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Ink Mage Legacy #1

Warrior Prime

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Peyne Erlich’s mission from the king is to learn everything he can about the rival kingdom’s magical ink mage warriors. What he finds is Zayda Yond. Ever since Zayda was sold into servitude by her financially destitute father, her masters have taught her a punishing erase the past. Collared with an unmovable band of exotic metal, she faces a future of slavery. She’s also become an ink mage, marked with a tattoo that enables her to experience the world as no one else can―a powerful honor, yet one out of her control. Now, Zayda dreams only of escape. She gets her chance when a scuttled ocean passage leaves her in a longboat, and in the company of another lone survivor, Peyne, a foreign envoy―spoiled, noble, a libertine, and a gambler. He’s also a skilled fighter. And when they make it to land, in wild and unfamiliar jungle territory, he’s the only person Zayda can trust. Then come rumors of a lost desert city said to hold the key to removing Zayda’s collar. Shadowed by enemies who want to use her power to win their own war, Zayda must fight for her freedom―whatever the cost. And Peyne will do anything to help her.

362 pages, Paperback

Published April 30, 2019

About the author

Victor Gischler

405 books403 followers
Victor Gischler is an American author of humorous crime fiction.
Gischler's debut novel Gun Monkeys was nominated for the Edgar Award, and his novel Shotgun Opera was an Anthony Award finalist. His work has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. He earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. His fifth novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse was published in 2008 by the Touchstone/Fireside imprint of Simon & Schuster.

He has also writes American comic books like The Punisher: Frank Castle, Wolverine and Deadpool for Marvel Comics. Gischler worked on X-Men "Curse of the Mutants" starting in the Death of Dracula one-shot and continued in X-Men #1.

Gun Monkeys has been optioned for a film adaptation, with Lee Goldberg writing the script and Ryuhei Kitamura penciled in to direct.

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519 (44%)
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457 (39%)
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150 (12%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
Profile Image for Terence.
1,143 reviews371 followers
August 22, 2019
The threat of war has brought the Helvan envoy Peyne Erlich to Fryia. Unfortunately, his stay is short lived. The King's Ambassador sends him back to Helva with an urgent message about Ink Magic before Peyne can even unpack. However the ship he sails on holds an unexpected challenges and Zayda. Zayda's father's financial failure led to her being sold as a slave to pay his debts. Rather than being forced into prostitution, she finds a different path. Zayda has been made into an Ink Mage and forced into a magical collar meant to control her. Peyne and Zayda find themselves forced to trust one another in order to survive.

Warrior Prime is a continuation of the series A Fire Beneath the Skin. Many years have passed since A Painted Goddess, but some old characters are seen and mentioned in the book. The story has it's own compelling factors as Zayda is fighting to remove the magical collar that's use to control her while Peyne is trying to reach Helva to warn the King about Ink Magic.

The main characters felt similar to Ink Mage as Zayda resembles Rina and Peyne reminds me of Brasley Hammish. Zayda is a young woman who receives the prime suddenly like Rina. They are both forced to seek out new tattoos to assist them towards their goals. They each set out on significant treks with the hope of restoring their lives. Peyne and Brasley are both womanizers who drink, gamble, and steal. I realize Brasley was forced to change over the course of A Fire Beneath the Skin, but Peyne is nearly Brasley in Ink Mage.

I did appreciate the villainous Meddigar. He's a wizard who inadvertently stumbled onto Ink Magic and used his knowledge to ingratiate himself to the Fryian royalty by not only making them Ink Mages, but also providing a way to control them. Meddigar isn't completely evil, but he's truly selfish, self centered, and justifiably paranoid. Meddigar would rather take his money and secrets and disappear rather than deal with Fryia, but the Grand Sultan wants his cash cow protected, at least until he can gain the secrets for himself.

Warrior Prime felt just a little too similar to Ink Mage, but was an enjoyable story.

3.5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Dave.
3,355 reviews410 followers
Read
March 7, 2019
In Warrior Prime, Gischler returns to the fantasy world of Helva that he first explored with his ink mage trilogy several years ago. Although it’s the same world and same magical power system, this book features all new characters and you wouldn’t know there were other ink mage books without stumbling on them.

This is a fantasy world of sword and sorcery with the powerful magic of the ink mages provided to them through magical tattoos. This is such a powerful sorcery that when they fight it’s at warp speed like superheroes battling. And, like in a Dungeon and Dragons 🐉 game, mages can gain additional superpowers 🦹‍♀️ by finding wizards who will give them new tattoos. Collect them all and impress your friends! For some, the ink mages are so fearfully powerful that they are enslaved in unbreakable collars that are controlled by nearby remotes. Dare to throw off your shackles and your head explodes! Literally.

