A Mage bereft of her powers must find out if she is destined to save the world or destroy it.
Naila is a Hollow Mage. She can feel other people's magic but can't wield her own. Wizard Akana - the most powerful living Mage - sees her potential and helps her unleash/control her power.
This is a high fantasy full of magic and political intrigue. Told in a multi POV. The characters are great with all too-human flaws.
I really enjoyed this and will definitely read the next book.
Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for the ARC.

Thank you so much to Orbit Books for sending me an ARC of The Outcast Mage for review. This is the first book in a new fantasy series, releasing in January 2025!

In a lot of fantasy stories, those with magic are the ones persecuted. That was the case in the past history of this world, in another location, but in the city of Amoria, magic is a big part of life. In fact, it is those without magic who are called “hollow”.

Naila is an academy student, and she tested as a mage, yet she has never been able to produce any magic. Because of this, she is called “the hollow mage”. She needs to figure out what to do before she is kicked out, especially as tensions between those with magic and those without rise. Wizard Akana decides to help her, but he has enemies of his own…

I was sympathetic to Naila from the beginning. Despite having no authority or power, she has a good heart and wants to protect others. I have a feeling that she will really come into her own as her life continues to change.

I thought the magic system was really cool. The mages learn phonemes, which are kind of like words or spells which can direct the use of magic. In contrast to this, there are some mysterious instances of magic unable to be explained.

I really liked the building hints and references to the world outside Amoria. The atmosphere is very insulated at the beginning of the novel, as none of those living in Amoria ever leave. It was really interesting to see what people from other places thought, and I would have liked even more historical context to flesh out the world building a bit more.

This book has a lot of different perspectives. I appreciate that it allowed the reader to get to know characters in a variety of positions and situations. However, some of them were too brief and I would have preferred less perspectives or more depth. I found the middle section of the book a bit slow, and I was feeling ambivalent towards some of the characters, but it definitely picked up towards the end.

I do understand that establishment of the world is always hardest in the first book, so I don’t think this will be a problem in the future books. As I kept reading, I had less trouble following everything. If there is more detailed world building in the next book, then I’ll be happy.

Thank you again to the publisher for the review copy. The book wasn’t perfect and a few things could have been tightened, but the story included some intriguing points. I’m looking forward to the release so I can see what more people think, and I’ll be continuing with the series.

3.5 stars

THIS is a debut! I am awestruck with how Campbell really immersed me into the story here and each page was as interesting as the last.

The Outcast Mage was an intriguing start to a new high fantasy series, filled with fierce characters, a unique magic system and intricate world building. It may have taken me a minute to find my bearings, but I quickly found myself lost in the story.

Naila is unique, a mage with seemingly no power, a Hollow Mage as she is called by her fellow classmates. No one quite knows what to do with her, that is until the Wizard Haelius Akana takes her under his wing, promising to help her reach her gift. She's incredibly resilient, growing up not knowing who or where she came from, living in a place that doesn't want her, desperate to simply fit in. But it quickly comes to light that Naila's powers aren't quite like everyone's else, and there are people out there who would like to snuff them out before she learns to control them. If you love a good coming of age style story then Naila is your girl, she goes on such an emotional and dangerous journey through this book and, although she isn't the only POV, she's certainly the heart of the story.

Larinne is a member of the Senate, the ruling body of Amoria, her job means she works closely with both mages and 'hollows' those born without any powers. But there is danger in the air, Lieno Oriven, a fellow mage and Senate member is trying his best to turn the mages and non-mages against each other, creating a vacuum of power that he longs to fill. Haelis is the most powerful Wizard of his generation, but that doesn't stop him from rubbing plenty of people the wrong way. He understands Naila in a way no one else can, coming from a family of hollows, he has grown into his power despite his fellow mages looking down on him for his heritage. Haelis knows the danger in Lieno Oriven getting power, see's how he is splitting the city, even families in two, and will do all he can to keep the peace and everybody in Amoria safe. Larinne & Haelis have the slowest burn friends to something more through this book and I just loved every single one of their interactions. You can tell they both have deep feelings for one another, but neither have admitted anything through their own fears.

Entonin is a Ellathian priest, a people who have ruthlessly hunted and killed mages over the centuries, believing their powers to be against god. But now he finds himself among the very people he has been taught to hate, seemingly there on a trade mission, but his true job is to spy on the mages, see their strengths, weaknesses and report back. He had no idea just how interwoven he would get with the mage's themselves and just how his life would change because of it. Our final POV is one I wont mention too much except to say they have such an important role in the story, and you should absolutely pay attention to them for clues.

Campbell does a fantastic job at building an intricate world and magic system whilst still making this accessible to readers new to the genre. It took me a minute to get myself into the world, a lot of the characters have titles as well as names, and I had to slow down and get my bearings so I knew who the story was actually following, but once it all clicked, I really struggled to put this one down. The writing style had an ease to it that just allows you to fly through the pages, there was little prose or flowerly language, Campbell tells it how it is, and I found that quite refreshing.

At a time when the question 'are books political' is being asked (they absolutely are BTW) this book really hits the political nail on the head. Not simply in the basic way of mages against non-mages, but also the subtle classicism and bigotry that lives within the mages themselves. Almost as if to be a true mage, you have to come from a family of mage's, and those born from outside are seen as lesser, even if they have a higher power. It's political in a way you can really dig your teeth into, never too on the nose or preachy, it feels realistic to the story, to the characters and world and even though it made me incredibly angry in parts, I really enjoyed the insights we get into the political system and the senators.

There's a lot going on in this book, not just on the political side, but also on the magical. But the biggest question for me was that of Naila's power. This story line was a true slow burner, with a few twists thrown in for good measure. We don't really get any light bulb moments until the last few moments of the book, something that could annoy, but I think the journey she goes on to get there, both as a young woman putting herself out there in the world, developing friendships and other relationships, as with her power, just makes you so invested that you don't mind the wait. In fact the end of this book was full of twists, some I absolutely didn't see coming and now I'm so desperate to get my hands on the next installment.

If you're looking for a new fantasy series to sink into, I would definitely recommend giving this a go. The political sphere, as well as the magic and interpersonal relationships Campbell focuses on really propel this story along, and I can't wait to see where it goes next.

A firm 3.5⭐. Thank you NetGalley & Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC.

The thing about The Outcast Mage is I'm very, VERY intrigued to find out more about this world and its magical lore. I felt this book overall wasn't a satisfying experience, because I was frustrated with too many character choices from its protagonist Naila and her mentor, the wizard Haelius. Both made careless decisions that unintentionally fucked people over, though Naila at least has the excuse of being young and inexperienced. And with that ending, there were a lot of huge questions unanswered. There's still SO MUCH I don't know about this world. But the plot is interesting enough that it's a good tactic to get me to want to pick up the sequel. I figure my frustrations with Naila and Haelius will be significantly less next time now that both have gone through their much needed character development.

Even with these gripes, I was still invested in the characters' respective journeys. I actually do like Naila and Haelius as people, flaws and all, especially their mentor-mentee dynamic that grew into an pseudo-familial one. I also grew fond of the other main supporting characters: Senator Larinne (a queen!!), Priest Entonin and his bodyguard Karameth. The romances in here were well done, aptly slowburned, and did not detract from the main plot that is essentially a magical political conspiracy. I had no issues with the multi-POV format, though at times I didn't care for the interlude chapters of Mysterious Character Investigating Something in the Background.

Given how breezy it is to get through the book, I can see this as a gateway adult fantasy novel. The magic system was not the most unique nor fascinating, but it did a decent job. Author Annabel Campbell doesn't shy away from harshly presenting the politics behind the marginalization of non-mages from mages. You can't read this and not feel righteous anger at the injustices committed. That said, Haelius' almost centrist position at times made me bristle: violence against oppressors is not the same as the violence perpetuated by said oppressors. There are also multiple MENA and Islamic influences sprinkled throughout the worldbuilding ... though I raised my brows at the in-book explanation of what Zuhr is. It feels appropriative to strip away the Islamic meaning of that term; it's a prayer offered at midday, and not just "the name for noon hours when locals sought shade and rest". Just say noon.

The final 10% is a whirlwind. The appearance of dragons felt rather shoehorned because there wasn't enough build up to it. I do however look forward to seeing Naila grow more into her abilities, and of course a reunion!

This was a very enjoyable read, really interesting fantasy concept and a plot that slowly draws you in. The wide range of characters and dynamics was delightful and engaging. The magic system was explained well.

However, I felt like the beginning was missing some clarity, I didn't get a good sense of the setting at first. Additionally, in the first 10% the multiple POVs made it feel a bit disconnected. After we got a better understanding of the characters, it made more sense and it was interesting to learn how all the POVs contribute to the plot.

