Reviews

Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward

has3000's review

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This one is fine. It’s entertaining, and would probably be pretty good for young readers (maybe 5th-8th grade).
The writing is sloppy, and the protagonist is good at everything he does, to the point of it taking away fro most of the stakes. It holds high ideals of serving king and country, and the importance of honor and obedience over personal desires. There’s no romance, which is kinda refreshing.

I did enjoy the fantasy aspects and the idea of dragonships and the enemy shapechangers.

iluvbooks13's review

5.0

This is an amazing book! It's kind of like Harry Potter with a mix of sailing and a few other interesting elements (like the fact that the ship they sail in is actually a dragon).

wealhtheow's review

1.0

Astonishingly awful fantasy. It's so badly written that I thought the first chapter was a parody or a play within the book--here's a sample line from the first page. "'Hook, me old friend, you've been complaining about storms for as long as I've known you. Here, take this to warm your salty bones,' said the friend while handing Hook a tankard of hot rum." The friend's name is Pegleg. Pegleg and Hook, I kid you not. They exchange a few lines of dialog about how they're hearty sea dogs, and then they meet (and are incredibly impressed by) Halycon Blithe, the newest midshipwizard in the Arcanian fleet. Here's what his dialog sounds like: "'I know I'll have to serve a few years to earn the respect of such men,' Halycon said to himself. 'But earn it I will, because I'm an officer with prospects, no doubt about it.'"

Ye gods! Published by Tor, horribly enough.

wyvernfriend's review

4.0

In a world where ships of the line are carved from the body of living dragons and where officers wield magic comes Midshipwizard Halcyon Blythe. He came into his magic late in life and now has to try and catch up. This does cause him problems with his peers and he also has issues with understand his power and some of the implications.

I enjoyed the read, it did have room for improvement but I did find it an interesting read with characters I cared for.