Fire Mage (Blacklight Chronicles Book 1)

After reading the information about this book , I believed that it was aimed at tweens. But as a 55 year old woman I did not want to stop reading Fire Mage. Fire Mage truly held my interest and I hated when I came to the end of the book. I work with 10 to 12 year old children and they all would enjoy this book. It is well written and makes you want more. The details are clear and the charters are likeable and the book is enteraining. At times as I read Fire Mage I felt that I could see and smell what they were going through. This would make a good movie!
I am thrilled to see a book like this that is so well written even though it is written for young adults. I want to read more from the series and more from this author.

The story is great, and the world is imaginative. The rules of magic are consistent and the backstory is great. But the plot unfolds with a mad rush from one scene to the next, without any downtime, any development of characters (really, they seem to me to be shallow stock characters), and very little description. Readers never get a moment to savor a scene- to draw it in, digest it, and love it. This is the work of a promising writer who hasn't yet developed his craft.

Despite 13-year-old Talis Storm's efforts, he has not been able to cast a spell. That is, not until his father's Kingdom City of Naru is attacked by Jiserians. Then, his magical ability to start fire surprisingly matures and he raises the dead warrior Barbarisu, who arms him with a map to the key to Naru's survival.

It is then that he and his friend Mara Lei - and school rivals Rikar and Nikulo - set out on the map's path, finding adventure along the way.

FIRE MAGE by John Forrester is nothing more than a light fantasy series that is higher on adventure than on magic. The everyday world is recognizable even if the Blood Dagger competition is not. Nevertheless, it is competently written and should entertain its intended pre-teen audience.

This was a good book if your into adventure,magic,witches and wizards or even sword fighting then this is a book you'd like.overall I liked it, this book will keep you reading just to know what happens next it keeps you in a mystery until you've read through chapter after chapter.I say this because in order to know how the book ends you have to buy part two in order to finish it.Good book not the best but it will do.

From the first moments of reading the author pulls you in, and makes you really interested not only in the characters themselves but in the families, and circumstances that surround them. That being said it does seem to get a little jumbled through out the story, and I wish that the story line had a bit more to it. The biggest problem is it does fall into the fantasy cliche, which happens often with fantasy.

Characters that could be interesting if the author bothered to flesh them out. How do you have two apprentice mages that are all but children take on an experienced and potentially deadly senior apprentice in a sword fight and win?? With no explanation leading up to this "Blood Sword" contest. Not how they were trained or why they decided in the middle of the night that they were going to do this or what the reward for winning means.
There's just no cohesiveness to this story.
At least it was only $.99 - will not be reading books 2 & 3. Often the $.99 "first books" lead you to a really great story and you can't wait to read books 2 & 3. Not this time.

Very little depth to the characters. Predictable plot. It reads like a novelization of a home dungeons and dragons game. The dialogue is improbable at best. I really didn't care about the characters at all. Incredibly short, but that's good. At least it is fairly well edited. It might be ok or your ten year old, but even then don't you want characters that speak and act in believable fashions and that you care about? I accidentally bought the third installment of this series first, and slogged through the first two. I ended up not finishing the last one because I simply wasn't particularly interested in what happens.

The story starts fast and the action keeps coming. Talis and Mara are best friends and partners in crime with the feeling that soon there will be more between them.
They are at that horrible time in life of not being either a child or an adult and Talis is desperate to win his fathers love and regard. Soon they find that their normal concerns are meaningless as their city comes under attack.
They are sent on an overwhelming mission. They find help with those who would once have been unlikely allies. To succeed their magical talent will be tested and honed all while learning to work together.
I'm really interested in finding out where this series goes.

Interesting story set in a fairly well thought out fantasy world. It did seem to stop a bit abruptly. I felt the story should have continued on a bit further in this first book. The story could also have used a good edit. There were technical usage and grammar issues that were stumbling points for me.

I was excited to have the opportunity to review this book. I'd previously read his newer book, Vogel House, and although Fire Mage: Blacklight Chronicles is an older book, this was a refreshing change for me.

Fire Mage was a quick read. You are thrown into the world as soon as you open the book. Since the book was fast-paced, there was little explanation on some of the relationships with certain characters and I found the numerous deities to be confusing. However, since this is only the first book in the series, perhaps it is better explained later in the following books.

I loved reading the friendship between Talis and Mara. Mara seems to be a very solid character; I enjoy reading books with strong female leads. Also, I've always found relationships/complications with royals in fantasy books to be pretty interesting.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. I am a big fantasy fan, and I think that this would be a great book for young readers. I was happy to see a preview of the next book and it looks promising.

