Category Archives: Book Reviews and Releases

Book Review: A Sending of Dragons by Jane Yolen

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We’ve reached the third in what I believed was the final book in the Pit Dragon Chronicles trilogy. As it turns out, there’s a bonus fourth book in the series that came out twenty-two years after A Sending of Dragons was released. I might have to go pick it up. As the final book in a set, I have certain expectations about the main character reaching their destiny.

The Story

We left Jakkin and Akki fleeing into the mountains and finding a unique way to survive the deadly cold of Dark After which included sleeping inside the empty egg chamber of Jakkin’s beloved first dragon, Heart’s Blood, who was fatally injured in the escape from the explosion of Rokk Major. By doing so, both Jakkin and Akki gained the ability to communicate the same way dragons do as well as no longer being susceptible to the the cold of Dark After.

They are still being hunted and while hiding from the search helicopters they run across a cave system that leads deep inside a mountain. There, they meet new dragons and a strange group of humans who have survived outside the reach of civilization long enough that they’ve developed a number of strange traditions that both shock and confuse Jakkin and Akki.

Several of these traditions revolve around the dragons, such as a mother dragon being sacrificed at the birth of each human baby. Naturally, both Jakkin and Akki are shocked and appalled at this and struggle to make these strange people see the error in their ways. Their meddling is not well received and Jakkin and Akki must escape before they are caught and killed.

My Review

The expectation for the end of a trilogy is for the main character to achieve some sort of triumph that feels both surprising but inevitable. This book doesn’t do that. In fact, it leaves plenty of room for more to happen in the future which explains why another book was written. The other thing this book does is expose the readers to a new world and new people, something that I’ve seen many longer book series do to keep things interesting.

I was happy that A Sending of Dragons swayed away from all the political maneuvering that the previous book dove into so heavily, as I much prefer there to be more adventure and far less scheming between large faceless groups. There is still the presence of the Federation looking for Jakkin and Akki, but here it only serves to push our main characters toward their unforeseen goal.

Jakkin should have had some great triumph here as well, and while he did gain dragon like traits, there could have been so much more to show that he’d grown into himself and become the man he was supposed to be. Even without that, it’s still a fascinating read as we are shown the manner how dragons communicate and watch Jakkin and Akki learn how to do it as well.

Recommendations

When it comes down to it, this is still a really entertaining read, and stays true to the world and characters created so far. There is plenty of adventure and peril to keep the reading compelling. The scene where they sacrifice dragons does get a little gory and graphic, albeit in the same level of intensity of similar scenes depicting violence and dragon fighting. In all, the book stays balanced in it’s intensity levels to the previous two.

I give A Sending of Dragons 4/5 for not giving Jakkin a triumph at the end, but otherwise an excellent read.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed A Sending of Dragons today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: Heart’s Blood by Jane Yolen

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We continue on our quest in returning to the books that made my childhood special. Last week we covered Jane Yolen’s Dragon’s Blood, the first of the Pit Dragon Chronicles and this week we dive straight into it’s sequel, Heart’s Blood.

As this is the middle book in a three book series, there has to be a major change that transforms the main character from how he started and gives a hint of where he might be going. Heart’s Blood does precisely this.

The Story

Jakkin ended Dragon’s Blood by becoming a master, meaning that he has his own dragon that he uses in dragon fights. He’s still paying off his debt to Sarkkhan and is allowed to use the training facility at his nursery to train his dragon Heart’s Blood. Meanwhile, there are politics afoot. There is a movement to make Austar a Federation planet instead of a Protectorate, which would mean that dragon fighting, the center pillar in their economy, would be outlawed.

Akki, Jakkin’s love interest who left at the end of book one, gets herself involved in this political movement in all the worst ways. Different forces at play use Akki to force Jakkin’s newfound status as a winning dragon trainer to help them with their plans.

All the while, Heart’s Blood lays a clutch of eggs and five hatch. Jakkin bonds with these dragons and starts to train them to fight as well. His confidence leads to disaster as one of these dragons is hamstrung and sent to the Stews to become food. Jakkin vows to never let something like that happen again.

