The Thorn of Dentonhill

This is a somewhat diverting and readable novel about a student at a university of magic who carries on a secret lone feud against the powerful drug dealer who destroyed his parents. The young hero, Veranix, is supposed to be fairly intelligent, but recklessly pursues his feud daily at constant risk of death, distracting from his magical education, and without giving himself time to recover from injuries. It seems a bit over the top. At least take the odd day off now and then and live like a normal student. Although he's resourceful, his survival is at least in part a matter of luck; and his adventures endanger his friends, too.Characterization is merely adequate. There are a number of distinct characters here, and we get a vague sense of them, but I didn't emerge from the book feeling involved with any of them, not even with Veranix himself.It feels to me like a book deliberately written for teenage readers; written quite well, but not a completely adult novel. Though it is of course readable by adults.After reading this, I was interested enough to try another book by the same author, but I skipped to his Constabulary series ([b:A Murder of Mages 23590634 A Murder of Mages (The Maradaine Constabulary, #1) Marshall Ryan Maresca https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428684947s/23590634.jpg 43193391]) instead of carrying on with the sequel to this one.