Mother of Learning by Domagoj Kurmaic and nobody103

Zorian Kazinski has all the time in the world to get stronger, and he plans on taking full advantage of it.

A teenage mage of humble birth and slightly above-average skill, Zorian is attending his third year of education at Cyoria's magical academy. A driven and quiet young man, he is consumed by a desire to ensure his own future and free himself of the influence of his family, resenting the Kazinskis for favoring his brothers over him. Consequently, Zorian has no time for pointless distractions, much less other people's problems.

As it happens, though, time is something he is about to get plenty of.

On the eve of Cyoria's annual summer festival, Zorian is murdered, then abruptly brought back to the beginning of the month, just before he was about to take the train to school. Finding himself trapped in a time loop with no clear end or exit, he will have to look both within and without to unravel the mystery set before him. He does have to unravel it, too, because the loop clearly wasn’t made for his sake, and in a world of magic even a time traveler isn't safe from those who wish him ill.

Fortunately for Zorian, repetition is the mother of learning…

Mother of Learning was a great, fun read taking us through a time loop as the main character relives the same month over and over again. He uses the opportunity to his advantage as he looks for a way to end the time loop.

Really am looking forward to book 2.

A satisfying fusion of progression fantasy and time loop shenanigans. The story cleverly avoids the pitfalls that usually come from messing with time with a justification that nestles seamlessly into the world and doesn't feel contrived. The plot is also remarkably cohesive for a gargantuan web serial. By the end, it's clear the author had the whole story in mind all along. Despite executing its core promise well, it has a myriad of weaknesses. If this is the type of novel that greatly appeals to you, you will likely be able to overlook its flaws and have an immensely enjoyable experience. If you are merely looking to explore new genres I would recommend Cradle as a more well-rounded entry point to progression fantasy.

If you're not familiar with progression fantasy, it's a genre where the focus is on the main character consistently growing in strength and skill over the entire narrative. You won't find much in the way of character work or anything in the way of polished prose, but, if you enjoy clever applications of magical abilities in a fleshed out fantasy world, give this behemoth a shot.

Interesting start to the series...

I was very excited at the beginning of the book, as the premise is fantastic in my opinion, however, about 60ish percent in, I kind of got bored. For some reason, the aranea failed to grab my interest. I will continue with the series, as I've already purchased all four ebooks and audiobooks, but I hope it gets better in future instalments.

4.50/5.00

Mother of learning is an excellent introduction Progression Fantasy. To put it simply, this book is pure fun. There is not a single boring moment in this book. Despite using a well-worn time loop trope, this book is incredibly unpredictable. We meet so many great characters, and the plot is well designed.

I highly recommend it! I mostly read this novel, but audiobooked a good 30%. I swear the narrator does a wonderful job of bringing one important character to life. A certain “matriarch”. Fantastic!

Emotional Impact -> Total fun! Not a moment of boredom, rootable characters with relatable problems and an entirely unpredictable plot. Such a rare thing to see a character who is absolutely not the chosen one be the main protagonist. The story stands well representative of its central promise. "Repetition is the mother of learning".Characters -> Favorite character - Zach! Is he gay/bi ? That will be fun to read. Loved the anrenea matriarch! what a great spin on the Moiraine-type trope. There is also some good cultural worldbuilding from her, which is a suprising turn. Kirille, Kael are close comptetitors to the top characters. Zorian's character development is good. I'd say it can be better. There was a lot of telling and not showing with him. He is written so analytical compared to all other characters so it is hard to recognize his emotional growth. He does make some great strides with his sister and the matriarch. I really hope he grieves for the aranean spiders in the next book. Plot -> Great plot. Some parts predictable, some entirely unpredictable. So much fun with the magic system! Prose -> Here is where we drop to just average, or even below average. There is so much telling and not showing. A ton of information dumping. Casual prose, so causal it reads like it was written by an amateur. What a missed oppurtunity! Worldbuilding -> THe magic system is primary focus of this book. It is very well done. Great hard-soft blend! Cultural worldbuilding is severely lacking, with the book hyper imited in scope because of the premise. But I think it would be unfair to judge a progression fantasy book like an epic fantasy book. Every moment with Zorian is so well earned. That moment when we telepathically talks into the taime (or the girl hier) is fire! Aranea spiders wow! So woderfully complex! LOVE IT.