The Choice of Magic

Art of the Adept, Book 1

By: Michael G. Manning

Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds

The ancient magic of wizards was anything but dark. It was the enlightenment that lifted humanity from the squalor of superstition, and the worship of fell spirits and capricious gods, but those days are gone. The shining glory of the sorcerers burned away the subtlety of wisdom, replacing it with easy power, held only in the hands of the elite - a new age built upon the elemental supremacy of aristocrats and the ignorance of the masses.

But this will change, for the greatest power comes with knowledge, and the deeper teachings of wizardry have not been utterly lost. The last wizard of the old tradition still survives in solitude, nursing tired grudges and waiting for death.

His passing might have gone unnoticed, but for the imposition of a youth too stubborn to accept his refusal to take an apprentice. With a new student comes new hope, and that hope has caused old powers to stir again. That the world will change is inevitable, but the shape of the future is anything but certain.

©2020 Michael G. Manning (P)2020 Podium Audio

Way better than I thought it would be!

I was mildly interested in reading this based on the description but the fact Tim Gerard Reynolds was the narrator put it over the edge for me in buying it. This was well above what I was expecting and now I'm kicking myself for not waiting until the others came out on here. I have yet another series to play the waiting game for with just the first taste on my mind.

Review

This audiobook as Unfilled potential!. The performance was great, but the story was very long and drawn out. By the time I reach the middle of the audio book the main character had very little to NO growth. Once again I can see the potential. At best this book is a 🌟. Which is why I’m so surprise I got five star in the rating, very misleading. If you have the credit and you’re not worried about character progression then you might enjoy this book.

Great Storyline and Narrator

It took a while for to get to this book but, I am glad I finally did. I a lot of times jump between reading and listening especially with books that truly catch my attention. This is one of those stories.

Worth a listen

I’ve been pretty bored with most offerings recently. This was a very entertaining story. Yes, it is a coming of age, with elements of the traditional formula you’ve come to expect, but it doesn’t disappoint.

Jarred by a couple of incongruous plot devices

I really enjoyed this story and plan to get the next book. there were a couple situations that were so nonsensical they threw me out of the story. Will in the dungeon face what appeared to be certain death and making no attempt to escape even though he had demonstrated ability to do so earlier was one of them. Hopefully Manning will find some clever solutions to move his story forward in the next book that will fit with a clever and capable character.

Good listen...but....

So, the new books in this series are not available, so if you are looking for more then one, then wait until they are put out. They were finished (wrote) in 2019- you can go download and read them...but for some reason Audible or Author related (they wont tell you) the next 2 books in the series are not available to listen too.

The book was fun, with some new takes on Magic Use, and a great start (coming of age) book. So just for this one I had to give it all the stars, (Grandpa was fun, and the Cat)

It was juvenile in places, but you can expect that from a young adult story.

So waiting on the next ones to come out...or may just go get them and put a auto reader like the dragon to reading it for me. (I can't read normally with my eyes now days, and prefer not to have to magnify each line/word.

Can't even pre-order them yet either .... Bah! Of all the Thick headed releases! I can see many fans going away and never coming back because they forget it, after waiting too long.

Great!

Been awhile since I've been sucked into a book I just couldn't put down. This was excellent from start to finish. looking forward to book 2.

Unexpected

Not your typical hero’s journey! Very good, leaves you on your toes the whole time! :)

sound quality is poor, great story

This is a great story, brings you in, makes you feel like you know the characters. The sound pulls that illusion away. I hope it will get better with other reads.

Made me look forward to my drive

Good storyline, left me guessing just enough... the characters are well developed making me see both the light and dark of them all! On to book two!