The New Magic is the second book in the Outworlders crossrealm fantasy series by Joseph Malik. Released 30th Sept 2018 by the SFWA,it's 377 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio formats.

This is a juggernaut of a series. I honestly turned around immediately after reading the first book and re-read it. I almost never do that. Preparatory to reading The New Magic, I read the first book a third time. I have been so impressed by the author's technical expertise and the flawless, effortless command of both swordplay/armor jargon and more general writing. The characters live and breathe. The writing is spare, never grandiose. The dialogue is flawless. I was not yanked out of my suspension of disbelief one single time in either book, that's over 750 pages.

This is beefy campaign fantasy, and all the requisite features are there. Military campaign, strategic planning, bad guys with evil intentions, magic, swordplay (my word, the swordplay) and honestly everything that goes along with it. What I have been surprised is missing (and I have -looked-) is that this author, maybe uniquely, writes huge sprawling fantasy without misogyny . I've been a fan/nerd/whatever you want to call it since the 60s (seriously). I grew up in a family of nerds, I was the third generation of my family to read and love comics, and as a girl, I spent decades wondering -why- there were so few good role models for me. The few times there were really relatable female characters (not kneeling at the feet of their Gorean masters yes, John Norman, I'm side eying you!) they invariably died horribly being taught a lesson for their badassery. I'm exaggerating, but not a lot. Anyhow, this book. It's very refreshing that the whole he-man chest thumping isn't a thing. Competent people are competent and it's not a big deal whether they're male or female. THANK YOU!

I won't write a precis of the plotline, they're posted all over. The writing is much much better than good. The plotting and pacing are good if a trifle slow in the beginning. The denouement is absolutely gut-wrenching. It took me a lot time to review this book because it made such a deep impression.

In 20 years, this author will have a shelf full of SF/Fantasy awards; I'm calling it here in print. I've read several other reviewers making comparisons between Mr. Malik and GRR Martin and Joe Abercrombie. That comparison isn't really fair. Malik's better than both.

Five stars.

Great rollicking stuff in terms of plot, but could do with more plot elements other than fight, fight, fight. Generically, we're dealing with a mediaeval fantasy take on John Carter of Mars or the Gor books (but without the latter's sexual obsessions).
A good book for a rainy afternoon - it makes few intellectual demands on the reader and is a reasonably entertaining read. The detail of armour and arms is interesting enough to prompt me to look up sword-making sites, so you do learn something!
On balance, I'd probably give any sequels a read, but I don't share other reviewers' over the top responses.

This is the second book in the Outworlders series. I didn't read the first book but I believe this works as a stand alone. It is the tale of Jarrod the Merciful and Lord Protector in an alternate world where there are Faeries or Elves, ogres and all sorts of fantastical beings including winged horses. Jarrod is actually from earth but is thriving in this world of Falconsrealm until another earthling, Renaldo Salazar, begins to attack and conquer everything he has. There is enough military strategy, sword fighting and tactical maneuvering to excite anyone who is fond of battles. I like reading fantasy but this book focused mostly on war so I was not that interested in it. Also, the verbose writing style was difficult for me to read. Don't get me wrong, the descriptions are beautiful and the author paints a beautiful picture of this fantasy world but it was a little too much for me and felt superfluous at times. I think the author is a great writer but this book was not for me. I was given an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoy fantasy books so I was eager to read this book. I read it even though I have not read the first book in the series. I liked the premise of the book which is of a man from the United States who is transported into another world where he becomes a hero , of sorts. Jarrod is a knight who serves the Queen. There are 3 other men who have also transported and this story involves a lot of intrigue,and action. I am looking forward to the next book in the series but will go back and read the first book in the series.

With this being the second book I was not expecting it to be this good. I found myself glued to it. Mainly because the characters are so believable. The world comes to life around you, this gets a little graphic in some spots. I enjoy the humor and the tongue in cheek way of the men's dialogues. I find it refreshing that this is such a really smooth continuation. These would be a great way to get more men to read fantasy. My nephew loved the first one. Also, he knows I'm a reviewer. He asked me to tell him if I read it what's going on. I'm not letting him know that I was lucky enough to get an advance copy from NetGalley. But I will buy it for him when it comes out. That should explain my 5-star review.

The first book in this series was huge and this one has the same quality level.
It's well written, fast paced, and full of action. At times it's a bit too violent for my taste but I really liked it.
It's one of those book that makes you forget the passing of time.
A very good new fantasy author that confirmed the good impression of his first book.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

My review has been posted to Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)