I’m so glad to be able to come back to Storytellers on Tour! I’ve been gone for a while and this is such a great tour company that you should totally check out. Today I’m going to be sharing my review for The Other Magic by Derrick Smythe. This also happens to be the first book in the series so check this one out and see if you’ll continue! Click on the banner above to see the rest of the schedule.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Storytellers on Tour, Derrick Smythe, and Dorean Press for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I haven’t been immersed in an epic fantasy of magical proportions in a minute, and I was glad to be able to read this one. It’s a chunker – 600 pages or so – so keep that in mind when you start this one. And like with any epic fantasy novel, you’ll go through the world building and character introductions and magic system foundation to get the story set up so be patient on that, and it will be worth it the more you go through it.

This book and world also deals with slavery, as the main character is currently enslaved when we first meet Kibure, who also happens to have magic powers when he shouldn’t. If anyone were to find out, bad things would happen, like him getting stripped of his powers or worse. Will he learn how to harness his powers to end slavery in this world? Will he use it for something else? Will his powers get stripped before he has the chance?

There were a few characters we get introduced to, and I would definitely do something to keep track of them, the places involved, and anything else you might need to remember regarding the world building. Since this is also the first book in the series, it spends a lot of time setting up the series so we can understand how things will take place in the rest of the book series. With a lot of long fantasy novels that I’ve read, there are some things that may seem like it would be better condensed, but I personally like it drawn out since we have the time to do it. That’s a personal preference though, and it definitely depends on the book, but in this case I think having that kind of backstory helped me have an enjoyable experience.

I can’t wait to read the prequel and the sequel that I saw should be coming out soon. I’m also getting this on audiobook so I can enjoy the story again and listen to a new to me narrator.

The men secured the shackles slowly, hesitantly, but Kibure did not resist; he couldn’t. Whatever otherworldly power had come over him in those moments of passion had fled his body the second he realized what he had done…

In a realm where only clerics are permitted to practice magic, Kibure’s inexplicable use of power places him in grave danger. In a twist of fate, the rogue priestess hired to strip him of his power chooses instead to help him escape. Her reasons for doing so are her own, but something worse than death awaits if they are unable to evade the Empire’s most potent wielders.

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