Scan barcode
A review by queenoferebor
The Novice by Taran Matharu
4.0
When Harry Potter meets Pokémon and Dragon Age.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So much that I'm already half-way through the second part. It is a bit on the younger side of the young-adult bracket, but it has a very interesting worldbuilding, and the magic system is particular enough to keep you engaged.
My only issue with this series (because the second book seems to be going down the same road) is that the characters are flat. They're either good or bad. Black or white, and there is no middle-ground. Don't get me wrong, it is refreshing to read a main character who is "special" without being pretentious, and who is genuinely a good person, but the antagonists...Oh, God. One of my biggest pet peeves are villains who are not fleshed-out, who do not seem to have any motivation behind ther villanousness except, well, being the bad guys. And in this book THEY ARE EVERYWHERE, right from the very beggining.
In a way, they highlight how wrong it is to be racist and a bigot. And they further serve as a criticism for how social classes work (hint: bad, very bad). However, they are superpainful to read because they are the archetypical bad guys, they are almost caricatures. You want to punch them in the face everytime they appear on the page.
Other than that, I recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and Pókemon, especially to those of younger age.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So much that I'm already half-way through the second part. It is a bit on the younger side of the young-adult bracket, but it has a very interesting worldbuilding, and the magic system is particular enough to keep you engaged.
My only issue with this series (because the second book seems to be going down the same road) is that the characters are flat. They're either good or bad. Black or white, and there is no middle-ground. Don't get me wrong, it is refreshing to read a main character who is "special" without being pretentious, and who is genuinely a good person, but the antagonists...Oh, God. One of my biggest pet peeves are villains who are not fleshed-out, who do not seem to have any motivation behind ther villanousness except, well, being the bad guys. And in this book THEY ARE EVERYWHERE, right from the very beggining.
In a way, they highlight how wrong it is to be racist and a bigot. And they further serve as a criticism for how social classes work (hint: bad, very bad). However, they are superpainful to read because they are the archetypical bad guys, they are almost caricatures. You want to punch them in the face everytime they appear on the page.
Other than that, I recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and Pókemon, especially to those of younger age.