Reviews of The Unsuspecting Mage: The Morcyth Saga Book One

I found this book to be both interesting and entertaining. I love this kind of mystic story and fell right into it, and enjoyed it very much. Mr. Pratt has a great talent at story telling and any minor errors are easily overlooked. I found myself being drawn into the story and anxiously awaiting to see what next terror or triumph was going to unfold for the main character James. I am looking forward to continuing in the series. I will continue to be a reader of Brian Pratt's adventures.

I rather enjoyed this book, and found that I even more drawn to the book because it was written in present-tense. Such writing styles in my opinion make me feel more like I am there either as or with the character in the story. The book was well written and I enjoyed following James as he discovered magic and how to use it. I also enjoy how there was a limit to the magic he could use, unlike most fantasy book with magic in them a person in this book was only limited to what his or her body allowed, so it seemed more reasonable and made the story more interesting as he struggled with his limits. Bought the whole series and plan to read it again and again

Great read and a great introduction to a new book series. May not have started reading if it were not free... reading drove me to get the next one! The attention to detail on the mechanics of how things work in the environment are not "inconsequential" but an enhancement to the experience. Look forward to reading more of Pratt's work.

Action, more action, and then add a bit more action, and that’s what you got here. From the getgo, about chapter 2, the action starts and other than a few minor interludes, never stops. James went for a job, but finds himself on another world, one in which magic works. Sounds like a dozen other books written along the same vein, yes?

But no. Pratt gave this one a new angle. You see, James is a role-player and fantasy reader. Once in this new world, he puts his experience d-ming and other stuff to good use. He’s a babe in the woods at first, knows nothing about nothing,

Upon first arriving, he’s told three things.
He can’t go home
Magic works on this world
And to make his way to Trendle, which turns out to be a village.

That’s it. From that point on, his life is in constant turmoil, first with pursuit by wolves, then even worse nasties. Every chapter has something going on, something interesting. The battle scenes were pretty good, though Pratt does like to describe some rather mundane details like eating at an inn and haggling, but I think it added to the ‘flavor’ of the book.

A few items of note that might put some people off. First off, it’s written in present tense. For me it took some getting used to, but after that, it went fine. Secondly, there are a few misspellings, improper syntax, that sort of thing. Thankfully, the story was sufficiently intriguing that after a while I stopped noticing.

If you come at this book as a fun, exciting adventure; a way to wile away the afternoon, you’ll love it. If you are after a dark, deeply convoluted story with a cast of thousands, you’ll not care. The story follows James throughout. Basically, what James knows, the reader knows.

Descriptions are at a minimum. For those burnt out by Jordan’s Wheel of Time, this might be a good alternative.

This really should have a four and a half star, but as I couldn’t give that, I’ll give it a five. He needs an editor to go through it before it gets a whole five. Liked the story, enjoyed it throughout, and am recommending it.

--Jonathan 'Terry' Craig

My brother recommended this book to me some years ago. Read it about ten years ago but never reviewed it. Frankly it was interesting book. I was rooting for James. Not a perfect book but a very enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book. Grammar tense is hit and miss, but the imagination is enjoyable.

I read this story a while ago. At that point, I hadn't yet started writing. It came up on scribd and immediately stood out as unorthodox. This ended up being what I think of when considering indie work, for it builds upon elements unusual in many novels while still feeding into what I consider to be cultural cliches and biases. I have a soft spot for this series, now that I'm well into my own third book, and would truly like to thank Pratt.

I liked the book but the use of the present tense confused me a bit.

I'm a big science fiction and fantasy fan, and have been for over fifty years (yes, the sci-fi genre is that old). This book is not a bad book, but not outstanding in the fantasy genre. I did like the premise, though, as one reviewer said, there is a lack of tension in the book itself. The present tense style of writing didn't put me off from reading it, but didn't detract from the book, either. That's actually a positive note, since I think present tense is tough to pull off well.
Overall, it's an okay book, and it's free, so you should at least give it a try. It might make you interested enough to get the next book, which is the author's thinking, I'm sure.

I liked this book. It took me a while to read because of fast paced school classes and work to keep up on, but if you have uninterrupted time this book will be read very quickly. When I can I will be purchasing the next book.

To address the issue of the huge bounty by one reviewer, I interpreted it as being set up by whoever called him onto the quest to ensure that he started out with enough funds. Quests are expensive, any RPGer knows this. A good Dungeon Master will provide opportunities for funds.

For the person raising the issue of riding bikes to school not being believable... My daughter often rides her bike to school, though sometimes she walks. Most kids in my town either walk or bike because we have no buses. From what I have seen of city schoolyards, plenty of kids there ride bikes to school as well.

Now, that aside, I do have a small issue that kept me from fully immersing myself. The entire book was present tense, including passages that normally reflect back to slightly past tense. That had be bothered for a while until I realized it was rather like the reader is looking into a crystal ball at the dungeon master's lair or using some other method of farviewing. When I realized that, it gave the story even more of an RPG feel.