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The Osserian Saga #1
The Amber Wizard
For a thousand years, there have been no great wizards in the world -- and even longer since a wizard-king reigned. Now all must welcome and fear the coming of The Amber Wizard As Gerin Atreyano takes his place as the Crown Prince of Khedesh after his father ascends to the throne, a stranger appears and proclaims that Gerin may be the amber wizard foretold long ago. Now young Gerin's training, both as prince and wizard, must begin in earnest. But his enemies place a secret enchantment upon him, pulling him down a path of darkness. As opposing forces mass across the land, arming for bloody war, he inadvertently opens an ancient portal using forbidden magic. And suddenly Gerin Atreyano faces a dual destiny as savior or destroyer of a world in chaos -- as he prepares for the dread reemergence of humanity's most powerful Asankaru, the vengeful and terrible Storm King.
544 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
16 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
David Forbes
5 books14 followersDavid Forbes lives near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with his wife and two children, a very talkative cat named Pumpkin, and a not-very-bright ferret named Hip-Hop who has yet to realize that you do not poop in room corners. He spends his days as a credit union marketing executive and dons his not-very-secret alternate persona of novelist during whatever little spare time he has left in the evenings, on weekends, vacations, and the occasional holiday.
Forbes (this is me writing in the third person. For those of you who’ve always wondered who writes the author’s bios for books, the secret is now out of the bag) is the author of the bestselling epic fantasy series THE OSSERIAN SAGA, published by HarperCollins, as well as the mainstream novel LIFE LINE.
He is currently working on a young adult trilogy called THE LOST GARDEN, about a teenage girl named Abbey Howard who finds herself pursued by an immortal empress who believes Abbey is a threat to her immortality. Abbey finds protection in the arms of the new kid in school, hunky Caleb Powell. He and his family are secretly witches who protect ordinary people from the very real monsters that go bump in the night. The individual titles of each book are THE SAPPHIRE EYE, THE BLACK FLAME, and THE WHITE ROSE. He’s also preparing an urban fantasy novel called THE RUTHLESS DEAD, about a half-angel security consultant who’s marked for possession by an ancient Greek vampire.
More information about all of these titles can be found at the author’s website, www.davidforbes.net.
Forbes (this is me writing in the third person. For those of you who’ve always wondered who writes the author’s bios for books, the secret is now out of the bag) is the author of the bestselling epic fantasy series THE OSSERIAN SAGA, published by HarperCollins, as well as the mainstream novel LIFE LINE.
He is currently working on a young adult trilogy called THE LOST GARDEN, about a teenage girl named Abbey Howard who finds herself pursued by an immortal empress who believes Abbey is a threat to her immortality. Abbey finds protection in the arms of the new kid in school, hunky Caleb Powell. He and his family are secretly witches who protect ordinary people from the very real monsters that go bump in the night. The individual titles of each book are THE SAPPHIRE EYE, THE BLACK FLAME, and THE WHITE ROSE. He’s also preparing an urban fantasy novel called THE RUTHLESS DEAD, about a half-angel security consultant who’s marked for possession by an ancient Greek vampire.
More information about all of these titles can be found at the author’s website, www.davidforbes.net.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 2, 2021
I had a hard time getting into this one. I thought it was kinda boring to be honest. I found myself losing interest pretty quickly into the story.
July 13, 2021
Interesting story and characters. Quite a difficult read that hinders the story telling to a point it becomes a lot less enjoyable. Unrealized potential.
July 19, 2022
As a rule for choosing a novel, I generally try to stick to the “Page 69” test. The test is performed by reading the 69th page of a book. If the story interests you by reading just that page, this supposedly means you’ll enjoy the book. This novel did just that. The protagonist was under attack by magic from strange tribal characters. I was sold. I confidently picked up the book and began from the start. Here I break down my thoughts on what I consider the, at best, mediocre work by David Forbes, The Amber Wizard.
THE CHARACTERS.
2.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
Let’s start off with the characters that populated the story. Sadly, I just didn’t feel any kind of connection to many of the main or lesser characters throughout the book at all except for Gerin’s sister Reshel, his younger brother Therain and his guard Captain Balandrick. The rest can easily be described as two dimensional. Especially Gerin, the protagonist. He seemed to have 3 main feelings: stunned, shocked or angered. Most of the time the feeling he experienced didn’t seem to fit the moment. Reshel, Therain, Balandrick were the ones worth pushing through for and even then it was a tough sell at times.