So much mixed feeling about The Outcast Mage that I don't know where to start.
I loved the plot idea and how it highlighted the similarities between Naila and Haelius and, like he said to her—no matter if she somehow succeeds using her magic, she will still be treated the same and power doesn't change that. Different sides of one coin—he is the most powerful mage, and she is a mage that can't use her power at all.
The magic system was interesting with the conception of anima and that everything around us has it and is the essence of life.
And here my struggles begins.
The story was mostly plot oriented, and everything that you learn about the world building and the characters is taken in stride. But unfortunately, in my opinion, the information was like crumbs thrown in between and was too little. The characters lacked depth and enough background so you can understand them better and their connections, so it felt like the characters were used as a means only to drive the story forward.
I also had the feeling like they were all stuck in their own groundhog day:
- Naila was running off in the most selfish way multiple times without thinking about the danger and the risk she put the people around her that tried to help her.
— Larinne was running from “fire” to “fire” and panics for her country while doing nothing AND every time blaming Haelius for trying to do something in his own misguided way.
— Entonin was like stuck in a limbo for the most part of the book, waiting and doing nothing essential. I would've loved more information and backstory about him and his order because after I finished the book you mostly don't know anything about him.
— and Haelius is rushing and doing reckless things one after another, getting caught.
Moreover, it was strange that it is so heavily leaned that he is the most powerful mage in a long time and yet, everyone around him appears to be more powerful than him.
—Naila is more powerful than him, wielding anima.
— it was said that he is the only mage that can use only gestures for casting and teleport yet Ko'ani managed to do both in her first tries.
Furthermore, after the end of the book, you feel like you almost didn't get any answers and only were introduced to new things—like the dragons, the order of Entonin,the mysterious people Oriven was dealing with and so on… I know it will be a series, but as I said, it felt like you got only crumbs.
Writing this, I feel sad because the book had a great potential to be an excellent fantasy book.

This is reminiscent of classic fantasy, in a really good way!

The magic system was fairly defined, though a big part of the plot is to try to figure out the magic of Naila, the main character and titular outcast mage. The choice of POVs helped to show off different sides of the magic system, between Naila as well as Haelius, her mentor and a notably powerful mage, Larinne, a council mage and an inside look into the politics of Amoria, and Entonin, a mysterious priest who is an outsider to the city and very much not a mage - or supportive of mages. I also loved the interlude chapters, which showed a totally different side of magic and hinted strongly toward the world's overall lore.

As mentioned, the different POVs all gave interesting perspectives and added to the story. Naila is full of grit, but she's also naive, so the choice of having these particular POVs helped to round out the story in a natural way.

A highlight for me was the bit of found family vibe underlying both halves of the story. Naila, Ko, Haelius, Malek - what a group of stars together. All of the relationships between the characters were standouts, honestly.

It can be tough, launching a new epic fantasy series with multiple characters and an entirely new world and magic system, so I have to give kudos for the plot of this. We spent some good time getting to know and understand the tensions in Amoria and understand how the characters played a role in that regard, and then diverged - this wasn't a book that spent its entire time with Naila learning from Haelius, or even much time on any point of the plot, as it built quite a bit in scope across the course of the story. (And went a little bit batshit - like, I would not have predicted where and how a lot of characters ended up where they did, but it all made sense!)

A couple of things that didn't quite hit the mark for me were the world building and the characters' personalities. These seem like major things, so perhaps that's a testament to how much fun this was to read that these barely dampened my enjoyment. You get thrown right into the world, which I'm cool with, and I didn't have an issue understanding the class structures and the politics, but I do wish more time was spent on that sort of thing, since it seemed almost perfunctory, like giving just enough information so that you could move forward with the plot. However, if the last bit of the book is any indication, I'm pretty confident this series is going to delve into a lot more of the world and its history over time.

I'm equally confident that my quibble with characterizations will also fade with future books. I liked all of the characters, but, as someone who likes multi-POVs, I didn't feel like any of them had a strong narrative voice nor did I feel like I got to know their actual personalities. Obviously they were all distinct in their general shapes and plotlines, but I felt their personalities weren't super defined and that I don't really know them on any kind of deeper level. But I did like what I did get to know, I just want to know them better and fall in love with them.

A super enjoyable book, and a series from which I'm eager to read more.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Naila is a magic student but without magic (maybe). She lives in Amoria where magic is everything, and there are people who wouldn't wish anything more than to get rid of her. However, archmage Haelius, the most powerful wizard, is on her side and he starts to teach her magic. What they both didn't expect was for Naila to be something different than a normal mage. 'What is she?' is the question. They both don't know but there are forces hunting her and her powers, so she needs to leave the city to find the answers she's do desperately looking for.

It took me a while to get into the story itself. Each chapter is from a different POV, and there are quite a few people who have their own. The story entwines the lives of multiple people, not just Naila and Haelius but their friends and family as well... there are also a few chapters from the enemies as well. The book ends with a cliffhanger, and this series would interest anyone who likes reading about magic and dragons.