I was just looking for something light to read on a plane, and the 4 and 5 star reviews lured me into it. However the action, the dialogue, and the plot are all so intrusively bad, there is no way to get immersed in the story. The prose is stilted, the dialogue boring, the characters undefined .
Tragically, I spent more time going over the reviews to see how I got sucked into (an admittedly inexpensive) purchase than I did reading. Finally I found myself rereading the same page, with a pointless fight against spiders from nowhere, for the 5th time. I realized it was broken and I wasn't just imagining things. Ok, I'm an adult not a young reader, but this is unusually bad. If you've read good fantasy, and are over the age of 12 then avoid. Otherwise, I wish you the best of luck with it.

Fire Mage is the first book in the Blacklight Chronicles.
(the 2nd one is Sun Mage, but that would be another story!)
For you who are looking for a new young adult fantasy series to commit yourself to, this is a must read... it is a truly enjoyable book!

The book has all the elements fantasy book lovers look for: fast-paced adventure, lovable & interesting characters, intriguing story... you name it.
The light & entertaining writing style was well suited for young readers (or whomever young at heart).

The main characters were Talis and Mara, both were 13-year old royals from Naru, the last free city dedicated to gods at the Order of the Dawn Temple. They were both highly skilled young warriors and dedicated to each other. Their care-free life was disturbed by the attack from Jiserian Empire dark sorcerers/necromancers in their attempts to conquer the world. While trying to defend the city, Talis found out that he had the power of fire magic. Later, he went to save his city and the world from darkness by going on a quest entrusted by the Gods with the help of Mara & his other friends from the Temple, Rikar & Nikulo.

During the quest, he learned the true value of friendship, courage, and love as well as his own strengths and weaknesses.

The book ended on the group snared in a danger they did not expect. Could they break away & continued their quest? The ending was perfect to leave the readers wishing for more.

What pleasant discovery. I tend to get hooked on certain authors and in the scifi fantasy genre I have been unsuccessful in finding new material I really like until I read this first book in the Blacklight Chronicles. The story flows quickly and logoically and the characters are well developed along the way and you easily come to like the central figures. Nothing new in terms of magic use or magic systems, pretty much D&D based. What makes this fun to read is the storyline and how well the book is written and edited. Highly recommended.

It was recommended that I read this book based on my interest in fantasy books. But, if you like any sort of teen adventure story, this will be perfect! The 2 main characters (ages 13) are fun to follow along on their adventures. They are still just learning magic and apply their skills when necessary during an attack on their city. The author did a great job of showing us Talis' background and making you like his main character.
The dark, magical, underworld is an interesting world. Again, easy to follow so younger ages could read this. I would let my 10 year old read it if she was interested.
Overall, an easy, entertaining world. I read the entire book in 2 days - not sure yet if I want to read the next book in the series.

A delightful start to a new series, with flawed characters that are easy to identify with. Talis is full of self-doubt, Mara, although a gifted student, is sneaky and willful, while Nikulo is very fond of food. The pace of the book gallops along; there is no "sitting around the pool to soak up the rays". Perhaps in places, a little too fast as some concepts seem to need further exploration before dashing off into the next one. I look forward to Book Two.

This early-teens epic fantasy novel has no ending. Maybe I'm just old school here, but I still believe each book in a series should have its own arc (beginning, middle, and ending) within the bigger arc that covers the series itself. Not every question must or should be answered in the first book, nor every loose end tied up, but enough should be to give the book a proper conclusion. This one doesn't do that, leaving me without that satisfied feeling after turning the last page. Or as some reviewers put it, feeling cheated.

Tallis, Mara, Ricker, and Nubella four young Mage warriors sent by their city, picked by their Gods to save the people they love. Not really friends more friendly enemies that are thrown together with what looks to be a common goal. But even that is debatable at times They must cover each other's back when adversity hits as it has since they started this cursed trip.
Interesting tales lots happening and the promise of more. Glad I bought the book

Tallis, Mara, Ricker, and Nubella four young Mage warriors sent by their city, picked by their Gods to save the people they love. Not really friends more friendly enemies that are thrown together with what looks to be a common goal. But even that is debatable at times They must cover each other's back when adversity hits as it has since they started this cursed trip.
Interesting tales lots happening and the promise of more. Glad I bought the book

This was a very creative, imaginative story. Its definitely for a younger group of readers, like maybe teens. Its dramatic enough to just tease the mind. I liked it and so does my preteen who is currently reading it also.

This whole series was sorely disappointing. The writing is simplistic, the characters are cardboard, and the story-line is childish. What's particularly disappointing is the fact that the write SEVERELY over uses the deux-a-machina - literally getting his characters out of trouble with the direct intervention of the "gods..."