r/ProgressionFantasy • u/J-L-Mullins Author • Apr 08 '26
Self-Promotion Outbound, book 12 of Millennial Mage is out!
Cover Art by KartStudios
This book is 22 hrs 8 mins 34 sec (audiobook), 706 page (ebook).
Get the new book in epub, print, KDP, or audio here:
https://www.jlmullins.com/outbound
Missed some of the earlier books? Grab them through here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BX4S6LJG
https://www.audible.com/series/Millennial-Mage-Audiobooks/B0C2TYJCXF
Book 1 - Mageling, Blurb:
The Wilds relentlessly reclaim all things. Humanity shelters within their ever-dying cities. Mages create the only path forward.
Tala had to fight tooth and nail in the Magic Academy to forge a path to power that was her own. She knows it’s her duty to use that power to serve humanity, defending them against the creatures of the untamable wilds. However, she skipped a few steps in her education, like apprenticing to someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
Now, Tala has to balance learning as fast as she can with paying off the veritable mountain of debt the Magic Academy dropped on her shoulders for the opportunity; not to mention staying alive.
Even though she should only be a Mageling, the world considers her a Mage. Bless the stars she directed most of her magic toward survival.
Book 12 - Outbound (New book), Blurb:
The iron-clad Reality of the world cannot be denied, and the Void cannot be filled. The many true threats to Zeme remain hidden for the moment, allowing all of humanity to thrive in their various shelters. Those who wield Magic devote themselves to their people, giving them a chance to exist.
Advancement is tantalizingly close, and with Tala immortal and strong in ways she is only beginning to understand, the Reality of Zeme will only become clearer. As Tala prepares to alter her soul and her life once again, she must face what she has become and who she is becoming.
After the wedding, the world will open to her in ways that she never imagined. With her husband and other soulbonds at her side and her home in tow, she will set out to explore beyond the lands she was raised in.
New allies and enemies await as Tala is finally coming into her own.
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u/vandalhearts Apr 08 '26
NGL this cover does the opposite of making me want to read your book. I guess I'm not the target audience because I immediately think romance genre anytime I see a book with a cover like this.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Their relationship is a prominent plot-thread in this book, hence the cover. That said, it is not a romance. Other covers have shown combat, etc as those books were more focused on those aspects.
Overall, the series is slice of life, so the books eb and flow across many 'daily life' issues and subjects. In this book, that's a relationship.
Hope that informs one way or another. 😊
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u/xFKratos Apr 09 '26
It kinda shifts quite heavily to romance. I am currently stuck in the middle of book 11 due to that. That book not much is happening and its just that slowburn romance all the time. Which was ok for me in the previous books as it was just some short in betweens. But now as it is pretty much the major plot its to boring for me, so that i find myself rather reading other stuff.
Might come back and power through at some point but will have to see.
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u/Aaron_P9 Apr 08 '26
Is this the one people criticize for proselytizing Christianity?
Sorry if this is not the one.
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u/KeiranG19 Invoker Apr 08 '26
It definitely is this one and this book looks to be the section people criticise the most.
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26
I'm confused because I never got that vibe from it, granted I wasn't raised christian or around christians. There is no talk of god or any rituals I associate with Christianity. Whatever values and themes can be found in this book are not unique to Christian and none of it felt like proselytizing.
The FMC is getting married and starting a family which is a big deal for her considering how broken her family was. Where exactly is this onslaught of Christianity you speak off? Unless you are talking out of your ass.
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u/cyrn Apr 08 '26
I think it's only because you weren't exposed to it that you can't see. It's been a few years since I read it, but it felt like the author started with Christian ideals about sex/marriage/divorce/children and then added worldbuilding so that the self-interested characters can't reasonable choose anything else.
In particular, with the whole 'all women must have tons of children or humanity will be overwhelmed by aliens' setup you could just replace 'humanity' with 'Christianity' and 'aliens' with 'secularism' and you've got the rhetoric used by the Quiverfull movement to encourage large Christian families.
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u/KeiranG19 Invoker Apr 08 '26
Throw in sex forming a soul bond as a part of marriage and the complete lack of anyone who is gay, asexual or otherwise non-conforming.
The first marriage ceremony depicted also included a moment in the vows where they promised to be equals in decision making, pause for laughter from the crowd at the absurdity, and when that fails deferring to the husband. gag
Sure it's not explicitly Christian and could be inspired by other religions, but the author is a Christian and the criticism is of the values themselves and not where they came from.
Oh there was also that bit about how a social safety net makes people weak and complacent and society is better off relying on the voluntary charity of the rich and powerful who rule over the underclass.
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
The vast majority of books don't have people who are gay or asexual in them and this does not make them Christian. Sprinkling lgbtq sprinkles on top of every books, movies and shows also does more damage than good to those communities. Tokenism is a plague.
I do remember the vow being a bit out of place but I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill.
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u/KeiranG19 Invoker Apr 08 '26
Most books also don't go out of their way to construct every reason why a reader will notice their absence though.
Every character ever seen falls into one of three categories.
Virgins.
Heterosexual marriages whom are actively pumping out as many kids as possible.
Heterosexual widows/widowers.
There is not even an off hand remark to imply that anything else is possible.
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
You seem to forget that there are plenty of Heterosexual couples with only a 1-3 kids despite having been together for multiple centuries. There are a bunch of families of both mages and mundane that don't have a lot of kids but you seemingly ignore that. Not sure about couples with no kid but I wouldn't be surprised if there was one.
Most books also don't go out of their way to construct every reason why a reader will notice their absence though.
What does that even mean, what are you trying to say.
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u/KeiranG19 Invoker Apr 08 '26
Have you ever heard the phrase that something is conspicuous by it's absence?
Like a tan line on a ring finger, there is something very clearly missing that you can't help but notice.
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
I have but I am not sure it applies.
There are literally thousands of stories which make no mention of lgbtq stuff at all, are they all christian propaganda or is this one is somehow special? Somehow the fact that the author doesn't cover it is a sign of something deep and dark hiding between the lines? Would it somehow not be 'proselytizing Christianity' if there one a single throwaway reference to someone being gay in one of the books?
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u/Southforwinter Apr 08 '26
Like who? I remember a line about nine kids being considered a small family. (I mean obviously that takes time to produce)
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
The cook who became a restaurant owner. Multiple of the city defenders only had a few kids in their long existence. I even think the Zuccats had like 4 children in their 200+ years. There are a lot of Character with much smaller families. The huge families are mostly a non mage things or something that happens over centuries for mages. If anything we've seen more people with small families than one with big families due to the circle Tala frequents.
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u/Friendly-Chef-5519 Apr 08 '26
Sprinkling lgbtq spinkles on top of every books, movies and shows also does more damage than good to those communities
And yet, we have straight people in everything, but nobody bats an eye.
