First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston

Author : Cameron Johnston

Book : First Mage on the Moon

/ Fantasy /

Publication date : April 14, 2026

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Blurb:

Ella Pickering is drowning in debt. Once a Unity skymage trained to make aerial supply runs in the great war with the Ranneas Empire, following a crash she now uses a wheelchair and works gruelling shifts making magical weapons in the Unity workshops, thinking of better days.

One night Ella witnesses an experiment by engineer Jackan Grissom go awry. His device morphs into a crude rocket blasting skywards before falling into the war’s spell-ravaged No Man’s Land. But this inspires a dangerous could such a device reach the moon – the forbidden home of the gods? Could they go and beg them to stop the war?

They will need help, but as more folk get involved in their blasphemous plot, can they keep it under wraps? Can magic get them to the moon? Or will their heresy lead them to the gallows?

My thoughts:

I am a sucker for interesting covers, and that was the first thing that drew me in, making me want to know more. After reading the synopsis, I was officially hooked.

With every bit of resource invested in a war with no end in sight and an experiment for a supposedly new weapon going wrong ignites the spark of a new mission.

Ella is a skymage left in a wheelchair after a horrible accident that leaves her with a huge depth and forced to work a tedious job helping the war effort.

Jackan is an engineer working on a secretive new weapon until everything literally goes through the roof marking the beginning of a new circle of friendship and a new idea - can this thing fly to the moon?

I loved how each member of the crew had a distinctive and emotional reason to embark on this secret suicide mission and at the same time the common reason to gather them all - they wanted to show the world that there is more in the world than war, that their abilities can be used for a greater cause than weapons.

Katherine and Ella were so different from one another and such strong characters in their own sharp-minded and beautiful way and I really liked them both. As to Jackan, I can say he was the dragon heart of the team and the kindling that drove them forward with an unwavering belief that everything is possible if you put your mind to it and work hard.

Witnessing their long road of trial and error was at the same time fascinating and made me question "I can't believe they can pull it off there's no way." till the very end.

The ending was bittersweet and a perfect blend of heartbreak and a whiff of hope for a new beginning and a shift on the horizon.

Loved this journey to the moon and back😁❤️