Guild Mage: Apprentice: Guild Mage, Book 1

Great world building and a new and exciting magic system and all in all a great coming of age story in which the author is able span lengths of time due to the lifespan of the main character and equally justify because of that time how the character changes and grows as much as they do in a single book. By the end your seriously rooting for the main character and excited to see what happens next. The narrators are great and do an amazing job reading so that each individual character is identifiable and distinct before they ever read part of tbe book of "who" is speaking. Which is often difficult to do and do well.

As the first in a newer series from Dave Niemitz, Guild Mage: Apprentice masterfully showcases his ability to create exposition, build out his worlds, and craft characters you can get emotionally invested in, like Liv Brodbeck. In this journey following her character, Liv is different than everyone else. Born a half-Eld, she ages much slower than humans. And as she grows, not only must she learn what it means to be a mage, but how to cope with being different to everyone else. My opinion? A must-read!

Liv is a scullion. She scrubs pots and chamberpots. She is twelve years old at the start of the story, but looks six. Her slow maturation, like her white hair and pointed ears, are inherited from the Elden father she's never seen. So, to everyone's surprise, is a gift for magic. She begins to receive lessons. The book is fun to read. It is the start of a larger story, and entertains while keeping the focus small - seeing the world through the perspective of a young girl. Elements that are important in the scheme of things, but not important in her life, are barely glimpsed - the college she is meant to attend, the capital city to which she will travel, her father's people - artifacts of the old 'gods', some of them in orbit.

This is my second read through of this story. It was good the first time and better the second time through. This is the first book in a serialized storyline. I read it the first time there. The author is several books ahead of this online. You can look forward to many more adventures and growth of characters as well as your knowledge of the world and its inhabitants growing over time. The magic system is nothing I've seen quite like it before, outside of the "old language" that lets you cast magic trope. This is due to the words of power, each of which was effectively a demi-god who specialized in that word. The more you learn, the deeper you'll find you can go. And it worth going through every page to get there. This is a five star read all the way through, and especially in the next volume to come. Read this one so you're ready for the next one.

Having read this author's other series, I was really looking forward to this one. Even with that, I was genuinely surprised at how different the feel and plot was. I think I've become accustomed to many fantasy authors being recognizable by their style to a degree that their books don't feel fresh, but familiar. In this case, I think it's a masterful change. The author manages to convey the viewpoint of a young girl in a downtrodden position, and how life evolves for her and with her. I appreciated that none of it was overnight; the book actually takes place over the span of years. In those years, some being delved into in depth and some just passing by, you get a real feel for how much Liv changes and yet doesn't change. The other real standout here is the world-building. It starts small, kept to the scope that a young girl would see, and slowly expands outward and is filtered through what she knows and learns. It then contrasts with short passages from the viewpoint of far-off malevolence and large-scale plans in action. That gave me a real sense of dread and anticipation, and a small window into just how big the world was going to become for her. If you enjoy genuine character development, a unique and believable magic system, a true fantasy that stands outside of what's been written before, this book is for you. I highly recommend picking it up!

Absolutely loved Guild Mage: Apprentice! The world-building is immersive, the magic system feels real, and the characters are incredibly relatable. It’s a perfect blend of adventure, mystery, and growth—definitely a series I’ll follow. Highly recommend for fantasy fans!

Enjoyed the story. The shifting viewpoints became very confusing and I don't understand why some were included. Perhaps Its foreshadowing for something that happens in book 2?

This feels like a fantasy book from the 80s or 90s. No isekai, no system, no cultivation. Just a highly competent fantasy that does a great job at presenting a world that feels authentically medieval (as opposed to whatever D&D is doing these days).

I really enjoyed Guild Mage Apprentice! The action scenes are exciting and well thought out, the characters feel real and fleshed out, and the story explores interesting themes from medieval life. A great read!

I had no expectations going into this book. I am very positively surprised. So far this is exactly what I've been looking for. True fantasy. I enjoy LITRPGs as much as the next guy but there's something very refreshing about a true fantasy story. I have great expectations for this series and can't wait to get into the next volume.

I've been getting frustrated reading a lot of progression/litrpg fantasy because they so start very cookie cutter, have somewhat awkward main characters that usually start out immediately becoming hugely powerful etc. This totally broke the mould for me. Instantly got invested with the main character. They made sensible decision, faced reasonable hardship, and it always felt like it was building (sensibly!). Lin is *weak*, and while she finds some things "easy" (i.e. magic) there's social/societal pressures to overcome etc. She makes sensible decisions, but also makes mistakes and isn't perfect. I liked that the character started out so young, we got to learn with her as she grew. The prose and pacing was good. Great world building - and in a way that didn't bash you over the head with it. It didn't feel the need to explain everything instantly. The worst thing was getting to the end and realising the second book hasn't released yet.

Pretty decent read, a bit YA with uninspiring supporting characters and world building but an engaging overall plot, interesting magic system and an intriguing antagonist. And FINALLY an author who is happy to skip the story along and allow years to pass and the characters to age. It fleshes the story out so much better and we have an mc with a dozen years of specific training instead of them mastering a hundred skills to a level better than veterans in just a few weeks or months like other stories tend to try and sell. A good read, look forward to the next one

I like to read not to write so I will try to keep this short. To be honest I started to read this story on a whim. But somehow before I knew it there was nothing left to read. Guild Mage is like combining Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings with Science-Fiction Elements strange but it works fantastic. Thank you dear Autor.