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Michael G. Manning
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The Choice of Magic (Art of the Adept Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Michael G. Manning (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 out of 5 stars 6,904 ratings
The ancient magic of wizards was anything but dark. It was the enlightenment that lifted humanity from the squalor of superstition, and the worship of fell spirits and capricious gods, but those days are gone. The shining glory of the sorcerers burned away the subtlety of wisdom, replacing it with easy power, held only in the hands of the elite—a new age built upon the elemental supremacy of aristocrats and the ignorance of the masses. But this will change, for the greatest power comes with knowledge, and the deeper teachings of wizardry have not been utterly lost. The last wizard of the old tradition still survives in solitude, nursing tired grudges and waiting for death. His passing might have gone unnoticed, but for the imposition of a youth too stubborn to accept his refusal to take an apprentice. With a new student comes new hope, and that hope has caused old powers to stir again. That the world will change is inevitable, but the shape of the future is anything but certain.
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  1. Book 1 of 5
    Art of the Adept
  2. Print length
    626 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    August 16, 2019
  5. Reading age
    14 - 18 years
  6. File size
    1.5 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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  1. “Today’s a special day. You’ve made a start at becoming a wizard, and it’s also your first serious attempt at murdering me. That deserves a special meal. What do you think I should cook?”
    Highlighted by 183 Kindle readers
  2. “Warlocks are mages who bargain with external powers to gain advantages.”
    Highlighted by 158 Kindle readers
  3. “That’s the spirit!” said his grandfather, cheering him on. “Accept your own incompetence and you’ll never be disappointed.”
    Highlighted by 120 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Picking up a Manning book I expected it to be a winner. And once again he hits a homerun. The perfect balance between action and suspense made The Choice of Magic a real pleasure to read. I can't wait to see what he does next."
~Brian D.Anderson, Author of The Godling Chronicles and Dragonvein

"Michael G. Manning has crafted a unique story of a young wizard's coming of age that's a wonderful start to an engrossing new fantasy world."
~D.K. Holmberg, Author of The Dark Ability

About the Author

Michael Manning spent his formative years in Texas, reading fantasy and science-fiction, concocting home-grown experiments in his backyard, and generally avoiding schoolwork.  Later at college his love of beer blossomed and his love of role-playing games led to what he calls his 'best year ever' and what most of his family calls 'the lost year'.  Eventually he graduated and by some strange irony, became a pharmacist.
 
Unfortunately, Michael was not a very good pharmacist.  Being free spirited was not a particularly good trait to possess in a career focused on perfection, and the letter-of-the-law.  He wound up working in pharmacy informatics (for the safety of the public) but after ten years or so, he eventually grew tired of that as well. So he wrote a book, and one thing led to another, after a while he gave up trying to live two lives (much to his mother's chagrin), and here we are.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07W7X9VY6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (August 16, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 16, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.5 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 626 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 6,904 ratings

About the author

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Michael G. Manning

Michael G. Manning

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Michael Manning was born in Cleveland, Texas and spent his formative years there, reading fantasy and science fiction, concocting home grown experiments in his backyard, and generally avoiding schoolwork.

Eventually he went to college, starting at Sam Houston State University, where his love of beer blossomed and his obsession with playing role-playing games led him to what he calls 'his best year ever' and what most of his family calls 'the lost year'.

Several years and a few terrible jobs later, he decided to pursue college again and was somehow accepted into the University of Houston Honors program (we won't get into the particulars of that miracle). This led to a degree in pharmacy and it followed from there that he wound up with a license to practice said profession.

Unfortunately, Michael was not a very good pharmacist. Being relatively lawless and free spirited were not particularly good traits to possess in a career focused on perfection, patient safety, and the letter-of-the-law. Nevertheless, he persisted and after a stint as a hospital pharmacy manager wound up as a pharmacist working in correctional managed care for the State of Texas.

After a year or two at UTMB he became bored and taught himself entirely too much about networking, programming, and database design and administration. At first his supervisors warned him (repeatedly) to do his assigned tasks and stop designing programs to help his coworkers do theirs, but eventually they gave up and just let him do whatever he liked since it seemed to be generally working out well for them.

Ten or eleven years later and he got bored with that too. So he wrote a book. We won't talk about where he was when he wrote 'The Blacksmith's Son', but let's just assume he was probably supposed to be doing something else at the time.

Some people liked the book and told other people. Now they won't leave him alone.

After another year or two, he decided to just give up and stop pretending to be a pharmacist/programmer, much to the chagrin of his mother (who had only ever wanted him to grow up to be a doctor and had finally become content with the fact that he had settled on pharmacy instead).

