Jewel of the Endless Erg (Mage Errant #2)
Published February 7th 2019, Kindle Edition 246 pages
After surviving Skyhold's deadly labyrinth, Hugh and his friends are looking forwards to an uneventful summer. Their teacher Alustin has chartered a sandship for a training expedition into the vast sea of sand known as the Endless Erg, aiming for the wealthy and powerful desert city of Theras Tel. Hugh's happier than he's been in a long, long time, and he's quite excited for the fresh air, sunshine, and quiet.
Of course, given Hugh's luck, their summer is going to be anything but quiet. They're about to be plunged into a morass of pirates, monsters, warring cults, flesh-tearing sandstorms, and a conspiracy against Indris Stormbreaker, the dragon queen of Theras Tel herself.
At least Hugh's going to get plenty of fresh air and sunshine.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
A solid book, somewhere on the same level as the first one, maybe even a tiny bit better.
Rating: really liked it
This sequel offers improved writing and tons of heart-stopping action scenes but I think I prefered the first book in terms of character development. The only thing I quite disliked were the romance scenes especially with Hugh. They are kind of unneccessary and don't contribute to the plot whatsoever. I'm just not a fan of superficial romance in fantasy books if it leads nowhere plotwise and is there just to fill up a few paragraphs.
But this series is just thoroughly enjoyable and fun to read and I can't predict how will the story further develop.
Reread: I still don't like Avah but I appreciate the intricate plot and interesting magic system. I'm really looking forward to the sequels.
Rating: really liked it
Intricacy seems to be John Bierce's wheelhouse, and it's on full display in Jewel of the Endless Erg, which is a marked improvement on the previous book and a fun new chapter in the Mage Errant series.
It's impressive how deep, rich, and detailed Bierce has made his world and magic system. We get glimpses of worldbuilding that hint at a larger history and culture that Bierce has clearly put a lot of thought into, while granting us interesting knowledge about the book's primary settings, the city Theras Tel and the Endless Erg, the desert that surrounds it. We learn of the different cults that are scattered throughout the country, focusing on the dragon cultists who worship Indris, the dragon queen of Theras Tel. I really enjoyed Bierce's take on dragons, which felt totally fresh and unique compared to others I've read before. I liked this take on them being intelligent beings, capable of speech and magic beyond just breathing (or spitting, rather) fire.
The magic system is similarly intricate, though this has both its advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes explanations about what magic casters were doing could read a little dry, and on occasion their methods just flew over my head because I'm an idiot. But it's obvious that Bierce has put a ton of thought into how this system works, peeling back more layers and details about the system than we learned in the previous book while our gang of apprentices become more attuned with their attunements. Even if it was slightly too technical for my tastes at times, it was always fascinating seeing these hard rules at play and finding out how the characters deal with the systems Bierce has in place.
The plot also has its intricacies as well, with several elements of the first book tying into these events as well as the group's adventure in Theras Tel clearly leading to something bigger, as hinted at in the final chapter. I'm excited to see what the bigger picture is and how Alustin, Hugh, Kanderon, and the others will play into it. I also appreciate that, like Into the Labyrinth, this book tells its own complete story while still tying into the larger narrative and setting up threads for the following book.
That being said, the intricacy did have one downside for me in the end: I wanted to know more! Not that I wanted a big info dump, but I would've appreciated the story slowing down a bit to give us more time on the ship riding across the desert, as well as the heroes' time in Theras Tel before the story kicks into high gear. As it stands, the plot moves at a very brisk, engaging pace, but I wouldn't mind taking some time to slow things down to help get a better feel of the setting as well as further development of character relationships, seeing them in calmer moments (as fun as it is seeing them reacting and assisting each other in battle).
Overall, this is a great entry in the series and certainly a step up from the previous book. The world Bierce has crafted is rich and interesting, and the plot being set up is intriguing and compelling.
Rating: really liked it
A massive improvement on its predecessor almost in every way. The writing quality seems to have skyrocketed exponentially in this installment and the author is definitely showing rapid signs of growth. I'll write a longer and better review when I get a minute.
Rating: really liked it
I found this book very frustrating as i liked Hugh's development and enjoyed the story but hated the romance. To explain romance is normally something i like but here we had the kind that makes me avoid YA sometimes where the romance is basically just she is good looking so i like her. This is more annoying because we never get much more then that from the love interest.
She looks good, Hugh likes good looks therefore Hugh likes. Teenagers can be stupid but the idea that Hugh only values looks doesn't really hold with the rest of his character, instead it reads as if the author made a generic bimbo character to progress plot and other characters development.