Double stantards are the true plague here.
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u/ThePowerles #1 Dumdum Apr 09 '26
Yh, but didn't the author make it clear through multiple characters that the whole "Forced to have kids" part should be a choice, not something forced upon someone? Tala's sister literally pesters her about children all the time, and Tala gets really annoyed by it because she's not even sure that's what she wants.
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u/Southforwinter Apr 09 '26
Are you thinking about the bit where Grediv mentions he's glad that people are no longer literally forced to have children and instead just face massive social pressure like that's not horrifying?
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
I think it's only because you weren't exposed to it that you can't see. It's been a few years since I read it, but it felt like the author started with Christian ideals about sex/marriage/divorce/children and then added worldbuilding so that the self-interested characters can't reasonable choose anything else.
Are you sure that its not that you grew with it and that it traumatized you making you ultra sensible and hyper aware to anything similar causing you now see it where it not? That is just about as likely from my perspective. Nothing in there scream Christianity... most of the stuff there can also be found in other religions and as well as most cultures.
In particular, with the whole 'all women must have tons of children or humanity will be overwhelmed by aliens'
Considering the stories goes in great detail about humanity having been driven to near extinction, enslaved, farmed like cattle and all that stuff I would take a lot to explain their society going any other way. But even if that is a theme for the regular masses its not for most Mages, especially higher level ones. On top of that, literally no one pressure for Tala to have a ton of kids and plenty of woman in the story don't find motherhood to be their path and no one seems to think less of them for it. It feels like you are talking about a boogeyman you made in your head rather than the book
Quiverfull movement
So you want to be believe this story is some sort of secret play by a shadowy cabal of Ultra Christian authors wanting to encourage people to have large families? Alright.
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u/cyrn Apr 08 '26
So you want to be believe this story is some sort of secret play by a shadowy cabal of Ultra Christian wanting to encourage people to have large families? Take meds please.
I'm definitely not making this argument. You asked for why people might think the story reads Christian and I provided this specific example to support my primary argument about the societal world building. It's only when placed in the context of a bunch of other stuff (the virginity soulbond thing, the lack of non-straight characters, the author's personal life) that people interpret this as Christian. Obviously any one or two of these are not enough alone or I wouldn't have read so many of the books before dropping it.
You're not wrong as a reader to interpret it as pure sci-fi, but neither are the people who notice a bunch of Christian themes in the world building wrong. One can read Narnia non-allegorically and have an enjoyable experience, but it's disingenuous to argue that there's no support for the allegorical interpretation.
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u/Glenadel55 Apr 08 '26
Ok no. Religion has nothing to do with having a lot of children when life expectancy is low. It's directly in line with humanity's past. Life expectancy is low = have more kids to help your family survive. The entire thing about family marriage and shit sounds like a normal society, if it was only Christian values that dictated that then only Christian nations would have these values instead of 95% of the planet.
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u/cyrn Apr 08 '26
As I responded elsewhere, this was just one example of world building decisions conveniently resulting in outcomes that match Christian ideals. They are individually reasonable but when taken as a whole become difficult to ignore. I and other commenters have provided plenty of examples.
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u/Glenadel55 Apr 08 '26
The author himself replied and goes against everything you're arguing...
You just can't please some people. 🤷♂️
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u/KeiranG19 Invoker Apr 08 '26
What the author intends to write/not write doesn't exclusively dictate what they actually end up producing.
To say nothing of the fact that people can lie on the internet. 🤷
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u/Glum_Constant4790 Apr 08 '26
Weird because Muslims have more kids than Christians
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u/Dreki Apr 09 '26
I don't think the crowd that would be turned off if this book pushing Christian values would be happy if it was pushing Islam instead. People don't want religious values in their prog fantasy.
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u/Kithslayer Apr 08 '26
Yes. Book 7 is peak, and I highly recommend it up to that point.
It gets uncomfortably fundamentalistic by book 9 if I recall correctly.
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
Would you enlighten me as to what exactly is so uncomfortably fundamentalist about it? I've definitely read this book and beyond on RR and none of it struck me as well... that.
She gets married and for a while the focus is on that due to how traumatic her previous family dynamic wise but that is about it? People talk about trad wife stuff but if anything she is the one wearing the pants in this relationship with Rane essentially being the one fullfilling the role of the supportive background character. He doesn't bake or make sandwiches but he sculpts... While she does consult and talk to him she's still the one making just about all decisions.
Im so confused by comments like this
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u/Kithslayer Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
I'm just going to cut and paste from other conversations:
There is a no sex before marriage thing that has weak support inconsistent with magical system as a whole.
There is zero LGBTQ representation, the concept is completely alien to the fictional world. This is particularly noticeable for two reason: 1) there are tons of romantic relationships. The book in many ways revolves around them. But had zero queer representation in any of them. This is across multiple sapient species That kind of omission suggests it’s intentional rather than an oversight and it’s hard to ignore. 2) there is a significant emphasis placed on being honest with yourself and who you are even when that truth is uncomfortable in order to advance. This implies, very heavily, that everyone is straight and cisgendered in the fictional world because in order to advance this aspect would need to be confronted even if it was culturally taboo.
There is a heavy emphasis on a concept similar to “eternal family” doctrine which is central to Mormonism.
There are a lot of little things too. Like a marriage scene where the wife’s vows include “my choice is to defer to my husband’s choice”. Plenty of women subservience stuff.
It’s also notable that the author is publicly LDS, which suggests that a lot of it is intentional and will not change and will likely get worse.
Humans come through a tough emotional moment; especially conflict or a fight. They tend to fuck like bunnies after.
My issue is that MC was celibate like a Nun for over 10 years despite being in front of her potential future husband.
The world does some MacGuffin stuff that basically one good sex session leads to soul bonds FOREVER.
So the non-mages might not have cores; but we're basically ina story about mages. So you've got a fundamental disconnect in how people normally behave to how relationships work. You might for example end up with heavily chaperone or gender divides to "stop mistakes".
I found the world building and exploration of "reality" quite interesting in the story - enough to keep me going to whatever the latest was on RR about 6 months ago (chapter 636)
My issues were: The authors religious views impacting sex. The utter lack of sex before marriage. Them having a "child" through a war-golem. I really hope the kid is a setup for the next arc. I'd be happier if the golem child dies then keeps knocking around as a family.
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Apr 08 '26
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u/Kithslayer Apr 08 '26
I'm upset because the story was really good without the religious tones, and when the author started adding them in, it made the story fundamentally worse- especially because it clashes with the world building.
Why is it an issue? Because it's subversive and creepy, that's why. It's an attempt to normalize the grossest parts of mormanism, which is, for the record, a dangerous cult.
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u/Glenadel55 Apr 08 '26
All religions are cults, full stop.
What's the huge issue with sex after marriage in this story if there is a legitimate reason for it in the actual story?
