Dusty, his family, and his friends have been able to over come almost every "obstacle" they have faced. But now the issue between the Mage's council and Wolfgang will come to a head in a way Dusty wouldn't have imagined and he will be forced to intervene to maintain a balance. But in the middle of all of this Dusty will have to train a new and unexpected "Apprentice" from his former world. All these things combined will change everything forever as Dusty's knows it.
Size: 681 KB (132,864 words)
Genre: Fantasy
Sex Contents: Minimal Sex
Tags: Ma/Fa, Consensual, Romantic, Fiction, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Slow
Review by manddscott [other reviews by manddscott]
Reviewed:
This review is for the 17-book (yes, I said 17 book) Battlemage series by Risq. In an alternate universe, magic is real, and it can be learned and used by people who have the innate power to do so. Once in a while, a mage is born who can reach the status of an archmage, meaning that they have access to all forms of magic at the highest levels. Once a millennium, on average, a person is born who has not only the ability to perform magic at the highest levels, but also has an extreme ability in combat and weapons usage. A saying states that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. These books tell the stories of at least two people whose innate goodness kept them from being corrupted.
For plot, I give the storyline an A+ (9). This was a true gem of a find in the archives. Needless to say, 17 books gives the author a LOT of time to develop the characters, and I think he does a very nice job doing so.
For technical score, this is where the works suffer the most, and the story gets a D (5) from me. Why? Misplaced words, run-on sentences, consistently bad use of compound words and apostrophes, missing punctuation, etc. You name it, this series will drive a grammar Nazi a little insane.
Now, whoever has followed my scoring knows that a low technical score is almost always followed by a low appeal score as a result of the technical issues. This series would be the exception to the rule for me. I probably noted 1,000 mistakes or more, yet the stories still compelled me to want to keep reading. For personal appeal, another A+ (9). A well-told tale, and just about worth the cost of the paid membership to SOL just by itself.
Review by 54vette [other reviews by 54vette]
Reviewed:
It's been quite some time since I've reviewed a story on SOL. RL has got me so busy that I rarely have time for myself. I got married about 6 months ago and well, as you can imagine, I've been a busy boy! :)
But, this ain't about me! This is about yet another incredible story in the Battlemage series by Risq.
First of all let me tell you that I have a love/hate relationship with the ending of this particular "book" of the series. But you'll have to read it to the end to understand why. Sorry, I had to do it so, it's up to you to find out if you're of the same opinion on the ending of this story as I am.
That being said, we find ourselves with a new set of lovable character in this story.
Dusty and Suzan are happily married and are enjoying their lives and have a family of beautiful and talented children. Would we expect any less from them? :) Their friends also have raised some very beautiful and talented children as well.
In this story we are also introduced to DJ, Dusty's child by his ex-fiancee. (See Battlemage Nonetheless: Book 2 Catalyst)
DJ is as handsome and talented as his father but has no idea yet, how to use his is powers. He also seems enamored by ALL the women of this world. Including his own step-mother and half-sister. But, he keeps his head on until he meets Amber. Actually it's Amber that helps him take his clarity and focus away from everyone but her. :) She's a force to be reckoned with and also a Battlemage like Dusty.
We're also introduced to a Villain that is so vile the only thing we want is for someone to end this guy's life. The villain in this story is an assassin named Galvin. Although I've learned to hate the guy and still have some issues with Risq on how he has some skills that even our hero was unable to handle for a bit, he is written into this story with serious intrigue surrounding him.
"Apprentice" sets out to show the intro of DJ, the relationship between Wolfgang and Kat and the growth of all those children who are close to Dusty's family.
The mage council is also highlighted due to the hiring of Galvin to take out Charles (Wolfgang)
This causes a dilemma for Dusty who considers Wolfgang a close friend. So much so that when Kat calls to tell him that Charles had an assassination attempt made on him and his life was "hanging on by a thread" Dusty dropped everything including training of his own son, until he found out what was going on and why.
This is where the adventure of this story actually and really begins of course.
Follow Dusty on this incredible adventure that will have you riveted to your computer until you've completed it.
Beware you've been warned of my opinion of this ending! :) But, hey, to his credit Risq still wrote one helluva story worthy of the big screen in my book :)
Although there is some reference to sex there is no real sexual activity until the end of the story. And it is well written. However, as I did find a couple of typops which weren't bad but, I still couldn't give the TQ a 10. However, the Appeal of 10 doesn't even touch how much I enjoyed and love this story.
ENJOY!!! :)