Meanwhile, both Federation goons and the rebels are putting plans in action to push their respective agendas forward. Jakkin is finally reunited with Akki and given a task to deliver a package, or else.

The package blows up the biggest pit on the planet Rokk Major. Jakkin and Akki have been framed and both flee to the mountains with their dragons. If they can survive the deadly Dark After, a period of night where the temperatures drops to a deadly cold, then they might just make their escape.

My Review

I love dragons, interesting characters, adventure, and great worlds. I don’t love politics or government forces at work that crush the little people under their thumbs because they can. So, I have mixed feelings about this book. The parts that I liked, I really liked. There was plenty of action, adventure, and danger to keep things super interesting.

But, the secondary plot revolves around Senator Golden working toward his goal of making Austar a Federation planet in order to grant them the rights and protection that a Federation planet deserves against the rebels who want the planet to stay exactly as it is, thank you very much. They’ve gained wealth and prestige from dragon fighting. If the fighting is banned, they’d be reduced to nothing.

Jakkin should be on the rebels side because he’s very much part of the dragon fighting community, but it gets all twisty because of Akki who thinks that the fighting is barbaric and there has to be a better way.

That said, it’s still an entertaining read.

Recommendations

The violence and peril ramp up here as the different factions come into play against each other. There’s bombs, a murder, and lots more dragon fighting, as well as dragons dying. If you struggled with the intensity level of the first, you might want to stop there. That said, in all other regards the story is still very clean and super entertaining.

It’s a perfect read for boys and fantasy lovers ages 12 and up.

I rate Heart’s Blood 4/5 for being a great read but had some politics that I personally don’t enjoy.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Heart’s Blood Blood today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: Dragon’s Blood by Jane Yolen

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A few weeks ago I indulged in reviewing one of the series that shaped my reading experience as a kid, The Belgariad by David Eddings. Let’s do it again! For the next four weeks we’ll dive into Jane Yolen’s original three books of the Pit Dragon Chronicles.

The Story

Jakkin is a bond boy, a slave who can earn his freedom if he gathers enough coin, to a dragon nursery owned by Sarkkhan. They live on a dangerous desert planet Austar IV that gets deadly cold at night. On Austar IV there’s only one thing that drives the economy, dragons. They are used as both entertainment and food.

As bond boy, the opportunities for earning coin are few and far between. If Jakkin is going to earn enough to leave before he’s too old and injured to make his place in the world, he’s going to have to do something drastic. When he learns of a recently laid clutch of eggs, he makes his move and steals one, relying on an inner sense that tells him that the egg he chose is special. If he can train up the dragon to be a winner in the fighting pits, Jakkin can pay off his bond price far faster.

Little does he know that Sarkkhan has been watching all this from a distance. Jakkin trains his dragon and takes it to fight only to spot Sarkkhan in the crowd. To his surprise, Sarkkhan isn’t angry over the theft of the egg and instead offers Jakkin a trainer position at the nursery and offers to help him train his dragon.

There’s also a cute “friendship to more” story between Jakkin and Akki, a girl also bonded to Sarkkhan. She discovers Jakkin’s secret and offers to help him in his quest toward freedom.

My Review

This was one of the few books that I read over and over as a kid because it had elements I loved, such as danger, dragons, and instances of the main character getting seriously injured and how they dealt with it. It also had a much different world than standard fantasy, which instantly made it that much more interesting. Desert landscape that can and will kill you at night, yes, please!

The writing and character development is also nicely done with plenty of interesting tidbits to make each character stand out.

Recommendations

Heart’s Blood is a fun, short romp through a well developed world and is full of adventure and dragons – which is a win for most. It’s target audience is young boys and I’d recommend it for ages 10 and up. It’s a clean read with some mentions of blood and violence as you’d expect from depictions of dragon fighting.