THE WORLD BUILDING.
2 OUT OF 5 STARS
I have read pages and pages of detailed descriptions of the world The Amber Wizard takes place in. If you asked me about any city, river, body of water, road, mountain range etcetera I wouldn’t be able to even tell you its NAME much less anything else about it. That’s how forgettable the world-building was. And while it wasn’t excessively descriptively drug out like some high fantasy authors have a tendency to do, the world itself wasn’t memorable in the least. For all I know the entire book took place in a city with one building that had a large courtyard.
HONORABLE MENTION OF ANNOYANCE. Names! What is the allure for high fantasy novelists to create ridiculously long and impossible-to-pronounce names of characters and places?! Doing so causes most readers to stumble in their flow breaking the immersion into the story! By the time I finished sounding out character’s names and cities aloud, I felt as though I was casting intricate spells of black magic. Names don’t have to be ridiculously simple but they shouldn’t require 5 minutes to sound out phonetically either.
THE PLOT.
2.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
The first half of the book is setting up descriptive scenery in useless excruciating detail and introducing the few characters we will be following off and on throughout. Insert extremely large yawn here. There is little action or worthwhile dialogue for nearly the first 250 pages. Truth be told it really wasn’t until the halfway point that the plot took on a decent pace which held my interest fully until the very last page. I wouldn’t say there were any surprise plot twists or something unexpected but it was written adequately well. Not amazing, not horrible just average. The last half of the book is really what makes the novel readable and somewhat enjoyable.
HONORABLE MENTIONS. While there weren’t any twists or turns that couldn’t be predicted 10 chapters before it actually happened, Mr. Forbes certainly had no fear in killing off characters. From the minor ones we learn about with a sentence or two to the major ones who’d been with us the entire journey. I personally find that refreshing. So many authors seem fearful or reluctant to kill off any major character. It’s definitely a turn off for me towards an author if everyone survives at the end. Go for boldness! Go for the unexpected! Go for the most loved character and cut their head off! Do the unexpected and be remembered!
All said and done, this wouldn’t be a book I’d recommend to a friend if there were other books readily available. And I mean any other. I’d say this is more a comfort story when there’s nothing left in the world the gives you that feeling anymore. I’d put this around a high school reading level (Ages 14+).
The Amber Wizard comes across as a freshman story teller delving into the world of high fantasy for the first time and it shows in the writing. However, the story does become passable toward the middle of the novel.
Stay nerdy my friends!
THE CHARACTERS.
2.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
Let’s start off with the characters that populated the story. Sadly, I just didn’t feel any kind of connection to many of the main or lesser characters throughout the book at all except for Gerin’s sister Reshel, his younger brother Therain and his guard Captain Balandrick. The rest can easily be described as two dimensional. Especially Gerin, the protagonist. He seemed to have 3 main feelings: stunned, shocked or angered. Most of the time the feeling he experienced didn’t seem to fit the moment. Reshel, Therain, Balandrick were the ones worth pushing through for and even then it was a tough sell at times.
THE WORLD BUILDING.
2 OUT OF 5 STARS
I have read pages and pages of detailed descriptions of the world The Amber Wizard takes place in. If you asked me about any city, river, body of water, road, mountain range etcetera I wouldn’t be able to even tell you its NAME much less anything else about it. That’s how forgettable the world-building was. And while it wasn’t excessively descriptively drug out like some high fantasy authors have a tendency to do, the world itself wasn’t memorable in the least. For all I know the entire book took place in a city with one building that had a large courtyard.
HONORABLE MENTION OF ANNOYANCE. Names! What is the allure for high fantasy novelists to create ridiculously long and impossible-to-pronounce names of characters and places?! Doing so causes most readers to stumble in their flow breaking the immersion into the story! By the time I finished sounding out character’s names and cities aloud, I felt as though I was casting intricate spells of black magic. Names don’t have to be ridiculously simple but they shouldn’t require 5 minutes to sound out phonetically either.
THE PLOT.
2.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
The first half of the book is setting up descriptive scenery in useless excruciating detail and introducing the few characters we will be following off and on throughout. Insert extremely large yawn here. There is little action or worthwhile dialogue for nearly the first 250 pages. Truth be told it really wasn’t until the halfway point that the plot took on a decent pace which held my interest fully until the very last page. I wouldn’t say there were any surprise plot twists or something unexpected but it was written adequately well. Not amazing, not horrible just average. The last half of the book is really what makes the novel readable and somewhat enjoyable.
