some readers may not enjoy her style, but I found it fit the story well. The prose were easy to follow, though parts of the world-building were not. At time, it felt like terms were being thrown about without explanation, which made keeping track of certain things such as what certain phrases meant or what abilities existed difficult. It broke my immersion a bit, but didn't take away from the story too much,
Ernie and the Mage Killer was a fun read. The story had some interesting characters, as well as an engaging plot. Some aspects of the story were a bit confusing, but it's a solid story overall. The writing was good, but may not fit every readers' tastes. It was an enjoyable and unique read.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Purchase Links for the book: Amazon
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