Thrice Cursed Mage Books In Order

Publication Order of Thrice Cursed Mage Books

Thrice Cursed Mage is a series of fantasy fiction thrillers by popular American author J.A. Cipriano. Cipriano published the first novel in The Thrice Cursed Mage series of novels “Cursed” in 2017, which introduced the lead character Mac Brennan. With “Cursed” going on to become one of the most popular urban fantasy fiction novels in its year of publication, Cipriano went on to publish several more titles that were just as warmly received by its legion of fans. The urban fantasy series of novels are about Mac Brennan, a man that made a deal with the devil and is now paying the price for his actions. Greatly influenced by Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files”, the series of novels and its main character borrow many elements from the author’s favorite writer. Some of the important elements include the first person narration that is found in both series of novels. Harry Dresden the private investigator and wizard also has some uncanny resemblance to Mac Brennan the lead in the novels, particularly his methods of investigation into the paranormal in his city. Cipriano has also asserted that the science fiction, horror, and mystery of Dean Koontz have been massive has influences on his writing, and this explains the combination of suspense thriller, mystery, and fantasy in the novels in the series. Over the course of the series, we follow the lead character Mac Brennan as he battles, demons, gargoyles, werewolves, and death cults that want to harm him and his family for his refusal to honor his deal with the devil.

The premise of the Thrice Cursed by Mage series is the Faustian deal that Mac Brennan made with the devil. The protagonist is something of a combination of Harry Dresden with his self-deprecating and smooth voice, and Jason Bourne with his loss of memory. Living in an antagonistic world where he has to fight gargoyles, demons, and werewolves, Brennan wakes up to unimaginable powers. His left hand is pitch-black and full of red tattoos courtesy of having made a deal with the devil that has made him incredibly powerful. Now he has the power to fight and defeat most of the paranormal creatures in his world with ease, with just a few choice magical phrases that invoke his dark powers. The stories in the novel are set in a world where werewolves, vampires, and gargoyles roam free and unrecognized except for the fact that they tend to congregate at certain safe locations. Over the course of the novels, Brennan is blackmailed into killing the enemies of the demons he had made a pact with, who threaten to kill his family if he does not comply. Nonetheless, it is important to note that even as he has sold his soul to the devil and has become a dark mindless killer, he is a natural hero and will do anything when it comes to his family and the defenseless. What is most intriguing about Brennan apart from his unlimited powers is that he is a very confident protagonist. He believes that he can do almost anything and most of the time he delivers, especially if the life of one of his loved ones is at stake.

The Thrice Cursed Mage series of novels is an amazing series full of druids, demons, werewolves, vampires and humans that gain demonic powers from making a pact with the devil. The story begins with the lead character Brennan waking up in a dumpster with no memory of how he came to be there and subsequently finding out that he had made a deal to serve the devil in exchange for demonic powers. Even as all of the novels feature Brennan as the lead protagonist, they may be read as standalones given their different settings and story lines. Unlike some other urban fantasy novels such as Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files”, the lead does not have much of character development given that he has amnesia. He does not know whether he is a psycho killer or a nice guy turned bad. Nevertheless, given that he lacks a point of reference for who he is he rarely questions his own feelings and actions. The novels go at a fast pace given that the entire plot sequence of a single book hardly takes 24 hours of full on action filled with paranormal fights. The series of novels have many references to Comic, TV, popular Film, and even book series from the Terminator to gremlins to Harry Dresden. The series of novels with its adrenaline rush, nonstop action, and humorous one-liners is a fantasy buff dream series.

“Cursed” the first novel in the series is an enthralling introduction to The Thrice Cursed Mage series of novels. Mac Brennan just woke up an amnesia in a dumpster with a feeling that there was something important he had to do, and that he did not have enough time. His arm black as tar and full of glowing red tattoos, he knows something terrible must have happened to him. He soon finds out that he is cursed having sold his soul to a demon to acquire superhuman powers. He does not remember ever selling his soul and even worse, he does not know how to put his newfound powers to use. Sera his sister takes him to a specialist that she believes will help him understand his new self. The specialist turns out to be a vampire and a druid and part of a death cult of magicians. While he is busy performing the initiation rituals, Sera is kidnapped by another demon, and he now has to find and save her even as his time is running out. The demon that has kidnapped his sister Sarah is one of the most vicious, particularly given that Brennan is not one of the deadliest or scariest of the paranormal community. What follows is an exciting action filled narrative as the protagonist stumbles across his powers in the quest to save his sister and solve his multitude of problems.

“Marked” the second novel in the Thrice Cursed by Mage series of novels is a riveting, action packed, and magical story with more mayhem and murder than a Quentin Tarantino story. Full of sirens, gargoyles, werewolves, demons and all kinds of paranormal creatures, the action is a lot of fun especially given the wisecracking humor of the protagonist, who never seems to have a moment of introspection. Picking up where the first novel stopped, Mac Brennan now has a little bit of his memory back, including what his previous life was like. However, he still does not have much understanding of the big picture, only knowing that he needs to kill the kidnapper of his nephew and sister Pierce Ambrose. The story is a fast paced action sequence with Brennan and his girlfriend Ricky the werewolf slashing and shooting the bad guys. He finally comes to learn to that he has to kill Pierce the alpha werewolf, who gets a high from making beautiful werewolves submit to him. With his sister and nephew held hostage, it is a high stakes game that Brennan knows he must play carefully if he is to get back his loved ones safe.

One Response to “Thrice Cursed Mage”

1. Fred Morris Napier: 5 years ago

   The links to amazon are all currently dead. 4/24/2019

   Reply