I rate Heart’s Blood 5/5 for being a great teen read.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Dragon’s Blood today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

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I’m branching out! Normally I’m not one to read ghost stories, but hey, this one was recommended and also available in audiobook at my local digital library. Yay. I do miss reading print books and the ritual of curling up and diving into the pages, but lately I’ve also appreciated having a distraction to listen to as I go about all the chores that I don’t really like.

This book makes a lovely distraction.

The Story

Cas Lowood has never had a normal life. His family has moved from place to place as his father hunted and killed dangerous ghosts. When his father is murdered by one of these violent ghosts, Cas inherits the job as well as the special sacrificial blade, the athame.

When Cas learns of the ghost, Anna Dressed in Blood, he knows that she might be the most dangerous target yet and he and his mother relocate to her sleepy small town. But, as all stories go, Anna turns out to be much different than expected. While she is terribly violent and literally tears apart anyone who steps foot into her home, she spares Cas.

Cas goes on to uncover her story and learn what is giving her so much power compared to other ghosts he’s hunted. In the process, he makes friends with the “queen bee” of the school and a totally nerdy kid who happens to be psychic. They work together to find clues about Anna, including casting a spell that reveals how and why she died.

It’s not until a much bigger problem presents itself that they know just how much trouble they’re in.

My Review

This is a story that seems almost a little too straightforward at first and then as the details unwind it gets more layered and to me, more interesting. The writing is very clean and easy to listen to, the characters unique and likeable, and the story itself engaging. And, there’s quite a bit of gore and violence as expected in a horror story, which in itself raises the tension and also makes the book demand to be read past bedtime.

I’ll admit, my writer brain did not want to shut up on this one as I puzzled through the clues that were given and what the possible outcomes could be. The best books give enough clues that I have a good idea where the story might go and the idea of it excites me enough that I want to see it come to life. Anna Dressed in Blood did have a handful of clues leading to something bigger going on beyond Anna’s story, so when that bigger thing stepped onto the page it shouldn’t have felt like a complete 180, but it did.

When listening to an audiobook, it’s much harder time to get a good feel where you are in the story. When I reached the big action scene that was meant to banish Anna back to wherever ghosts go when Cas kills them, I thought it might be the climax of the book. When her climactic scene came and went, but it didn’t’ feel like things were being resolved, I was left wondering what the story was really about.

The bigger story comes back to Cas wanting to find a resolution for the murder of his father and we definitely do get to that.

Another note, I didn’t know that this story was a duology (two book series) so when we got to the actual end and it didn’t feel finished, I wasn’t sure if it was just ended poorly or if I missed something. There are openings for more to happen, so I’ll probably pick up the second book to finish the story.

My Recommendation

As a horror novel, there are a few expectations that need to be lived up to. Anna Dressed in Blood has several on page murders that don’t shy back from the gory details. There is also a smattering of profanity, although not enough to really feel like an issue, I personally didn’t find it offensive.

This book is technically classified as a Young Adult (YA) horror, but its material does stretch above and beyond what many might be consider acceptable for YA. It earns it’s YA standing because the main character is very much a teen and throughout the story we are shown what it means to go through hard things as a teen so the YA assignment does work.

I’d recommend this for older teens and up because of the violence and gore.

I give Anna Dressed in Blood 3/5 for being a solid horror read but the shift to Cas’s bigger story felt disconnected to the events surrounding Anna’s story.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Anna Dressed in Blood today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen

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This is a series I’d heard about off and on. So, when I saw it available at the local virtual library I thought, “what the hey, let’s give it a shot.” It’s got royalty, subterfuge, and some snarky characters, so there’s a lot of potential here.

And … it’s a genderbent Anastasia.

The Story

I’m not kidding. The story itself is a close play-by-play of the 1997 Don Bluth animated adaptation of Anastasia. You know, the one with Meg Ryan, John Cusack, and Kelsey Grammer? The one with the lovely hit song, “Journey to the Past”? Yeah, that one.

Except with boys.

