My Lady Mage
by Alexis Morgan is the first installment in the Warriors of the Mist
series.
I was at Barnes & Noble
when I came across this simple yet most inviting cover; a woman
on a mesmerising white stallion against a night-sky-forest background. It was –
and still is – an artistic cover with my favourite colours combined.
I was hesitant at
first. I didn’t know the writer and I knew that most pretty covers enclosed
not-so-good books within, but something about that that book kept me coming
back to it. On my way out, I picked it up and decided it’s worth a shot. And an excellent
shot it was.
Some might be
surprised that I am unfamiliar with Alexis Morgan; I’m not American and I have
never seen her books here in Egypt.
Back to the book;
it was as breath-taking and as intriguing as its cover.
Not being a fan of
romance, My Lady Mage is my first fantasy-romance novel. Still, I deal
with romance with care for there are often clichés – just read the synopsis of
many fantasy books and you’ll notice a pattern – but here, I enjoyed it. And
that means Alexis Morgan did something spectacular, for I’m not easy to please.
The novel opens
with a sort of introduction titled “River of the Damned” describing the
Warriors of the Mist. It begins thus: “The Warriors
of the Mist are a legend, their origins lost in the shadows of the past. In
dark times, it is whispered, the warriors can be summoned from beneath the
roiling currents when a champion is needed and if the cause is just.” (My
Lady Mage, no page no. but before Chapter 1).
My Lady Mage
revolves around Merewen, whose father ruled their Kingdom in the land of
Agathia, but because the law forbids a woman from ruling after her father’s
death, Merewen’s uncle, Fagan, takes over. Not only has evil roamed the land
ever since, but it also grows stronger with each passing day. The first part in
the Warriors of the Mist series focuses mainly Merewen, the warriors,
her uncle and his wife and we get a peek at the Duke.
Merewen finds scrolls
in her father’s library that speak of warriors that can be summoned to save a
land and protect innocent people from evil; they are called the Warriors of the
Mist. Merewen’s land has been struck by an unknown evil and out of desperation,
she attempts to summon these warriors from the river.
Her summons is
answered and five warriors spring from the water.
Alexis Morgan
knows how to keep her reader interested till the end – and afterwards. She
skillfully uses tension and relief. For example, the novel begins with in a
dark eerie atmosphere with the legend of the Warriors of the Mist then with
Merewen trying to reach the river without being caught by her uncle’s guards.
She summons the warriors, her plea is answered and shortly afterwards we meet
them. After all this tension, Merewen faints and the reader gets a bit of
relief, when one of the warriors asks “Is she
well?” And another answers “No. She’s not.
She’s unconscious…” (p. 7). (I personally
thought it was rather funny).
Although the warriors
are hundreds of years old, they still view one another in their usual age.
Averel is still described as the youngest (which I thought was rather cute).
I personally
enjoyed how Morgan drew on other well-known texts in literature. For instance, “Then, an arm brandishing a sword burst forth from the
deepest part of the river” (p. 5). This reminds me of the popular scene
in the stories – films and series - of King Arthur, when the Lady of the Lake
raises her arm, holding Excalibur. In My Lady Mage, there is a Lord and
Lady of the Lake; another draw on the Arthurian tales. Another reference is in
the second half of the story, “For now, the path of
the Damned ran together with hers, side by side. Too soon, those roads would
diverge, never to cross again.” Naturally, the first thing that came to
mind whilst reading these lines was Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken”, a
favourite of mine. Another example, before I move on to another point, is “The cloth held no magic, naught, but its darkness
concealing them in the fading shadows.” This part reminded me of the
Elven cloaks in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. (I just had to
mention that).
Some might
disagree and Morgan will probably be doing this unintentionally – for all writers
must have read great works to be able to write themselves. Anyways, for me, it
was an additional pleasure.
There are five warriors,
led by Gideon and as the story progresses we learn that each of them has a
painful past. We also learn how each of them came to join Gideon and become the
Damned. (These warriors are: Murdoch, Duncan, Kane and Averel).
There are some
parts of the novel that show that there is some sort of mystery waiting to be
solved but that is not revealed. For instance, when Merewen first brings the
horses to the warriors, Gideon is struck by their stallion, Kestrel, and bonds
with him.
“Still
not able to explain, [Gideon] pointed toward the pale shape on Kestrel’s neck
and then held up his shield with the image of a white gyrfalcon emblazoned on
its surface. The two were nearly identical in shape. When [Gideon] traced
Kestrel’s mark with his finger, a shiver of power slid through his senses.” (p.
22).
Rereading and typing
this bit, I find it a rather odd, but new, image that something can ‘slide
through the senses’. (Note to self). This strange connection is not revealed in
the story; I’m still curious if there is something to it or if it just a
coincidence.
