Rahain – a land where the mage-born rule and everyone else is expendable.
A slave, a politician and an assassin find themselves the unlikely heroes that could bring the republic to its knees.
Killop is a slave with a secret: his sister is a renegade Fire Mage. Hunted by the Rahain, her capture could lead to the death of thousands.
Laodoc is a politician who loves his country but has grown to … but has grown to hate many of its ancient traditions. He risks losing his family, his career and his liberty to fight for what he believes in.
Battle Mage Daphne Holdfast is on the run. Working in Rahain as a killer for hire, she is biding her time until she can clear her name and return home, when a chance meeting with Killop changes everything.
When half a million migrants arrive at the Rahain border with a newly crowned Queen and her Dark Mage sister, there will only be one winner – and the Magelands will never be the same again.
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Christopher Mitchell’s The Magelands Epic: The Queen’s Executioner (Book 1) is the start of a truly epic, grand scale fantasy with multiple storylines and overlapping action, thrills, twists and turns and really compelling characters. I’m gobsmacked by this book (a very good thing indeed) as I was t expecting anything nearly as powerful and well written. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely, eagerly looking forward to the next book in this series. I can already tell this will be a new addiction.
A new fantasy series opener that is certain to make the reader contemplate our troubled times.
SETTING: A place where 5 continents smashed together in the distant past, bringing together 5 different peoples, cultures and values: One culture intent upon expansion and subjecting other races to slavery & servitude; one that has no word for slavery, an idea of which they had never conceived; one in which slavery was not tolerated, but all races viewed as equal.
When an overcrowded people moves to an uninhabited land, a war is set off having unforeseen consequences to all of the combined lands. This is a story of the migration, the setting up of a new homeland, and it’s destruction by the possessive, and oppressive, culture who had previously claimed the unused land. Love stories, battles, conflicts of conscious resulting in the shattering of families are all part of this book. What the end result will be is yet to be determined in a next episode, which I eagerly await.
CRITIQUE: Multiple storylines are developed, blending and separating at times. It was initially a bit confusing (for this new reader of Mr. Mitchell’s work) to sort out what the story was about and how each group was related to the others. It does not take long to sort it out, and the reader then is rewarded with entering into this world, so reflective of our own.
The bright light: the “creator” has a plan to bring peace and reconciliation to the combined continents (or world, if you will). Sometimes, adjustments are having to be made to compensate for the independent actions of the players which can cause consequences not intended by the “creator”. In this book, we have a few clues of the plan, but are led to hope for a plan as the means to end the strife in the world.
With amphibian peoples, dark skinned and light skinned people, flying lizard-like creatures, this fantastical world will appeal to fantasy lovers. The violence and language may not be suitable for younger readers (my opinion). I am excited to find a new author whose thoughtful work inspires hope for a better future for us all.
This review is based on an advanced reader copy, and reflects my own opinion. No compensation was provided to this reviewer, nor is there any affiliation between the reviewer and author/publisher.
ONE THRILLING ADVENTURE!!!
Holy Crap! Talk about stepping into the dark side. One fast track and furious spin launch you forward on a razors edge and total focus on every word. Non-stop, action packed, hard hitting, heart pounding, page turning thrill that’s as riveting as it is captivating. A whirlwind of events and circumstances force all of your swirling emotions exploding into play. Drama, angst, danger and suspense rock this bad boy to the core. Christopher packs a punch with this raging storyline and explosive plot that brings this bad boy blazing to life spectacularly. The characters are authentic, believable and so realistic with depth and personalities it’s easy to relate. The scenes are so graphically detailed it makes for one exceptional backdrop that really bring this treasure together flawlessly. Remarkable job Christopher, thanks for sharing this bad boy with us.
This was a great read! Mr. Mitchell has done a fantastic job of character development and world building that draws you in and makes you want to read it all in one sitting! I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
The Magelands Epic: The Queen’s Executioner (Book 1)by Christopher Mitchell is a wonderful story to read. This is book number one in this wonderful series. I highly recommend it to everyone who loves reading about magic in their stories.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book
In the Magelands, conflict is always brewing.
The greedy Rahain republic have just invaded the mountain clans of Brig, Kell, Domm, and Lack-enslaving the young warriors and choosing to slaughter children and the old. Meanwhile, a mass exodus is upon Arakhanah City. Oblikhanawara (Obli) plans to lead her people to a more promising future, with her as queen. Her sister, ShellaKahanawara (Shella), is a powerful flow mage who decides to join her in order to help the people who follow Obli. Their destined paradise lies within the territory controlled by the Rahain. Will they come to an agreement or will the Rahain seek to destroy another civilization? With her sister Obli eager to be Queen by any means? Will Shella kill for her and her crown?
The Holdings, another powerful civilization, have agents throughout Rahain working on their own agenda. In Rahain, one Councillor, Laodoc, is fighting for the end of slavery in the republic. With overwhelming opposition(which includes his own sons) and only himself to count on, he gives three Kellach Brigdomin slaves a home. Will he face punishment for his desire to end slavery? Will he succeed in saving the Kellach Brigdomin slaves?
This is an awesome adventure fantasy novel with enough subplots to keep you from taking any breaks. The pace of the book varies from chapter to chapter and the suspense always seems present. The ending of the book left me eager to read the sequel.
Wow this is an Epic read. The Author of this read, has a great creativity with this read. The intertwining of the stories makes this read absolutely fantastic. I Love how the Characters were brought out and the scenes were written so well you can picture them in your minds eye so well. There is lots of twists and turns. And heart pounding adventure. This would make an awesome Netflix addition. This is definitely an epic read.
Shauna Joesten
The Queen’s Executioner (Magelands Epic, #1), my tenth read from prolific author Christopher Mitchell. When I want to read epic fantasy I first look for author Christopher Mitchell. Having read From The Ashes (Magelands Epic #0.5), I figured this was a logical place to go. To my surprise, a featured character is Daphne Holdfast so now I need to go to the Magelands Origins Series, starting with Retreat of the Kell. Somewhat slow to start the story builds speed and ends up being another typical Christopher Mitchell read. With 22 books written over 3 series, I need to get going & read more Christopher Mitchell books. I look forward to reading more from this author. “I received a free Kindle copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.” The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
I really enjoyed reading this book. The author did a wonderful job. It’s well written with great characters. I love the series!!! (I received this book as an arc and am leaving a voluntary honest review)