This is a fantasy book that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The hero of the book is a drunkard and womanizer with no real experience or fortitude for swordplay. The characters sometimes make remarks to each other that often feel out of place but are witty and sarcastic. It’s a fun journey into the desert on a camel 🐪 like creature that maybe shouldn’t have a name to find lost cities of gold and magic. And it’s a fast easy read.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.
Profile Image for Kris.
346 reviews44 followers
Read
December 20, 2019
Have you ever started reading a book because the plot sounded interesting but early on in the book you had to stop, do a double take, check to see who wrote the book, and, yep, the author is clearly male? I had one of those moments when a character was describing a woman and it turned me off enough so that I closed the book, set it aside, and moved on to something else. Dropped.
Profile Image for Michael Campbell.
392 reviews65 followers
May 7, 2019
Last year, I read the A Fire Beneath the Skin series, and I remember it being enjoyable. That's all I really remember about it to be honest. There was nothing particularly memorable, just simple fun Fantasy with decent characters.

This book is a cut above. The author seems to have come into his own as far as character depth, development, plot pacing, and it read better than any book in the other series.

There are one or two familiar faces, and even they are more interesting to read about here. The new protagonist duo have a wonderful dynamic, and they're both very likable characters on their own.

The plot isn't as grand in scope, but it hints at bigger things to come in the following installment(s). Some more thought provoking observations are made here, but the main fun of the book was the quick pace and witty banter.

The audiobook was very well performed and cheap as could be as well, for those who use Audible.
Profile Image for Sean Atwood.
38 reviews
June 23, 2019
This book was a blast. A fun, exciting continuation of the Ink Mage series. Set 20 years after the original trilogy, Warrior Prime has more of an adventure/quest feel to it than the Epic Fantasy of the first series, and that works in its favor. The characters are fun and engaging, and the story moves along nicely. With the Fire Beneath the Skin trilogy, and now this new series, I feel that Victor Gischler is carving out a little sub-genre I'll call Pulp Fantasy. The stories harken back to the early serialized works of fantasy fiction, but with a contemporary feel for action and dialogue. I enjoyed this immensely and am really looking forward to the next installment.
Profile Image for Øystein Nygård.
Author 2 books2 followers
May 2, 2019
The Ink Mage saga continues - in a great way. The new book from Victor Gischler continues 20+ years after the Ink Mage trilogy and does so without doing shame on the earlier books. Well worth a read for all you Fantasy fans out there
81 reviews1 follower
June 12, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. cannot wait for the next one. I may even have to go back and start a different series. very well written and witty. just one complaint---please stop with the "eyes rolling"!! there must be another way to convey disdain.
40 reviews
November 2, 2020
I really wasn't sure how the author could continue writing about ink mages, they seemed to be just getting too powerful. The trick was to make them slaves via a control collar. It created an interesting twist that revitalized the concept for me.

And again, the author creates a large sweeping canvas for his characters to play in. If one enjoyed the other books, they'll surely enjoy this one.
Profile Image for Wolf (Alpha).
889 reviews9 followers
February 9, 2023
I enjoyed this book. I didn't love it cause it took me a bit to get into it, but it was okay. I loved Zayda and how her entire mission was to get her collar off and become free again. I love that Payne helps her along the mission and even gets into tons of danger just to help her. I love that they hook up in the end and fall for each other. I love the whole mages and magic theme of the book and I love that the mages are inked and each tattoo gives them unique powers. I especially love hers from the moonlight. Overal it wasn't a terrible book but I couldn't get into the writing. Probably won't continue the series.
Profile Image for April.
Author 6 books39 followers
July 25, 2019
The plot was decent, if predictable. the characters fell into archetypes, which doesn't bother me, but it might someone else. I did appreciate the quick pace of the story and enjoyed it. However, there is one thing that stands out that threw me out of the story and that was the sexual content. Now, there are exactly three moments that this occurs, while the one character tries for a fourth and fails miserably. The first is when we're introduced and it sets up the character as a womanizer. No graphic details, though, which I appreciated. One moment where this character and another kissed and the very last scene where the same two characters were about to engage in sex. The problem? Where the heck did it come from?! There were some flirtation and a lot of "gee he's charming and handsome" from the female but nearly nothing on the male's side. It was confusing and it totally pulled me out of the story each time. I'm okay with a slow burn but it actually has to ignite. I feel like it was added in to appease some of his audience. Therefore, it gets a three-star rating from me.
Profile Image for ShingetsuMoon.
735 reviews24 followers
March 10, 2020
A satisfying adventure brought down by a few easily avoided tropes and stereotypes. I had fun reading this and it was an enjoyable, escapist adventure. The world isn't overly detailed but enough was shown to pique my curiosity and keep me reading.

