I like the first person perspective, especially from a quirky, cheeky character. The book loses me a little in the plot. The first two books had well structured plots that felt quite smooth and natural. This one feels a little tacked together. It's still an excellent book and the plot works well with the world, it just doesn't flow well with the trilogy.The characters are well written, I'm glad to see some of the secondary characters getting more depth this time around even if one or two of them get completely sidelined like the quasi-major plot-character James Lancaster, who was integral to the first two books and just seems to be a loose end to tie up in this one.This review seems a little negative but that's it! That's all the downers I have about this book. Everyone else was good reading. So pleased to have continued with the series despite some of the issues I had with the writing of the first one. Michael G Manning really hit his stride with the third installment of the Mageborn series. He could also have gotten a new editor, who knows? But whatever it was - it was just what he needed. The plot and character development was awesome. In the Blacksmith's Son - the characters were a little two-dimensional and predictable. MGM started showing us there really was depth in his characters in The Line of Illeniel. In The Archmage Unbound, the world he was really trying to show us in the first two was there for the readers to see. Overall a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable read. I had a hard time putting The Archmage Unbound down and stayed up too late to finish it. Really looking forward to the next installment.
What do You think about The Archmage Unbound (2012)?
Magic on a GRAND scale and VERY likable characters.
—acruz2
This series just keeps getting better and better.
—Sabrina
