On an alien world, sex, murder, and vengeance forge a young woman into a wizard.Scholar Victoria preserves records of humanity’s spacefaring origins until slavers and the tyrant Lornk Korng rip away everything she knows and loves. Remaking herself into Vic the Blade, she strikes fear into her enemies, but she cannot escape Lornk’s obsession. A legendary power may be her only chance to destroy … destroy him, if it doesn’t kill her first.
Lovers of gritty, dark fantasy will love this tale of empowerment with its echoes of fairy tales and classic science fiction by McCaffrey and Herbert.
Finalist, 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Honorable Mention, 2017 Reader’s Favorite Awards
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A Wizard’s Forge is an interesting example of how you can twist YA fiction tropes into adult fiction. It’s the story of a bright-eyed brainy Hermione-esque woman on an alien planet where she and other humans crashlanded long ago before forgetting their past.
The story quickly becomes dark as midnight with her being enslaved by pirates and then sold to a manipulative lord who wants her to fall in love with him despite their power differential. She escapes and eventually joins the army of the people who oppose her former slaver. Basically, combining a typical coming of age journey with Gladiator. She also learns magic is real, which really messes with her science-based worldview.
I had fun with this book and believe most fantasy fans would enjoy it. I will say, though, watching her try to fight off Stockholm Syndrome isn’t the most “fun” part of the book but it adds to the overall story.
Vic endures a lot before she’s reached her 16th birthday. She loses her way of life and is taken prisoner and is mistreated sexually by her captor. She suffers Stolkholm Syndrome and PTSD, but from this fire is forged a mighty wizard. A.M. Justice blends fantasy, sci-fi, and a decided darkness to create a well-written story that will linger in the reader’s imagination. It’s no wonder Justice has earned several awards for writing. And check out the great cover! Although the book is hefty, it leaves with unfinished issues which leaves the reader wondering when to expect book 2 of The Woern Saga.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from the first sentence to the last. It is, in essence, the story of a young woman’s journey from intellectual prodigy to sexual slave, then legendary warrior and, finally, well…I don’t want to spoil it for you. There is plenty of action, along with a great cast of characters, one of whom is the best, most three-dimensional villain this side of Game of Thrones. There’s also a fascinating blending of science fiction and fantasy that I totally accepted. Lastly, the novel also features a number of worthy themes — the nature of family, loyalty, gender roles and more. If you’re looking for some darkish fantasy that isn’t just bash-and-smash, you’ve found the right novel!
When she heads out on her first trip as the youngest ever Logkeeper, Victoria expects to be tested. But instead of the questioning and doubtfulness she anticipated, she is taken captive and eventually sold into slavery to a nobleman who intends to break her will to his own.
The character of Victoria is the core of the novel and she goes through quite the evolution before the finale. Beginning as a precocious teenager, her relatively sheltered upbringing is thrown into sharp relief when she is captured, sold and comes into the possession of Lornk Korng. Rather than just putting her to work for him or something similar, his approach is much more insidious.
This is what I believe is the most disturbing aspects of the book, and also the best handled. Korng uses Victoria’s physical reactions to him in an attempt to make her both desire him and become dependant on him. This experience forms a combination of Stockholm Syndrome and PTSD which continues to haunt her long after her escape. It also adds impetus to her future career as a soldier but not without causing some problems. The degree to which this mixture of feelings is explored without falling into triteness is exemplary.
Another of the elements that I particularly enjoyed is the history of this world. While the majority of the novel stays within traditional fantasy outlines, there is also some sci-fi trappings underlying them. Rather than be native inhabitants, the human civilizations are descended from the crew of a starship and some, like Victoria’s people, have been waiting for the day they can rejoin their people, while others treat it as nothing more than legend. There is some evidence of the remnants of that technology, such as machines that allow instantaneous transport from one location to another and an intelligent insectoid species that makes an appearance in the latter third of the novel, but for the most part, most of this remains in the background of the world.
If I had one reservation about A Wizard’s Forge, it was that the ending seemed a bit abrupt to me. But, since this is the first book, that may be less of an issue once I can get my hands on the second. In any case, that’s not enough to stop me recommending it wholeheartedly.