Now, here's something I've been missing for a long time. No cliche dystopian worlds, no boring love triangles, no rebellion plot lines we've read a hundred times...just adventure. A straight up, classic-style adventure with good characters and cool ideas. Let's begin.
In an attempt to thwart the plans of the evil Lord Protector, who plans to bring powers untold into the land of Mageles in order to obtain an army, the Soylant wizards created the weapons of power that together will destroy him. But the spell to create the weapons goes array and they land in the hands of five youths. A street rat named Twig, a so-called "adventurer", a pampered noble girl, a sinful passivist, and a boy without a tribe are all granted great power by the weapons and are thus thrust into a quest they do not understand, or do not want. But only their combined powers can stop the coming evil and close the silver portal once and for all.
The book's greatest challenge was that if followed the story of not one, but five (and at one point six) protagonists. What's brilliant is that I remember them all, each of them is well developed and I had no problem recalling where they come from or what their story is. It's also pretty well spaced out between them. We never sit for too long with one character and nobody feels neglected. It's also wonderful that these characters are all fun and interesting, but also perfectly flawed. None of them are perfect little Sues or Stus that just get away with everything they try and master the power of their weapons easily. One of them is kind of a playboy, one has difficulty understanding human emotions, one of them is very naive, you get it. Each of the five stories is pulls you in and makes you care about the characters and want to see them come out okay.
The set up of this world is also very well done. You get a feeling for each of these locations and how they differ from one another. You really get a feeling that this is a world. It has a multitude of cultures, religions, governments, etc. Each region is unique and feels organic and also helps to set up the kinds of lives our heroes have lived up until we meet them. There's also that fact that the weapons themselves are super cool. A sword that grants you speed, a ring that lets you hear people's thoughts, a bow that shoots arrows of pure energy, and axe that gives you inhuman strength, and a staff that creates portals. It's also kind of fun seeing which weapon goes to which character and how these affect them and drive them forward in the story.
The tone of the book is also very light and easy to follow, which is again an accomplishment when reading a book with so many points of view. It's light without being goofy and also allows quiet moments and intense scenes as well, balancing them all out nicely. It knows when to take things seriously and when it's okay for Lukin to crack a joke. It knows when it's time to start fighting and when it's time to sit down and talk. This made things flow very nicely and made the story feel well-balanced.
Now, it wasn't a perfect book by any means. There were a few character deaths that, I admit, I didn't really feel or didn't bother me. It's not that the deaths weren't sad it's just...we didn't know the characters that well and so when they died, I wasn't all that affected by it. Also the ending might rub some people the wrong way. Now, it's not a bad ending exactly. It has everything you want with fights and spells and slaying dragons and a ton of really cool stuff. It was really awesome but then it didn't end so much as it just stopped. Just...came to a screeching halt and left the audience hanging. Not the most endearing way to end things, guys. Still, I actually did get me hyped for the sequel so...there's that at least.
Final Verdict
A fun adventure with great characters and cool weapons and a straight-forward yet amusing plot. Any fantasy reader would like this book, would enjoy these characters and, if they want to read it, it's totally worth your money at your local bookstore.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Next Time: Brace yourselves....Spring is coming....(wait, what?)
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