Forward the Mage

Name: Forward the Mage
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Eric Flint
ISBN: 9781977365125

Author: Eric Flint, Richard Roach

Series: Joe's World #2

Narrator: Tristan Morris

Unabridged: 18 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/12/2020

Categories: Fiction, Fantasy, Epic

Synopsis

The youthful artist-swordsman Benvenuti Sfondrati-Piccolomini arrived in the city of Goimr just in time for disaster to strike. The evil sorcerer Zulkeh had driven the King of the realm insane, then fled from the city!

Things were not as they seemed. The wizard Zulkeh and his apprentice Shelyid were, in fact, guiltless. Zulkeh had been summoned to interpret the King of Goimr's mysterious dream, which the sorcerer came to realize foretold an impending catastrophe for civilization. Zulkeh and Shelyid had actually left Goimr to discover the really important implications of the dream.

Much to the artist's dismay, his adventures and those of the sorcerer were hopelessly intertwined. Soon, Benvenuti and his two companions were off in pursuit of Zulkeh, trying to save the entire sub-continent of Grotum from conquest by the Ozarean Empire. Benvenuti was swept up in a whirlwind of revolutionary plotting and perilous wizardry as he traveled across the vast sub-continent. The only certainty was that he was on a quest the end of which he could not possibly fathom, accompanying a female revolutionary whose beauty was only outdone by her ferocity.

Contains mature themes.

About Eric Flint

Eric Flint was a bestselling American author and editor celebrated for his influential contributions to science fiction and alternate history. He is best known as the creator of the Ring of Fire series, which begins with 1632, a landmark novel that reimagines a modern American town transported to seventeenth-century Europe. The series became a cornerstone of the genre, praised for its blend of rigorous historical detail, political realism, and expansive world-building.

Flint's writing frequently explored themes of social change, technology, and collective action, often emphasizing how ordinary people shape history under extraordinary circumstances. In addition to his novels, he was a longtime editor at Baen Books, where he championed innovative storytelling and supported emerging voices in speculative fiction. His collaborative projects and open-universe approach helped redefine how shared-world series could evolve.

Known for his clear, energetic prose and idea-driven narratives, Eric Flint's work translates especially well to audiobook format, where the scope and momentum of his stories shine. His legacy endures through a vast body of work that continues to engage listeners who enjoy intellectually stimulating, history-rich speculative fiction.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Katy

Please Note: Read in January 2008 immediately after The Philosophical Strangler. Just copying over my review. Thoughts: Combining prequel and aspects of similarity with The Philosophical Strangler, Forward the Mage is full of Rabelaisian nonsense that is certain to confuse and befuddle the average re......more

Goodreads review by Howard

Fantasy farce. I enjoyed the first book enough to get the second - but got tired of it half-way through this book. Maybe I need a break, and should look at again in a year.......more

Goodreads review by Mouselet

The best word to describe the books of Joe's World (The Philosophical Strangler and Forward the Mage) must be "absurd". Jody Lynn Nye once spoke about how, in order to write a good humorous book, the author must treat the subject matter in complete seriousness. That's true...but perhaps not completel......more

Goodreads review by David Harriss

Brilliant in places The second, and prequel, book explains the origins of many secondary characters from the Strangler, and chronicles the theft of the Rap Sheet in Prygg. While often droll, this one is often tedious, with most of the best parts belonging to Benvenuti. The running joke of the narrato......more