Death Mage

Prof Croft, Book 4

By: Brad Magnarella

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Playing fast and loose with the Order's rules has finally caught up with me.

Sentenced to hunt down a cagey insurgent known as the Death Mage, I'm not feeling overly optimistic. Wizards with far more experience have tried and, well...died.

But overmatched or not, I want this assignment. The Death Mage killed my mother - he might also be my father.

I can't lose my head, though. The mage wields an evil, mind-warping magic. A power that undermines his victims' sanity while pledging their souls to an ancient being and devourer of worlds.

How would I even know if his magic was corrupting me?

Or is it already?

©2017 Brad Magnarella (P)2017 Brad Magnarella

Wonderful story from a really good writer.

I really like the writing style of Brad Magnarella and this book does not disappoint. Great story line and a very well read audiobook keeps your attention. Looking forward to his next book.

Best so far

I really enjoyed and have blown through the books in the series to this point. This one was my favorite so far, both in performance and storyline.

Entertaining. Intriguing and lots of action.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend this series to friends who like books on Magic/action and an interesting protagonist. Worth a credit.

Have you listened to any of James Patrick Cronin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, he performs quite well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

I would definitely continue this series. I hope book 5 will be published soon.

Great series and 4th book

This series started out as a good wizard story where the main character is well developed. It’s nice to have the main character not over powered and usually out of his league. Prof Croft is also actually nice meek guy and not your standard raging a##hole bc he has powers and no fear like other wizards I have read. Now the series took a hard left this book and put a huge twist on the last 3 books I didn’t see coming! Brings a lot of pieces together and makes the entire series that much better, if your into fantasy/magic with mystery thriller spin then trust me start this series with book 1! If you have read the first 3 and aren’t sure trust me you will want to read this 4th book. Can’t wait to see where it goes after this!

Great Ending - sad to see it end!

Who’s my daddy? Dark mage to Croft… “Croft I am your father” The verification of that question, dark mage being Croft’s father, is the main theme. This story has many similarities to Dark Vadar and Luke Skywalker; father and son battles, battles to save the world, family lineage revealed, sons hidden from evil forces for protection, and the untrained potential of a son.

From the last story we know that Croft was determined to find out about his mother’s death. Discovering anything about his father was considered a bonus point. Croft’s dad was Marlow, the maniacal evil magician of the Front, an organization out to destroy the world. His mom, Eve, was Marlow’s disciple.

Croft’s must take a journey into his family’s past to save the millions of souls in the world. There is a computer saying, garbage in garbage out. That means, if you program with the incorrect information, garbage, the results will be garbage. In bouncing between the Order and the Front for information Croft must decide which organization is giving him garbage. To ratchet up the tension, there is a 4-day deadline, which includes a round trip to Romania, until fissure is open enough to let the destroyer of souls come through.

Vegas does not play much of an active role in this installment. There are just phone calls between Croft and her to discuss the state of the crazies destroying the city.Croft does make a new friend, James Wesson, another magic user. Croft’s gets that bro envy when James displays better tricks and has better/longer training.

Luck – if you are an urban fantasy fan, we love the protagonist. He/she is honorable and goes against insurmountable odds to do what is right. Remember that long climb of Fordo to Mount Doom? LUCK is the factor to enable our heroes to win.

I will applaud Brad Magnarella, for his handling of the, finding the item, which will kill the antagonistic. Over a decade had passed since Croft’s grandfather collected magical items. That secretive place was raided by Arnaud and others to finally have Croft get all the items together. Or did he?
*** spoiler *** Croft back tracks and returns to his grandfather’s original hiding place, yes, the one Arnaud raided. I am tapping my foot and screaming to myself saying, “Magnarella you better not have taken the cop out and have Baneblade sitting where Croft can find it!” After a zillion searches, (ok I am exaggerating) do not let Croft enter that chamber and do the Croft family dance and find what others could not. Magnarella did give it a unique twist.

He used the, throw everything including the kitchen sink in the pit, to hopeful stumble upon the artifact that will save the world. Croft having exhausted all the magical wands, maces and amulets in his sack, and with enemies behind and ahead says, “C’mon, dammit, I thought [Croft thinking], digging in the sack. It has to be one of you”

I am sorry to read the last of the Croft series. He will be a bit player making cameo appearances in other stories. Brad Magnarella mentioned, maybe sending Croft to visit James. Like many of you, I can think of many ways to continue the Croft adventures. But that is not our call. So thanxs Brad for all the Croft stories.

Left My Head Spinning

This book left my head spinning with all of the potential. There were too many potential bad guys. There were too many scenarios. There were too many illusions or hallucinations. And too many crazies in this book.

Great read! Captivating story.

Wow! What a ride!

urban-fantasy, madness, mage, magic, action-adventure, suspense, fantasy, family-dynamics -----
Wow! What a ride! The death mage twists Croft's perception of reality so that he has to doubt everything he's ever known. The essence of evil also invades Manhattan and the populace goes crazy with rioting without purpose. Croft is taken to unfamiliar realms and fights some of the most disgusting creatures ever encountered. Fast paced and fascinating! Had to just keep reading until finished.

Love this Narrator

James Patrick Cronin makes Prof Croft come alive. His performance of all 4 Prof Croft books is right on the money. This story isn't hard to follow and the narrator's voice is easy to understand. It's a great series and book - I'll follow this narrator to any book.

I finished

the wolf book in the partner series before this one, bit of a mistake.

but I can't wait to see who gets recruited next. I'm actually hoping it is Ulga. I would really enjoy seeing her come back into play with her "non magical" solutions.