The Reluctant Mage

Name: The Reluctant Mage
Author: Karen Miller

expanded novel 2010 Kingmaker, Kingbreaker

Record

First published	2010
Original language	EN
Work type	novel
Canon status	expanded
Reader rating	3.99 (4,727 ratings, collected 2026-09-11)
Internal chronology	4

Synopsis

The Reluctant Mage continues the story of Lur's magical crisis by following Deenie, sister of the mage Rafel, as she sets out on a dangerous journey to find her brother after he crossed beyond Barl's Mountains to seek help for their dying land. As she searches, Deenie begins to suspect that Rafel is entangled with something far worse than ordinary danger, and that the ancient evil their father once destroyed may somehow be stirring again. Fearing that this dark force could use her brother's own gifts to return to power, Deenie comes to realize that she alone may be the one person capable of stopping a catastrophe that threatens everyone she loves, forcing her to confront burdens she never expected to carry.

Where it sits

Universe: Kingmaker, Kingbreaker
Series: Fisherman's Children expanded; position 2 of 2 in the series' recorded order
Author: Karen Miller

Notes

From the series record (Fisherman's Children): Sequel duology continuing the story a generation later through Asher's children; classified Expanded, since the original Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology (Asher's own story) is a complete, self-contained arc on its own.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

Publication order, within the series Fisherman's Children: position 2 of 2: previous The Prodigal Mage (2009)
Internal chronology, within Kingmaker, Kingbreaker: position 5 of 5: previous The Prodigal Mage (2009)

Sources

← Kingmaker, Kingbreaker dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.