Thank you to Aethon Vault for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Peace, quiet, and magical warfare. Join the start of this hit action-fantasy LitRPG series and explore a world whose secrets have been buried under decades of war.
Retired from a decade of brutal war, powerful mage John Sutton wants nothing more than a quiet pastoral life while he does his best to stem the steady increase of his Doom Points before they hit 100, signaling the start of the apocalypse.
He’s been given a small farm on the outskirts of the empire as a thanks for his service, but no matter how far he travels, it’s impossible to escape the war’s devastating effects on the world.
Bandits, suspicious townsfolk, a mysterious pair of siblings, and a secret that lurks in the mountains all threaten John’s peace.
The end is drawing closer, and if the world won’t let him farm in peace, he’ll just have to burn the threats away—one “Doom Point” at a time.
Farming has never been so dangerous…
My Review
This is my new LitRPG obsession, and I plowed through it in two days. (Plow. Farming. Get it.) Battle Mage Farmer is the perfect blend of cozy slice of life cultivation LitRPG and gamified LitRPG, and coming from someone who typically finds farming LitRPGs a little too slow and cozy for her taste, that is genuinely high praise. There was just enough action, intrigue, and mystery to keep me turning pages way past my bedtime.
The premise is so good: John Sutton is a retired war mage who just wants to live out his days peacefully on a small farm while managing his Doom Points before they hit 100 and trigger the apocalypse. Normal retirement goals. The game mechanics are present but light, experienced only by John, which keeps things from getting too bogged down in numbers and systems. And yes, John is pretty overpowered from the start, but that completely makes sense given that this story takes place after a decade of brutal magical warfare. He’s not trying to flex his powers, he’s actively trying to hide them. I thought the balance of when he uses his abilities versus when he doesn’t was really well done.
But honestly? My favorite character is Ferdie the bull. John describes his behavior as dog-like almost immediately, and I was completely obsessed from that moment on. Between Ferdie and Sigvald the suspiciously intelligent rooster, something is clearly going on with the animals on this farm and I need answers. This book does a great job laying groundwork for some genuinely intriguing mysteries that have me very excited for the next eight books in this series. The slow burn romance setup between John and Ellie is also a highlight, and I love that they start as friends first. Nine books is a long time to let that simmer and I am here for it.
THE GOOD:
- The perfect balance of cozy farming LitRPG and action driven intrigue
- Ferdie the bull is an immediate all time great animal sidekick
- The game mechanics are light and only experienced by John, keeping things accessible
- John being OP makes complete narrative sense given his backstory
- The slow burn romance setup between John and Ellie is really sweet
- So many juicy mysteries set up for future books
THE NOT-AS-GOOD:
- If you’re strictly a cozy fantasy reader with no interest in action or conflict, be aware this has both
- John’s power level might bother readers who prefer an underdog protagonist from page one
THE NEUTRAL:
- This is book one of a nine book series, so manage expectations about how much gets resolved here
- Cultivation and farming LitRPG fans will feel right at home, but action fantasy readers will find plenty to enjoy too
OVERALL RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Battle Mage Farmer is an absolute blast of a LitRPG debut with a retired war mage trying his best to just grow some wheat, a suspiciously genius bull, and enough mystery and intrigue to keep you reading way past your bedtime.
PERFECT FOR:
- LitRPG fans looking for something with a cozy farming core and enough action to keep things interesting
- Readers who love a slow burn romance that has room to breathe over a long series
- Anyone who appreciates a protagonist who is powerful for genuinely earned reasons
- Fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl and He Who Fights With Monsters
- People who want to know why the farm animals are so suspiciously smart (same, honestly)
