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Daimbert #3
Mage Quest
Five men from Yurt--the king, his nephew, the prince, a wizard, and a priest--encounter intrigue, treachery, black magic, and a big blue djinn on their journey, and only the wizard's cleverness can save their lives. Original.
360 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 14, 2015
4.5 stars
I was skeptical of this series at first. I hadn't heard of the author before, but although the blurb made the A Bad Spell in Yurt (book one) sound right up my alley, I wasn't sure whether to believe the fair number of lukewarm-to-negative reviews it received. But, it was deeply discounted, so...what the [heck].
Obviously I enjoyed that one, since I continued on through the sequel to pick this one - book three in the series - up. And you know what? I've fallen head-over-heels in love with Yurt and Daimbert and the King. And even Joachim, the royal chaplain whom I didn't care for at ALL in the beginning.
I said in my earlier reviews that I found books one and two to be very light. Not fluffy, exactly, but a bit comical, and not stressful at all; even when the things are at their bleakest for Daimbert, I felt placid. This one? It was...less light. Don't get me wrong: the tone is much the same as in the earlier books, so if you enjoyed Brittain's writing in those, I'm pretty confident you'll continue to like it. But in Mage Quest, the intensity ramps up considerably...in a good way.
Brittain's technique of inserting a mystery into her fantasy world - or rather, a cluster of little mini-mysteries - has become familiar by now, and I think she outdoes herself here. In MQ, the king of Yurt decides it's high time he goes on a quest, and in true Yurt fashion, pretty much the entire court cheerfully clamors to go along. Those selected each have their own reasons for traveling, and the way a half dozen quests all tie together in the end was a delight.
I particularly enjoyed the way the various characters have developed - and continue to develop - through the series. Though I enjoyed it, I thought the characters in book one were rather superficial. By now, they've really started to come into their own, and I'm impressed at how the author managed to flesh them out while still maintaining the breezy writing style I like so much.
Mage Quest may not be perfect, but it's the closest yet. I wish I had found these books years ago!
I was skeptical of this series at first. I hadn't heard of the author before, but although the blurb made the A Bad Spell in Yurt (book one) sound right up my alley, I wasn't sure whether to believe the fair number of lukewarm-to-negative reviews it received. But, it was deeply discounted, so...what the [heck].
Obviously I enjoyed that one, since I continued on through the sequel to pick this one - book three in the series - up. And you know what? I've fallen head-over-heels in love with Yurt and Daimbert and the King. And even Joachim, the royal chaplain whom I didn't care for at ALL in the beginning.
I said in my earlier reviews that I found books one and two to be very light. Not fluffy, exactly, but a bit comical, and not stressful at all; even when the things are at their bleakest for Daimbert, I felt placid. This one? It was...less light. Don't get me wrong: the tone is much the same as in the earlier books, so if you enjoyed Brittain's writing in those, I'm pretty confident you'll continue to like it. But in Mage Quest, the intensity ramps up considerably...in a good way.
Brittain's technique of inserting a mystery into her fantasy world - or rather, a cluster of little mini-mysteries - has become familiar by now, and I think she outdoes herself here. In MQ, the king of Yurt decides it's high time he goes on a quest, and in true Yurt fashion, pretty much the entire court cheerfully clamors to go along. Those selected each have their own reasons for traveling, and the way a half dozen quests all tie together in the end was a delight.
I particularly enjoyed the way the various characters have developed - and continue to develop - through the series. Though I enjoyed it, I thought the characters in book one were rather superficial. By now, they've really started to come into their own, and I'm impressed at how the author managed to flesh them out while still maintaining the breezy writing style I like so much.
Mage Quest may not be perfect, but it's the closest yet. I wish I had found these books years ago!
January 26, 2010
There is not much to the Yurt series just likable characters and fun stories. A very guilty pleasure.
May 19, 2017
This was the weakest of the Daimbert books so far, hovering somewhere between an "okay" and a "like". I think that the book bogged down quite a bit in several places, and the whole part in the Holy Land seemed interminable. I also got to the end and realized that the wizard didn't really advance the plot much at all. In contrast to his usual insightful problem solving, we see him only do one really clever thing. This book is also marked by a sad and shocking event. Overall in fact, we see almost none of the lightheartedness that characterized the former books. I will, of course, continue the series, but hope that the levity and deductive acuity that infused the former stories will return.
July 18, 2023
More of a 2.5/5
I thought I double checked but I read #3 before #2. Oops. This was much more adventurous than the little kingdom mystery of book 1. That was fun but I didn't love the world building in this book. Much like the main character, I know little and am not much more interested in comparative religion. I also found it very difficult to immerse myself in a fantasy world that kept comparing Christianity and Islam without doing much to disguise the source material. Detracted from the fantasy adventure experience.
