trope: Mage/wizard protagonist
Convergence
Sandman Slim: Sandman Slim, Book 1
Supernatural fantasy has a new antihero Life sucks, and then you die. Or, if you’re James Stark, you spend eleven years in Hell as a hitman before finally escaping, only to land back in the hell-on-earth that is Los Angeles.
Now Stark’s back, and ready for revenge. And absolution, and maybe even love. But when his first stop saddles him with an abusive talking head, Stark discovers that the road to absolution and revenge is much longer than you’d expect, and both Heaven and Hell have their own ideas for his future.
Resurrection sucks. Saving the world is worse. Darkly twisted, irreverent, and completely hilarious, Sandman Slim is the breakthrough novel by an acclaimed author.
Nightwise
R.S. Belcher, the acclaimed author of The Six-Gun Tarot and The Shotgun Arcana launches a gritty new urban fantasy series set in today’s seedy occult underworld in Nightwise.
In the more shadowy corners of the world, frequented by angels and demons and everything in-between, Laytham Ballard is a legend. It’s said he raised the dead at the age of ten, stole the Philosopher’s Stone in Vegas back in 1999, and survived the bloodsucking kiss of the Mosquito Queen. Wise in the hidden ways of the night, he’s also a cynical bastard who stopped thinking of himself as the good guy a long time ago.
Now a promise to a dying friend has Ballard on the trail of an escaped Serbian war criminal with friends in both high and low places—and a sinister history of blood sacrifices. Ballard is hell-bent on making Dusan Slorzack pay for his numerous atrocities, but Slorzack seems to have literally dropped off the face of the Earth, beyond the reach of his enemies, the Illuminati, and maybe even the Devil himself. To find Slorzack, Ballard must follow a winding, treacherous path that stretches from Wall Street and Washington, D.C. to backwoods hollows and truckstops, while risking what’s left of his very soul . . . .
Child of Fire: A Twenty Palaces Novel: Twenty Palaces Series
Ray Lilly is living on borrowed time. He’s the driver for Annalise Powliss, a high-ranking member of the Twenty Palace Society, a group of sorcerers devoted to hunting down and executing rogue magicians. But because Ray betrayed her once, Annalise is looking for an excuse to kill him–or let someone else do the job.
Unfortunately for both of them, Annalise’s next mission goes wrong, leaving her critically injured. With the little magic he controls, Ray must complete her assignment alone. Not only does he have to stop a sorcerer who’s sacrificing dozens of innocent lives in exchange for supernatural power, he must find–and destroy–the source of that inhuman magic. BONUS: This edition contains excerpts from Harry Connolly’s Game of Cages and Twenty Palaces.
The Hedge Wizard: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure
Legends speak of wizards with the power to rival Gods….
To Hump, it’s just a story. Apprenticed to a wandering wizard, he grew up on the road, following the coin on whatever quest it took them. He always believed his master was just an ordinary hedge wizard, until the old man suddenly died, and his book of spells bound to Hump’s soul.
Knowing no other life, Hump takes up his master’s staff and heads out alone into a world of dungeons and monsters. Scorned by the gods, wizards can trust only their own wit and skill to survive.
Lacking the godly gifts and grand ideals of the Chosen few, Hump fights for something else. If he wants to eat, he needs to work. And with a new Dungeon opening in Bledsbury, where better for a young hedge wizard to earn some coin?
So begins the path of The Wanderer. The White Flame. The Hedge Wizard.
Experience the start of a Progression Fantasy LitRPG Series about a working-class wizard out to forge his own path and prove that one does not have to be Chosen to do great deeds.
About the Series: Multiple magic systems, spells stolen from the gods, and an undefined path of progression, The Hedge Wizard brings a realism-focused spin to GameLit/LitRPG. Explore a world of long forgotten legends, where the Gods now reign and monsters roam.
The Captain (The Last Horizon)
Mage Errant: Publisher’s Pack: Mage Errant, Book 1-2 (mage arrant serie)
amazon dont have the 2 first listed as audiobook in the serie page you can continue it here
This volume contains the first two Mage Errant books, both of which are also available separately.” Into the Labyrinth, Book One: Hugh of Emblin is, so far as he’s concerned, the worst student that the Academy at Skyhold has ever seen. He can barely cast any spells at all, and those he does cast tend to fail explosively.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he’s also managed to attract the ire of the most promising student of his year – who also happens to be the nephew of a king. Hugh has no friends, no talent, and definitely doesn’t expect a mage to choose him as an apprentice at all during the upcoming Choosing. When a very unusual mage does choose him as apprentice, however, his life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is the final test for the first years – being sent into the terrifying labyrinth below Skyhold. Jewel of the Endless Erg, Book Two: After surviving Skyhold’s deadly labyrinth, Hugh and his friends are looking forwards to an uneventful summer.
Their teacher, Alustin, has chartered a sandship for a training expedition into the vast sea of sand known as the Endless Erg, aiming for the wealthy and powerful desert city of Theras Tel. Hugh’s happier than he’s been in a long, long time, and he’s quite excited for the fresh air, sunshine, and quiet. Of course, given Hugh’s luck, their summer is going to be anything but quiet. They’re about to be plunged into a morass of pirates, monsters, warring cults, flesh-tearing sandstorms, and a conspiracy against Indris Stormbreaker, the dragon queen of Theras Tel herself. At least Hugh’s going to get plenty of fresh air and sunshine.
Advent: Red Mage, Book 1
Drew Michalik was working in a top-secret facility in Washington, DC, when the Advent began. As all electronics in the world simply ceased to work, blue screens filled with information appeared before him.
Drew was given access to a mana interface and a limited number of reality-altering crystals called Xatherite. Following the instructions on his vision-impairing screens, he “slotted” his Xatherite and changed his fate: He gained the ability to cast spells. Now alone in the dark, he must battle through the government bunker turned dungeon in a desperate bid for survival.
Escape is only the beginning, the first of his many problems in the changed world. Drew will be tasked to not only survive…but to guide the rest of humanity safely through the anarchy.
Storm Front: The Dresden Files, Book 1
Fun fact the audiobooks of this serie are narrated by James Marster the interpret of spike in buffy :) apparently he’s a fan and did an awesome job (i prefer reading myself so i dont know)
In the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series, Harry Dresden’s investigation of a grisly double murder pulls him into the darkest depths of magical Chicago…
As a professional wizard, Harry Dresden knows firsthand that the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most of them don’t play well with humans. And those that do enjoy playing with humans far too much. He also knows he’s the best at what he does. Technically, he’s the only at what he does. But even though Harry is the only game in town, business—to put it mildly—stinks. So when the Chicago P.D. bring him in to consult on a double homicide committed with black magic, Harry’s seeing dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry’s name… “
A great series—fast-paced, vividly realized and with a hero/narrator who’s excellent company.”—Cinescape