The Tethered Mage

Melissa Caruso’s The Tethered Mage is one worth picking up. If you love complex political plots, deep world building, and fun magic then this one is for you. The world that Caruso has crafted is complex and interesting. Magic users are incredibly powerful. As a result, they are either killed as soon as their mage mark manifests or they tend to end up becoming rulers with absolute power in their dominions. The Serene Empire, the location in which this novel takes place, represents a sort of middle ground where mages are magically restricted and controlled by the government. It makes for a unique world with complex issues.

I thoroughly enjoyed the complexities of the political situation that Amalia, our viewpoint character, is forced to navigate. From a controlling mother who also wields enormous political power to her newfound responsibilities as a falconer (someone tethered to a mage) she has an incredible amount to navigate and often finds that there are no easy and straight forward answers. I appreciate how real the political situations seemed. I found myself sympathetic not only to the protagonists but also to the antagonists and the situations they found themselves in. It’s excellent writing when I’m able to be drawn in like that. The magic system itself is also fairly unique. It’s pretty rare to see mages that are incredibly powerful, often because of the issues that creates for the story. Yet Caruso has embraced those very issues in her magic system, giving us incredibly powerful mages that are controlled exactly because they are so powerful—or who end up ruling kingdoms of their own. It’s a fresh take and one I found fascinating. There are also some elements of fantasy-of-manners in this one, particularly as it regards some of the political side of the plot, and it was nice to see those elements outside of historical fiction based on Victorian or Regency England. The pacing was also excellent. I had a difficult time putting the book down, often telling myself that I could finish just one more chapter.

If this novel has a weakness, for me it’s the characters. While I enjoyed seeing things from Amalia’s perspective, and loved the complexities she found herself in the midst of, it took most of the book before I felt like I truly enjoyed her as a character. Many of the side characters fell flat for me, this was particularly true of Zaira. Partially I think this is because Zaira is such a closed individual. That’s fine, but for whatever reason it didn’t quite hit for me. Normally this would be more of a negative for me than it is, and I think that’s down to just how well done I found the plot and pacing and setting of this book. I’m hopeful that this is something we’ll see resolved in the subsequent novels of the series, as I’ll definitely be finishing the trilogy in the near future.

The Tethered Mage tells a gripping tale filled with political maneuvering, deep world building, and fascinating magic. To top it off, it does that telling with a flare for wonderful pacing and intricate plotting. I loved this debut from Caruso and can’t wait to see what happens next.

8.5/10

4.25/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing