Jason Hubbard brings readers back to his world of magic in The Taming of Adam Part 2: The Hunters Sign, the sequel to his first novel in the Taming of Adam series. Adam tries to move on from his past dealings with the monster Ellen from Envale, so he moves to a new college in Almin to continue his studies as a black mage. Here he ends up with several roommates of which Ricky Grater is introduced. Ricky ends up playing a big part in the novel and in Adam’s life. This novel takes the reader through Adam’s experience as he falls in love with Amy Graine, learns about old and darker magic, and becomes involved in Entercor Contracting massive community rebuild project.

Most of the novel takes place in the Union of Altoria, in the city of Almin. It is like any city you would find around the world. This world sounds a lot like earth, but has magic and two moons. Hubbard uses a lot of plays on common names, words, movies and such that the reader can identify with current pop culture to get a feel for what he is saying and trying to convey. A lot of the social topics that are discussed are also relevant to modern times making the book very relatable even though Earth is not overrun with mages taking jobs, there is the constant concern over jobs going away due to technology and the high costs involved with getting services that the novel covers. Hubbard does a good job with explaining the social structures and pushing his view that those with more abilities need to be more compassionate and work for the common good and not focus on personal wealth.

The first half of the book is mostly character development with little action and a lot of psychological musings on the part of Adam and Ricky. Both are black mage’s, though Adam is much stronger and is dedicated to his studies. Ricky however is a womanizer with little care for anything beyond his own desires. Hubbard spends a lot of time on Adam’s relationships with women, namely Delhi and Amy. Both women offer different perspectives on his personality and bring out different things in him. Ricky never stays with a woman longer than it takes to score with her, but he becomes attached to the character Cameron who is the quintessential playboy living in the casino and always having money and women.

The second part of the novel is when the action starts and we learn what the Hunter’s Sign mentioned in the book title is, and what it is for. Entercor is making this happen with the help of a man named Alec that is believed to be a strong mage with the gift of prophecy. Adam is left with determining if the Hunter’s Sign is something to use for the good of the city or not. As Adam learns more about the magic surrounding and his connection with the shadow world he must make hard decisions that will affect not only him but those he loves and the entire city.

Overall The Taming of Adam Part 2: The Hunter’s Sign is an entertaining continuation of Adam’s growth as a black mage, his understanding of the shadow world and his own personal growth as person. The novel ends with a lead into the third book that Jason Hubbard has published.

Pages: 343 | ASIN: B00WRWHPYS