"Tell me who you ride beside, and I'll tell you who you are."
In the second installment of Joseph Malik's bestselling Outworlders saga, former stuntman and one-time Olympic saber hopeful Jarrod Torrealday faces a ghost from his tortured past and a war he thought he'd averted.
Now Lord Protector of Falconsrealm and a knight in the secretive Order of the Stallion, Jarrod awakens one glorious fall morning to find his castle under siege and his alliances shattered as a new threat rises in the west: a revolution driven by a sorceress wielding forbidden magic and led by an unstoppable swordsman from the world he left behind. Worse yet, the weapons Jarrod brought with him from Earth are rocking the country on its heels and threatening everything he came to save.
At a candlelit crossroads of dark sorcery and espionage, Jarrod must choose whether to side with a sworn enemy for the good of the realm, or gamble his life and the future of the kingdom in a showdown of ancient magic against modern steel.
Assessment:
Plot: The New Magic, a sequel, offers a solidly engaging, seamlessly structured portal fantasy that largely stands alone.
Prose/Style: Malik’s style is energetic and engaging, with particular flare when it comes to battle scenes. Vivid descriptions provide ample detail and a clear sense of atmosphere.
Originality: Malik's storyline, while in many respects standard for the genre, offers a number of creative and unexpected developments.
Character Development: The characters occupying Malik's fantasy world are par for the genre, with humans and elves, princesses, and commoners, equally well integrated and described. The protagonist’s intriguing backstory affords him particular depth.
Date Submitted: August 30, 2019
Joseph Malik will be signing at the SFWA table at 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 18.
You can also find him at the Oxblood Books table in Creators Alley on Saturday and Sunday. Come say hi, and enter to win a hardcover Advance Reading Copy of The New Magic before its release in September!
Highlights of Joseph Malik's schedule include a worldbuilding panel led by MisCon Guest of Honor Brandon Sanderson, and a reading from Malik's forthcoming novel, The New Magic.
Fri 5:00 – 5:50 PM, Sensing Violence, Ballroom C; Moderator: Rory Miller; Panelists: Elliott Kay, Joseph Malik, Rory Miller, John Olsen
Sat 3:00 – 3:50 PM, Author Readings: Malik, Ellsworth, Yellowstone; Panelists: Spencer G. Ellsworth, Joseph Malik
Sat 6:00 – 6:50 PM, Creating Interesting Nations, Dragon Pavilion (1); Moderator: Brandon Sanderson; Panelists: James Glass, Jason A. Holt, Joseph Malik, Lee Moyer, Brandon Sanderson
Sun 10:00 – 10:50 AM, Spotlight: Olsen, Malik, Fischl, Spotlight; Panelists: Eric Scott Fischl, Joseph Malik, John Olsen
Sun 11:00 – 11:50 AM, Weapons Reality for Authors, Patio Tent (1); Moderator: Larry Bonham; Panelists: Larry Bonham, Joseph Malik, Alyson Peterson, D.L Solum
