Guild Mage: Eld

Guild Mage, Book 2

By: David Niemitz

Narrated by: Kristin James, Fajer Al-Kaisi

For Liv Brodbeck, magic has changed everything.

Cel, the ancestral word of power inherited from her father, now slumbers in the back of her mind. After years of study, the ancient magic of the Old Gods is hers to wield, from brutal, cutting shards of ice to frozen, immovable walls. No longer a mere scullion, she is now an apprentice of the Watchful Guild of Magim, under her teacher, Master Grenfell.

Her peaceful days of training are cut short by the Day of Blood, when monstrous, living orbs of viscera slaughter innocent people across the Kingdom of Lucania. The king calls a great council, and Liv must accompany Baron Summerset and his family to the capital of Freeport. Overwhelmed by the bustle of the city, she, the bastard daughter of a castle cook, is thrust into the schemes and machinations of the royal court.

But while Liv fights to prove herself amidst the intrigue of Lucania, across the sea, on the western continent of Varuna, another foe builds their power. Ractia, the resurrected Lady of Blood, is gathering her forces, which will make the chaos of the Day of Blood only the first taste of the goddess's return.

For in the wake of the Lady of Blood's coming, rifts across the world erupt more frequently than ever before....

©2025 David Niemitz (P)2025 Podium Audio

Enjoyable world

overall I really like this book. I tend to not like dual narration but thankfully there's only a few chapters with the second narrator. Unfortunately neither have a wide variety of voices so it's hard to keep characters separate but they do well enough. For the most part the writing is good as well but my biggest gripe, and honestly what made me write the review is the use of "scrambled". Everyone is scrambling in and out of carriages, scrambling to stand, ect when "climbed" would be a better word choice. Most of the time they're not ina situation where scrambling around makes sense