HONORABLE MENTIONS. While there weren’t any twists or turns that couldn’t be predicted 10 chapters before it actually happened, Mr. Forbes certainly had no fear in killing off characters. From the minor ones we learn about with a sentence or two to the major ones who’d been with us the entire journey. I personally find that refreshing. So many authors seem fearful or reluctant to kill off any major character. It’s definitely a turn off for me towards an author if everyone survives at the end. Go for boldness! Go for the unexpected! Go for the most loved character and cut their head off! Do the unexpected and be remembered!
All said and done, this wouldn’t be a book I’d recommend to a friend if there were other books readily available. And I mean any other. I’d say this is more a comfort story when there’s nothing left in the world the gives you that feeling anymore. I’d put this around a high school reading level (Ages 14+).
The Amber Wizard comes across as a freshman story teller delving into the world of high fantasy for the first time and it shows in the writing. However, the story does become passable toward the middle of the novel.
Stay nerdy my friends!
December 29, 2013
I thought it was ok in the beginning and was excited for a new fantasy to read. However, it showed it self to not be the best. It was original in the magic system and I enjoyed that, however, the protagonist was just too perfect: Heir to a powerful kingdom, good looking, the best at magic, picks up everything with ease. I would want to see what else this author could do though...
November 20, 2014
The discovery that Prince Gerin Atreyano and his sister Reshel have the potential to become wizards shocks them and their family. That Gerin has the ability to become an amber wizard, the most powerful wizard of all, amazes the clan of wizards residing in Hethnost. An amber wizard has not been alive for centuries, nor have wizards come from the same family in a very long time. Shortly after Gerin learns of his unique ability, he’s ambushed and a spell is placed inside him by a Neddari sorcerer. The spell sets of a chain of events which compels Gerin to open a portal between the realm of the living and the dead, which admits the evil Storm King. So begins an epic battle that changes the lives of the Atreyano family.
The Amber Wizard is one heck of an entertaining read. The rules and complexity of the wizard’s world are clearly defined. Backstory, character development, and action are beautifully blended together. As the four Atreyano siblings, their father, a handful of wizards, and personal guards are the story’s focus, it’s a challenge to keep them all in the story. Point of view and location shifts keep the action moving, but one of the sisters is relegated to the background in this book.
Epic fantasies between good and evil tend to be long, but this book contains scenes that could have been cut. Gerin’s visit to his mother’s crypt, for example, merely recaps which we already know and kills the tension where it should be ramping up. Having said that, the ending is satisfying and I appreciate the glossary at the back of the book explaining all of the foreign names and words used in the story. Fans of the genre will enjoy one.
The Amber Wizard is one heck of an entertaining read. The rules and complexity of the wizard’s world are clearly defined. Backstory, character development, and action are beautifully blended together. As the four Atreyano siblings, their father, a handful of wizards, and personal guards are the story’s focus, it’s a challenge to keep them all in the story. Point of view and location shifts keep the action moving, but one of the sisters is relegated to the background in this book.
Epic fantasies between good and evil tend to be long, but this book contains scenes that could have been cut. Gerin’s visit to his mother’s crypt, for example, merely recaps which we already know and kills the tension where it should be ramping up. Having said that, the ending is satisfying and I appreciate the glossary at the back of the book explaining all of the foreign names and words used in the story. Fans of the genre will enjoy one.
January 31, 2015
The Royal family is divided as Prince Gerin Atreyano and his sister Reshel have the potential to become wizards while Claressa and Therain lack magical abilities. This story is great at exploring the struggles of defending a kingdom and confronting the Storm King after open a portal between the realm of the living and the dead. Does Gerin have the ability to become an amber wizard, the most powerful wizard of all, and defeat the evil that plagues the land. So begins an epic battle that changes the lives of the Atreyano family.
The dynamics of each of the royal family members grabs my attention as they try and live up to their father's (the King's) expectations. Looking forward to the next book to see which family member takes the lead in ruling the kingdom and all the challenges that details.
The dynamics of each of the royal family members grabs my attention as they try and live up to their father's (the King's) expectations. Looking forward to the next book to see which family member takes the lead in ruling the kingdom and all the challenges that details.
May 28, 2012
This shows promise and I look forwards to the next in the series. Its a decent read, the action and battles are excellently done, and the story itself for the main part is an enthralling page turner.
