Ink Mage
The Perranese are an ambitious people; they seek to expand their empire. Their sights bring them to Klaar’s shores, a peaceful city. It is also secluded and marked by harsh winters—the perfect place for an army to create a toehold from which they can safely launch their future operations. Klaar soon falls to the Perranese menace, forcing Rina Veraiin, the only remaining member of Klaar’s ruling family, to flee for her life. Rina seeks the assistance of a mysterious old wizard who bestows her with a gift—the power that will help her rid her homeland of the Perranese threat. However, the wizard dies before he has the chance to teach Rina both how to use and how to control her newfound power. Fortunately, he provided Rina with advice prior to his death—find the wizard, Talbun, who lives in the Nomad Lands, because she may be able to help you. After receiving her gift, Rina flees and begins her journey across the world in search of Talbun. On her journey, she recruits a band of followers, which help her to regain some of what was lost.
I have extremely mixed feelings about Victor Gischler’s Ink Mage. On the one hand, I enjoyed the novel because it was extremely fast-paced. I was also intrigued by certain aspects of Gischler’s magic system—especially the fact that a series of tattoos can bestow an individual with various powers. However, the novel’s plot was not a well-executed one. There were also several other factors, which contributed to my dislike of the novel. First, Gischler fails to explain his characters’ motivations. For example, why did Giffen betray Rina’s parents, the Duke and Duchess of Klaar? How did he benefit from the Perranese invasion? Was he given a large sum of money? Was he happy to be rid of the people he once served as chamberlain? Was he promised power? (He was made into a puppet who “ruled” over Klaar). Furthermore, why did the old wizard, Weylan, help Rina? He had never met her before. Furthermore, Rina’s grandfather banished Weylan from his court, forcing Weylan to live out the remainder of his existence alone, in a cave where he suffered from a “wasting sickness.” His decision to help Rina didn’t make much sense.
Second, the novel was filled with a mixture of blood and gore. Numerous people died in gruesome ways, (e.g. several were decapitated, others had their “spirit” drawn out of their body, reducing them to ash). The silver lining, which made Ink Mage’s dark qualities tolerable, was the fact that Gischler isn’t a detailed writer—he didn’t describe the gore or the methods both Rina and the soldiers used to dispatch one another at length. Despite this, bloodshed dominated the novel’s plot; it often seemed both excessive and unnecessary. Third, Rina’s transition from a helpless, spoiled brat to an emotionless killing machine was extremely jarring. Rina begins the novel as a carefree teenager who gets whatever she wants. Then, she watches the murder of her parents and the fall of her kingdom. Excessive emotion would make a lot of sense under these circumstances. However, once she receives her first set of tattoos from Weylan, (turning her into an ink mage), her emotions seem to disappear. She becomes self-important and difficult to relate to. Fourth, Gischler’s characters aren’t particularly compelling—it’s difficult to care about any of them. There is no one to draw you back into the final two books of the series.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Work Cited:
Gischler, Victor. Ink Mage. 47North, 2014.