A young magic user who wants desperately to live. A jaded recluse who has forgotten what living means. They’re each other’s only chance.Toby’s wild magic is killing him. The mage guilds have given up on him, and it’s only a matter of time before he dies in a spectacular, catastrophic bang. His only hope is an exiled wizard who lives in seclusion—and is rumored to have lost his mind.The years … mind.
The years alone on his hilltop estate have not been good for Darius Valstad. After the magical accident that disfigured him and nearly drowned Pittsburgh, he drifts through his days, a wraith trapped in memories and depression. Until a stricken young man collapses on his driveway, one who claims Darius is his last chance. For the first time in fifteen years, Darius must make a choice—leave this wild mage to his fate or take him in and try to teach him, which may kill them both. The old Darius, brash and commanding, wouldn’t have hesitated. Darius the exile isn’t sure he can find the energy to try.
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I adore Angel Martinez, both as a person and author. Her writing is full of mythology and lore, humor, and heavy doses of humanity that inspires the reader to learn more and love more. Her books always leave me with a warm spot in my chest and an impressive hangover! The Mage on the Hill, though? I think it’s the best Martinez title I’ve read to date.
The story is about a young man whose inability to control his magic is killing him. Tobias “Toby” Jones cannot find where he is meant to reside on the magic web of Arcana, which makes him a dangerous and unstable mage. At any moment he may literally explode with magic, and if the power he releases is strong enough, people will get hurt. A lot of people. Maybe even the entire city of Pittsburgh! Every guild has given up on helping Toby, leaving him to reside in hospice, drugged and unable to cast magic, until his body starves and dies.
The only hope Toby has of rescue resides within himself. He is unwilling to lie down, to give up, to let himself be killed humanely because the guilds are too afraid to deter from the rules and come up with an unconventional way to save his life. So Toby escapes the latest hospital he’s ended up in and goes in search of a mysterious mage who was once known to help the “unplaceables.” Darius Valstad has had his status with the guilds revoked after a terrible magical disaster that nearly destroyed Pittsburgh and left him disfigured. His reclusive behavior is interrupted when Toby shows up at his doorstep begging for help. He says Darius is the only man with the ability and knowledge and courage to help him find his Arcana before it’s too late.
This story is full of self-exploration, both for Toby and Darius. The men each complement one another so well. Where one has a hole in their heart, having lost joy or belief after life beat them down, the other is there to help them rediscover the positive trait. There is a gentleness between them that begins as a teacher and student, blossoms to a friendship, and eventually blooms into a long-lasting, powerful love. The healing that these men discover, especially Darius, is beautiful. Darius is definitely on my list of Characters I’ll Never Forget. He is complex and three-dimensional, and the way that Martinez built his personality, from the cocky, sure-fire professor, to a man who lost faith in life, to his second chance at happiness without belittling his trauma, makes him the sort of lead character authors should strive to create.
Everything about this book I recommend. The world building, side characters, May/December romance, and adventure will leave you aching for the next story in The Web of Arcana series. I do hope Darius and Toby return in the next book, even as cameos, simply because I selfishly love them. Brilliant urban fantasy and a hell of a read!
I loved this book – Angel is a skilled comedic writer, but that doesn’t mean her characters don’t have great depth. This unique urban fantasy reinvents elemental magic, and the main characters are both flawed and compelling.
I’ve been absorbed by this story from the first pages,with the introduction of Toby’s inner turmoil. He’s irresistible in his desperate clinging to life,although he knows he’s dangerous with his wild magic. Then I met Darius, lonely and eaten up by regrets, and my heart broke for him. I came to care deeply for both of them,while watching the mages try to forge a tentative friendship and then slowly develop a stronger bond.
The Mage On The Hill is another emotional, touching book by Angel Martinez, with an engrossing story line and charming characters, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Another wonderfully built world created by this author. Her descriptions of the world that Toby and Darius live in is easy to picture. This world is a blending of both real-world locations with the added touch of people with magical abilities. She is a master at the well written, fully dimensional characters. Toby is both shy and forward. And you can feel the pain and hurt Darius has and is living through.
The plot moves you through the story, you keep turning the pages to find out what piece of the puzzle that is Toby and his wild magic, comes next. How is Professor Darius going to help him? Which of his past students is the next on the list? And what really happened to Darius when his world exploded, scarring him and leading to his exile from the school and guild?
I might have liked a little more backstory here, about guilds and their formation. And the different elements of the Arcane. And like a lot of Angel’s stories, I wanted it to last longer. I can’t wait for the next story in this series. But who will it be about? Any of the secondary characters would be great because I think they all need their own.