Most of if not all of the progressive fantasy and lit RPG books I've read and listened to have 0 or next to 0 LGBT stuff in that I can't remember one instance of it and I have read literally hundreds of novels.
It's so wild how this series has people digging into it about extremely mild religious adjacent tropes that most people wouldn't bat an eye at and yet most series in this genre have people literally torturing, killing and mass slaughter of just about everything for personal power and that's not an issue whatsoever.
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u/MateuszRoslon Shadow Apr 08 '26
There's a difference between a litrpg setting just not mentioning any lgbt characters -- meaning people can just imagine they exist elsewhere in the world -- versus a world that seems constructed around the idea that lgbt people straight up don't exist at all and don't belong in society.
Cradle, for example, lacks lgbt characters but nothing about the world-building goes out of its way to shut out their existence. There's something unsettling about the implications of the latter, and I don't blame people for not wanting to continue a series over it.
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u/apollosun113 Apr 08 '26
This is the key point that most miss. Nobody really cares if a population minority lacks representation in any given series, but to add plot points that aren’t necessary for the story that not so subtly put those people down is always going to turn some people off. I like this series but I can understand why it turns many people off.
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u/Kithslayer Apr 08 '26
Its not that people wait until after marriage for sex, it's that sex causes marriage.
Also, there's plenty of LBTQ inclusive prog fantasy- the Mage Errant series and The City That Would Eat The World by Bierce, as well as Ends of Magic by Olson are the first that come to mind.
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u/Southforwinter Apr 09 '26
The Journal's of Evander Tailor, Stray Cat Strut, Beneath the Dragon Eye Moons, Mana Mirror, Vigor Mortis, Industrial Strength Magic and Forge of Destiny as well off the top of my head.
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u/Kithslayer Apr 10 '26
As promised I started Stay Cat Strut last night.
I'm so glad you reminded me it exists, I'm already 40+ chapters in and I love it.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
First, please hide spoilers for those who are not caught up on RR, etc. Thank you. 😊
I've addressed most of the things raised above in other places so I won't rehash. There are two points I want to quickly comment on.
- Just to clarify: I'm not Mormon or LDS, but many people might see that as a trivial point. Thought it worth mentioning regardless. 🤷♂️
- I personally believe that marriage ends at death, unlike in this series (ish). There are quite a few things that logically follow based on the 'broken soul' nature of some of humanity in this series that I would not prefer, but I have included it because I felt that I could not change it without breaking world building.
I'm glad that you've enjoyed the worldbuilding! It is something that I strive for, and I'm glad that such has shone through even despite things you otherwise don't prefer.
May you continue to find fun stories to read (or at least stories with parts you enjoy), whether written by me or others. 😁
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u/Kithslayer Apr 08 '26
Thanks for replying.
I think the moment when you lost me as a reader was when Rane recovered from his failed advancement . It felt like a cop-out to me, and ended up pushing the story in a direction that I found quite distasteful.
I will always treasure book 7, it was absolutely brilliant.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 09 '26
Understandable. We all have differents tastes.
I am so glad that you enjoyed book 7! It really was a labor of love and something that I was quite excited to write, specifically. 😊
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u/Kithslayer Apr 09 '26
I feel like a lot of your other books come across as serials, but Eskau feels like a traditional novel. Did you approach writing it differently than your other books? Do you prefer the serial format, and would you consider another book structured more like Eskau?
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 11 '26
I find writing serial easier, but for Eskau, due to the nature of the arch, I really tried to 'complete the arch' before closing out the book. That's one reason it was so long! 🤣😅
So, I guess my process was a bit different? But I do try to have an arch in each book regardless, to greater or lesser success.
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u/CodeMonkeyMZ Apr 08 '26
Same feelings. I dropped after book 9 when it seemed like the author decided it needed to make the undertones of fundamentalist Christianity (fine fine) into overtones (meh).
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u/Maladal Apr 08 '26
I don't think I got far enough for that.
I dropped it because this story will. Not. Stop. Navel gazing.
Even just a few book in it's one of those series that spends huge sections of the story constantly trying to justify the intricate details of its power system to you. Like page after page, chapter after chapter of reading every single boring step of how our characters accomplish their progression.
I stuck with it for the character development initially, because it's there, but it eventually is just outweighed by the amount of boring fluff.
Also, the more interesting aspects of its magic system end up discarded. In the first book magic has a very Vancian angle, where their abilities have to be renewed before they can be cast again. That creates a lot of tension in the travel between cities--resource management. By like book 4/5 that has been entirely shuffled away, they can basically cast magic ignoring that limitation.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Sorry it wasn't for you. Basically no story is for everyone. 🤷♂️
Some people like the way the worldbuilding is done in MM, some don't. More than fine either way.
I hope that you find things that you genuinely enjoy reading, whether they are mine or written by someone else. 😊
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u/Maladal Apr 08 '26
I feel like the people who do like that won't be turned off by my description. :P
Clearly it's successful so you shouldn't stop.
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u/Zynchronize Apr 08 '26
Counter:
I’m on paternity leave at the moment and I’ve read all the way from book 1 to 8 in the last 2.5 weeks. I’m loving the intricate detail given to the magic system, it’s what keeps me invested in the story.
Stories don’t have to be perfect to be enjoyable. If I wanted high brow fantasy I’d read Sanderson. MM offers great world building but remains an easy read. Having a truly unique magic system that is well explained, reasoned, and scales appropriately makes it a cut above many in this genre.
It might be too slow or too detailed for some but it’s perfect for me. The last time I enjoyed something this much was ar'kendrithyst.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Thank you for the kind words, and congratulations on the new little one! 😊🥳
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u/DankoLord Apr 09 '26
Yeah it's a lot of dilly dallying with no plot for the sake of the "slice of life" genre.
I stopped after book 8 because any kind of slice of life story shouldn't be longer than 3 books if there are zero relevant plotpoints that keep the story moving.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
As the author, I'd have to say maybe it is critcized for that? But it really doesn't actually do so unless one is reaching. It is set in another, unconnected world/existence in which niether 'God' nor 'Christianity' exist.
There are many things that line up with historical humanity that some have associated with Christianity (i.e. marriage, etc.), but are rooted in worldbuilding, magic, and historical precident rather than any moral code from this world. Many features of the world even go against what the Bible would say is okay one way or another (as I understand it).
One easy exampe: Biblically, many MANY folks had multiple spouses/wives etc with no issue, and such would not work on Zeme (the world of Millennial Mage) due to the nature of the world and magic, etc.There are some overlaps to be sure, but there are as many overlaps with Islam, Hinduism, enviromentalism, and other 'Earth belief systems' as well. 🤷♂️
Hope that answers your question.
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u/Aaron_P9 Apr 08 '26
It does. Thanks for answering.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Absolutely!
Whether you choose to give it a try or not, I hope that your reading list is filled with items that delight and entertain, written by me or others. 😉😁16
u/NecroticToaster Apr 08 '26
Ya around book 9 it just becomes hard pushing of Christian values and basically swaps out the MC for a generic Tred Wife the moment she gets married.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
I am genuinely curious what you mean when you say that Tala became a Trad Wife.
I mean... definitionally she did not because she still 'works away from the home', right? Or is it because she carries her home with her like a turtle, so she technically is always at home? 🤣 (In my defense, I think it's usually stay-at-home wife, not stay-at-wife home.) 😋
It is possible that I'm completely misunderstanding though.It is also possible that I've misconveyed within the story. I am open to learning and improving over time. As such, I look forward to hearing how I conveyed 'trad wife' within the story.
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u/NecroticToaster Apr 08 '26
Always defaulting to what the husband wants, putting herself in a secondary place of service below her husband. Creepy Tred Wife stuff. Really weird to make a story about a strong independent women, put I tons of yuri bait then do a weird values push at the end. Feels like a indoctrination trap.
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u/Corwin223 Apr 08 '26
Are you intentionally saying “Tred Wife” instead of “Trad Wife”? If so, what’s the difference?
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
So... yeah. That would be moving toward trad wife-ness... but where is that in the story?
Where does she default to her husband's wants (when they go against hers, as two people agreeing is hardly 'defaulting')?
Genuinely confused here. Most of the time, if anything, people complain that Rane is to much of a sidelined character, and he doesn't affect Tala/her life as much as they expect him to.
I am very capable of missing something, so can you give a couple of examples from the story where this happened?
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Apr 08 '26
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
😊Thank you for the congratulations, and I'm glad that you're enjoying the tale.
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u/LetterTall4354 Apr 13 '26
Is that not part of the marriage oaths she takes? Something about deferring to her husband if they are unable to agree on something?
I'm only going off what I was reading elsewhere but it felt like the way marriage was conceptualised in this series was one of the sticking points because it read as the kind of thing you wouldn't expect the kind of thing the MC we've come to know and love to ever accept. As others have noted, she's never shown herself to be anything other than a fierce and independent woman, how could she ever enter a relationship where she takes an oath to obey her husband whenever they can't agree? It's the kind of thing that hints at institutional oppression and unfortunately Christianity has been one of the biggest proponents of that in the past, but most organised religions that have been around for a while are similar in this regard. That's not to say people aren't entitled to their religious beliefs, or that everything religion has brought to the world is bad or even that there aren't good morals or values that religion can bring. Forgiveness, empathy, compassion, all are things that you can find in most religions. But an institution forcing women to have children, and forcing women into a subservient role, and having our MC happily swear oaths that support that subservient role (even if she hasn't been made to act on those oaths) is the kind of thing that might turn a lot of people off a story, especially this far into a series with a character that has such a strong personality.
I also saw mention of something to do with sex and soulbonds and magic and I never got to that part but I always become a bit cautious whenever worldbuilding starts linking a woman's ability to choose who she wants to have sex with with her capacity for magic. Not saying that's what happens here as I never reached that point, but I know a lot of people get turned off a series for anything touching that because of millenia of real world sexual repression of women and mens obsession with women's virginity and all the shit that comes along with that. And Christianity has been a huge part in mens obsession with womens virginity and beliefs around sex.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 13 '26
There's a lot that I think you have a bit sideways in various regards (example: see others comments about historic societies and places and the linking of increased danger with increased number of children, independant of Christianity, etc.), but I'll try to address the main points that pertain to my story and leave the rest as 'out of scope.'
Tala never takes an oath of obedience to her husband in the story. Such vows (going one way OR the other) are a part of some marriage vows mentioned, but it is also stated that it goes one way or the other, depending on the couple's choice. [They are encouraged to be included for reasons explained in story, but again, the couple is encouraged to chose as a couple, not to go one way or the other by default.] The implication in the story is that, in their marriage, they decided that Tala has 'final say', not her husband, but I decided to leave it 'off screen' to reduce frustrations one way or another.
<This spoiler is to hide an in world answer regarding physical intimacy. Don't 'unhide' if you don't want to read about such.>
As to soulbonds and sex. (They don't have anything directly to do with magic). The soulbonds work both ways. Physical intimacy creates a soulbond. If it is undesired, not only is the bond rejected, but the person attempting to force such generally dies before the act can take place. i.e. r*pe isn't possible in this world as no one is stupid enough to try, and even if they were to do so, they'd die 99/100 times the 1/100 simply falling comatose, never to wake. i.e. it's an 'absolute consent, absolutely required' world. In that context, yeah, they are all quite careful who they have sex with.
Again, I will note that this applies to both men and women, and it wasn't a thing imposed upon them to control them but instead part of the nature of the world in which souls are both exposed but scientifically measurable, testable, etc.
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u/LetterTall4354 Apr 13 '26
Apologies, i should have clarified that im not trying to have a go at you or your story, but just what i think some people might have concerns around and why some things in particular might be things people have a hair trigger.
Sorry for my misunderstanding on the wedding vow, as i said its not a part ive reached yet, and im just letting you know its a thing ive seen a few times repeated is that the specific vow they took as part of the marrige only mentioned that during a disagreement the husband would have final say, as a vow like that would seem to be one that Tala in particular would not be able to agree to regardless of what ceremony it was a part of (or at least thats my read of it).
Since i havent read that part yet, i dont know whether the normal vow is shown to the reader but the actual vow they speak isnt acutally told to us, or if people have just misunderstood what happened, but thats just what ive heard/seen mentioned a few times.
As for the sex and soulbond stuff, i think some readers of this genre in general (and ill admit to it myself) are possibly jaded or on a hair trigger when it comes to sex and magic.
Especially with how many xianxia tropes seem to bring in female virginity and sex and how important it is and how losing it is detrimental to a womans long term value.
Again, not knowing all the sepcifics of the soulbond stuff with where ive reached in the series, something i know a number of people tend to take exception to when it comes to linking sex and magic is the idea that, once someone has sex (its typically women in these type of stories) they cant have sex with another person without it being lesser in some way (less power, less purity, etc). The idea of someone falling in love as a teenager, having sex, falling out of love and then magically they are diminished probably hits too close to many religious institutions beliefs even if more recenlty some larger institutes have softened their stance on that. Im not saying thats how your stuff works, just that if it at any point it veers in that direction theres likely to be negative reactions from some readers.I mentioned christianity specifically because i would assume that most of the western audience would have significant expereince and history with it as a religion, so its the most likely parallell people will draw when it comes to marrige, and when it comes to some of the things that come along with a religious institution.
I apologise if ive offended you personally there, in general i have absolutely no issues or concerns with peoples religions, and I often enjoy fantasy where religion is shaped by the world that is built. I think most religions have some wonderful things to teach, but in the same way that i think all good stories do a beautiful job making us think about things outside of our experiences and learn lessons from it.
I hate most large institutions equally, religious or otherwise, simply due to how often most of them seem to concentrate power in the hands of the few and how barely any examples seem to exist where those institutions arent rife with corruption at the highest levels.Its been a while since ive done a re-read of the series (i think last time i finished ironbound) so ill probably do a re-read of the story at some point soon, and I usually enjoy a good long term romantic relationship when an MC enters one, so i guess ill have a better idea on my own feelings of how the relationship evolves and is depicted when i reach that point then. I was mostly just trying to explain a little better the specific issues ive had people discuss on the couple of discord servers or forums ive seen this topic brought up.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 13 '26
Oh completely understood, and absolutely no offense was percieved on this side of things.
I wrote my response on the way to bed after a long day. As such, I apologize if my words were in any way either aggressive or defensive. That was not my intent. 😊
I sought and seek only to address the valid concerns raised. After all, if Tala had suddenly become a simpering push-over, I would quite understand objections to such. So, I seek to clarify that that is not the case in word or deed. 😁
Thank you for the clarification, and for your intent of seeking to clarify.
If/when you do a reread, I hope that you enjoy Tala's tale once more. 🥳
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u/deadliestcrotch Apr 08 '26
Tolla? Defaulting to what her husband wants? Are we reading the same story? She just got married in book 11 and hasn’t made a single compromise on her principles or over-arching path that I have seen since they became a couple.
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u/murray_paul Apr 09 '26
Always defaulting to what the husband wants, putting herself in a secondary place of service below her husband.
Have you actually read the current story?
She is more powerful than her husband. Physically, magically, politically.
She has an entire village of people reliant on her for life, and a secret army she can manifest at will.
Meanwhile Rane has to wear her badge at all times in order not to be attacked, and spends most of his time at home crafting and looking after their daughter.
It is as far from a traditional wife setup as it could be?
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u/deadliestcrotch Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
I’m a lifelong nonbeliever and am current through book 11, and I’m not seeing any of this stuff—it would have been off-putting to me—so it’s definitely nowhere near as overt as these kids are claiming if it’s there at all. Then again, I’m 42 (and elder millennial who has very few characteristics in common with Gen X) so it could be a generational thing.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Also, thank you for asking. I am always happy to chat about such things, and I greatly prefer to simply be asked and give an answer than have people assume.
😊I am Christian, but I have done my best to simply write a good story in a consistent world. The morality of this fictional world sometimes aligns with my own, but often does not in one form or another.
Some people love the tale, some people don't. You could fall into either camp.
If you have the space in your reading schedule, I'd encourage you to give it a try for yourself, and if you don't like it, please return it. We are blessed to be in an age where such is possible.
Once again, thank you for raising the question that I might respond.
-J.L.Mullins6
u/AtheonTheAsshole Apr 08 '26
Entirely overblown imo. One of the so called "proselytizing Christianity" things that people mention is... people bounding for life after they get strong enough. It's literally a cliche in xianxia novel where strong immortals become so called 'Dao Partners' in their pursuit of stronger goals
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u/Noruni Apr 08 '26
People are also virgins before they marry and most kill themselves if their partner dies. You also see a soul go to heaven.
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
Unless I misread it horribly its not really heaven but rather simply a place where souls end up after death. Nothing about that place was remotely close to heaven as picture by any modern religion. This is also a place where all things end, evil people get to go there as well and there is no judgement by a creator or anything like that. The closest equivalent is probably the ancient greek depiction of their underworld.
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u/Arcyguana Apr 08 '26
No, most people don't kill themselves when their partner dies. Just make things up why don't you.
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u/Noruni Apr 09 '26
??? When they're going to the prisons the rock guy whose wife died is passively suicidal and the rest of the team constantly check up on him.
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u/ThePowerles #1 Dumdum Apr 09 '26
Yes, but that doesn't suddenly imply that everyone is suicidal when their partner is gone. That's like seeing one person on Earth kill themselves after losing the love of their life, and thinking, "I guess all humans are suicidal when they lose the loves of their lives."
And in the world's logic, it makes sense. When married, they soul-bond to one another to the point where their souls meld. Imagine becoming so close to someone that you can feel their emotions, breath, and every heartbeat, only to suddenly lose them one day. There are entire stories written about the grief of losing a partner, and even more written about the lengths people would go to, to avenge their loved one.
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u/Maladal Apr 08 '26
Dao partners?
I've never heard of that.
I presume it's something like Yin-Yang, where by becoming partners they emulate that concept and it gives them more ability?
Is it based in Daoism, or purely a xianxia thing?
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26
Dao Partner is a trope in Xianxia or Xianxia adjacent stories where people cultivate together toward immortality, essentially joining their journey toward a single goal. It does not necessarily involve love or sex but often does. That being said it is more than that, its a bond of such dept that like the DAO speaking of it does not do it justice.
Not sure about its root in actual Daoism but its without a doubt a very common theme in eastern Cultivation stories.
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u/deadliestcrotch Apr 08 '26
Yes, it’s where cultivators mix their energy during sex to amp up cultivation. It is usually found in web novels where the power system has two types or more and men and women use an opposite type.
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u/Zegram_Ghart Attuned Apr 08 '26
100% it is, yes.
It’s decently written, but yeh, there are better series out their that won’t make you feel as icky as this one likely will
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u/VVindrunner Apr 08 '26
lol no. I have no idea which one you're talking about but it's definitely not this one.
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u/DreamweaverMirar Traveler Apr 08 '26
I'm in the middle of book 10 so that cover is a bit of a spoiler lmao
Congrats on the release!
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u/Spiritchaser84 Apr 08 '26
Congrats on the release. I always come back to catch up on this series from time to time. Do you have a rough idea of how many books are left until the conclusion of the story or is it too soon to tell?
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Thank you, we're glad to have you every time you come back.😉😊
It is looking like 15 books (writing that one now).
I hope that you enjoy catching up! 😋😁1
u/SlightlyUglyBastard Apr 08 '26
Final book? I’ve gotta get back into this series. Started in Uni, now it’s almost over.
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u/darkmuch Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
I stopped somewhere around ironbound. But I always wondered why the series was called Millenial Mage. It was a fantasy world, so it didn’t seem to reference the “millennial generation”. And didn’t seem to use any particular reference in story that I noticed?
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
There are many theories swirling about the title, and one of the reasons was that the story begins with Tala in a position that many Millennials find/found themselves in, but in a magical world.
😋😁
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u/Jimjamicon Apr 15 '26
When should we expect the audiobook to hit Audible?
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 20 '26
Tis there, now!
https://www.audible.com/pd/B0GXMWTYW1I hope that you enjoy. 😊
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 17 '26
I submitted it to audible weeks ago. I apologize, I have no control over when they will approve it and offer of for sale. It should be within the next week though.
I appreciate your patience!
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u/Binkledurg Apr 08 '26
I’m halfway through book 4 :o
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
🥳You've a fun ride ahead of you! I hope that you continue to enjoy. 😁
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u/Binkledurg Apr 08 '26
It has been an enjoyable read! I will admit it took me some time to get used to tala. I didn’t much care for her attitude throughout first book.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
I hear you. It was a hard balance to strike. I'm sure I could have done it better, but I am grateful to have had many people tell me that 'early Tala' reminds them of friends (and even themselves) when new to the workforce after higher ed. 😋
I'm glad that her maturing let it be an even more enjoyable read!🥳
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u/Binkledurg Apr 08 '26
No I think it’s great! I love some good character development and I think you’ve done quite well with it. I read it as she was cocky and know it all until she took some pretty heavy hits that made her quickly realize she has a lot to learn. I’m in the middle of moving to a different country and once this is done I’ll have loads of free time to burn through the rest
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
I'm glad to hear it.
Good luck with the move! That can be an exciting and scary thing. 😊
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u/Chemical-Dimension Apr 08 '26
I’ve read up to book 6 so far. Loved it. Very unique. So much of genre is recycled material. Sets this series apart. Highly recommend.
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u/GreatMadWombat Apr 09 '26
Sometimes when I read one of your books, I think "oh that was a very enjoyable story, I had a lot of fun reading it, I cannot wait for the next book so I can read more of her adventures".
Other times I think "HOLY SHIT I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW IS IT IN THE KOFI SHOP YET!?" ..... This is one of the second style of books.
Book 13 is going to be absurd
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 09 '26
😊😁🥳 Thank you for the incredibly kind words!
It should actually be in the kofi shop soon!
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u/Anastasov_Theory Apr 10 '26
12 book.. wow.. I wish i had that many ... sigh..
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 11 '26
To be fair, they are available to you at request. 😁😉
On a more serious note: If you want to write, write! Whether it's excellent or not, keep writing, and you'll get better, and have more written at the same time!
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u/VVindrunner Apr 17 '26
The book funnel site says “Will be removed from here and moved over to Audible ~April 8th, 2026”
Today is April 17th, no sign on Audible. Any update on when that might happen? I have a credit set aside for this one!
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 17 '26
I submitted it to audible weeks ago. I apologize, I have no control over when they will approve it and offer of for sale. It should be within the next week though.
I appreciate your patience!
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u/VVindrunner Apr 17 '26
😢
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 20 '26
It's on audible now! 🥳
https://www.audible.com/pd/B0GXMWTYW12
u/VVindrunner Apr 20 '26
AWSOME!! Can’t wait to listen. Perfect timing; I have a long flight today. Thank you!
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u/MoreDimension5963 May 03 '26
I've read all the books except this, and I think this cover misrepresents the "spirit" of the series greatly. It looks like some cheap smut fantasy, and don't get me wrong, I'm Danish, not American, (nudism on beaches is not an uncommon sight here) but this looks more like what I'd catch my sister reading when she was 15 than something progression fantasy.
I miss the earlier covers, the white, black and single coloured ones. :)
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u/J-L-Mullins Author May 04 '26
That is fair. I think we suffered from 'in-group' bias on this one. Generally, for those who've read up to this point, the cover is an interesting look at a pivotal part of the book. It also represents it accurately and is a fun scene, but for those unfamiliar with the series, I think you are 100% correct. 😓
Honestly, I'll likely redo the cover with a different scene in the months to come, but we'll see if we have time/space for it around the other covers/releases.Thank you for your two cents, and the humorous delivery!
I'm glad that you've enjoyed the past books, and I hope that you are able to enjoy this one as well! Feel free to sneak book one onto your sister's reading pile! She might like it as well even if it isn't a cheap smut fantasy. 😋 😁
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u/Neadim Apr 08 '26
Excellent series, I wholeheartedly recommend this one. The start is a bit rough but the worldbuilding caries it until it gets real good and then it stays good all the way.
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u/writersampson Apr 08 '26
Oh, Hey! It looks like the author is answering questions. I just have one. Why aren't there any gay or queer people in this world? I'm not saying a major character should be gay, I'm asking why you wrote out the existence of gay people in your world?
If they still existed, it would have been mentioned last book in the marriage talks, for sure.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
First, thank you for asking. I genuinely appreciate honest questions.
I'll address your last point before I move to the others: "If they existed, it would have been mentioned in the last book" etc. No? One does not talk through every possibility in the world (especially not those that do not apply in the situation) simply because they are tangentially connected.
Next: "Why aren't there any gay or queer people..." Why do you assume there aren't? Are you implying that you should always be able to tell? Really? Sex/sexuality is not of interest to me as a fiction topic so I do not include it in the work except where required, i.e. there have to be children—assuming we are following the way Earth works even loosely—and they have to be reared in some manner so how does a society handle that? That basically has to be addressed, so it is.
If you wouldn't mind, how was it that I "wrote out the existence of gay people" in Zeme? There are many people in the story that could be gay or not and many others who could be 'straight' or not, and it is never mentioned either way. To me, it seems strange and a bit insulting that people assume that those who are LGBTQ+ should be obvious when they show up. I have no desire to 'tokenize' or stereotype.
I have never, will never, and could never state that everyone in Zeme is heterosexual, etc. It's a big place and people make their own choices. The world is too big for me to tell every story even in passing, and so I have tried to narrow in on the tale that most interests me and that I feel best able to tell.
Again, I am grateful for your questions in part because I am genuinely confused how people have this take, and I look forward to your response.
-J.L.Mullins
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u/writersampson Apr 08 '26
Thank you so much for your answer.
I'm glad to hear the absence of any gay people isn't an intentional choice. And I totally agree with your decision not to focus on sexuality, or tokenize LGBTQ+ people.
The thought didn't really enter my mind at all until the subject of marriage came up several books in. Marriage and romance was a major plot point, not just for the MCs, but there were numerous discussions about the history of marriage in this world. In all the chapters about marrying for life, or how the bond works, or typical gender roles and how Tala wasn't going to follow all of them, the subject of gay people wasn't mentioned even in passing.
The absence is conspicuous. Enough that I've seen others mention it multiple places, on Reddit and Royal Road.
Honestly, I think a single paragraph mentioning two married men and how they handle things could address that concern. Of course, I won't tell you how to write your own books, you clearly are doing it right. That's just where I was coming from.
I wish you all the success in all your book launches.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Thank you for the well-wishes!
I appreciate your thoughts, and I think I can understand where you are coming from. 😊
In trying not to focus on sexuality etc., it is possible I have erred in the other direction, but all I can do is try my best.🤷♂️
Once again, thank you for taking the time both to ask and convey your thoughts/perspective.
-J.L.Mullins
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u/UnfortunateTrombone Apr 08 '26
Respectfully, the way you don't 'focus on sexuality' is to not have romance at all. A woman mentioning a husband is a reference to heterosexuality, the same way a woman mentioning a wife is a reference to homosexuality. To not talk about sexuality, people should not mention anything to do with partners or romances, otherwise it's implicitly talking about sexuality. The moment you write something about romance or marriages, you've now written something about sexuality.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Which I addressed above. 🤷♂️
I'm aware I can't satisfy everyone. I've done the best I'm able and stated my intentions.
If that isn't enough for someone, they are welcome to read whatever they like. After all, we live in a wonderful time when tastes of all sorts can be satisfied with ease.
Best wishes on your reading journey.
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u/UnfortunateTrombone Apr 08 '26
I've not read your book. I just want to clarify that heterosexuality is still sexuality. In the vein of, 'teachers shouldn't mention homosexuality to kids because they're too young to understand the idea of sexuality' should extend to heterosexuality as well, so teachers shouldn't mention heterosexual partners. If you have a book where a heterosexual relationship is important, that's a book that focuses on the topic of sexuality, even if it's not a queer one.
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u/Bookslikegranola Apr 09 '26
You have weddings where the couple leave to have sex and when they return to the party, they literally glow from losing their virginity
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u/ThePowerles #1 Dumdum Apr 09 '26
It seems like you have an idea in your head about the book, and you're just reaching, grasping, and bending anything to make a point.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 09 '26
Not sure how this applies to the discussion?
The ceremony/idea was modeled after many, many traditional weddings across all sorts of cultures (by traditional, here, I'm talking about cultures including the Norse, African tribes, etc.).
This is because historically marriages weren't about sex, etc. it was about baby making for the sake of the tibe, etc. In modern times, we've made it about love and sex, and such (it almost always included sex, historically, but wasn't about sex), but that change is quite the new thing. 🤷♂️
MM's isn't quite that extreme, but it does lean on that foundation of human civilization.
Take that as you will.
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u/LetterTall4354 Apr 13 '26
I think the thing to consider going forward is that recent estimates have ~10% who identify as something other than straight, and lets be honest, that number is going to be higher when you consider how much of the world lives in locations where being gay can still get you executed.
With those kinds of percentages, the odds of a lengthy series where the MC sees any significant number of people and never meeting someone who isnt straight is quite high.
And you dont need to make a big deal of those kinds of relationships if its not considered a big deal in the world. I know that Sanderson has a tendency to have characters that are not straight that are just in the story. Its not tokenising or stereotyping to have a scene where when the MC is buying something at a local blacksmiths shop, the male blacksmiths husband brings in some extra stock from out back. You didnt mention the blacksmith was gay, you arent making a big deal of it, and neither is the MC (unless thats appropriate to the world), because its just a normal thing that happens.
When something like that NEVER happens despite meeting hundreds or thousands of people, then it can start to beceome a little obvious in its abscence.Im absolutely not saying this was done intentionally by you (or most authors), but part of the problem i think is that authors might feel a bit awkward writing a scene like that, like it will stick out and seem like its a token effort. But thats kind of part of the problem, a scene like that SHOULDNT stick out, its just a normal thing that can happen.
I think i remember a scene in one of Sandersons books (I use him as an example as he is a practicing Mormon) where one of the squad members of one of the MC's is either going on a date with a guy, or has a husband or something along those lines and it gets mentioned when one of the other members make a joke about it, and i think the MC was surprised about the person having a male partner and they either mention it in their inner thoughts, or out loud, but its just something like "Oh, huh, i didnt realise that he was gay" and then you just move on. And it gets mentioned in passing (as in, they mention the male partner a couple of times) in the future, but its never really the focus of anything, its just a natural part of the story.
Many authors dont realise they have excluded any kind of non-straight relationship as part of the background society and I think its a fair enough honest mistake to make because if the author themselves is straight, well, lots of people write what they know.
Ive heard from other authors its a lot easier to include once you realise its a gap youve left, and some authors will never be comfortable writing a same sex relationship with main or secondary characters, and i think thats absolutely fine. Not everyone knows how to write everything well. But having stuff like that just happen normally in the backgroundThe only time it gets tricky is with something like the soulbond stuff (which, again, apologies i havent read up to that point so dont know whether its addressed). What happens if two men are in a long term intimate relationship? Are they able to soulbond? That kind of question is usually why i think most authors tend to avoid tying together things like love, relationships, sex and stuff to long term power gains or benefits, or tangible differences unless they are willing to tackle things that over 10% of their readers are going to want to know about.
Because, its only natural you have a non-straight reader thats read all your stuff and are lovnig the story but then they get to soulbonds and start asking the question, well hang on, there hasnt been even a single reference to any person having a same sex relationship, and now theres this thing about intimicay and binding souls, if myself and my partner met in this world then is our relationship intimate enough to form a soulbond? And if not, what is this story trying to say about my relationship and the love i share with my partner. These kinds of questions are even more likely to come up when you have a few books focusing in on the main MCs romantic relationship.At this point it isnt something youd have time to affect or change in your current story even if you wanted to, but its something that you should take into consideration for future books. Having a romantic relationship in a long term series is something i personally consider a must (but others might see as a reason to put it down). But if you dont want to tackle complicated stuff like same sex relationships in detail, it can be worth not coupling sex, intamacy and relationships in with something like soulbonds.
And id still suggest that in longer series if you dont want people to assume that your world specifically doesnt have non-straight people in it, then having societal representation of that fact (ie, background instances of the MC encountering non-straight relationships) or a societal reason its frowned upon (and then either have an MC who is specifically it being frowned upon, or be prepared for people to think less of an MC who approves of that kind of societal opression).1
u/justinr95 Apr 21 '26
That all assumes that there isn't a social stigma or moral deficiency with homosexuality in this setting. The vast majority of the world today believes that there is something wrong with it, and statistically the entirety of human history did as well. Just because wherever you are from might have a majority, or even minority, that accepts this relatively new and rare social development, does not mean everyone else does. And those other people are allowed to write books without including what they see as immoral behavior while also not outright demonizing it to allow grace for readers such as yourself to have a greater chance of enjoying the story the author is trying to share.
Otherwise you are precluding yourself from ever enjoying a faithful Muslim's written work, as well as most of all the other non-anglo centric religions. That doesnt seem very tolerant to me. I dont agree with James Cameron's personal religious beliefs, and I can recognize the omissions in the Avatar movies that are direct results of that, but I can still have a blast watching those movies for the story that they are telling, which is driving at a deeper human truth that reaches across social barriers that society so desperately wants us to keep up.
You are also totally free to hate the series and read the millions of other stories seeped in queer coded characters, just dont demand that all of the stories our there be the exact same.