Today he lives at home with his kids, a giant moose-poodle, two yorkies, a green-cheeked conure, a massive prehistoric tortoise, and a head full of imaginary people. There are also some fish, but he refuses to talk about them.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
6,904 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book an engrossing read with well-developed characters and humor that makes them laugh out loud. The writing quality and originality receive positive feedback, and customers consider it a great start to a series. The pacing receives mixed reactions, with some saying it's perfect while others find it slow.

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267 customers mention "Readability"254 positive13 negative

Customers find the book engaging and entertaining, with one customer particularly appreciating the world-building elements.

"...This is a long story arc reminiscent of how paperbacks were written, with small font and many pages to develop the characters and world; I for..." Read more

"...I expect this to be a fun and enjoyable story. This author is a safe bet that never disappoints." Read more

"...So, well-written, clever, good plot lines, engaging and formed characters, and well worth your time IMHO." Read more

"...It’s just a fun, kind of light, breezy fantasy read. I highly look forward to seeing where this story goes." Read more

115 customers mention "Writing quality"99 positive16 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as well crafted with great storytelling ability, and one customer notes how it completely involves the reader.

"I would like to establish at the outset, this is both an outstanding storyline and moreover very well thought out and well delivered characters and..." Read more

"...So, well-written, clever, good plot lines, engaging and formed characters, and well worth your time IMHO." Read more

"...It’s just a fun, kind of light, breezy fantasy read. I highly look forward to seeing where this story goes." Read more

"...Escapist fiction is a treasured commodity, and this does the job well...." Read more

111 customers mention "Character development"92 positive19 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, noting that the characters are well developed and their personalities shine through the humor. One customer mentions that the author takes many pages to develop both the characters and the world.

"...how paperbacks were written, with small font and many pages to develop the characters and world; I for one appreciate that as compared to more..." Read more

"...The dialogue is rich and some of the characters truly unique. I expect this to be a fun and enjoyable story...." Read more

"...The characters are multi-faceted, not one dimensional; things are not always black or white; there is some moral ambiguity and reason for it; and..." Read more

"...It has a highly believable main character that isn't always perfect and struggles to find his place in the world were his existence alone is enough..." Read more

71 customers mention "Start"71 positive0 negative

Customers praise this book as a great start to a series, with one customer noting it's a thrilling beginning to a new saga, while another mentions it's an amazing follow-up to the Mageborn series.

"...This is an excellent opening installment to the series. The books are all over six hundred pages so there is plenty of development and depth...." Read more

"Excellent series, well written...." Read more

"...Wonderful start to a series desperately hope the main character has not suffered permanent brain damage and can recover in the series...." Read more

"...Until now. I am sure this is a great series and I will continue to try to read it as I am sure the MC will progress and so will the story...." Read more

51 customers mention "Humor"40 positive11 negative

Customers enjoy the book's humor, particularly its witty dialogue that makes them laugh out loud, with one customer noting the dry humor of the old wizard character.

"...The dialogue is rich and some of the characters truly unique. I expect this to be a fun and enjoyable story...." Read more

"...some moral ambiguity and reason for it; and the plot and writing are both well-crafted. In other words it is readable and engaging...." Read more

"...The way it's written will have you laughing so hard one minute, on the edge of your seat the next and trying to hold back the tears the next...." Read more

"...The main drawback is the naivety and stupidity of the main character. It boggles the mind some of the choices he makes...." Read more

28 customers mention "Author"28 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the author's work, with several noting the high quality of the book, and one customer highlighting how the author has crafted an interesting world.

"...The books are all over six hundred pages so there is plenty of development and depth. The dialogue is rich and some of the characters truly unique...." Read more

"...This book has been proofread. Edited. Made tight. There are no info-dumps. The author shows us things, instead of telling us things...." Read more

"...Heartily recommend, Manning is a great author and I feel he will grow the character into something more reasonable moving forward. ***..." Read more

"Couldn't put it down! The skill of this author has grown substantially since his first book so long ago. This is an easy recommendation, read it!" Read more

16 customers mention "Originality"16 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's originality, with one customer highlighting its unique world building.

"...up some of the authors inspiration in this story but it is still unique in itself...." Read more

"...it was a typical magic and fairies setting, with great twists and embellishments that make it unique...." Read more

"...This story was magic to me and I relished every page. MASTERFULLY DONE JWM" Read more

"Rather enjoyable story. Found it unique and well written. The characters have depth and the plot is interesting enough to continue the series." Read more

53 customers mention "Pacing"30 positive23 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some finding it well-paced with an excellent story, while others note it is slow to this point and has a somewhat disjointed plot.

