Speaker of Ma’ila

Content Overview

Overall Content
Severity
1.4

Language

0.0/10

Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking

1.0/10

Intimacy, Sex, Immodesty

0.0/10

Violence, Weapons, Crime, Blood

4.6/10

Potentially Intense Themes

1.2/10

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Speaker of Ma’ila

Trenton Anthony

Inside a dark, dead volcano, the Hkusi military prepares for war. There, Jharroz za Rukh faces an important day in his mage training: the rite of Ya’at khu ma’tika, where he must kill a man to become a weapon just like his father, Khatsik the Finisher. Will Jharroz rise to glory at the right hand of the emperor, or will he heed a different voice, one that is calling him toward another life, another place, and another self? Follow Jharroz on a dark and winding journey, full of adventure, self-discovery, friendship, and love.

Speaker of Ma’ila is book 1 of the Speaker Trilogy. Look for the sequel, Speakers of Elor, in the spring of 2021!

-Excerpt taken from Amazon.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

3.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5) This was so imaginative! This started out with such a sense of darkness. People were killing animals to help their magic. It boosted them and made it effective. Jharroz did not like killing the animals and from the realization and the actions he took to refuse, we are taken on a journey of friendship, freedom, love and the meaning of family. 

The characters were lovable and kind and you could feel the warmth from their friendship. Their loyalty and love were admirable. 

I loved the beginning and the end but in between, the journey got a bit long. My attention waned and the plot seemed repetitious. There were so many characters that I had a hard time remembering each one. While the language was very fun, I found myself flipping to the glossary too many times. 

I did love the character development a lot. It was predictable but in the best way. I wanted all the good in the world to come to these characters and I wanted to read their successes. 

Content Summary: No language, no sex, minor violence with few details. Yes!

Great debut by Trenton Anthony! Thank you for trusting me with your work. He wrote the sweetest note with a copy of the book and I love that. You can get his book free on Kindle Unlimited or $3.99 for the Kindle version. The paperback is available on Amazon as well.

Detailed Content Review

Language 

F***-

H***- 

S***-

A**-

B****-

D***-

Bas****-

Religious Cursing

J****-

Chr***-

G**-

L***-

Derogatory terms etc-

Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking

Three young men drink sambaka (alcohol). They later drink beer with a meal. 

Teens drink beer.  

Teens drink beer. 

A group (adults and teens) drink beer.

A group of adults and teens drink beer.

A group of teens and adults appear to have been drugged with some sort of sedative. 

A woman sips wine. 

Two men sip alcohol. 

Intimacy, Sex, Immodesty

None.

Violence, Weapons, Crime, Blood

A young man is supposed to kill a young man.

A young man holds a knife to a young man’s neck. 

Two men attack a young man. They use fists and try to bind him. 

Two young men are tied and taken captive. 

Punishment for treachery in an army is to be cut and bled dry over 16 days. 

A young man jumps on a man’s back and starts hitting him many times. The man throws him down and has blood on his face. He hits the back of the man’s knees then another hits him with a bag. One holds a knife to his throat, another knocks him out. 

The elderly and deformed are killed at rituals. 

A man previously killed many people, a man pierced him in the side with a sword. 

A group of four take two young men. One young man responds by using a form of magic to light a fire on himself which burned a man then punched and burned a woman. A woman knocks him out. They take the other young man. 

A young man has a dream people are cutting a young man. 

Previously, men came with swords and clubs and killed many. 

A bag is stolen so a group follow the man who took it. One young man throws him against a wall. The thief’s friend puts a knife to a woman’s throat. 

Animals (who change from human form) chase after a young man and bite him.

A young man knocks a man into a wall, another squeezes his head and falls unconscious. Another punches a second man and he is head butted and falls unconscious. A man hits two men on the head, knocking them out. 

A young man is in a prison, hunched over with his hands tied above him. 

A young woman takes a rabbit and pulls it in opposite directions until a snap is heard. 

A woman previously had a woman killed. 

A woman stabs a woman. She uses magic to make her crumble and die. Her blood is forming a puddle on the floor.

Two come at a young man to fight him with swords. They swing but he’s able to get them to retreat with only minor burns. 

Potentially Intense Themes

A young man kills a buffalo calf for a class experience. The students touch the animal as it’s dying but it is done wrong so it is required to kill one again.  They have done this to many smaller animals before. They are supposed to do it on a human next. 

A young man watches as students kill cave rats. The audible snap of the neck makes him ill. 

There was a large plague. Soldiers took children away from parents then returned them (if the parents survived) after. Some were left orphans. 

A snake bites a young man and he falls into water. Blood is oozing down his leg. A young man cuts his skin to get the venom out but the blood continues to pour out. 

A young girl is sick and dying. Her parents cry at her bed. 

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

3 Comments

  1. I’ve never seen this book anywhere, it sounds interesting & I’m glad to see the protag didn’t join in the animal sacrificing 😶

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