I grant that this book was written before we were really talking about race with much empathy, but as someone existing and reading this in 2023, it's very much lacking understanding and cultural awareness. The non -white characters were described as "swarthy" or dark-skinned and described in size and posture, while pale skin characters would be described in much more detail, including the exact color of their skin. Also, in several parts, it seemed somewhat voyeuristic of Eastern cultures in a less than earnest way.
Besides the 1993 cultural ignorance, the chess game that was happening overall was somewhat difficult to follow, partially because of the dialogue amongst the 6 travelers and the focus on red herrings. Are these spoilers? Idk. It felt purposely confusing, more than a mystery that presents the details and the unknowns and slowly unravels as more strings are pulled and details uncovered. It seemed the entire mystery was unveiled all at once at the end, since the reader was following the main character's evolving (and consistently incorrect) understanding rather than piecing clues together themself.
Overall it was an entertaining adventure and probably did better than many books of its time describing, without vilifying, Muslim people and middle eastern and north African culture. Still, so strange to read about real life religions and places based off real countries in a fantasy book. Not sure I'd reread this one
I thought I double checked but I read #3 before #2. Oops. This was much more adventurous than the little kingdom mystery of book 1. That was fun but I didn't love the world building in this book. Much like the main character, I know little and am not much more interested in comparative religion. I also found it very difficult to immerse myself in a fantasy world that kept comparing Christianity and Islam without doing much to disguise the source material. Detracted from the fantasy adventure experience.
I grant that this book was written before we were really talking about race with much empathy, but as someone existing and reading this in 2023, it's very much lacking understanding and cultural awareness. The non -white characters were described as "swarthy" or dark-skinned and described in size and posture, while pale skin characters would be described in much more detail, including the exact color of their skin. Also, in several parts, it seemed somewhat voyeuristic of Eastern cultures in a less than earnest way.
Besides the 1993 cultural ignorance, the chess game that was happening overall was somewhat difficult to follow, partially because of the dialogue amongst the 6 travelers and the focus on red herrings. Are these spoilers? Idk. It felt purposely confusing, more than a mystery that presents the details and the unknowns and slowly unravels as more strings are pulled and details uncovered. It seemed the entire mystery was unveiled all at once at the end, since the reader was following the main character's evolving (and consistently incorrect) understanding rather than piecing clues together themself.
Overall it was an entertaining adventure and probably did better than many books of its time describing, without vilifying, Muslim people and middle eastern and north African culture. Still, so strange to read about real life religions and places based off real countries in a fantasy book. Not sure I'd reread this one
August 31, 2013
Another excellent entry in the Royal Wizard of Yurt series. It's a shame that the author only wrote a handful of books - I've been enjoying them as I track them down in used book stores. This is the 3rd book in the series, and Daimbert the Royal Wizard has matured some and is comfortable in his magical skills. So, of course, it's time to shake things up - and Daimbert is soon on a Quest with others from Yurt across the land to the Eastern Kingdoms and the Holy Land for a variety of missions.
Along the way, he must figure out what's really going on as more and more unusual coincidences and plots pile up, all while trying to figure out how things work in the strange new lands he's exploring, where magic is practiced differently from the school magic he's (mostly) proficient with. Magic rings, ifreet, vampires, bandits, and more need to be dealt with. In the end, his cleverness and innate sense of decency are his greatest assets.
Looking forward to picking up the next book soon.
Along the way, he must figure out what's really going on as more and more unusual coincidences and plots pile up, all while trying to figure out how things work in the strange new lands he's exploring, where magic is practiced differently from the school magic he's (mostly) proficient with. Magic rings, ifreet, vampires, bandits, and more need to be dealt with. In the end, his cleverness and innate sense of decency are his greatest assets.
Looking forward to picking up the next book soon.
July 20, 2016
Mage Quest is another fun book in the Daimbert series. This book is somewhat different in that it doesn't take place in the Kingdom of Yurt (for long) - it involves a quest, or actually several different quests that all lead to the lands of the East. The King of Yurt goes to find a blue rose, Dominic (the King's nephew) goes to visit the grave of his father, Joachim (the Chaplain of Yurt) goes to visit sites in the Holy Land, and Daimbert goes to see what he can learn of Eastern Magic. The origin of the quest, though, is to find Sir Hugo. He went with a small party to the East and went missing.
The descriptions of the East are great, and mirror the Middle East in the Middle Ages. The group encounters strange magic and strange people, and I very much enjoyed the plot and development of the characters.
The descriptions of the East are great, and mirror the Middle East in the Middle Ages. The group encounters strange magic and strange people, and I very much enjoyed the plot and development of the characters.
May 4, 2015
Love this book, love the series! These books are such fun! I love a world where the religious aspects are relatively true to life, but there is also magic!
October 23, 2015
So much Orientalist nonsense. Otherwise pretty fun.
June 28, 2016
I do like these books, but I both like and dislike the fact that there are so many twists and turns that you go "oh s/he's bad. Oh, no, they're good...no, bad, er..."
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews