Mother of Learning is a little outside of my fantasy comfort zone. It’s a progression fantasy. That is to say, it’s one where the protagonist explicitly gains power over time, going from squishy novice to, typically, all powerful wizard of doom. And, in fairness, the protagonist here certainly has the opportunity to do tha> Zorian starts the story as a student at a pre-eminent mage academy, but definitely just a student - and one with, it must be said, something of a high opinion of himself, whether thats deserved or not. But he’s about to have the opportunity to learn more - both in terms of skills, and in terms of himself.

The Zorian we meet on page one is…well, I described him to a friend as “incredibly annoying”. He has a self satisfied self importance, dovetailed with a sense of having bucked his own family to become a mage-student. He’s the youngest child of a family with several other famous mages in it, most of whom he can’t stand, with a seemingly absent father, a deeply manipulative mother, and a younger sister who starts her day by stealing his books and jumping on his chest. If his home life feels toxic, still Zorian seems embedded in his own past and prejudices. He’s determined to be an island, determined to succeed by force of will, determined to do so by striding forward in the future and beat his head against it, alone.

The first part of the book is about that Zorian. About his day as he sets out for the academy. About his irritation with his sister and his mother’s schemes. About arriving, about going to class, about a gently simmering resentment of his own friends. And about how that Zorian runs into an outside context problem. About how he starts to think differently, feel differently. 

Because Zorian is stuck in time. 

He wakes up again, and again, and again. And steps through the same period of time, again, and again, and again. But he can make other choices, can decide who to be, who to help, what to do. And of course, what to learn. Over, and over again.And so we see Zorian, changing. Becoming kinder, more compassionate, more aware of himself, yes, but slowly, resentfully almost, of others, He grows as a person, not just in throwing fireballs and shattering steel, but in how he relates to people, and to at least some of his family. 

Of course, it’s not all a journey of self discovery. Because there ar either people living their lives in the loop. And some of them know it’s a loop. And some of them very much don’t want times to change. Zrian has unreliable friends he hasn’t met yet, and unknowable enemies who won’t be averse to killing him over and over again, if they learn he’s in the loop repeating and aware. Because this is a story about how a city dies, or is saved. About how a conspiracy is formed and triumphs, or is defeated. A story of psychic rats and talking spiders, of mana fountains in the sky, and of magical schools built over the homes of monsters and martyrs. The world is context for Zorian’s struggle - though we mostly see it in asides, in deflections.We see old noble houses, crime families, great monsters. It’s a world whose perspective is very limited, as Zorian haunts his academy, and learns and learns and repeats and repeats and learns. But what flesh hangs from the bones has promise, and II hope we see more. 

In the end, this is a story of progress. Of Zorian, stepping through life after life after life, learning how to act better, live better, be better. And maybe throw a fireball or two. And trying to stay alive. This is a story that slowly, slowly builds an unsympathetic protagonist into a hero, and slowly, slowly builds the stakes around him to make us care. But it works. It’s compelling, page turning fantasy by the end, and a story I’d like to hear more about. I look forward to reading the sequel - and if you’re a progression fantasy reader, this one’s a good read.