By Kai Hsu
Genres: Magic, Progression, Fantasy, Adventure
Age Range: 12 - 18
Summary: Hugh of Emblin is, so far as he's concerned, the worst student that the Academy at Skyhold has ever seen. He can barely cast any spells at all, and those he does cast tend to fail explosively. If that wasn't bad enough, he's also managed to attract the ire of the most promising student of his year- who also happens to be the nephew of a king. Hugh has no friends, no talent, and definitely doesn't expect a mage to choose him as an apprentice at all during the upcoming Choosing.
When a very unusual mage does choose him as apprentice, however, his life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is the final test for the first years - being sent into the terrifying labyrinth below Skyhold.
Entering a world of magical fantasies, Mage Errant illustrates an elaborate and detailed world with complex systems of magic. If you didn't get what that meant, it could be summarized in two words: magic school. While it may seem like a normal magical fantasy at first, Mage Errant takes a different approach to the genre, instead focusing on the problems of student outliers in the school curriculum. In the novel, the revolving main cast of characters have been shunned for their inability or horrible control of magic, when in reality, it’s only the regulated curriculum that has been failing them (hence the word ‘errant’). Instead of taking the regular school approach to magic, they instead start looking at unique methods to advance along their path, and turn their weaknesses into strengths. What I like most about the story is that each weakness (turned into strengths) has been incredibly thought-out, and well-reasoned enough to explain why the general school curriculum had failed them. In addition, the way they work to improve their magic is also very well thought-out, and likely to have been planned beforehand before the author decided to write the novel, because the details of each weakness were just that creative. Through the plot of the novel, Mage Errant presents an interesting story that points out that not everyone should be forced to learn in the same ways.
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