I’ve been a big fan and advocate of Tobias Begley’s previous series (Journals of Evander Tailor) in the progression fantasy space. I appreciated how they balanced small scale magic-school stuff with overarching plots, included quality queer rep, and had a clear grasp on characterization within a breezy writing style. So after binging book 3 in that series and seeing he had a new one coming out, I was overjoyed to see he had a new book coming out! Mana Mirror is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was definitely mine.
Read if Looking For: side quests, magic systems, wholesome family dynamics
Avoid if Looking For: action heavy, plot driven, or deeply thematic books
Elevator Pitch:
When Malachi got tested for magic and had the opportunity to pick opposing mana types for his spellcasting, he went with life and death mana. This caught the attention of a morally-questionable magi looking for a successor/experiment subject, and Malachi quickly ended up becoming apprenticed to one of the most powerful spellcasters on the planet. He’ll visit the local quest board often, learn about down payments on buying brooms, and meet a variety of cute folks along the way as he pursues a path towards magic that (among other things) will let him fully transition.
What Worked for Me
A lot about this book was a pleasant surprise. Begley’s previous work did a great job of balancing tension and feeling constantly ‘on edge’. These were a much more chill reading experience. For people who like magic systems or progression fantasy, I would recommend this unreservedly (unless you want the more edgy grimdark vibes, in which case I suppose yes there are reservations). The overaching story is mostly only hinted at so far, because the author has gone for a much more slice of life style story than my (admittedly moderate) previous progression fantasy books.
For me, slice of life lives or dies on characters, and the author has done a great job. They all feel interesting, accessible, and the type of people I’d want to read more about. The various mentors in particular provide fun counterpoints to each other. In general, I think this story benefited from a general increase in writing quality from Begley’s first series. I love those books, but the opening to book 1 in particular could have used a rework. This felt like a smooth read the entire way.
Finally, I appreciate the casual queer-positive world that has been crafted. Little things, like normalizing name changes, transition magic being an established fact of the world, and a wide variety of identities being repped (trans, nonbinary, gay, lesbian all present, with mention of ace identities in casual conversation). Mal still struggles with being in the wrong body, has to struggle with the limitations of binders, and had some worries about going to more rural places, but generally the queernorm setting was really welcome.
What Didn’t Work for Me
Honestly, nothing. This book wasn’t revolutionary, and people who dislike progression fantasy or slice of life books won’t enjoy this. I think the target audience for this book is pretty small, but for those who want a chill upbeat queer story about an apprentice mage, this is a really solid pick.
In Conclusion: a really fun book with positive vibes, a queernorm world, and slice of live meets progression fantasy elements
- Characters – 4
- Worldbuilding – 4
- Craft – 4
- Themes – 3
- Enjoyment – 5
Marked for Plot 