Review: Unique and Inventive
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 22, 2013
I bought this book last night, and finished it in one sitting!  Journeyman (A Wizard's Life) by Eric Guindon follows the life of young wizard Benen after his apprentice to the mysterious and unpredictable wizard Oster ends.  Unfortunately, his former teacher provided a minimal amount of instruction to Benen, leaving it up to the young man to find his way in the world.  The book plays out as one would expect, with the protagonist learning lessons steeped in both kindness and fear.The author continues to elucidate and expound on his unique system of magic, which incorporates the positioning of constellations in the sky into wizardly spells and feats.  The readership is sucked into Benen's research into magic, and what can be accomplished with it.  The result is an unconventional story that, for better or worse, sorely lacks a villain or rival to make an extremely power man move out of his shell.  In addition, I would categorize the author's style of writing as "clinical detachment," where emotions seem to be minimized by the protagonist and other characters no matter how earth shattering the events that occur in the story.  For these reasons, I rate the book as four stars rather than five.Journeyman (A Wizard's Life) by Eric Guindon continues the passage of Benen into adulthood, and the full assumption of his wizardly mantle.