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A review by booktallie
The Novice by Taran Matharu
4.0
Taran Matharu creates an amazing adventure of magic, excitement, and imagination with his debut novel, The Novice (Summoner Book 1). Matharu started this crazy adventure participating in “Nanowrimo 2013” and creating Origins (Summoner 0.5) a prequel to the Novice and due to its popularity (over 3 million reads in less than six months) Matharu found himself publishing his novel with great anticipation. Little Tip you can download Origins from Amazon Kindle for free.
The Novice is about a boy named Fletcher who flees the village he calls home after an incident that would land him in prison, or worse, get him killed, but really it was self-defense. With what happens, he discovers that he has the talent to summon demons as familiars and ultimately lands up in Vocans Academy by choice; a school dedicated in training future battle mages for the centuries long war against the orcs.
Matharu does a remarkable job at world-building. He delves into issues regarding race and the subjugation of the lower class, both of which reflect on today’s society. People always disregard fantasy as pleasure reading, forgetting that you can enjoy a book and also learn something from it. Fantasy provides a range of space to conquer all sorts of issues, predominantly to provide social commentary, and I believe Matharu does a magnificent job in presenting the possibilities that fantasy has. The world-building doesn’t stop there though. It’s woven into the vivid and descriptive writing. You can envision the story in your mind with ease by how much description he provides. There was a sense of continuity, though out the book, flowing from one event to the next, one challenge to another more pressing one, making it so that the plot develops nicely as you continue reading.
However, the only thing I had a problem with was the sudden leap near the end. There’s a tournament that happens, but the chapter before it takes place several months before. I thought there could have been maybe a chapter or two to ease it in, but it’s not that big of a deal. What is, is the cliff hanger Matharu left us all with. I personally can’t wait for the sequel to this book.
*** Note to the Author –“ I just wanted to take the time a said Thank you so much for my signed copy of your amazing novel… You are truly a wonderful author!”
The Novice is about a boy named Fletcher who flees the village he calls home after an incident that would land him in prison, or worse, get him killed, but really it was self-defense. With what happens, he discovers that he has the talent to summon demons as familiars and ultimately lands up in Vocans Academy by choice; a school dedicated in training future battle mages for the centuries long war against the orcs.
Matharu does a remarkable job at world-building. He delves into issues regarding race and the subjugation of the lower class, both of which reflect on today’s society. People always disregard fantasy as pleasure reading, forgetting that you can enjoy a book and also learn something from it. Fantasy provides a range of space to conquer all sorts of issues, predominantly to provide social commentary, and I believe Matharu does a magnificent job in presenting the possibilities that fantasy has. The world-building doesn’t stop there though. It’s woven into the vivid and descriptive writing. You can envision the story in your mind with ease by how much description he provides. There was a sense of continuity, though out the book, flowing from one event to the next, one challenge to another more pressing one, making it so that the plot develops nicely as you continue reading.
However, the only thing I had a problem with was the sudden leap near the end. There’s a tournament that happens, but the chapter before it takes place several months before. I thought there could have been maybe a chapter or two to ease it in, but it’s not that big of a deal. What is, is the cliff hanger Matharu left us all with. I personally can’t wait for the sequel to this book.
*** Note to the Author –“ I just wanted to take the time a said Thank you so much for my signed copy of your amazing novel… You are truly a wonderful author!”