If I have a quibble about anything its the initial character development for the main character I found it off putting. I was never sure if he was trying to portait him as arogant and annoying, or simply a god amongst men. That he becomes a failed god amongst men, guilty over actions he could not control finally made it easier to relate to him. The inital family dynamics was also trite and annoying.
In the end I enjoyed this book, its a very good story and the battles and wonderously weaved by a master story teller, but the beginning character development was off putting.
If I have a quibble about anything its the initial character development for the main character I found it off putting. I was never sure if he was trying to portait him as arogant and annoying, or simply a god amongst men. That he becomes a failed god amongst men, guilty over actions he could not control finally made it easier to relate to him. The inital family dynamics was also trite and annoying.
In the end I enjoyed this book, its a very good story and the battles and wonderously weaved by a master story teller, but the beginning character development was off putting.
June 1, 2023
Probably deserves 3 or 3+ stars, but closer to 2 for me (fantasy is not my favorite genre).
I gave up trying to keep track of all the minor characters and names. The protagonist's sister (Reshel) was the best of the bunch.
I gave up trying to keep track of all the minor characters and names. The protagonist's sister (Reshel) was the best of the bunch.
July 6, 2017
Gelesene Ausgabe
Verlag: Blanvalet (Verlagsgruppe Random House - Bertelsmann)
Geschichte: 695 Seiten (das Buch hat noch ein paar Seiten mehr mit einem Glossar)
Sprache: Deutsch
Deutscher Tittel: Der Magier-Prinz (Engl.: Amber Wizard)
Anzahl Bücher: Ossaria-Saga: 3 Bücher
Rezension
Der Autor hat es geschafft mich "ins Buch zu ziehen".
Es geht um ein Königreich, Vater (König) - Kinderbeziehung (3), Geschwisterwettbewerb, angedeutete Adelsfeden, um Zauberer und dem Helden, einen Prinzen, der als Zauberlehrling einem großen Gegner die Stirn bieten soll. Ob ein Lehrling dem gewachsen sein kann und wie das überhaupt gehen soll, habe ich mich immer wieder gefragt... Klasse Spannungsbogen.
An den für mich passenden Stellen wurden die Pro- und Antagonisten und die Umwelt ausreichend vorgestellt, um meine eigene Phantasie anzuregen und das Kopfkino ablaufen zu lassen.
Sprachlich ist mir in der deutschen Übersetzung nichts besonderes aufgefallen. Einzig das selten vorkommende Wort Polizei hat mich in dem Buch unter dem Hintergrund eines Mittelalter-Settings irritiert. Stört aber nicht weiter.
Interessante Wendungen und Ideen sind im Roman verarbeitet.
Die 695 ließen sich rasant bis zum Schluss durchlesen.
Ich bin bereits auf den zweiten Teil gespannt und war zuerst enttäuscht, dass keine weiteren Teile danach veröffentlicht wurden. Das gilt aber nur fürs Deutsche. Im Englischen gibt es noch ein drittes, zu der Ossaria-Saga gehöriges Buch.
Verlag: Blanvalet (Verlagsgruppe Random House - Bertelsmann)
Geschichte: 695 Seiten (das Buch hat noch ein paar Seiten mehr mit einem Glossar)
Sprache: Deutsch
Deutscher Tittel: Der Magier-Prinz (Engl.: Amber Wizard)
Anzahl Bücher: Ossaria-Saga: 3 Bücher
Rezension
Der Autor hat es geschafft mich "ins Buch zu ziehen".
Es geht um ein Königreich, Vater (König) - Kinderbeziehung (3), Geschwisterwettbewerb, angedeutete Adelsfeden, um Zauberer und dem Helden, einen Prinzen, der als Zauberlehrling einem großen Gegner die Stirn bieten soll. Ob ein Lehrling dem gewachsen sein kann und wie das überhaupt gehen soll, habe ich mich immer wieder gefragt... Klasse Spannungsbogen.
An den für mich passenden Stellen wurden die Pro- und Antagonisten und die Umwelt ausreichend vorgestellt, um meine eigene Phantasie anzuregen und das Kopfkino ablaufen zu lassen.
Sprachlich ist mir in der deutschen Übersetzung nichts besonderes aufgefallen. Einzig das selten vorkommende Wort Polizei hat mich in dem Buch unter dem Hintergrund eines Mittelalter-Settings irritiert. Stört aber nicht weiter.
Interessante Wendungen und Ideen sind im Roman verarbeitet.