Sage is a clever orphan who is constantly making trouble. He’s got a good heart though, most of the trouble he gets in helps to get food for other unfortunates like himself. He and three other boys like him are plucked from their orphanages by one of the Regents of Carthya, Sir Bevin Connor, with the goal of making them into Prince Jaron, who went missing after a pirate attack four years earlier.

We spend the majority of the book watching Sage’s antics as Connor tries to teach him how to be a prince only for Sage to outsmart him at every turn. The other boys take these teachings seriously which puts Sage into a tricky position. He suspects that Connor will kill off whoever isn’t chosen, as he already killed one boy who wanted no part of the plan after it was revealed.

Behind the scenes and out of the view of the reader, Sage is ensuring that everything is in order for him to become Prince Jaron. If you’re familiar with the Anastasia story, you know where this is going. We come to a dramatic show down where everyone gets what they deserve, somewhat.

My Review

I wanted to like this book. There were lots of elements in it that were came close to being good, but fell just shy, including the main character. It also could have been that the book is mostly written in first person, which is a point of view that I find I can’t enjoy as much because it limits what the story can show the reader.

And, I figured out the majority of the plot in the first chapter so nothing really came as a surprise or a stunning big reveal. That is probably more me than most readers (ask the hubby, I’m delightful to watch TV with. Poor plot twists never knew what hit them).

Don’t get me wrong, I was entertained by the book. There was lots of swash-swash-buckle-buckle to keep things interesting, and Sage kept getting his butt handed to him which required people to tend to his various hurts, which I always appreciate. Beyond that, the writing was solid but not breathtaking, the plot interesting but predictable, and the characters rounded but not vibrant.

Recommendations

This book is perfect for younger boys trying to find stories where they can identify themselves in the characters. There’s literally a character for each type of boy, there’s the jock, the nerd, and the clever one who all have both good and bad traits to be likable. The prose is very approachable and the plot straightforward. The recommended reading age is 8-12, which looking back on my earlier remarks makes so much sense. As such, it’s super clean with appropriate levels of anger and violence and some mentions of blood but nothing too graphic.

I give The False Prince 3/5 stars, a solid entertaining read that I really wanted to be surprised by, and wasn’t.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed The False Prince today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

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How perfect is this? A book by two of my favorite authors which was later made into a TV series starring two of my favorite actors. It’s like a gift from the universe specially made for me. And even better, it’s pretty amazing.

The Story

There is a lot going in in Good Omens. We have three distinct story lines following the key players. First, there’s main story of how an angel and a demon are trying to prevent the apocalypse because frankly life in the 20th century is everything they’d ever want it to be and they would rather not see it end.

Then, there’s the story of the boy who is supposed to be the Antichrist and bring about the apocalypse.

There’s also a thread of the story as we watch the four horsemen of the apocalypse organize themselves and set things into motion.

Lastly, I’m going to lump together the characters revolving around the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, a book of prophecies which is distinct from other books of prophecies for one reason alone – It’s 100% accurate, this includes the descendant of Agnes, Anathema Device (best name for a character, ever) Newton Pulsifer, and Witchfinder Sergent Shadwell.

We see the book in three main time periods; the events surrounding the placement of the baby Antichrist into a suitable family; the key points of the boy’s growing up when both the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley work to ensure he’s given a proper education so when the time comes for the apocalypse, he’s ready; and then the time when the apocalypse is supposed to happen.

Like I said, there’s a lot going on here.

My Review

The one thing that I always find delightful in Pratchett’s books is his use of distinct and likable characters. We see loads of this here. The cast is absolutely massive in this book and yet each character is built in such a way that they walk fully formed off of the page. Take the demon Crowley, for example. He could have been played like a stereotypical villain and not been anything more than that. Instead, we have a man who loves his vintage Bentley (even if every cassette he tries to play in it in time turns into a Queen album), raises houseplants like children (which he sacrifices regularly to threaten the others to grow better, he is a demon after all), and created the M25 just to annoy humans.

Then, we mix all these amazing characters into a story line that’s both so complicated and yet so simple which screams iconic Gaiman.