I particularly
like the way Morgan describes the warrior Kane. The way he is introduced in the
early chapters – and throughout the novel – makes the reader curious as to
whether Kane is man or beast.
Each
of these warriors is memorable and loveable on their own. I tried very hard to
pick a favourite but couldn’t do so entirely; even Kane, who appears to be –
and is in fact – brutal and blood-thirsty, cannot be hated or disliked.
(Bookworms will certainly love Duncan.)
Each of the
warriors has an animal companion (also called “an avatar”), that is faithful to
him. They are all very interesting creatures – no clichés here. Kane’s in
particular remains a mystery till the end of the novel.
One of the parts I
liked, but that wasn’t elaborated on was on p. 35: “Her
uncle might rule the keep, but he was still reluctant to alienate everyone. Her
people had been known to take revenge in small and irritating ways.” It
makes you wonder what is meant by “irritating” in particular here, and I can’t
help but give an evil smile whenever I read it.
Going deeper into
Agathia and particularly into Merewen’s land, we meet her cruel Uncle Fagan.
Not only does he mistreat all his subjects, with the exception of his lot of
bandits, but he also abuses his wife, immensely and in public. The reader will at
first be struck by the way Fagan and his wife, Alina, address one another: “Wife! Attend me now”, “Yes,
my husband.” (p. 82). However, when one becomes more familiar with the
two characters, particularly Fagan, one cannot help but say that the way Alina addresses
her husband is more than he deserves.
The society in
Agathia is a patriarchal one, where women are not allowed to rule; even it is
their birth right. Despite being the daughter of the ruler, Lady Merewen cannot
rule in her father’s stead. Thus, her uncle is called in to take her place.
Gideon, who is several centuries old, does not see a problem with a woman
ruling the land. For me, this part reflected some
modern-day societies. Also, as we go on with the story, we see that the
focus is always on the male ruler or rather rulers, namely Fagan and the Duke.
Lady Alina is Fagan’s wife, yet she doesn’t act like him. The same applies to
Merewen. Both women are warm-hearted and kind as compared to the exploitative
and abusive rulers. There is a reason Fagan does not kill Merewen although he
rules and controls her land – or several reasons as we get to know at the end
of the novel.
Merewen is a hard-headed,
rebellious woman. Not only is she brave, but she is also very caring and
considerate. She, literally, puts everyone before herself and is willing to
risk her life for the people who respected her father and herself and who have
remained loyal to both.
Towards the end,
we meet the Duke, who rules over all the lands of Agathia. There is a reversal
of roles in the scene in chapter 22, where Fagan, who constantly terrorises and
abuses his wife, cowers before the Duke and is terrified of him. It is an
interesting, dead-cold scene.
I am not a fan of
profanity and there were some instances in this novel where I felt there was no
need for it. On p. 91, “Meanwhile, Kane continued
polishing the damned horse’s hide.” Personally, I don’t see a reason for
the word “damned” here, especially since what precedes it does not carry any
angry tones or the like.
Also, the use of
the (‘d) as a contraction for had (most of the time) is very annoying as the
reader has to, often, think whether it is ‘had’ or ‘would’. Moreover, it is the
only contraction in the text. For me,
there should either be contractions throughout or none throughout as well
(speech excluded). It also looks out of place. Without
this (‘d) – and a couple of needless uses of ‘damned’ – the book would have been
utterly perfect!
The first part in
the Warriors of the Mist series is by all means a grabber, a must-read.
The moment you finish it you feel like you need the second part right after it
to carry on the adventure. The characters are memorable, each in their own way.
The book contains some adult scenes so I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone under
18 (I suppose that could differ with American and European audiences).
Alexis Morgan’s
choice is words and imagery is notable throughout the novel, one of the ones I
marked was “before the sun crested the horizon”
(p. 18). She wittingly uses tension and comic relief well in her novel, which,
I must say, is a blessing.
Morgan also gives
her readers a glimpse of the following book, making them more eager and
excited.
My Lady Mage
is the first romantic fantasy novel I have read – and no I have not read the Twilight
series nor do I plan on reading it. This part is succeeded by Her Knight’s
Quest, which was published on 5th of March, 2013. It is unclear
how many parts the series will be, but @Goodreads shows a third part called Honor’s
Price, which is expected to be out sometime in 2014.
Note to Alexis
Morgan: Thank you.
Overall rating: 5 stars.
Read an excerpt
from Morgan’s book two in the series Her Knight’s Quest.
Works cited: Morgan, Alexis. My
Lady Mage. New York: Signet Eclipse, July 2012. Print.
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