Unfortunately my interest in learning more about Ink Mages and how they work was undercut by descriptions of the "uncivilized" tribal people. It was disappointing to read about and it was something the book very easily could have done without. Or it could have been adapted better with more consideration and thought. I also feel like the only fat characters were there just to fall into the greedy, disgusting slob category. Another disappointment that combined with how the tribal people are described is enough to put me off reading any more books. This one was satisfying and enjoyable but I don't care to come across careless descriptions like that again.
Profile Image for Sarah.
238 reviews
May 28, 2019
I was a DNF @ 50%. I'm not sure why but this book never really landed for me. I loved the characters, the story and the setting but I never felt like the two main characters had any real chemistry together, even in a platonic way. Every time energy was building, we switched to different characters in the story so it made for tough motivation to keep going. I will probably try some of his other books and accept that this one just wasn't for me.
Profile Image for Freethings Forme.
283 reviews1 follower
May 27, 2020
Years after the ink mage saga, new ink mages are appearing in the world. Unfortunately, these new mages are also slaves.
This book is about one such young lady that refused to remain a slave. This book details how she became a slave. How she became an ink mage. Then continues to show her amazing tale of how she attained her freedom.
I enjoyed this book and counting down the days until the next installment of the story.
Profile Image for Leslie.
19 reviews
January 8, 2020
Another WOW!

After reading the Painted Goddess, I couldn’t imagine the next book would live up the the previous books. I was so wrong! Warrior Prime is every bit at good as the previous books! Almost a whole new cast of characters who are interesting and made me care about them. I loved the adventure in this one too! Love this series!,
Profile Image for Lulu.
975 reviews1 follower
March 17, 2020
Amusing divergence

After reading some intense nonfiction & heavily acclaimed fiction, this little bit of silliness was entertaining fluff but again female magicians succumbing to drunken low end nobles with romps and whatnot...well let's just say highly doubtful I'll be reading any more of this ilk...
Profile Image for Edward.
Author 8 books25 followers
May 29, 2020
Another good fantasy from Gischler

Warrior Prime has all the action, magic and humor from the original trilogy only with new characters and old faces. I enjoyed this trip to the land author Victor Gischler created albeit not as much as the original trilogy. I hope he continues to write these books and as long as he does I’ll read them.
Profile Image for Veselina.
226 reviews4 followers
April 17, 2019
ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange of honest review.
A lovely written story about magic and difference between to nations.
I really enjoyed the magical system - the creation of ink Mage's and the possibilities for their abilities.
Now looking forward for book two.
Profile Image for Jacqueline Walker.
92 reviews1 follower
May 29, 2019
A very enjoyable story from an author I will read again

This is my first read from this author and I will be looking for more. I win the storyline and the characters and their development.
7 reviews
June 18, 2019
Great book! Awesome audio narration

I loved the ink mage series this book kinda picks up where the last book left off. If you decide to listen to audio of this book I think you would enjoy it even more.
4 reviews
June 22, 2019
Fun

Listened to Warrior Prime on a 15 hr drive to a lake in north central Minisota. Lots of laughs, gasps, and "wait what she/he say. We all loved it. Great intertainment on a long drive. The fishing was great😜
June 22, 2019
I have just finished and I thought it was a really gripping book. I had never read a book where the magic come through their tattoos, which was really cool.

Loved the dynamic of the characters that was created.

Overall a really enjoyable book
Profile Image for Tony Peck.
496 reviews3 followers
April 30, 2020
Quite enjoyable...

Some interesting characters and ink mage attributes, but somehow did not really buzz. The writing felt stilted and not as enjoyable as the previous Ink Mage trilogy.
323 reviews3 followers
May 9, 2020
Friends come in all forms. You never know who will save your life.

