Eve Forward, "Animist"

Eve Forward was born in 1972, which makes her 38, probably.  So to my mind she is a young writer, at the start of her career.  Animist reads like the first book in a series, but from what I read online I think she wrote a trilogy, with but one book so far in print.  The tale told is actually a fairly simple one, a young man goes out into the world to make his fortune at the conclusion of his training at the animist college, he has some adventures.  Animists are it seems people with a natural inclination for magic, whatever that is, who instead of developing earth shattering powers develop a bond with an animal that then allows them to see magic being performed, and communicate empathically with their familiar.  This means that the training mainly consists of animal husbandry and meditation with a shovel.

This book does not follow any standard tracks as it wends its way forward, pardon the pun.  Alex, the youthful Animist, does not develop earth shattering powers and instead only manages to form a bond with a rat, which will cause him lots of problems if he does not learn how to 'separate', as rats are not long lived. He has adventures, but they are mostly of the bumbling kind rater than cast in the heroic mould.  He is however a moral person, who strives to help those people around him.  It is this youthful morality and innocence, and the filter that this provides to the world as viewed in the narrative, that makes the book a fairly enjoyable read.   The book is often funny, but only in a light way, the book is not dark or complex and is instead written in a similar style to the works L E Modesitt Jr.  I will definitely read Villains by Necessity, her other fantasy novel, when I get a chance.