It’s a hard combination to pull off and yet, for me, was 100% successful in creating an delightful romp through something running just parallel enough to the truth that it can be enjoyed first while reading, but also again as you think about all the bits and how they fit together.

Recommendations

If you’re already a fan of Pratchett and Gaiman you’ll already know that they both love to walk on the edge of the acceptable and explore what is considered right and wrong and why. That said, if reading about the Antichrist as a very real person, and worse, a child, makes you a little squeamish, then this whole book might be a little too much for comfort.

Age recommendations – I’d stick this one to adult readers and the older teenagers they let play. Besides the playful religious overtones ranging into the questionable at times, there only a sprinkling of curse words, I think f*^# is said once, and the violence and romantic content is present but subdued. The reason I recommend older readers is that the story won’t make much sense without context and life experience.

I rate Good Omens 5/5 for its excellent characters, delightful unlikely situations, and the most unusual of friendships.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Good Omens today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: Enchanter’s End Game by David Eddings

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We made it all the way to the end of the five book series, The Belgariad, by David Eddings. Woot! Congratulation are in order. I’m finding myself a donut. The last book, Enchanter’s End Game brings us to the end of Garion’s story arc and ties up all the loose ends, just as it’s supposed to. I still stand by my initial feeling that the majority of this book could have very well been included into the end of Castle of Wizardry, but the publisher probably argued that it would have made that book too long.

If you want to check out my reviews on the first four books in the series, here are some handy links:

The Story

We began the Belgariad by learning that the Orb of Aldur, a magical item created by one of the pantheon of gods in this universe, had been stolen. At book three, the orb is successfully recovered. In book four, it is restored to it’s rightful place. Now, in book five, the one who was behind the plot to steal it must be confronted and receive an appropriate consequence.

And … this is where the weird starts happening. Not that what has happened earlier in the story wasn’t unique in itself, but this is a bit weirder than usual. The overarching villain of this entire saga is none other than Torak, the god of the Angarak people. Torak, being a god, knows of Garion’s destiny and wants to thwart it. Instead of just killing him, Torak tries to make a deal.

It seems one of the Mallorian Prophecies marks his Aunt Pol as Torak’s fiancé. I told you this got a little weird. Torak wants to marry Pol and have Garion accept him as a father.

Hmmm . . . where have we heard this story line before?

There is a bunch of sneaking and fighting. The party gets captured by the mini boss, Zedar who delivers them to Torak. Torak uses mind control to get Pol to do what he wants. Garion uses magic to protect her. More fighting and all the feels happen as everyone tries to make it out of this story alive.

As this is the final book in the series, there is a rather lengthy post victory sequence where everyone gets what they want.

My Review

It’s always a little bittersweet to get to the end of a story and know that every battle, fight, and conflict must lead to something final. For me, the best part of a long series is watching characters grow into themselves and realize what kind of role they need to play. The journey is more interesting than the destination.

That said, there are some really nice moments in this book where these characters who have been through so much finally get what they deserve. Hard earned happiness is the best way to send a main character off into the sunset, and our motley crew of misfits each get a nice ending.

While I personally don’t ever want an exciting story to end, this one does end and Eddings makes it a good one. The series was so successful, that Eddings went on to expand this universe and the timeline, creating another five book series, the Malloreon, as well as three stand alone books.

Recommendations

The Belgariad is a must read for fantasy enthusiasts, especially those who want to dive into the roots of modern fantasy and see where different ideas and concepts took root. Critics claim that it was the Belgariad that breathed new life into the fantasy genre when many started to turn away.

It’s clean, fun, full of adventure, and good for everyone ages 12 and up.

I rate Enchanter’s End Game 4/5 for being a solid conclusion to a great story, even though the post climax material did feel a bit long.

I rate The Belgariad 5/5 for being an awesome, well paced, fantasy.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Enchanter’s End Game today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings

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We are four weeks into exploring the Belgariad and are now diving into the fourth book, Castle Wizardry by David Eddings. True to the hero’s journey, now that we’ve passed the half way mark in this five book series, the main character Garion must take charge of his destiny and start making decisions that matter.

If you want to check out my reviews on the first three books in the series, here are some handy links:

The Story

Our noble party has finally recovered the Orb at the end of the previous book, Magician’s Gambit. Yay! Their goal is to now deliver it safely back to its rightful place and ensure it remains in the right hands. Garion finally gets to lead the party, mostly because Pol and Belgarath both were incapacitated, as they work their way closer to the mythical Isle of the Winds.

Common to many long form stories, the Belgariad has a number of prophecies running about the edges that bring extra significance to events. In Castle of Wizardry, we see the culmination of a handful of these prophecies, namely, what Garion is destined to become. There was a reason he’d been brought up by a sorceress who pretended she was his aunt – he needed protecting because of his bloodline.

Also, in another twist, the same prophecy that reveals who Garion really is also spells out who he is meant to marry – someone who just happens to be traveling with them. She’s understandably enraged.

And because all good things come in threes, there is a third prophecy that Garion deciphers after the betrothal that says if he is “the special one” then he must also kill the Really Bad Guy or die himself. The story ends with Garion heading off toward his destiny to die or kill the bad guy, while his betrothed borrows a page from Tolkien and raises an army to distract the bad guy’s army and allow Garion’s safe passage.

My Review

It’s at this point in any long story where the reader can fully get behind the main character and what they are setting out to accomplish. All along the way we’d collected breadcrumbs and clues so when the prophecies started being fulfilled the resulting reveals didn’t come across as a huge surprise.

There is one super charming element I neglected to mention earlier, and that’s the character of Errand – a small boy who, through his absolute innocence, can handle the Orb of Aldur safely. Up to this point, the ensemble cast has been killing themselves to first find this Orb, then restore it to its rightful place. When they finally get it, they must take Errand as well, as none of them can handle it safely. Errand spends the entire book trying to give the Orb to anyone who will take it despite the casts efforts to tie, lock, and seal the Orb into its carrying pouch to keep him from doing it. In a story of good vs evil and light vs dark, it was nice to have this darling little boy keeping things from becoming too grim.

Where the past three books were spent exploring the nature of magic, Garion’s coming of age, as well as most of the map, it’s in Castle of Wizardry where we see a culmination of a whole lot of promises. We finally understand Garion’s role in the world and what he’s meant to do. In fact, if it were not for the fact that he had yet to beat the bad guy, it would have been a great ending to the series to finish here.

Recommendations

This is a series. Start at the beginning and work your way to this point. No, really. The weight of all the stuff that happens in this book relies on the reader understanding everything it took to get there.

For you parents out there trying to decide is this is an appropriate read – it’s clean as is the rest of the series. I’d recommend it for ages 12 and up for the complexity and the intensity of some of the fight scenes.

I rate Castle of Wizardry 4/5 for being a solid fantasy that should have probably been limited to a four book series.

Go here for the review of the last book in the series, Enchanter’s End Game.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Castle of Wizardry today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: Magician’s Gambit by David Eddings

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We’ve reached the middle of the five book series, the Belgariad and as such, one significant event must happen in the story that changes the way the main character views the overarching goal of the series.

If you’re just joining us, here are handy links to the reviews to the first two books in the series:

The Story

At the end of the Queen of Sorcery, we left Garion after he is rescued from the snake people and is reconciled with his “Aunt” Polgara, who happens to be a powerful sorceress. At this point he’s just coming into a vague understanding that he possesses the ability to do magic, through a process called the Will and the Word.

It is in Magician’s Gambit that Garion finally receives his formal magical training, as Polgara judges that if he doesn’t, he might end up killing himself or someone else by accident. The critical moment of this decision comes when Garion brings a dead foal to life, something that the sorceress didn’t believe possible.

The party, now consisting of Ce’Nedra, Polgara, Belgarath, and Garion, learn of the Orbs resting place and spend the bulk of the book traveling through strange lands to get there, including the land of Maragor, who’s vengeful god Mara drives any invader insane, the Vale of Aldur where Garion practices mastery of the Will and the Word, and then to Ulgoland where the Orb is hidden.