From friend of the king to rescuing a young ink mage, our hero grows as he learns more about magic and the new world he is exploring. Zada is on her own quest to be free. See how it all turns out.
Profile Image for Quiddity.
22 reviews
May 15, 2020
I actually fell over this book first, rather than reading the Ink Mage series. I've since backed up to read all the Ink Mage books. I rather like the premise and the settings. It's a good adventure romp in a fantasy setting and it's written clearly and well enough to keep it enjoyable.
Profile Image for Ed.
11 reviews1 follower
June 23, 2020
Great Characters

Loved the various characters and there interaction. The storyline was very interesting. Love story mingled with action and heroics. Would consider reading more from this author
Profile Image for CC Sanders.
259 reviews38 followers
April 4, 2020
I was really struggling wether to give it three or four stars. I believe that this book deserves a four star rating but from my personal enjoyment point of view it was more of a three star. This is only due to me not getting into the mood of this type of book so it does not seem to be fair to give it a three star rating.

I really enjoyed the characters and the banter between them, that they were not too tropey and I loved the vulnerability as well as all of them having flaws.none of our characters was a typical hero with super powers that is morally perfect. We have a really interesting magic system where tattoos give you certain powers and after the prime tattoo you can pretty much go out and collect all of the powers in the world by finding tattoo artists who will give them to you for a price. I got the feeling that this book is not taking itself too seriously and is making sometimes a little bit of a mockery out of traditional fantasy books without getting into slapstick and too obvious jokes. At the same time you can get into a seriously great atmosphere and I believe the mainly desert setting for a fantasy book to be rather unique.
Sadly the plot felt rather tropey and like it has been done 1 million times. this might be the reason for me having lost interest in following the storyline. After around 70% I caught myself speed reading the description bits and just getting to dialogs but I continue to enjoy a lot. If you are in the mood for a traditional sword & sorcery fantasy adventure with a fun magic system fun characters that are vulnerable and no apparent morally perfect hero in a fantastic desert setting then this book might before you.
444 reviews
June 6, 2019

Peyne Erlich’s mission from the king is to learn everything he can about the rival kingdom’s magical ink mage warriors. What he finds is Zayda Yond.


Ever since Zayda was sold into servitude by her financially destitute father, her masters have taught her a punishing lesson: erase the past. Collared with an unmovable band of exotic metal, she faces a future of slavery. She’s also become an ink mage, marked with a tattoo that enables her to experience the world as no one else can—a powerful honor, yet one out of her control. Now, Zayda dreams only of escape.


She gets her chance when a scuttled ocean passage leaves her in a longboat, and in the company of another lone survivor, Peyne, a foreign envoy—spoiled, noble, a libertine, and a gambler. He’s also a skilled fighter. And when they make it to land, in wild and unfamiliar jungle territory, he’s the only person Zayda can trust.


Then come rumors of a lost desert city said to hold the key to removing Zayda’s collar. Shadowed by enemies who want to use her power to win their own war, Zayda must fight for her freedom—whatever the cost. And Peyne will do anything to help her.

Profile Image for Lezlie Ramsey.
36 reviews
December 10, 2020
Fast-paced adventure

Warrior Prime occurs about 15 years after The Painted Goddess, introducing new characters Peyne and Zayda, and reuniting readers with Maurizan.

The story takes place in "modern" Fyria, with its Sultan building an army of enslaved ink mages with the help of his wizard, Meddiger. Zadar is the latest young woman enslaved and inked with the Prime tattoo, giving her ultimate control over her senses and physical abilities. She is sent to Helva with her handler, but their ship is attacked by Fyrian insurgents and sunk.

Zayda escapes the sinking ship, along with Peyne, the boyishly charming Helvan envoy sent find out about the ink mages. Together, they set out to find a way to free Zayda from the magical collar that keeps her enslaved.

On the road to the mysterious, ancient Fyrian city of mages, they meet up with Maurizan, who also wants to find the secrets of the lost mage city. But they will have to use all their cunning to stay ahead of Meddiger, sent by the Sultan to bring back more of the secrets of ink mages to further build his army and send them against Helva.
76 reviews2 followers
December 1, 2023
Better than average

This book is well written. However, it is my view that good fantasy novels should have maps. In this book, the lack of maps detracts from the reader’s mental picture of the journeys undertaken and the trials and tribulations involved. This story is related to the Ink Mage’s series and even though I do not have those books anymore, I recall there were maps in those novels. There is a good Epilogue in the story, but sadly no Prologue. Because of the aforementioned linkage, a Prologue would be helpful. Lastly, in a lot of fantasy novels, there is a rogue, a gambler, drinker and womanizer. Sometimes , such a character is likeable, e.g. Matrim Caudron in the WOT series, but, in this book, after a while, I found myself annoyed and irritated with the antics and comments of Peyne.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews

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