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miggins1610 's review for:
Light Giver
by Mike Slade
TLDR: A fantastic debut by author Mike Slade! The real star here is the worldbuilding and the emotional arc of the characters. Whilst not quite a grimdark book, there are a few intense moments, and Mr Slade has clearly put a lot of time into developing his characters and the world, nailing the feel of teenage awkwardness being just one example. There are many diverse cultures which we get to meet along the way, each feeling distinctive in their respective languages and religions. The magic system is a unique creation based upon runes, and it is clear that Mr Slade has worked hard upon it and will reveal more to us in later books. Whilst the plot takes more of a backseat in this first novel this is by no means a bad thing. By the end it is clear the major setup is over, and we are well and truly in a fantastical world of gods, magic and action! An indie delight!
4.25/5
**********
Every generation in the secluded Kingdom of Yanasu, a child is born with the power to heal the very life force coursing through the veins of all living beings.
Now Kaine, an outsider from a distant continent, finds himself at the doorsteps of Yanasu, seeking help and guidance for his newly revealed healing powers. He never expected to become the ward of the ailing High Priest, or to grow close to Na’Serra, a princess coming into her own fantastic abilities.
When a deadly anti-magic cult targets Na’Serra for her developing powers, she and Kaine must quickly work to unlock their own potential and save not only their loved ones, but all the free people of the world.
All the while, a troubling question lingers for Kaine; Was he gifted his powers by the dark otherworldly force that’s been whispering in his ear, or was he born to be a Light Giver?
***********************
First of all, many thanks to Mike for gifting an audio copy as part of a giveaway! I was most excited to dive into this book as it has an absolutely fantastic cover, and always keen to support an indie!
What I found was a completely enchanting debut, especially with the narration from Robin Coppock who performs very creatively and was a great companion for my cycles into work. The world that Mr Slade has crafted here is clearly a labour of love, with several diverse cultures that we meet along the way, each with their own vibrant ways of living, languages and religions. This was probably my favourite aspect of the book, as a lot of time is spent on setting up the world and the journeys our characters go on.
Our main character is a young boy called Kaine with a traumatic past who discovers he has the magical power to heal and use rune casting. He is taken under the wing of his uncle Accleides (apologies if I get the spelling wrong!) and ends up travelling to the kingdom of Yanasu where he meers the young princess Na’ Serra. Along with Deondoria, the protector of Na’ Serra these our our three main characters and they’re a wonderful bunch. Deondoria is the strong warrior with a heart of gold, and both Kaine and Na’ Serra are young teens who are dealing with the struggles of growing older. There is a lot of emotion invested into these characters, and for the most part it really hit home, Slade not exactly giving these characters easy lives. Slade absolutely nails that awkward stage of young adulthood, and it’s wonderful to see his characterisations. In the future, I’d love to see Slade push it further, as there were times when I felt that aspects weren’t explored as deeply as they could’ve been, but it is a testament to the skill of Mr Slade that it didn’t detract from my enjoyment in the slightest, it just left me excited to push further. Certainly, towards the end of the novel things take a darker turn into slightly more intense territory, perfectly setting the reader up to be eager for book 2. We also have LGBTQ+ rep within this story which is so wonderful to see as I have not really come across it in the books I have read. It’s good to know that Slade has crafted such a diverse world!
The pace of this book is very fast, with each chapter often progressing things further than expected, and I hope we get even more time within the different kingdoms of the world in the future. The plot does take more of a backseat to the setup of the world and the characters here, which isn’t a bad thing as it allows the world and characters to shine, although if you are more plot orientated as a reader, this may not be the book for you. The villain in this story is a religious zealout called Browse the blessed, and at times it could be a little on the nose with the contrast between polytheism and monotheism, although it didn’t upset me as a religious reader in the slightest. I’d have liked to see a little more development of the villains, and more of the wider story of the series, but it never seriously detracted from my time in the world.
