The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima Review

The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima, book two of the Heir Chronicles, takes us into the life of Seph, a young wizard.  It follows directly after the events of The Warrior Heir, where tensions between the Wizards and other guilds is high. If you have no idea what I'm talking about right now, go and read The Warrior Heir, as you will have no idea what is going on in this book if you don't read it first.   

Seph doesn't know anything about the tension though. His guardian died a few years ago and all he knows is that he is a wizard. When he sets fire a bar in Toronto, his new guardian ships him to a reform school in Maine. When he gets to the reform school he figures out that the alumni and the headmaster are wizards.  When the headmaster offers to train him, he says yes, but when he has to do a blood ritual he backs out.  

Will he be able to resist the headmaster and the alumni? Or will he end up a slave to the headmaster? Read the book to find out.  Just in case your wondering, Jack and Ellen do come back in this book in the second half. 

The author has managed to write a long book that has great characterization but doesn't drag on.  They was always action around the corner,  wether it be in the form of a magic duel or political showdown.  The characters were what really made the book shine. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and each has a unique  relationship with the other characters. For example, Hasting and Linda don't trust one another, but they also love each-other. 

The ending in a book in my opinion is the most important part, and is were this book really shines. The book comes to an action-packed close, but also manages to wrap up a lot of loose strings while also setting the plot for the next book.  There were also a few small plot twists in the end that really surprised me.  

If you're looking for a great fantasy read look no further as The Wizard Heir delivers. My only minor compliant  about this book is that I didn't really like Seph because of some of his actions during the book,. but maybe thats just a testament to how great the characterization is in this book. Overall, this book is great and fully deserves my first five star review. 

My Rating:

Michael Vey: The Prisoner Of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans Review

The Prisoner of Cell 25 Cover Page

Michael Vey: The Prisoner Of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans is a book about children with superpowers, and to be honest it sucked me right in.   The best thing for me about this book is that the characters feel real. They all have problems and flaws that they try to overcome, and have one or two things that they excel at.  For example, Ostin, Michael's best friend, is socially awkward but very smart. Another thing that great about this book is that the superpowers are fresh and original.  Never before have a read a book where most of the characters are electric.   Plus, this book actual gives a plausible reason as to how these kids got there powers and why an organization wants them.

Richard Paul Evans also perfectly balances the mix of action and character development. We get to learn about the characters before the fighting started, and got frequent breaks in the action to learn the characters feelings and reactions.

I really liked the characters and the powers, but  while I was reading this I felt as if I seen the story before. It seemed to lean heavily on movies like the X-Men or shows like Heroes were suddenly ordinary  people learn they have powers and then have to save the world or bring down an organization.

If your looking for a book that has realistic characters and a plot that will suck your day away look no further, but if you like your story totally original than look elsewhere.

My Rating:

  

Death Sentence(Escape From The Furnace) by Alexander Gordon Smith Book Review

Death Sentence Cover Page

Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith is the 3rd book in the Escape From the Furnace series.  All the Escape From the Furnace books offer a unique blend of horror and dystopia genres. If you haven't read the other books in the series I seriously recommend that you do as many times in this book you will have no clue what the characters are talking about if you having read the past books. 


Just a quick recap: Alex's tried to escape twice from the furnace prison twice now. His last attempt landed him in the warden's hands. Now, the warden wants to turn Alex into a Blacksuit, one of the prisons inhuman guards.  


In Death Sentence, Alex goes through the operations to become a Blacksuit. Will Alex ever remember who he was after the operations are done, or will he become what he hates most? Also the big question looms, will Alex ever escape? 


Death Sentence is a very fast-paced book. If action packed books are your cup of tea, then look no further.  Bullets may well go flying around the corner and you never know what to expect. Also, this book shows many different medic experiments gone wrong which may well give you nightmares.  One last thing that I like about this book is that the reader is finally able to see how the Furnace came to be. 


One thing I don't like about the book is that the world seems very unrealistic. Would modern-day Britain allow the Furnace to be built, even if there were huge gang riots and people were killed. Also, wouldn't a government inspector visit the prison and see the bad conditions and the medic experiments? 

My Rating: