Posted on  20/08/2024 16:03:42

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book for free on Kindle after a promotional message on r/Fantasy and added it to my 2019 TBR Challenge over at SciFi and Fantasy Book Club as The Sixth Book - the 6th book offered by an author for free on r/Fantasy

I've personally gotten no Harry Potter vibes from here, as other reviews suggested I might; and I haven't yet read The Kingkiller Chronicle either, to be able to tell if this book is quite like it, as other reviews again imply.
What I did get however was an absolutely unusual, original and quite different read that was both fun and intriguing.

What it is about, the blurb is giving quite a fair idea:
Follow Bertly, a hapless wizard from a small village, as he writes his own tale of his journey to become the greatest champion of all time. After many blips and blunders, and with the help of his assorted group of friends, Bertly will become the second-greatest sorcerer the world has ever seen. But there’s an expiration date on the telling of the tale. Will he write his own ending, or will the victors write his story for him?

Bertly and his definitely not good friend Polly are the first humans born with red eyes in over 3000 years, which means they can learn magic, just like the elves, the dwarves and the giants do. Therefore, they are both sent to the biggest Academy of Magic in Pangea to learn magic.

Now Bertly is one of a kind! You can get an idea of his upbringing from the solid set of teachings his father sends him off with:
"When in doubt, fight it out."
"That's right, son. If your mouth can't win the fight, let your fists do the talking."

If you were wondering about Bertly's father, he is Edfrid, warden of Stonebank in the Noskar Mountains. A rough and tough huge warrior with a different kind of blood running through his veins. From the very beginning, I pictured him like this:
Norse Warrior | Warmachine 1/6 - Beste Spielothek in Pillig finden

I will admit I disliked Bertly from the very beginning. Partly due to the way he behaved with Roderick, his so called "incompetent apprentice", from the very first pages of the book. And partly, because of the way he behaved with everyone else throughout the story.

Bertly is a self-centered jerk with an ego the size of a skyscraper who doesn't give a rat's tail about anyone other than himself. Oh! And about how people see him! I really shouldn't forget about that! Because Bertly would even sacrifice the lives of his friends just so that people get to see Bertly as a hero!

Bertly manages to succeed at the Academy, as well as in life, either because of his friends, or because of sheer dumb luck. He cannot be bothered to know much about classes, schedules, or whatever happens around him as a rule, because he is to air-headed to even remember to ask about it. To him, "rules are meant to protect the weak" and of course "it takes a lot of courage to cheat" !!
So no! I definitely didn't like Bertly, not even by the end of the book. There is potential for him to grow, within the sequels, but I doubt I'll ever count him in between my favorites regardless.

So why did I keep reading, if I hated the guy's guts?!
Because the story is addictive!
The other characters are wonderful! I loved kind, sweet-natured Polly; Orin and Orin, the dwarf twins; Alestar, the giant professor; Roderick, the "incompetent apprentice" and even Devdan the cool hot elf!! Yes! I loved them all!
The Dubious Tale of the Winter Wizard - cover art

And Clia and Bear stole the show!!! Because who doesn't love a huge bear that plays like a puppy, or a playful griphon that even likes to have her claws painted!!
Griphon in Flight by giovannag on DeviantArt

A war threatens not only the Academy and Bertly's home, but the entire world! The Rotters' armies are coming, bringing death to all that's living; and Bertly finally has the chance to prove his mettle and become the hero he always dreamed to be. Alas, things are never as easy as they seem and Bertly needs to stop making the wrong decisions and start using his brains to do what's right, instead of banking on luck to be by his side.

"Extraordinary. Incredible. Terrifying and disgusting, but absolutely incredible!" These are Roderick's words describing Bertly's adventure. And I'd say they are a perfect fit!

Nick McNeil gives us here an incredible story that had me smile at times and laugh out loud at others. It made me want to turn away in disgust at several scenes and bite my fingernails on the edge of my seat at others. It was wonderful, extraordinary and also terrifying and disgusting - a heady combination that may not appeal to everyone.

I personally found it difficult to read a couple of scenes.
For instance, one that involved a violent end for a certain kitty; that had me shaking my head and muttering: "Not cool at all sir warden! Not cool at all!" Because it didn't really matter that the kitty was a monster. What Edfrid did was very cruel and lacking any honor!
And then another little capture/torture scene that had me horrified because of its pointlessness and because it could have been so easily avoided! I have to grant it to the author: that stuff wouldn't have gotten to me this bad if it hadn't been a first class description! But still...

I rated ity only a 3.5 because of my problems with Bertly, as well as the difficulty I had in reading scenes like those above. Because of the lack of honor and pointlessness, because of the terrifying and disgusting !
If you don't mind that however, this could easily be a 5 star read for you.

An incredible, unique beginning to a promising series by a new author to watch for!

Check out this book and more of Nick McNeil here