The magic system is based upon runes and was a very unique system compared to what I’ve read before. It was sort of inbetween a soft and a hard magic system I found, but as more details are revealed in future works I am expecting it to be a hard magic system. I’m not the most adept at understanding magic systems in general, and it being audio made it a little harder for me to keep track of things, but this is just a personal thing, and I think it was a well developed magic system.
Overall, a really fantastic debut, full of vibrancy and life, great characters and diverse worldbuilding. I am incredibly excited for book 2 whenever it graces our lives!
4.25/5
**********
Every generation in the secluded Kingdom of Yanasu, a child is born with the power to heal the very life force coursing through the veins of all living beings.
Now Kaine, an outsider from a distant continent, finds himself at the doorsteps of Yanasu, seeking help and guidance for his newly revealed healing powers. He never expected to become the ward of the ailing High Priest, or to grow close to Na’Serra, a princess coming into her own fantastic abilities.
When a deadly anti-magic cult targets Na’Serra for her developing powers, she and Kaine must quickly work to unlock their own potential and save not only their loved ones, but all the free people of the world.
All the while, a troubling question lingers for Kaine; Was he gifted his powers by the dark otherworldly force that’s been whispering in his ear, or was he born to be a Light Giver?
***********************
First of all, many thanks to Mike for gifting an audio copy as part of a giveaway! I was most excited to dive into this book as it has an absolutely fantastic cover, and always keen to support an indie!
What I found was a completely enchanting debut, especially with the narration from Robin Coppock who performs very creatively and was a great companion for my cycles into work. The world that Mr Slade has crafted here is clearly a labour of love, with several diverse cultures that we meet along the way, each with their own vibrant ways of living, languages and religions. This was probably my favourite aspect of the book, as a lot of time is spent on setting up the world and the journeys our characters go on.
Our main character is a young boy called Kaine with a traumatic past who discovers he has the magical power to heal and use rune casting. He is taken under the wing of his uncle Accleides (apologies if I get the spelling wrong!) and ends up travelling to the kingdom of Yanasu where he meers the young princess Na’ Serra. Along with Deondoria, the protector of Na’ Serra these our our three main characters and they’re a wonderful bunch. Deondoria is the strong warrior with a heart of gold, and both Kaine and Na’ Serra are young teens who are dealing with the struggles of growing older. There is a lot of emotion invested into these characters, and for the most part it really hit home, Slade not exactly giving these characters easy lives. Slade absolutely nails that awkward stage of young adulthood, and it’s wonderful to see his characterisations. In the future, I’d love to see Slade push it further, as there were times when I felt that aspects weren’t explored as deeply as they could’ve been, but it is a testament to the skill of Mr Slade that it didn’t detract from my enjoyment in the slightest, it just left me excited to push further. Certainly, towards the end of the novel things take a darker turn into slightly more intense territory, perfectly setting the reader up to be eager for book 2. We also have LGBTQ+ rep within this story which is so wonderful to see as I have not really come across it in the books I have read. It’s good to know that Slade has crafted such a diverse world!
The pace of this book is very fast, with each chapter often progressing things further than expected, and I hope we get even more time within the different kingdoms of the world in the future. The plot does take more of a backseat to the setup of the world and the characters here, which isn’t a bad thing as it allows the world and characters to shine, although if you are more plot orientated as a reader, this may not be the book for you. The villain in this story is a religious zealout called Browse the blessed, and at times it could be a little on the nose with the contrast between polytheism and monotheism, although it didn’t upset me as a religious reader in the slightest. I’d have liked to see a little more development of the villains, and more of the wider story of the series, but it never seriously detracted from my time in the world.
The magic system is based upon runes and was a very unique system compared to what I’ve read before. It was sort of inbetween a soft and a hard magic system I found, but as more details are revealed in future works I am expecting it to be a hard magic system. I’m not the most adept at understanding magic systems in general, and it being audio made it a little harder for me to keep track of things, but this is just a personal thing, and I think it was a well developed magic system.
Overall, a really fantastic debut, full of vibrancy and life, great characters and diverse worldbuilding. I am incredibly excited for book 2 whenever it graces our lives!