The dramatic ending includes lots of magical fighting between the Angarak sorcerer Ctuchik who stole the Orb and Garion’s party. There’s a nice twist in how the fighting ends, which I won’t spoil for you.

My Review

I’m partial to books with magical training and deeper dives into how the magic actually works (which is exactly why Stonebearer’s Apprentice exists – I had to have that element in my own series). In the Magician’s Gambit training sequence, there’s a hilarious bit where Garion tries to move a boulder and ends up burying himself neck deep in the ground. There’s also this idea of spending eons studying something small, such as a feather, until it becomes more than an item but a study in studying.

As with all good stories, each of the stakes are raised as the party moves into more dangerous situations among more violent people. I mentioned that there had to be a critical change in the goal because this is the middle book in the series, and that change happens in a way that doesn’t feel forced, which is always nice. The party finally recovers the Orb, and now the remaining books of the series will be spent returning it to its rightful place.

There is still a feel of a fantasy trope checklist being checked off as the story moves from land to land. A pitfall of many fantasy stories is that they get stuck in one place. Part of the wonder in any fantasy novel is the nature of the place where the characters must move closer to their goals. When there are no new elements or places to explore, the interest of the story falls solely on the shoulders of the characters and their problems, which is more challenging.

Recomendations

The story, which up to this point has plenty of adventure and some peril, takes a darker turn as we get closer to the malice of the big villain that eventually must be conqured, Torak. The monsters get uglier, the motives behind actions get more malicious, and the bad guys get stronger. That said, this is still a safe read for young teens and up.

I give Magician’s Gambit 4/5 stars for being entertaining, although there are a few slow bits.

Dive straight into the next review of the next book in the series:

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Magician’s Gambit today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Book Review: Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings

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As with most multibook series, the middle few books tend to do more than their fair share of escalating the stakes as they approach a much bigger problem, without actually facing that problem head on. Queen of Sorcery is a fun romp through all the many lands that make up Garion’s world as they come closer to recovering the legendary orb. If you missed the review of book one, click here.

The Story

Garion is no longer a naive teenager. Yay. He’s now a somewhat naive young man with a lot to prove, and not a lot of experience to draw on. So, it makes total sense for him kick off the story in a duel and then go on to try to break up an assassination attempt of neighboring duchy’s king.

They go on to travel all sorts of places following more clues to find the orb, and end up in the middle of political intrigue after political intrigue. During one of these intrigues, the Princess Ce’Nedra disguises herself and joins their party.

Throughout the story, Garion is starting to learn how to use the Will and the Word, the magic system of the universe shared by Belgarath, Polgara, and the other sorcerers. Like I said before, he’s still a bit naive and when he tries to use this magic it only causes more problems.

They encounter dryads, snake people, and a man who can change into a bear.

My Review

There are certain expectations when it comes to fantasy titles, and for Queen of Sorcery, it feels like Eddings is going through a checklist to see if he can get them all. Magic, check. People who transform into animals, check. Kings and political intrigues, check. Lands and kingdoms with wholly unique qualities to themselves, check. A stolen princess in disguise, check. A large wandering party composed of people all with varying unique skills, check. Lots of tavern meetings, check. Swords, check.

That said, it’s still a very enjoyable book. The characters are entertaining, especially Ce’Nedra, who has always been a favorite of mine. There’s a whole boob armor scene somewhere in the series where she complains about her armor not being flattering enough and wanting it to show that she indeed is a woman.

Eddings doesn’t pull back from making life hard for Garion either. The poor kid really can’t catch a break.

Recommendations

These books are perfect for the young adult fantasy reader. There’s adventure, danger, humor, and magic to keep things entertaining and nothing I would consider objectionable.

I give Queen of Sorcery 4/5 for not giving us a strong villain to contend with directly.

For the review of the next books in the series, here are some handy links:

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Queen of Sorcery today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.