This book is the first part of a major fantasy trilogy, the Shattered Lands. In general this focuses on Naila who is a student mage in Amoria's Academy. In Amoria magic is everything - the city is even covered with a magic glass dome. People who have no magic are looked down on and known as "hollows". While it seems Naila has magic no one has managed to get her to use or develop so far and she is in danger of being thrown out and exiled. For now she is saved by the interest of Haelius, who is the city's most powerful magician. He believes that he can teach her and stakes his reputation on that.

Within Amoria there are definite political dimension. Oriven (a mage) is the leader and seeks to increase his power. Hollows are also trying to make a real power base. The city has also attracted people from outside Amoria whose interests are unclear. This book follows what goes on in Amoria and the area more generally.

There is little real world building in this book. It's one of those that you work things out as it progresses. Personally I have no issues with that - I like the journey involved in finding out and too much explanation can make the read tedious. I enjoyed the feel of Amoria and the gradual discovery of what is important in this. There are quite a few characters in this and some of them came through well. Naila was someone I liked and the visiting priest (& his companion) turned out to be good characters. Haelius was also very good however there are quite a few other characters who felt rather thin.

My real issue with this book is pace. Frankly much of the first half was pretty slow. There is a sense that this comes sharply in to focus in the last third when the pace is fairly breakneck. I really enjoyed this latter part of this book and became far more interested in what was going on. By the end I felt that there will be some interesting parts of the next book with what I imagine may be revealed. However I can't honestly say that I am likely to read it based on the earlier parts of this book. Not a bad read but not really gripping enough for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Short Version: You should read this book. Every so often a book comes along that just ticks every single box for me and this is one such book. The characters, their relationships and conflicting interests were all written wonderfully, especially Naila who is such a compelling heroine. I am a sucker for a good teacher/student relationship and I really enjoyed this aspect as well. The worldbuilding was also great and allowed a really immersive reading experience. The story itself is really well paced and gripped me to the very end (which was very surprising!!) One of the best epic fantasies I've read this year, especially for a debut author! I am really looking forward to continuing this series

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This is a debut? I am shocked with how much I loved this book. I requested the ARC on a whim, my backlist was low and I wanted to read some true fantasy. I didn’t really have an expectations for it.
But this was stunning.

I’m floored by the world building; I’m getting used to fantasy novels feeding us every scrap of info, over explaining their world and magic systems. And this never does that. I’ve finished the book and I still have so many unanswered questions, in a way that has me very excited for the sequel.

The glass dome enclosed magical city is a great setting. I felt worried about the many, many characters but it really enriched the story; especially because they all have conflicting motivations and allegiances. I am very fond of this whole cast.

I honestly can’t believe this is a debut novel. This is already a fantasy classic. I will wait impatiently for the sequel, and highly recommend this to any fantasy lover.

This features fierce female characters, disaster wizards and all the fun tropes.
Magic schools, mystery, multi-pov, fear, fracturing, FANTASTIC!

Naila is a prospective mage, training at the magical Academy of Amoria. Yet, despite having magic, she cannot perform even the simplest of practical exercises. She is a hollow mage.

Larinne is the Consul of Commerce, a part of the mage Lieno Council. She is trying to deal with the growing tension between mages and non-mages, fuelled by a power-grabbing mage who uses this fear to legitimise his own private army - the Justice.

Finally, (less prominently) we have a priest from a country that had been responsible for the exodus of mages before they escaped the Empire. He calls himself a Seemer. Others view him as a spy.

Naila is such a compelling coming-of-age heroine to follow. She is so unsure of herself and feels misplaced in every part of her identity. She is an orphan, she doesn’t look like the rest of the populace, and she is also at least three years older than any of her classmates who all hate and bully her.

<b>She was surrounded and quite alone.
</b>
She finds belonging in the strangest place she could have imagined - the most powerful wizard who seems at odds with the council and wants to tutor Naila so she isn’t expelled.
Their relationship was one founded on both feeling like outsiders. They are both headstrong, act before they think, and are extremely passionate.

The use of fear, mistrust, and ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ was relevant to our current climate and also very fascinating to read from the point of view from a protagonist who is caught between the two worlds.

<b>Is this how it would always be? Wherever she went, whatever she did, would she find herself as the problem? The enemy?
</b>
The prose was extremely accessible (sometimes I did wish for more poignance).
The magic system well-explained with big hinting implications at the end!

Arc provided by Little, Brown Book Group.