Free (Kindle/Kobo/iTunes) Novice by Taran Matharu [YA War Magic School High Fantasy]

[ATDrake]

Novice by British author Taran Matharu (ISFDB, Fantastic Fiction), who apparently got his start via a popular online serial on Wattpad, is the 1st novel in his Summoner trilogy of YA student adventure fantasy set in a war-torn Empire where demon-summoning is taught at a prestigious academy for the magically gifted to turn them into battlemages, this installment introducing the series' hero, a former blacksmith's apprentice who accidentally discovers his aptitude for demon-summoning and is also incidentally chased from his village for a crime he didn't commit, seeking refuge and training at the military academy where his fellow students and the machinations of their noble families may prove even more dangerous than staying at home would have been, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Hodder's Children's Books imprint.

This is the featured Free Book of the Week in the iTunes UK store. Apparently this is being made free to promote the newly released 3rd in the trilogy, which seems to be set to go the route of the “increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy”, since there appears to be a 4th novel slated for next year as well.

Currently free, probably through Monday when these things tend to rotate @ Amazon UK, iTunes UK, Google Play, Kobo (available to UK, and also Europe when I spot-checked assorted regional store, YMMV)

There are also two free tie-in prequel shorts offered as long-term introductory freebies in various regions: Origins & A Fine Welcome: Othello's Journey

Unlikely to cross the pond, as the North American rights to this are owned by Macmillan (Hodder is owned by Hachette), but their version is on sale for just $2.99 at the moment at all retailers.

Description
Demons, magic and epic adventure - introducing the first book in the New York Times bestselling Summoner series ... described as 'Harry Potter meets Lord of the Rings meets Pokemon'.

Fletcher was nothing more than a humble blacksmith's apprentice, when a chance encounter leads to the discovery that he has the ability to summon demons from another world. Chased from his village for a crime he did not commit, he must travel with his demon to the Vocans Academy, where the gifted are trained in the art of summoning.

The academy will put Fletcher through a gauntlet of gruelling lessons, training him as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire's war against the savage orcs. Rubbing shoulders with the children of the most powerful nobles in the land, Fletcher must tread carefully. The power hungry Forsyth twins lurk in the shadows, plotting to further their family's interests. Then there is Sylva, an elf who will do anything she can to forge an alliance between her people and Hominum, even if it means betraying her friends. Othello is the first ever dwarf at the academy, and his people have long been oppressed by Hominum's rulers, which provokes tension amongst those he studies alongside.

Fletcher will find himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with nothing but his demon Ignatius to help him. As the pieces on the board manoeuvre for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands ...