ARC, 291 pages
Release Date: May 5, 2015Published by: Feiwel & FriendsSummoner, #1Source: ATWATFor fans of: High Fantsy, Action, Romance, DemonsWhen blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.
As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I read some of the first part of this on Wattpad and was inteested on where it was going. I wanted to see more about how the demons came about and what role the magic and the school played in it. But come to find out, what I read on Wattpad was really the only part that I was interested in. It was a little heartbreaking.
Fletcher finds out that he can summon demons on a whim. But then he goes to Adept Academy where he trains his self to do it somewhat safely. But even as safe as he is with himself, the others surrounding him are put for much more than recognition. But then things start to stack against him and he needs to figure out what he deems as necessary. All he has on his side is his demon….
The thing that threw me off about this one was the writing style. At some times it was fine, but other times it felt weird. Like it was telling, not showing. I’d never really understood what people meant by that before, but it certainly showed in this writing. I knew exactly what was going on in the story, but there was no knowledge about the world, there was nothing about their surroundings. It just seemed like everything was told against a white space or just stock photos of certain places. (Like a mausoleum or a graveyard.) When it was there, it seemed dumped on the story, but then when it wasn’t, it seemed non-existent. World-building is one of my favorite parts of reading, and this one was missing that key piece for me.
The lack of world building also took away from the action. Because I had no idea of what the background was supposed to be, there was nothing there that really stood out to me. I also really didn’t like that there were many times where the book mentioned “how slow time was passing.” It made the book pass slowly as well. Even with all the action that was going on. It just seemed like the book was crawling by and every time I got it out to read, I ended up very tired and took a nap instead.
This won’t be the first time I read a book and really enjoyed the beginning and then by the end changed my mind about wanting to know what happened. In the end I skimmed for the climax and all that I assumed would be true, was. I assume this one wasn’t the best for me because I’m not a huge fantasy fan, but this one may be different for those that are.
Overall, I give this
There will be no quotes in this one since it was a DNF.