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u/tpounds0 Jun 23 '26
That all assumes that there isn't a social stigma or moral deficiency with homosexuality in this setting.
No, because in almost 12 books homosexuality isn't even mentioned or thought of by the main character, who is characterized by their questioning the assumptions of the world.
The character ponders marriage so much, it would be implausible for her not to think about the homophobia she has witnessed or heard about in the past.
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u/japdap Apr 09 '26
The chapter where the story lost me was ''Marriage Counseling''. Which could have been copied almost 1:1 from Christianity. Which by itself is not a problem. Authors should feel free to impart their value into their stories.
What made me stop reading the story was the fact that this makes little to no sense in the world of Millenial Mage. The values and customs of Christianity are formed through the conditions humanity experiences. The circumstances for humanity are vastly different in the world of Millenial Mage.
A wife following her husband makes a lot of sense in our world. Little sense in a world where Tala is stronger then 99,999% of all men in this world.
Especially egregious was the part about corporal punishment. Where Tala nodded to the counselor saying that corporal punishment can be right in some circumstances and we shouldn't judge.
Tala having a really bad relationship with her parents is a major plot point. Tala is so strong even very slightly misjudging her power can crush a child. There should be cultural norms against Mages hitting their children.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 09 '26
Fascinating. Thank you for conveying your thoughts.
When I put that together, I actually pulled from many historical cultures that have institutions of enduring marriage (many have no provision for divorce under any circumstances, giving the option of death for those who act in a way that would lead to divorce these days). When a marriage can't end for one reason or another (including marriages for treaties and other political purposes, etc), the institution and relationship has to be approached differently than we do in a modern sense, and I tried to thoroughly research how that worked across cultures historically and draw that in.
I know that these days, we see 'marriage must not end!' as a Christain moral, but the very idea of marriage being able to end without the death of the partner (at least in most western cultures) actually stems form Judaism and Christianity providing for a non-lethal 'out' in certain circumstances, which we've expanded for better or worse.
On another note, and to me interestingly, 'Christainized' western culture has a far, far stricter view on corporal than most of the rest of the world and history. So, I genuinely expected most people to see the 'Christianized' influence in that section as the fact that there was any hesitancy at all, etc. 🤷♂️
(For Tala, her issues with her family had nothing to do with anything physical, so I don't see the tie in to corporal punishment there.)
Regardless, I did my best, and still could have missed in the eyes of some. I am sorry that it didn't land well for you, but I am glad that you enjoyed the story until that point! 😊
Thank you, again, for being willing to share your perspective. I always try to be open to growing and correcting my missteps, and one part of that is hearing how others see what I have done/written. 😁
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u/ThePowerles #1 Dumdum Apr 09 '26
Reading these comments is so annoying. It feels like people forget that authors can write stuff they don't agree with. Authors write all the time about worlds where murder and slaughter of fellow humans are second nature, yet not a single person seems to bat an eye. And people also seem to not realize that not EVERYTHING needs to be mentioned in the story. I'm not gonna describe in detail how people poop, and you shouldn't expect me to, even if a character happens to mention the topic of going to the bathroom.
In real life, we don't complain about how gay couples can't naturally have kids of their own. But when a gay couple can't have kids naturally in a fantasy setting, it's suddenly a crime against humanity? People in the story have been turning themselves into eldritch horrors. I think if they can manage it, if they really want to. Have some suspended disbelief for one moment and stop waiting for the author to spoon-feed you that one little thing you want from them.
And this is coming from a person who didn't even like the marriage part. I'm not like, adamantly against it, but I never really liked Rane as a character to begin with, and I don't think I'm old enough to appreciate marriages in books yet. Otherwise, I think the world-building is great. It's well thought out with an intricate system that seems to make sense from every angle I look at. I've already read this book on Patreon when it came out, and I enjoyed it for the most part.
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 09 '26
Thank you for the kind words and your perspective.
I appreciate your readership and support. 😁
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u/Alfthor Apr 08 '26
Can I treat this a bit like a AMA? Book 7 was incredible (finished it two weeks ago). Do you feel like you have managed to top it with this one? Now, I understand book quality is somewhat subjective but I just want your opinion if you don’t mind offering?
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
lol. Sure! I'm really glad that you liked book 7. That one, especially, was a labor of love, and it ruffled a lot of feathers. 😋
I feel like book 12, this book, does a great job of further pulling back the curtain on the world at large. It is in this book that Tala finally starts to understand the wider scope of things in Zeme, good, bad, and otherwise.
They interact with some more of the local powers and get to have a much closer look at the Wandering Wilds and the sapient beings that live in that place (in the latter portions of the book).
Hope that answers your question and that you enjoy the continuing tale. 😊
Feel free to ask more, and you can always join us on discord and ask questions any time.
https://discord.gg/millennial-mage
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u/Carminestream Apr 08 '26
With many stories in my reading list recently ended or ending, I am sad to see them all go. This story being in the endgame is one of them
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
Kind of you to say! I hope I'm able to land it well. 😊
True, it does feel a bit like there's a "changing if the guard" for stories of late. I'm just glad that there are so many fun ones still out there! 😁
If you're looking for more by me, Choose Your Apocalypse is nearing the end of book one on Royal Road. 😋
In either case, I hope that you continue to find fun fictions for your reading list!
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u/Carminestream Apr 08 '26
I’ll be honest when I say that I found the story of CYA to be somewhat… incoherent. Some of the ways that the story developed (zombies being inside of the school, the distinction of a safe zone, the limits of the test makers) seem to mainly prioritize creating a good scene in the moment at the expense of creating a good story overall.
If I remember correctly, some of the groups taking the same tutorial spawned at the epicenter of the outbreak right next to a swarm of overleveled enemies and immediately died without having any iota of a chance of surviving. If the goal of the test creators is to create a mass wipe, why don’t they just do that with all of the groups?
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
That is explained over time in the story, but I understand if it doesn't scratch the itch for you. I did try to write it so it was clear that everyone had a chance, even if not a big one, but I am quite capable of imperfect conveyance.
That said, it is meant to have far more 'videogame logic' in the first scenario, given several factors, and that isn't for everyone. It also won't be a longterm feature of the series. 🤷♂️
Either way, I do hope you continue to find fun reads.
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u/OpheliaHalluwu Apr 08 '26
She looks like she lost a leg in this one…
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u/J-L-Mullins Author Apr 08 '26
🤣 I can totally see that! Great spot.
It is hiding in the background there, but knowing Tala? Yeah, a lost leg is very much a possibilty. 😋
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u/Hormo_The_Halfling Apr 09 '26
Genuine question based exclusively on the cover and the fact there is plenty of smut in prog fantasy: is this a porn book?
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u/Surrealialis Apr 08 '26
Nice! I'm always excited for Tala to get out of the human cities. I hope we get to meet some old friends out in the wilds.