"...like a young adult story at first, but then it grows into an epic, nuanced, grand adventure...." Read more

"...seemed to come out of nowhere, which made the rest of the pacing/plot somewhat disjointed...." Read more

"...the story always moving and will keep you always engage, making the pace just perfect and forcing you to buy the next book as soon as you finish the..." Read more

"...The book is pretty slow to this point and now it really slows down as the young man gives up on learning magic,..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Daniel F Parham Jr
    5.0 out of 5 stars Politely disagree
    Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I would like to establish at the outset, this is both an outstanding storyline and moreover very well thought out and well delivered characters and plot lines. I read reviews as a given by some of my other erstwhile readers and to those who judged the main character as "dumb" or the story compromised due to again the main characters ineptitude, I vehemently disagree. LOOK..the real deal with this book is the
    author has created a real story and something that we as readers can really take hours to enjoy. The characters are well done giving us an opportunity to care about them. I believe the author has done a good job in this as some reviews express readers frustration with MC' s lack of immediate retribution on those who may not necessarily have treated him fairly. This though is part off the characters draw, he may not understand and he may make mistakes or be falsely accused, but HE does not allow that to change him into something his is not. He does not go raging into the night, instead he uses to the best of his abilities his limited knowledge and experience of the world to help where he can and learn as he goes along. This is a long story arc reminiscent of how paperbacks were written, with small font and many pages to develop the characters and world; I for one appreciate that as compared to more recent tablet driven novellas with under 300 pages and large font print. No...Mr. Manning I appreciate your effort and skill to develop this true fantasy novel and I am highly anticipating the next book in this series.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • HoMaster
    5.0 out of 5 stars Adept Art - B1
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Will’s coming of age is overshadowed by family secrets, an ancient accord, and war. His training, both magical and culinary, is overseen by his ‘grandfather’ from a previous era. However, his education comes to a premature end when his hometown is invaded and his military career begins. His unorthodox talents make him a conspicuous soldier so his good deeds earn plenty of punishment.

    This is an excellent opening installment to the series. The books are all over six hundred pages so there is plenty of development and depth. The dialogue is rich and some of the characters truly unique. I expect this to be a fun and enjoyable story. This author is a safe bet that never disappoints.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reads A Lot
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good series
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I waited to do a review until reading all four volumes; obviously, I liked what I read. The characters are multi-faceted, not one dimensional; things are not always black or white; there is some moral ambiguity and reason for it; and the plot and writing are both well-crafted. In other words it is readable and engaging.

    I was a bit concerned about a few of the reviews that commented upon what they considered poor choices by the lead protagonist, Will. When you learn that he starts at 13 and doesn’t age more than about six or so years over the four volumes, you say, “well, he’s a teen for goodness sake, what do you expect?“ My take is that he actually does pretty well, and, when he screws up he reasons out a solution - that’s part of the maturation process, after all.

    So, well-written, clever, good plot lines, engaging and formed characters, and well worth your time IMHO.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • David D.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Strong opening book
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I’m older and busy with life, so I was disappointed when my loan of this book expired and I wasn’t quite finished. I liked it so much, not only did I request it again, having to wait a couple months to get it, but when it was available I stopped reading my current book to immediately pick this back up. It’s just a fun, kind of light, breezy fantasy read. I highly look forward to seeing where this story goes.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Steven Neiland
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent series that just keeps getting better
    Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This series was an unexpected gem for me. I honestly did not have high hopes when i started it but each book just keeps getting better.

    Most impressively of all is that the mc is not an overpowered goku but actually has to work and think to succeed, and then still manages to fail on occasion. If you read closely you can pick up some of the authors inspiration in this story but it is still unique in itself. You can tell the author put in the work building this world

    Well worth the read for anyone.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Give it a try
    Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book was extremely well done, extremely sorry that I listened to so,e of the other reviews for so long and put off reading this. If you are on the fence I would highly recommend giving this a ome a try. It has a highly believable main character that isn't always perfect and struggles to find his place in the world were his existence alone is enough to get him killed.

    The next part of my review will contain spoilers not just this book but from the next to address some of the comments that first turned me away from reading these books such as the main character being an idiot and not learning magic after inheriting a library. The main character is actually fairly intelligent, the peron constantly calling him an idiot is a grouchy and irritable old man that after having to kill most the people he ever cared about turned away from the world and other people and is not happy to have a child living with him and having to teach him things he mastered hundreds of years ago.
    After living with the old man for years and coming to think of him as family he is killed along with other family members and most of the village by an invading army. The main character is left with the choice to spend his time hiding in a cabin from the invading army trying to learn magic on his own without a mentor or to join his countries military and get revenge on the army who murdered his people and take back his village. He chooses revenge.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Varun swarup
    5.0 out of 5 stars Better than any Run of the Mill Magic books around
    Reviewed in India on November 19, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I have the Audiobook version of this excellent book.

    Since Lord Of Rings was written, thousands of since series have been written. Then came Harry Potter and hence followed so many more similar plots.

    This book is AWESOME and not like any of the above mentioned books.

    Listen to this rendering by Tim Gerard Reynolds and you will feel you are watching a movie. The world seems real. The book is so detailed in terms of everything. You can feel every moment written in the book. I wish this book could go on and on and on.

    Read it or better listen to the Audible version of this book. You will understand why I am praising it so much. Go for it. It is lovely......
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  • Christian
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
    Reviewed in Brazil on January 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The First quarteto of the book starts a little slow, but as it progress, the history becomes more and more enticing. Recommended!!
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  • Mr Bounce Z
    5.0 out of 5 stars A magical read!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 20, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I discovered this book through an advert on my Kindle. I saw the cover and thought it looked interesting, though I had never heard of Michael G. Manning before. I wasn't holding out too much expectation as I downloaded the Kindle sample and started to read.

    I absolutely LOVED IT! I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that I was so drawn in. I bought the entire book, and I found myself reading non-stop. I finished the book in a few days.

    What was quite enjoyable for me was the steady pacing of the story. The plotline wasn't thrown about, here, there and everywhere. There was a gradual growth and progression feeling as the story followed the development and adventures of the main character William Cartwight.

    I loved William's teacher, Arroggan. For some reason, I pictured David Bradley (played Walder Frey in Game of Thrones and Argus Filch in Harry Potter) in the role. His foul mouth language was pretty funny. I don't usually hold with foul language in books, but Manning did a great job at delivering a differently vocabulary and characteristic set for different characters. Something I am finding more and more writers are failing at.

    One minor critique, though - if you weren't paying attention, you'd miss the very subtle and brief description of the character appearances. I think it would have served well to occasionally but lightly refresh the memory from time to time at different sections of the book. Manning did this with Isobel, but I had to go back and try and find the description of the other various characters. Some descriptions were so vague that I had to form my own characters in my head. Maybe this was intentional? I know some authors like to do this in order to allow readers to drive the story how they want to imagine it.

    There were amusing parts in the book, which made me chuckle, and some saucy moments as well that made me go "ello! ello!" These scenes helped break up the story and added an element of humour.

    It was a really fun read and I am now on the second book 'Secrets and Spellcraft', so hopefully, that book will continue on in the same vein.

    Great stuff!!
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
    Reviewed in Australia on November 21, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Feels a little childish in the beginning but thoroughly enjoyed the development of the characters and storyline! Starting book 2 straight away
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  • Sev
    5.0 out of 5 stars Much better writing than Mageborn
    Reviewed in Canada on February 5, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I gave up Mageborn after the first chapter of book 1, due to the poor writing. This series is on another level entirely. It's as if it was written by a completely different author. Grammar and sentence structure are flawless and the writing flows so well that I forgot I was reading a book.

    Story-wise, this book has many strengths and some weaknesses. The characters start off as very cliche fantasy characters: peasant boy hero, bratty noble girl, nice friend of noble girl, saintly mother, surly old wizard, etc.

    However, despite the tropy beginning, this book is not afraid to get dark. There are some real tragic elements to this story that I struggled with for awhile. The MC spends the entire book hovering on the brink of being overpowered, but never really quite makes it there. He does fail, sometimes with tragic results. He also makes stupid mistakes due to impulsiveness and lack of knowledge.

    Female characters are handled more deftly than in many fantasy stories. There are a few highly sexualized female characters and one or two damsel-like ones (initially), but none of them are one-dimensional. They all have their own strengths, weaknesses, and motivations, and none of them exist purely for the sake of romancing the MC. This becomes more apparent as the series progresses.

    There is a lot of foul language in this book, almost entirely from one character. The language fits with the character's personality and background, but those who think modern swearing has no place in fantasy might want to steer clear.

    There are some military aspects in this book that are well handled. Some fantasy writers seem to base their military units on either the commandos from Aliens, or Full Metal Jacket. Manning hits a good middle ground, though there are situations where certain characters have a bit of plot armor.

    Overall, this series is a huge step up from Mageborn (from what I can tell), and is definitely worth the time and the small price tag. Over time, the MC begins to mature into a more complex character who has to make difficult moral choices. Suffice it to say that, by the end of book 4, he is far from a boring, one-dimensional paladin of virtue.
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