This isn't bad, it's decent in my opinion or good enough. But I wouldn't say it's particularly good either. The reason I'm not rating it higher is because I got a little bored reading and it gelt draggy. It took him a bit of time to leave the village he started in and when he finally did it felt anticlimactic.

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Spoiler

He had quite the hard beginning. His parents died and he was essentially treated like a s*ave till he tried to become herbalist and got magic. Though none of them knew he had it.

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People die at the drop of a hat in the novel so getting attached to anyone else other than the MC is kind of hard imo. It's a very MC centered novel. Other characters points of view pop up but don't be lurred into thinking they might stick around. There is a high chance they'll die or be left behind. That being said it is a middle ages novel, but I wasn't expecting how there hasn't been another character that's stuck around. Edit: In fact other characters are characters are practically a foil and nothing more.

The MC can't be considered a good or a bad person. Just someone who acts in his own self interest. He's fairly smart and uses his head but other times he seems to not be able to get his bearings??? He's pretty calm overall but will leave at the drop of hat if he feels there are no advantages and the time it right. (Edit: this may seem smart but it honestly makes him feel blegh at times).

A misgiving I have is I wish there was a little more explanation to how the spell he gets from magic books works. It's not very detailed and he grows in such a way that I can't even be excited when he hits a milestone. It all just feels a little drawn out, but it might just be because of the way it's written.

I think it might be someone else's cup of tea. It's not a bad novel I just don't find myself interested enough to keep reading. <<less

Several major flaws drag this novel down quite heavily.

"Wandering Mage" follows a tragic orphan who is reincarnated into an even worse situation: another orphaned child in a cold, backward village. He struggles to survive by teaching himself herbalism and coincidentally discovers magic along the way. Eventually, he sets out on a journey to find more magic books and expand his knowledge.

The premise isn’t completely unworkable, but it’s undeniably generic and unappealing. Combined with middling execution, the novel ends up feeling very dry.

My first criticism concerns the author’s reliance on an... more>> omniscient narrator perspective rather than using character dialogue, sensory detail, or character-driven action. As a result, climaxes and moments of crisis often feel flat and lack momentum. The prose leans heavily on generic statements like “Fear surged in” (c4) rather than grounding the emotion in the scene, either via showing the protagonist’s physical reactions or by incorporating concrete sensory details about what’s causing that fear.

This dryness is compounded by the author’s avoidance of meaningful character development and world-building. While it’s possible that the author recognised their limitations in these areas, avoiding them entirely only makes the issue worse. Characters are the lens through which readers experience the world, and world-building establishes atmosphere. No matter how solid the underlying ideas may be, they fall flat without compelling characters to carry them. It’s like watching your favourite movie through a black-and-white first-generation Game Boy screen. Not exactly immersive.

The protagonist also lacks concrete, personalised motivations that justify his desire to keep living and striving. “Living in decent conditions” is not a compelling long-term goal; it lacks the depth needed to anchor the narrative. His motivation doesn’t need to be overly complex. Perhaps he wants to reunite with someone from his past life. Perhaps he’s tired of oppression and seeks power to break free. Anything that contextualises his choices would make his journey more meaningful.

More broadly, he lacks quirks or flaws that humanise him. And if the protagonist feels this underdeveloped, the side characters, of course, fare no better. Most of them seem added out of obligation rather than intent, existing only because a world can’t realistically function without other people in it. Their personalities rarely extend beyond vague desires for money or power, with little backstory or distinguishing traits.

The power system is similarly underwhelming. It feels generic, with loose rules and no clear power scaling. We’re told the protagonist grows stronger, but we never understand how he compares to the wider world. A simple tiering framework could have clarified this, so it’s puzzling that none exists. More importantly, the story rarely emphasises the limitations of his magic. Establishing firm constraints and then building tension around them would have strengthened the conflict. There’s an attempt at this in the early chapters, but it’s underdeveloped and largely abandoned later.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this novel. The premise is generic, the execution is weak, and it lacks any standout quality that might redeem it. If you’re interested in a wandering wizard in a medieval setting, you might have better luck with "Shepherd Wizard" instead. <<less

A suprisingly good read. The protagonist isn't some beta pushover, ruthless psychopat or arogant brat but a normal relatable guy that tries to improve his living conditions in a reality he found himeslf in. I usually don't like novels that are just about an endless journey and prefer the ones where MC settles and tries to build something for himself so I was quite sceptical about this novel but it was needlesss worry on my part. The MC here isn't on some grand quest for more magical knowledge (though... more>> he values new magical knowledge very much and tries to better himself with it) but instead just seeks stable place to settle down. The power system is at least up to this point one of regular low fantasy which is refreshing in comparison to how exaggerated popular fantasy novels are this days. The beginning may have been a little rough but the novel got steadily better as we got introduced to the more expansive world building. Though it's still isn't at the level of being some amazing masterpeace, given the current ways the novel is proggresing it leaves me with great anticipation for future chapters. <<less