Die 695 ließen sich rasant bis zum Schluss durchlesen.
Ich bin bereits auf den zweiten Teil gespannt und war zuerst enttäuscht, dass keine weiteren Teile danach veröffentlicht wurden. Das gilt aber nur fürs Deutsche. Im Englischen gibt es noch ein drittes, zu der Ossaria-Saga gehöriges Buch.
didn-t-finish
January 8, 2020100 pages in and I'm just not interested enough to continue. It started out okay enough but now I'm at the point where I can't even read a full page before my mind starts to wander and think about other things. Such as all the other books I have to read. Premise sounded good, but oh well.
January 25, 2025
A good ol’ fashion sword and sorcery
This story starts a bit cliche, but it quickly moves into some interesting directions. From one plot twist to another, the heroes are challenged to the utmost to overcome… well, you’ll have to read it.
This story starts a bit cliche, but it quickly moves into some interesting directions. From one plot twist to another, the heroes are challenged to the utmost to overcome… well, you’ll have to read it.
July 26, 2019
Ick, someone else who is long winded. Ok, if you like battles this book has a very detailed one. Initially this sounded interesting but it failed. The wizards don't do much because they just found out that they are wizards and when it takes months to travel their training seems to never come to fruition
did-not-finish-or-start
October 27, 2023DNS 10/27/23
May 8, 2009
The first part of the book is rather clunky and awkward as he tries to set the scene of his world. However, the second part just about makes up for it. I'll admit that you could see the resolution (Reschel's suicide) from half way through the book. But it was worked out in such a way that knowing what would happen didn't take away from the story.
I like that the characters are complex without a huge deal being made over their complexity. Gerin is your run-of-the-mill overachieving first child. Well except he nearly ends the world. He doesn't pretend to be on Oprah, he just sort of moves on with it and tries to fix it.
I like that the characters are complex without a huge deal being made over their complexity. Gerin is your run-of-the-mill overachieving first child. Well except he nearly ends the world. He doesn't pretend to be on Oprah, he just sort of moves on with it and tries to fix it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2012
I don't think I like his writing stile. This book reads like a dictation of stuff that he has to include in the book. I got no connection to the characters which seem very un-likeable. Especially the main character. He gets everything handed on a golden! plater and when he makes mistakes he gets to be forgiven the minute he comes up with the excuse that he was manipulated. I don't buy his guilt either. This book is so shallow.
June 30, 2009
Not a bad little book, but somehow I couldn't quite get into it. had shadowings of Earthsea (with the young guy learns he's a wizard and releases hell) motif. The soldiers were well done, the geography and culture of the people's was interesting. perhaps this book simply had the misfortune of coming after Hobb's Farseer trilogy in my reading list and so paled in comparison.
December 1, 2007
Sorry to say, but i wouldnt recommend this book to anyone. The second book is a bit better, but still nothing to get excited about.
Review:
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Review:
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July 13, 2008
Well, I was really excited to pick up this series. It looked like it was going to be a lot of fun.
I was disapointed when I started reading and the characters are just not real to me. All the events were fun though.
I was disapointed when I started reading and the characters are just not real to me. All the events were fun though.
October 20, 2007
This book was a pretty good though formulaic story, the first part of a new trilogy. Over all it was an enjoyable read, I can't say that it was the greatest that I have read but it was a good read.
January 20, 2008
"Didn't finish reading this book because I thought it sucked."
September 18, 2009
Th book was okay but I couldn't get into it for some reason. Around page 180 I decided to try a new book. Nothing wrong with this one... just wasn't doing it for me.
June 19, 2009
Found it Half Price books for $1. It was surprisingly good! Turns out there is a second one out and a third coming. Might have to read those - if I can find them.
November 10, 2009
this one dragged too much at the beginning, and i couldn't get into it.
April 11, 2012
Very simple sounding - it reminded me a lot of the Magic Treehouse books. Lol.
April 28, 2012
Pretty good story -- I finished the book and found it interesting. I think some of the reviewers here are harsh.
August 20, 2012
A bit of a slow start, but quickly picks up. Not sure I liked the ending, but will see with the next book in the series.
August 12, 2012
Interesting new author!
December 23, 2012
A new Sci-Fi epic tale. It had a somewhat predictable feel to it. I'll read the next one and decide.
August 6, 2015
Fantastic and mesmerizing tale. The Osserian Saga's book 1 is a quick but hearty read.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews