Published: December 2022
Pages: 335
Summary
When an important errand for his master goes completely awry, a young spellcaster is thrown into a life-or-death struggle that could affect the fate of the entire realm.
Along the way he meets an unlikely friend, and together they discover their unique abilities are able to break through unimaginable boundaries—but nothing can prepare them for the unparalleled dangers they will be forced to overcome.
My thoughts
This is my hidden gem of the month, what a wonderful find! This story of a young apprentice finding is courage and belief in himself. With people around him that care for him and his wellbeing, he is out on his own path of discovery.
This is from an indie author and I have never heard a soul talk about this book.. that needs to change! The characters of this book are fantastic. They each have their own personalities and quirks but there is a maturity and kindness. No matter their race, magical abilities, way of life, there is a common ground of empathy and understanding. Not that everything in this book goes smoothly and without suspicion – there are also antagonists – but I just really loved reading a story that broke through boundaries instead of maintaining a divide.
“Small incremental movements over time can crumble mountains and reshape the very world. What you see before you seems insurmountable and the darkness overwhelming, but I assure you, there is always a path for a champion of light to break through the shadows.”
There is a larger mystery at play. This is a world dominated by dragons with delicate politics at play. All is not what it appears and our apprentice – Kresdin – will have to challenge what he believes and what he thinks is truth. I think the journey that he goes through was really well done as it not only focussed on his courage and finding is confidence, but it also challenged his beliefs. He was pushed to learn, forced to embrace the challenging situations and he gave it his complete attention. There was no cowering from him, I really loved him as a character that is working with the cards he’s been dealt. There was no self pitying or repetitive monologue. We were flung into the action alongside Kresdin and he rolled with the punches.
“What you see before you seems insurmountable and the darkness overwhelming, but I assure you, there is always a path for a champion of light to break through the shadows.”
“In life, one can always find a reason for doubt; therefore, developing faith in yourself is paramount.“
I loved the worldbuilding it reminded me of Lord of the Rings meets Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We have a wide range of standard fantasy elements alongside some more creative ‘bad guys’ and the influence of magic and magical items. The style of this book is quest-like which also reminded me strongly of Zelda. I love Zelda, I have a triforce and Navi tattooed on my arm (big fan) so this book was totally up my street.
It is slightly slow to start but I really didn’t mind. It was still interesting to get to know our characters and the world they live in. We also find out more of Kresdin’s background which was insightful and helped bring him more to life whilst raising the stakes for further along in the story.
“Remain humble, for overconfidence will almost always lead you to sobering repercussions.”
We have some unlikely friendships which warmed my heart. Found family will always be a favourite of mine if done well, and it was done well in this book.
“In that moment, both were happy with their achievements and ready to face the unknown. Two friends, side by side, as adventuring partners.“
My only issues with this is that I don’t think it was long enough. I’d like to have spent a bit more time during the quest-like portions of this book. See more of the world and understand more of the history/ politics. We get touches of it but I would have loved more. hopefully we get that built out across the other books in the series.
Would I recommend?
Yes this was a great book! I found this after digging through the depths of Kindle Unlimited trying to find new indie authors to read. I am so glad I found this and picked it up and I have immediately downloaded book two.. If you like old quest-like videogames, with loveable characters – pick this p please. Just give it a try and let me know what you think!