At long last all five books have been released and I can write this long overdue review. I cannot praise this series or its writer enough. It is truly a series that grows with the reader getting darker and more meaningful with every page turn. Henry H. Neff is one of the few writers I have had the privilege of reading who’s plot twists are genuinely twists and are very often completely unpredictable (in a good way). The story follows David Menlo and Max McDaniels two boys selected to go to Rowan, a school for those who can wield magic, but don’t let that description deter you. The books themselves are not about the magic school, the magic school is simply a tool that make everything more interesting just as the Workshop and the magical creatures do. The story is about bullies and demons, origins and adventures, social constructs and civil rights, right and wrong, life and death. It is about two boys who stand up for themselves, for each other, and for those they love; no matter who or what tries to destroy them (and over the five books an awful lot of people try to kill these two kids). 

Henry H. Neff manages to perfectly create a world that mirrors our own so perfectly whilst being unrecognizable after the events of the second book. It is emphasized through several examples that one bad seed does not make every member of that species bad and one good seed does not make every member of that species good. This is particularly relevant in todays culture where one terrorist act by a few rogue individuals can pit entire nations/races/religions against each other. I recognize that this review is probably one my least well written ones. These books are indescribable and amazing. They are much better at representation than most books of its kind. The only subgroup not particularly well represented is homosexuals. Also religions are not well represented, mostly because nearly all the characters are a-religious with a few exceptions and after the second book nobody really remembers any of our religious practices anyway. 

Read. Them. These books aren’t well known but in my opinion they are much better than any of the teen dystopian best-sellers. The main characters are never in any doubt that the “utopia” being created around them is not even close; however most of the world is easily fooled. 

For once we get to see the world as it used to be become the world of the dystopia and then get overthrown into something in between. 

5 stars. Always.