Annoyingly i couldn't even tell what the love interest personally was beyond shallow but i can't tell if she's meant to be like that cause Hugh is clearly also shallow here...
Honestly thought the book was better then the first plot wise and if i just viewed the love interest as just a plot device and not a character the book was good, thus i am torn on if i think this is a good book or not.
Worth it if you liked the first one would be my conclusion.
Rating: really liked it
KU read.
Meh. That kind of sums this one up. Nothing wrong with it - I did like the world building and descriptions of the magic system. Just couldn't connect with the characters - they totally fell flat for me
Rating: really liked it
Plot: Ragtag bunch of librarian mages go on a field trip on a sandship across a big-ass desert and into a city ruled by a dragon. Unrest ensues.
1. I continue to absolutely love the magic system in this book. It's so varied and complex and has so many variations that seeing innovative uses of it is one of the parts I really like.
2. The characterizations are more or less the same as the last book- nobody really grows or go through particularly evident changes. Which is fine, really- they are interesting enough to sustain interest in a story that's mostly plot and concept driven. Alustin and Kanderon in particular continue to the excellent. The apprentices mostly continue to be exactly as they were before.
3. While I do appreciate the in-universe acknowledgement that first relationships are often shallow and short term, said relationship getting any screentime at all did nothing for my enjoyment. Especially since (view spoiler)
[there are a few hints about how Talia is going to be the eventual love interest. (hide spoiler)] And okay so I do get how Hugh coming out of his shell is a necessary plot element, but the romance felt really underdeveloped. And even in universe acknowledgement can't make that completely go away.
4. I'm usually more fond of static location narratives than I'm of quest narratives and I had been hoping to see a lot more of Skyhold and its weird library-labyrinth structure. Alas no such luck. BUT most of the book took place in Theras Tell a giant desert city ruled by a Mama dragon and her brood so... Yeah. It's wasn't uninteresting, to say the least.
5. I think the lack of truly dynamic character arcs will eventually catch up with me and lessen my enjoyment of the series but it's holding up pretty well so far.
6. There were a lot of really innovative uses of magic in here, even if Alustins battle capabilities occasionally strain my suspension of disbelief. That (view spoiler)
[Hammerspace Arm (hide spoiler)] though? That was very, very good. I'm still happy about that revelation.
7. The final pages hint at a growing worldwide conflict or something and I'm not sure if I want it to be part of the main storyline or not. The lack of character arcs rearing it's head again, I suspect. But, like I said, there's excellent worldbuilding and a very fun magic system so this book will do for now.
Rating: really liked it
Enjoyable but rushedBierce seems to have created a wonderfully rich fantasy world, unfortunately, he doesn't seem to want to take the time to share it with his readers.
The lack of time spent on exploring the world and how the apprentices magic develops made the book feel very shallow and more like an action movie than an epic fantasy novel.
It was still a very enjoyable read, but hopefully in future Bierce will slow down and take the time needed to develop his characters and world.
Rating: really liked it
Another great book!Have literally read the first two books in two days. The stories are compelling and interesting, the magic system is deep, variable, and rewarding to learn about. The characters are growing in new and interesting ways, and the overall plot is interesting and intriguing. Cant wait for the next!
Rating: really liked it
This was so fun.
Rating: really liked it
A solid second entry in this series, with nice character growth for the entire cast and some really expansive worldbuilding.
The plot of this novel was a bit more convoluted, with a central mystery eventually introduced that was a bit unsatisfying all the way through. The explanation that was finally offered made sense, and in hindsight the events all line up, but it felt more like only getting part of the story than really dealing with a proper mystery.
Recommended for anyone who enjoyed the first book.
Rating: really liked it
3.5/5 not sure how I feel about this series. There are some aspects I really enjoy. However with this title I spent a good 40% of this book feeling rather whelmed.
I have been told the series ramps up after this so I will be reading book before I decide where I sit with the series as a whole.
Rating: really liked it
Excellent What started out in book one explodes in book two, with far more plot and action than you might have thought you were in for. There’s good character progression, tons of new characters and places, and a complex and adventurous plot that leaves you grinning. Can’t wait to see the next book. Highly recommended for all ages.
Rating: really liked it
Series has taken a turn for the worse, I shan't continue onwards.
Rating: really liked it
Unessesary gay side character.To please the SWJ crowd one of the side characters was suddenly made gay.
Adds nothing to the story or the character development.
