I need to start this review with a few caveats. 1- I have worked with and been friends with the author for quite a few years. I'm still reviewing this as though I don't know Sarah. 2- I am not a huge fan of superhero movies like The Avengers (unless I'm watching with a Rifftrax playing) and I don't play MMORPGs. As a result, I really didn't think I would like or enjoy this book. I was wrong. 3- I don't give or take away stars based on grammar, plot, character development, etc. I give them based purely on how much I liked whatever I'm rating. 5 means I loved it and will read it again, 3 means it was OK, 1 means I hated it with the fiery heat of a thousand suns. :)
Please note, this review may contain minor spoilers. If there are, they shouldn't be enough to detract from your enjoyment of the book.
At first, I was worried when the story started off with children in school. I dislike most young adult stuff. I was also worried because the prologue acts as a sort of info-dump, educating the reader about the world, the magic system, the religious system (don't worry if you aren't religious or are atheist, it's not a Christian theology and the religious element isn't overwhelming), the main characters, etc. However, it was done well and I think it was probably necessary. It's a complex world, an alternate of ours, where people are born with the ability to wield magic to protect us from all the things that go bump in the night... and day. All the creatures from trolls and fairies to vampires and beholders are represented in this world. Think our world with D&D mixed in, where the entire Monster Manual can, and sometimes does, cross over from alternate dimensions to cause havoc in our world.
Once the story proper began I was relieved to find the protagonists were adults. A few of them are quite similar to people I know. They feel like real people, and are different enough that you can identify who is who by their personalities. The people stay true to their genders. One of my pet peeves is when men can't be differentiated from women in their thoughts or actions, so the men being men made me happy. The story takes place over a relatively short period of time so there isn't a lot of time for character development, but I didn't feel any of the characters suffered for that. They weren't cardboard, or there as passing filler.
There is no angst in this book and I can get behind that one-hundred percent. I hate angst. There is a hint of a romance possible in a future book, where two friends are becoming aware of each other and that they could become more than friends. There is nothing more than a hint and it doesn't come into play until the last half of the book. There is some language. If you care, d@mn is the most used, h*ll is next, sh*t is rare and the dreaded "f-word" is used once (it is used appropriate to the circumstances). The language is not prevalent. If you are super sensitive to swearing, you may be offended, but it is so seldom used it shouldn't be a problem for the majority of people. It is comparable to that found in a PG rated move.
The action has me of two minds. There are a lot of battles with monsters and the violence factor is quite high. I had to suspend my disbelief during the battle scenes because as I was envisioning each fight I could see too many places where openings were left for counter-strikes. I think this book is tailor made to be an incredibly exciting movie with stunning fight scenes. I also think that if people fought in real life like they do in this book, they'd be dead. Most of the fighting is done with swords, spears, crossbows, other melee weapons, or spells. There are no guns in the book. Personally, I would think a gun with armor piercing shaped energy bullets could be as effective as the others, and involve a lot less wet-work, but the battles are as exciting as anything I've seen in a movie or played in an RPG (which I do enjoy).
Sarah does have a creature called a grimalkin in the book that I'd give my eye-teeth to have. A winged cat with the ability to speak, Mr. Grim is lovable, adorable, and completely melted my heart. He was my favorite character, although all of the main characters (with the exception of Vincent) were great. There were some fun twists in the book, like the advisor god for our intrepid group of heroes texting them, and the group setting up a social network for the Guardians, that amused me. The ending battle was a good time, a good old fashioned over-the-top melee split between two locations, and I had no problem envisioning all the chaos and (to the game player) fun.
There were a few things that bothered me. The grammar, especially for a self-published book, was miles better than 90% of the other self-published books out there. However, there were some tense shifts, sentence fragments, missing letters, it's/its and too/to mix-ups and the like. Also, the dialogue needs a lot more contractions. A lot of the dialogue sounds oddly stiff and formal because contractions aren't used where they should be. "Random" is over-used (3 times on one page in one instance) and "basically" is over-used as well. I think a final proof and re-submission would not be amiss (Sarah, I'd be glad to volunteer). There were a couple of places where I question the logic. But for the most part, this is a well-written, engrossing, fun read. It's not high literature, and it's not supposed to be. It is supposed to be an inventive action-packed good time and it does the job well.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it enough I'm going to buy paper copies and give them to my nieces. I'm also looking forward to the next in the series. So, Sarah, you told me you've started it... I'm waiting. ;)
$3.99 with 60 percent savings
Print List Price: $9.99 
The Print List Price is the lowest suggested retail price provided by a publisher for a print book format of this title, available on Amazon (e.g. hardcover, paperback, mass market paperback).
Learn more
Learn more
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Unwell Hydration from Alex Cooper
Hydrate & focus with every sip Shop now
About the author
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2021
- Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2019
- Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2019
Top reviews from other countries
- Steve VimesReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2021
Excellent first book in an exciting series!
- Perry WolfecastleReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2022
The start of a great series
