The Hero Chronicles: A Complete Collection

The Hero Chronicles #1-5

by Christine E. Schulze

* New Edition Coming in 2013:

For the first time, the entirety of Schulze's five-book epic middle grade fantasy come together in this all-in-one edition of The Hero Chronicles.

Join the Hero of 1,000 Years, the Princess of Destiny, the Silver Knight, and their friends and allies in an ultimate battle of good against evil.

Travel between past and present to unravel the mysteries of the future. Enjoy the quirky humor and drama between friends. Learn the ancient magics and prophecies of the fairies and elves of Loz. Discover the unbreakable ties of friendship and the sweetness of new love. Delve into an intricate adventure ridden with action and danger. But, most importantly of all...

Remember the phoenix feather.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

635 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

Hullo there, dear reader! Christine E. Schulze here, author of YA fantasy, as well as a few kids’ books about special needs. I’ve been living in castles, exploring magical worlds, and creating fantastical romances and adventures since I was too young to even write of such stories. My collection of YA and children's fantasy books, The Amielian Legacy, is comprised of series and stand-alone books that can all be read separately but also weave together to create a single, amazing fantasy.

One of my main aspirations for The Amielian Legacy is to create grand fantasy adventures with characters that connect with readers from diverse backgrounds. My current focus is to include racially diverse characters, as well as those with disabilities. The latter is inspired by my day job working with adults who have autism and other developmental disabilities at Trinity Services in Southern Illinois.

I draw much of my inspiration from favorite authors like Tolkien and Diana Wynne Jones, favorite games like The Legend of Zelda, and especially from the people in my life. Some of my exciting ventures include the publication of my award-winning Bloodmaiden, as well as The Gailean Quartet, my first series with Words Matter Publishing. My books for younger readers include In the Land of Giants and The Amazing Captain K.

I love connecting with new raeders! Come find me on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or at my author website: http://authorchristineschulze.com

On that note, God bless, happy reading, and may you be truly inspired! I’ll see you in my next book.

- Christine E. Schulze

Reviews

[rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am impressed at how determined the author has been to get her book[s] out there! She contacted me after reading/reviewing one of her other books, Silent Hero: A Tribute to The Legend of Zelda, she offered me a copy of this and liking fantasy the way I do I wasn't going to turn her down. I think I am a little too old for this series, but that doesn't stop me from reading stories like this. It's starts off a little slow for me, but picks up later and her writing definitely gets better as the books go on. There are a lot of similarities to other books, but what fantasy isn't sort of like that? She's on a very good path and should keep writing, there are lots of middle school aged kids who will like these stories.

[dsneaks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received The Hero Chronicles: A Complete Collection by Christine E. Schulze from the author in exchange for a review. This book is described as a middle grade series. The series is a collection of five books. In order to review each of these books I will be separating them by title and writing about the book.

The 1,000 Year Hero

This book has an interesting concept. We have seen schools for witches and wizards, schools for vampires, but I've never read of a school of fairies. Personally I always loved fairies and books that have anything to do with them, as well as young adult books to read for fun. This book started off interesting but at times I felt lost while reading it. I felt like I was missing something, that something was being left out and I wasn't being told the whole story. Also, that a few terms were not being explained and that the reader was expected to just know what they meant. I later found out in the reading what the terms meant, as they are explained as the book goes on, but in the beginning of the book I felt lost when things about the fairies were being discussed. This deeply confused me, the different types of fairies and children who were going to the school... As the story progresses at times I thought the story was a little rushed, but then tried to remember this is a book that is meant for younger readers and attributed this rush feeling to that. The idea to keep a young reader interested in the book through some form of action occurring at every turn. Though I felt that this took away from a truly good story line, it did display the importance of friendship throughout the book and to never lash out at another person because you never know what the future holds. I enjoyed this message the book sent and thought it to be a valuable lesson for younger readers. All in all, the entire book was interesting kept my attention, though I just felt some things needed a little more explaining.

Hero's Reunited

This book kept losing my attention. I found the first book held my attention more than this one. I had a few personal problems with this book that bothered me. First off it bothered me how the girls in the book were being portrayed as helpless. The girls were the ones who were kidnapped, and the boys in the story were the ones who had to save them. This I personally did not like I did not like this message of women being helpless. But then as I read on I found this was not the case. When the girls were found they played an active role in saving the day, just as important as any of the guys in the story. These girls held their own in the face of danger. This I personally liked, that these girls were not stuck in the same position they were given at the start, that girls have an important role in saving the day just as any man does. The other thing that bothered me with this story is there are some minor spelling errors I came across while reading. It was a minor problem such as the world same instead of came. It bothered me slightly though I could understand how such a spelling error could occur. In general this book was not as good as the first and did not hold my attention to the same level as the first book did.

The Secret Sister

This book in The Hero Chronicles I personally liked the most out of all the previous books. I felt like there was more action in this one then the other books and I felt like it kept my attention better than the previous books. The idea of these magical bracelets that was used in this book was different and interesting though I do wish they were elaborated on. For example, no one knew anything about these bracelets and their origins and the exact power of these, though later on in the story these bracelets are used by the girls who own the bracelets. I wish there was more of a focus on the history of these bracelets. I would have also liked this whole idea of "secret sisters" to be elaborated on more. There were two comments I would like to make against this book, though I did in general like the content of the story. I found was once again one or two minor spelling errors. Besides the spelling errors I found that the relationship between Tiffany and Dristan is irrelevant to the story itself, they are minor characters and I felt the whole part included in this book were not needed for the story that was being told. Generally I liked the story and the idea for the story though my only problem with it is I feel like some things need to be elaborated on and explained more in depth.

The Silver Knight

The Silver Knight I felt like it was sort of a filler story in a series. I say filler story because not much action occurs in this story but information pertaining to the series and build up for the next book is given. I thought this book explained itself well and there were no errors I felt the need to point out. Though my only complaint is that the ending came out of nowhere I really was not expecting the book to end when it did. I was expecting more to come from the book but then I turned the page and it was over. This isn't really a complaint it just leads into the next book well and leads you to wanting to read the next book because it left you with asking all the right questions at the end like what's going to happen next.





The Princess of Destiny

The Princess of Destiny went by just as fast as The Silver Knight, just like The Silver Knight it ended out of nowhere for me. I wasn't expecting an ending and was looking for more to come from the story. This is done I guess to keep the reader interested and wanting to read the next book. I just felt it ended wrong it just felt like it was the middle of the story that was being ended, like so many more things could occur before it ended. One thing I did find myself wondering how old the characters in this story are. In the first book they were pretty young but in this book they mention college and high school and how they are in college now. This left me wondering how old they are and how many years have passed since the first book. This book feels like is escalating and driving for the end of the series like moving closer and closer to the end point of the series.



The Princess of the Night

The Princess of the Night was an interesting end to this series. I enjoyed it very much and it brought a good conclusion to this series. At the end of this book there really were no unanswered questions for me. I was very content with this ending. Though there was one thing I would have liked from this book, a more in depth description of the final battle. I understand why this wasn't expanded on but I was unsure as too what exactly happened to drive the enemy away. Speaking of the enemy in this series, I personally did not like how in every book the enemy appeared to be defeated each and every time to just have not truly been defeated or was being impersonated by a follower. Besides these minor things I did enjoy this book and the development of Charisma as a character from the first book in this series to the end of this series. Charisma at the beginning seems to be a scared little girl who is afraid to leave her mother’s side and is protected by the men. By the end of this series she is a strong woman who can not only take care of herself but is a queen who will be ruling a country filled with her followers.


The Hero Chronicles for me at times felt like I had read similar things in other books. Also I felt in many of the books in this series that there were many things that needed to be explained a little more or that coming to the end of the books that some things mentioned in previous books didn't entirely have to do with the development of the enemy and what lead to the final battle. In other words I felt some of the things were unnecessary and out of place, though I did enjoy the development of the characters through the books. This was seen the most with Charisma and Aaron; they grew from children into leaders. They overcame many struggles that came from one family that was the enemy. These families had a tendency of being hard to get rid of, and were constantly trying to destroy the group of friends Charisma and Aaron had. This series shows the importance of friendship I felt the underlining message that came across from these books was that of friendship and its importance. When times got tough and things got bad Charisma and Aaron's friends had their backs and fought alongside them to keep each other safe and out of harm’s way.

[Lacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'll try to review each story in this complete collection as I read them instead of trying to get them all reviewed when I complete the book. The first story is The Hero of 1000 years (The Hero Chronicles: Book #1). This story begins in a land of Elves and Fairies. Thankfully the beginning of the Hero Chronicles includes as description of how the worlds work so you can understand exactly where this world is. There is also a nice section on the different races with descriptions so you can identify the people. So again, in this land a girl named Chasmira is going to a magical elf/fairy high school hidden in Hawaii. We learn all about the classes Chasmira is taking and about her friends. Unfortunately I found keeping the friends straight in my mind rather confusing. All we really know about the friends is their main character trait, like this one sleepwalks, but so does another. And these two don't like each other, and these two are always hungry and this one keeps disappearing to hang out with some other kid who seems rather sketchy. Suddenly one of the guys falls into the past and is told by some sad girl that he is the hero of 1000 years. They get chased a lot by men in black and he meets an extremely described fairy and gets sent back to the future. There he discovers that the whole school has been kidnapped and all these friends find ways to rescue each other and banish this random guy who kidnapped the school and return everything back the way it was.

The second book is Heros Reunited (The Hero Chronicles: Book #2). This book starts a few months after the end of the first book. All of our friends are back and are going to go on a field trip. Aaron has been having nightmares and on the field trip all of the girls are kidnapped by shadow soldiers. In order to rescue them the guys have to go the castle of the bad guy in book #1. Now we get a side story of who this guy is and how he impacted the life of one of the teachers at the school, who is also the sister of one of the guys and is also the highly described fairy of the past. But at least now we know who some of these people are and why they behave like they do. Basically there is a war and a rescue but it's very quick and has a lot of people disappearing and reappearing and sudden rescues. I think the war lasts all of 1 paragraph. Anyway, everyone gets rescued, the bad guy prevented from destroying the world and the teacher finds her lost love and everything is happily ever after.

The third book is Heros of the Dove (The Hero Chronicles: Book #3). This book begins with all of the friends moving on to College. The College just happens to be right next door to the High School, on the same campus. There's some discription of how beautiful the college and how the dining tables all have specific colors based on the year of the students. The food suddenly appears and suddenly gets cleaned up...this part really seemed similar to Harry Potter. The students all arrived in carriages, etc.. Then we meet two new students Sarah and Eric. Or as I'll call them Sarah = Rachel #2, and Eric = Aaron #2. These characters seem to be doppelgangers of the original characters, and behave in the same way. But now we get to the love triangle portion of the book, and we spend half of it figuring out who likes who and who is jealous of who. In the middle of that our characters are still playing 4 square. Pretty sure I left that behind in elementary school. Finally, halfway through the book we get to the interesting part. Here is where the conflict happens and we get some action scenes and our characters actually develop.

Next is a page that explains the relationship between Tiffany and Dristann. Apparently Tiffany is involved in another series and if I had read that one I might know a little more about her but that doesn't hurt her story here. I think out off all the relationships, I enjoy the one developing between her and Dristann the most.

After that is The Secret Sister. This starts out as what seems to be a side story with a bracelet given to Chasmira by Eric that used to belong to his sister. We find out some sinister things about the bracelet and some strange event occur and then you realize that this blends with the main story of the battle between the Princess of Destiny and the Princess of Night. In this story a lot of questions are answered that were hinted about in the first two books. Here we get some good action and an ultimate sacrifice which will change things completely for the characters.

We get a brief Interlude here with Tiffany and Dristann, and then it's back to the main story with The Silver Knight. Eric returns from his secret assignment and his relationship with Chasmira deepens. We have some inner turmoil in the group and then the school gets attacked again. Chasmira finally learns what it means to be the Princess of Destiny.

The next section is titled The Princess of Destiny. Now we start out with a new character who is sent by the Princess of Night to infiltrate the school. He has an immediate connection with Chasmira which she is unable or unwilling to completely admit to herself. Strange things occur around the school which are blamed or involve Chasmira. The new character Brian becomes part of Chasmira's group of friends and attemps to lure her into the Princess of Night's trap but then decides he can't do it to Chasmira. Brian decides to tell everyone the truth and we get a surprise revelation.

The final section is called the Princess of Night. Following the huge revelation that finished The Princess of Destiny we then see Chasmira's reaction to the situation and also Eric's. In response to Eric's recriminations, Aaron tells of Eric's betrayal. Chasmira's heart has already been given so who she choses is not terribly difficult. Now it's time to rescue some of the boys from the Princess of Night which Chasmira and Aaron teleport to the evil lair. Once that mission is accomplished the actual war against good and evil begins. After the war Chasmira, Eric and Aaron will be forever changed.

So after that incredibly long and not terribly informative review I've decided to give the series a rating of 3 stars. I think the last three sections could have been combined into one whole final book. I was much happier with the end of the series than the beginning, things were definitely resolved to my satisfaction. We finally had some true hardship for the friends to endure which helped develop them from the whiney high school students they were into true leaders. My only question is now, What happens to Eric?

[Susan Ashcraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christine Schulze's YA Fantasy 5 book epic collection is brought together into one must -have book "The Hero Chronicles".

Enter the magical world of Carmella Elves, Forest-footer Elves, Iceans, and Scintillates & Mira (two closely related people) and other interesting characters while they battle good and evil, darkness and light, and navigate the far from smooth road leading to adulthood.

Discover friendships that will last through the difficult quests ahead, and destinies that are not always what they seem.

The epic story begins with the Hero of a 1,000 Years, continues on in Heroes Reunited, Heroes of the Dove, The Secret Sister and the Silver Knight and ends with the well orchestrated The Princess of Destiny and the Princess of the Night.

EXCERPT from Hero of a 1,000 Years
Suddenly, something fluttered down from the nest to rest at Chasmira’s feet. She picked it up—a phoenix feather. It glistened in the sunlight, and tracing her fingers along its edges, she marveled at its soft, delicate touch. Extending it to Aaron, she said quietly, “They say a phoenix feather is a symbol of everlasting friendship

book 1 Hero of 1,000 Years - When Chasmira is transfered to the Lynn Lectim Amielian boarding school midway through the school year, she is nervous and a little fearful. Thankfully she recognizes Aaron, a boy she remembers from grade school. Knowing someone makes it a little easier to cope with meeting her new dorm mates (Hailey, Tiffany, Krystal and Rachel) and classmates (Nathan, Sam and Josh). As we travel the halls, classrooms and free time with the new friends.
Odd, seeminly unrelated occurances begin to happen. As one of the friends goes on an unexpected journey, the others are caught up in the possible end of their beloved school. Are these events related? What part does the mysterious Rorrim play in these happenings? And what is the importance of the phoenix feather?

As the action heats up, the friends begin to understand their individual and joint destinies.

EXCERPT from Heroes Reunited
And you must have courage. Courage is not being fearless. It is being willing
to face and overcome your fears, because some things are more important
than your fear, such as saving your friends

book 2 Heroes Reunited - see who unexpectedly returns and what the friends do in response.

EXCERPT from Heroes of the Dove (or The Dove)
The ship jerked again, and they both crashed against the railing. Everything grew dark. All at once, a shadowy iciness strikes the air encompassing them.The stars rapidly faded, depriving them of all, remaining light.

book 3 Heroes of the Dove (or The Dove) - college, old and new friends, romances and finally, bestowment of special powers. Who will sacrifice everything to bring back the lights?

EXCERPT from The Secret Sister and the Silver Knight
Everyone was silent until Hailey mused, “That’s odd. The stars seem to be
going out too.”

book 4 The Secret Sister and the Silver Knight - Chasmira struggles with her loss, her friends have mixed emotions about what will help Chasmira. New danger and surprising twists!

EXCERPT form the Princess of Destiny
Did she know something about his mistress and her plans? Perhaps it was time to start putting his own plan into action. Yet he received no orders yet from the Dark Lady concerning exactly what to do. So he would wait and enjoy his time here. Particularly, he would enjoy his time with her.

book 5 The Princess of Destiny and the Princess of the Night - what of the Dark Lady and what mysteries does she hold? And what of the phoenix feather? Will Chasmira finally find peace? And who will she find peace with?

Discover whom among them are the “Heroes of Light", who is the Hero of a 1000 Years, whom is the Princess of Destiny, who is the real Princess of the Night and what are the Destiny Stones?

I truly enjoyed the Hero Chronicles! The characters were so vibrant and real, the interplay between them, the complexities of the relationships just made the story come alive. I especially enjoyed being with all the characters as they grow from unsure, untested teenagers into the complex beings they were destined to be. I always struggle when reviewing a book as to how much of the story should I expose, how much of the characters ultimate actions should I relate and when should I end the review. I have chosen to leave the review as I have because I want others who read this book to feel the same thrill I felt when I learned something new, or when the true story of a character comes out.

I would recommend this book to anyone of any age who likes a well plotted story filled with excellent characters, surprising sub plots, and a good dose of faith. And don't forget...
Remember the phoenix feather!

(I was approached by the author to read the Hero Chronicles and provide my honest review, whether it be good or bad. This review is based solely on my feeling after reading the Hero Chronicles and was unsolicited)

[Sarah]

The author, Christine E. Schulze, has just sent me a PDF copy of this for review, which I think is awesome because free books are always awesome (and obviously Ms. Schulze is, too). I plan on reviewing each book in the series separately in this space, and will write as soon as I finish each segment.

Edit 04/13/2012: Well, I've just finished The Hero of 1,000 Years and I have quite a bit to say, much of which are already posted as status updates.

The first thing that irked me about The Hero Chronicles was the fact that the races and the dynamics of the universe were all outlined in the first few pages. This got me a little bit leery of the story from the beginning. To me, it looks lazy and takes away much of the wonder and excitement that comes with discovering the worlds along with the characters of the story. I understand that there are other books set in the same world and readers who have been read those books would already be well-acquainted with that world, but there are also new readers coming in without a clue.

A lot of the draw to reading fantasy is the world the story's set in and feeling like you're in that world, even for just a short period of time. By writing it all out in the beginning, it gives the author an excuse not to elaborate too much in the story. It doesn't help that it's all condensed in the beginning; the effect is that the reader opens the book, finds a huge info dump, then struggles to make sense of it all since there's no context to base it on.

The actual story is okay. There's a new girl, new friends to make, a boarding school system to get to know, a prophecy that may or may not involve said new girl and friends, some action, fairies, elves, and some deus-ex-machinaic magic. It's cliche, standard fantasy stuff, and it's not very well executed.

The first half of the story is a series of classroom interactions; we're introduced to the cast of characters, each of whom is defined by a specific character trait, all of whom are pretty juvenile for 15 years old (Four Square, anyone?). I never really felt like I got a feel for any of the characters, except for Rachel and Aaron, who were defined by their endless squabbling, and Josh, the class clown. The characters also used some intense 2008 slang like "jiminy cricket" and "snapperdoodle" which was confusing because those are so 2007.

We're also introduced to a charming bad boy type named Dristann Malloy who, incidentally, reminds me of a character from another fantasy series except it's about a boy wizard, not fairies. Come to think of it, quite a bit of the other elements remind me of said series: a game involving hoops, balls, and hovering called Hoverball, a magical boarding school that takes place in a kind of alternate world that's still close to home, a plucky, book-smart friend, a brave, honourable popular boy, the joker...then again, these are standard fantasy tropes, so there are many novels that have the same elements.

Every interaction is outlined; every "Huh?", every mutter, every snort. There are a lot of extraneous details that could have easily been cut out, and they're relayed in a static manner. Once the character's introduced, the reader is immediately bombarded with a detailed description of the character's hair colour, eye colour, beauty, etc. Needless to say, this pattern got pretty tiring. Adverbs are also used copiously, and each statement was punctuated with a "muttered" or "snorted" or "suggested". It's serviceable, but not very involving, and I didn't really feel what was happening. Instead, I was told how to feel, and what I felt was distant. I didn't feel connected with the characters so when it came to Serious Revelation Time I didn't get what the fuss was all about.

This continues throughout the book. The second half is far more interesting than the first one, since it feels like new territory. There's more action and conflict, and while much of it is resolved via deus ex machina (and in some cases, literal deus ex machina), at least it was different from the classroom. There's the prophecy I was talking about, a couple more characters (and we're finally introduced to the villain), and the promise of more action to come in later books.

Thing is, the characters are pretty flat, there is no sense of peril or immediacy since the good guys are always rescued by good guys (and if there are no good guys, there's always the Ultimate Good Guy up in the sky), and the stakes don't seem so high. I mean, the stakes are high, but it sure doesn't feel like it. At one point, the villain was still on the loose, some of the good guys still had to be rescued, but the main good guys found the time to become irritated at the fairies who were changing their hair colour.

I want to finish this collection so I'm going to stick around for the second book, and I can only hope it's an improvement from the first one.

[Jennifer Ricketts (Donnie Darko Girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I entered to win the complete collection of The Hero Chronicles on Goodreads. I didn't win, but the author sent me a pdf copy of the collection in exchange for an honest review. :)

Book #1--The Hero of 1000 Years
I enjoyed reading this first book of the series; however, a lot of characters were introduced at once, and it was difficult to keep track of who is who. Chasmira and Aaron are the top two main characters, so I knew them the best. There wasn't enough development of their friends to differentiate them from each other. I was confused for a while and had to look back to get an idea of which character was being discussed.

Ms. Schulze let me know that though the book has been labeled as YA, it's geared more towards middle grade readers, and I agree. The story is strong, imaginative, and well written. I enjoy stories such as The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, so I enjoyed this story as well. These books are in the same genre as those two series.

For the first book of a series, this set up the story nicely, and I'm looking forward to reading the second book.

Book #2--Heroes Reunited
Heroes Reunited was so exciting and had much more action and suspense than the first book. The first book set up the story for the rest of the books, and Heroes Reunited follows after the first book quite well.

I couldn't stop reading and was on the edge of my seat when the Shadowfolk capture the girls and take them to Rorrim's island. Aaron and the boys set out to save them. They meet a mysterious man named Tobias and soon find out more about him. I was worried when they were camping with him that he wasn't on their side as he claimed to be.

All kinds of secrets come out to the group of heroes--shocking secrets I didn't see coming. I really love when that happens in a book. Sorting out the characters became easier in this book, although they still don't have distinct personalities. I think if they did, the books would be an even stronger series.

With so much action, suspense, and some romance, this book was better than the first, and I'm looking forward to beginning the third book right away!

Book #3--Heroes of the Dove
In this third book of The Hero Chronicles, there's plenty of action and romance that kept me hooked. The characters are more developed, though I was confused as to how far along they are in school. I couldn't remember what year of school they were in during the first and second books.

In this book, it seemed like they were seniors in high school, but then I found out they're freshmen in college, although they're treated more like high school students than college students, especially when they go on a cruise for their school trip.

The backstories are a bit confusing--the characters have been in and out of different schools together in the past. Two new characters are introduced--Sarah, who is a friend of Chasmira from the past, and Eric. Both characters are interesting and fit right into the group of heroes.

There's so much action and adventure in this book; I really don't want to give anything away! Plus, a love triangle develops (I won't give away which characters are involved!), and relationships develop along with misunderstandings that had me wanting to jump in and intervene! :) Many twists surprised me along the way, and I couldn't wait to find out how things turn out.

The second book remains my personal favorite so far, but this one comes in a close second. :) I read that the author said her fourth and fifth books are even more exciting than the first three, and I'm completely pumped to get started with them!

Book #4--The Secret Sister and the Silver Knight
This is one of my favorites in the series. I've now gotten to know the characters well enough to be able to distinguish them from one another. It's clear to me now they're in college, although it seems like a college with many strict rules, lol!

As the story progresses in this installment, more and more secrets are revealed, and the ending is shocking--absolutely shocking! I never saw it coming and still can't believe what happened. Just wait until you find out what happens!

Book #5--The Princess of Destiny and the Princess of the Night
From the ending of the previous book, I knew a lot of heavy things were going to go down. Much needed humor was sprinkled throughout so the characters could get a reprieve from the heavy action and drama.

I flew through this book! I was so excited to see how the series would end, and there were more shocking twists and turns with plenty of romance and action. I was so happy with the ending--it was fitting for the characters and the plot itself. The author did a fantastic job with this middle grade fantasy series!

[Pierre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have just finished the Hero Chronicles. First, I must state that the author kindly gave me an e-book version for review: I'll try not to be bias!

Summary of the story:
This is the tale of Chasmira, Aaron and their friends, students in a magical school. They are members of different magical races, such as the Elves. The book is a mix between fantasy and teenage high-school stories.


I gave the 3 stars but different types of audience may or may not appreciate it. If you are between 10 and 18 years old, and a girl, you will like this book. You will definitely enjoy more the references to high school and teen romance businesses than I did. (I'm 30 and male so...)
The grammatical structures used in the book are quite simple, making it once again suitable for a young audience.
A more mature audience will still appreciate the heroic-fantasy part of the story.

What I liked about the book:

* Very fast-paced stories: that means the action is intensive and you will definitely not fall asleep. That also means you won't suffer the "teenage-story" part for too long if you don't like it!

* The story is very visual: I was seeing the action happening in front of my eyes, in a very cartoon way. Film producers, you can make a movie of this one!

* The author gets better along the book! The great advantage of having the whole Chronicles is that you can feel the author changing and improving with each book. The later books are more mature than the first one, and this is very promising for future books.


What could be improved:

* There are many ideas in the book that are not followed and remain pending. The different capacities of the races, the secondary characters, the details and aspects of the different worlds and locations could have been deepened, so that the reader feels fully into the story. I am a great fan of worlds from Tolkien or Terry Brooks: comparatively the Hero Chronicles world could have been more detailed.

* The story is constantly evolving and many events occur, but I feel there should have been more twists. I felt the characters also relied too often on "Dei ex machina": most of the stories end with the help of a super-character providing the right item or power the heroes need to win.
I may be sadistic with the heroes but I wish they struggled a bit more in desperate situations.

* Some details of the book make me think a bit too much about Harry Potter. A thin boy with a "glowy-white skin" "his hair, gleaming even snowier" and a "jet-black" "preppy suit" called Dristann Malloy.
Doesn't it remind you of another character, say Draco Malfoy??
Come on, let's be original!


What I really disliked:

* The fact that the characters constantly pray to Amiel (God) and the constant references to the same Amiel. Somehow, I did not feel it matched well with the fantasy world and it bothered me every time the heroes were praying.


My conclusion: this is not the first book I would have picked up but I have rather enjoyed it and will look for later books from the same author.
A fantasy book recommended mostly for teenagers and feminine readers but others will like it as well.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books tell the story of Chasmira who recently started attending the Lynn Lectim Academy for Fairies and Elves. She meets up with an old friend of hers, Aaron, and quickly makes many new friends. Chasmira begins to settle in and enjoy her new friends and school, but her friend Aaron gets hurt a few times and it seems like someone is doing it on purpose. Neither one knows it, but this is just the beginning of a dangerous but exciting adventure for them and their classmates.

My thoughts:

I felt that the first book in particular was very choppy and hard to follow. There were too many characters to keep track of and often someone would be introduced to the reader and there was not much mention of them again. The main characters needed more development and I found myself not very invested in what happened to them. However, life at the school seemed very fun and there were lots of antics. The story itself had potential and some good ideas so I decided to read the next book.

The writing and character development greatly improved in the next books and this made the entire story a lot more engaging. I found that it was easier to focus on the characters and actually remember them. I liked reading about their past experiences, the dreams and hopes they had, and their likes and dislikes. In particular, I enjoyed the past story of what happened with Amanda Danielle and Toby. There were still a few flaws in these later books but I found that they flowed better and were more interesting.

Overall, these books have a lot of potential in them but I think they should be edited again. There are some typos that still exist and a few grammatical errors. Also, the characters always seem to be praying alot. I understand that for the most part they have a strong belief in Amiel, but I think there is a point where the reader doesn't need to know every time they pray. We know the characters and understand their devotion to Amiel and know that they WOULD pray. :)

The author has some fresh and interesting ideas and I enjoyed the world she created. I think these books would be a lot of fun for a young reader.


Thank you to the author for providing me a free copy! :)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me in PDF format by the author, Schulze, as a giveaway.

First, this is a brief review of THE HERO OF 1000 YEARS. I felt it easier to review each book separately than to try and review the entire series. I will edit/add a review after I finish each book.

I enjoy YA novels, but I'm not a fan when a book uses slang that ultimately "dates" itself permanently. For example, in THE HERO OF 1000 YEARS, Schulze regularly uses the expressions, "coolio," "uncoolio," "jiminy cricket," and towards the end of the story, "aww snap." I tended to roll my eyes when I came across the expressions, but that could be because I'm an adult. However, I can understand that Schulze is possibly using this language to identify with the target audience. I think that Schulze could have left the obvious slang out, and her book would still connect with audiences of all ages throughout the years--not just 2008 lingo.

With that said, I enjoyed the read. I looked forward to what the next page would reveal, and I'm looking forward to reading the other books in this series. I'm interested to see how everything will come together; primarily, the lives/adventures of Aaron, Chasmira, Tiff, and Dristann. Schulze has done a good job of dangling a carrot in front of you, i.e HEROES REUNITED.


This is a brief review of HEROES REUNITED. I must say that I enjoyed this book so much more than the first book. HEROES UNITED held my attention throughout the entire read. I was annoyed to read the terms "jikes" and "jiminy cricket," but I was thrilled to see them used sparingly. I was also very happy to see that the characters matured more in this book. I would have been very disappointed if they had remained the same whiny kids. I expect to be taken on another adventure in HEROES OF THE DOVE. Great job by Schulze.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hero Chronicles, a YA series written by Christine Schulze, was a fairly interesting read for me in all fairness. As with Lily In the Snow, another of her books that I reviewed, her characters showed an enjoyable amount of character development throughout the story (I'm considering it one long story, rather than separate books, since that's essentially how I read it), and while some of the plot moved a tad too fast during moments of action, there was nothing to really take away from my enjoyment while reading. It was a fine, easy read for when I had time to read for pleasure rather than school, and can see it being thoroughly enjoyed by the crowd it's aimed at, and most likely a good number outside of that who are just looking for a fun, quick read. Christine's world is rich with characters, detail, and promises, and would definitely recommend this book to others. Interweaving plots give it depth and colorful characters give it life, and definitely worth picking up, if it's your kind of book/genre.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing series. The adventure just keeps going and it seems as if it's never ending. Especially in the last book when Aaron had to leave. It shows there's more of a journey to the story. Everything fit together perfectly in the end. There are some misunderstood characters in this series that just need someone to be there for them. All the characters have a sense of humor which I loved. It's characters like that who keep my attention drawn to the story. There is sadness in this story and heartbreak. But everything turns out great in the end. Well in my opinion I don't know how everyone else would feel about it, but for me I liked the ending. This book was filled with creativity, adventure, and comedy. This is one of the best series I have ever read it's one that will leave you guessing and wanting more with each new chapter!

[Cathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to the author Christine Schulze for providing me with a copy of the Hero Chronicles to read. As I had not read any of her work to date I was unsure what to expect. When I read the brief description of the story here on Goodreads I added this book to my TBR list.

When I started reading Hero Chronicles I was reminded somewhat of the Harry Potter stories. I continued reading and suddenly found myself captivated by the story. As I read further the story became less similar to Harry Potter and became its own story.

I have always been a fan of the paranormal genre and this story fits well into it. The imagery and portrayal of elves, magic, good vs evil and faith/believe was very well written.

I enjoyed reading the Hero Chronicles immensely and recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA.

I look forward to reading more of Christine Schulze stories.

[Che'rei Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great!! The Hero Chronicles: A Complete Collection by Christine E. Schulze started off a little slow in the first book but gradually grew as did the characters in this fantasy book about a group of regular kids who grew to be heros. The kids lived in the real world within a mystical fantasy world. The god Amiel is intertwined within the book showing the understanding of the author's love of the real King of Kings. Her emphasis of this makes this book a guide to those who wish to know how to follow and rely on God. I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads through a PDF from the author.

[Pepper Cabral · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I was not sure if I liked this series. As I read on though, it became clear to me that this was going to be one of my favorites. It is not to often that I find a series that both adults and children will enjoy. The characters are easy to identify with and are easy to love. I love, love, love that keeping your faith strong is a predominant message in all the books in the series.

I will definitely recommend these books to many people who want to read something that has a good message in them.

I entered Goodreads Firstreads and the author contacted me to read a pdf version and I agreed. I am so glad that I did!!

[Bonnie Colvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an epic of a story of fairies, elves and a long list of different "races" all of which is explained in the the beginning. To me it was a little confusing at first but I finally caught on. Definitely a good vs. evil story. Start out with our fairies and elves getting ready to go to the prestigious academy and away we go on our adventures. I loved the time travel of our characters and how they interact. This is a book I will keep on the front of my shelves to read at least once a year just to jump back into the world Christine has created for us in the awesome collection.

[Alegna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it has taken me about 6 months to read this novel, I must say, it was worth it! In reading it for so long, it allowed me to truly enjoy the story and the adventure of what was going on with these group of friends. From characters growing into young adults to seeing the many faces of evil, this book is highly recommended for readers of all ages. There is so much faith and love that you'll also learn a little something from it.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author gave me this book for free in epub format. This was a good read. I do see why the author change the reading level to a lower age. But it was still enjoyable for a light lengthy read. The stories are well developed and cannot wait to allow my nieces and nephews to read this book.

[Carrie Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good series of stories that interweave with each other making for a book you don't want to put down! You will come to love all the characters in this story, I cried and laughed with them all, feeling like I've known them for years.

Carrie A. Watson

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a kind gift from the author, a kindle edition. This certainly was a different type of read for me and I thought more suitable to teenagers or young adults. While it took me a some time to get into, the fantasy etc. it turned out to be a book I quite enjoyed reading.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alrighty, totally honest review time here. Having been fortunate enough to win the series (through Goodreads First Reads), the least I can do is review them as I go.

Book 1 - The Hero of 1,000 Years
This is a fairly standard young-adult fantasy novel. It has some issues, and it has some things that stand out.

First, the author spends too much time at the beginning trying to be the next J K Rowling. The aerial game at the magic school, the overall feel. There is a preponderance of reliance upon dialogue instead of description (though, thankfully, the dialogue is well written). Finally, the pacing of the book feels off. The whole scene is set in a few chapters and yet those chapters tell us almost nothing, reading more like notes for someone that already can see the setting in their mind, as opposed to a new reader.

Those are the primary shortcomings. However, there are enough positives in the book to keep me reading the set. Many of the plot devices used feel fresh, from the jumping from time to time, to the jumping from world/dimension to world/dimension. The characters are likeable (though they talk too much) and the villain certainly seems evil.

The book ends a bit abruptly with an action that seems illogical, though I'm certain it will make more sense further in to the series. Overall, this reads like an unfinished draft of a book that could be much better, but it is still polished enough to be enjoyable to the point of wanting to continue the series.

Towards the end of the book author Christine E. Schulze seems to stop trying to be the next J K Rowling and seems to focus more on being the first Christine E. Schulze... which gives me a bit more enthusiasm for the sequels.

So, not the most glowing review, not the most damning review...more middle of the road. Considering the caliber of my normal authors, hardly a bad place to be.

Book 2 - Heroes Reunited
This second book in the series is much stronger than its predecessor. The story moves along fairly smoothly (though a few transitions are a bit rough) and the pacing is consistent. I'll admit that the homage to Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera was a bit jarring, but the story did not suffer for it (though Erik stayed in the back of my mind for the rest of the book).

My feelings upon finishing this volume of the series were mixed. On one hand, the story flows so much better than its predecessor. On the other hand the book still relies on thinly coated Deus ex machina to resolve the main threat, which steals some of the satisfaction from the end of the story.

Overall though, I enjoyed the book, and it is a great improvement over the first.

Book 3 - Heroes of the Dove
Let me start off by saying that this book certainly has some identity problems, mostly from editing. Characters say things like "we're not in High School anymore, we're in High School now." The book description here states that they are in high school, but the characters alternately refer to themselves as in high school and as in college. The confusion is pretty jarring at times.

The pacing of this book is also quite rough. There are times where it seems in such a hurry to give details to the reader that it seems to gloss over everything else but those details, which makes for a bit of a muddle in places.

The story itself is interesting but, sadly, at times quite transparent. The introduction of someone who is to betray the characters is done in such an obvious way... for both the readers (which seemed to be intentional) as well as the characters that it seems impossible that even one of them could have been taken in.

That isn't to say that the book is all bad. As I said, the story is interesting and has a few new twists on familiar concepts that certainly breathe a bit of life into things. It is just that the story rushes through some areas (such as the sea monster attacking the ship) that begged for more tension and action.

The romance angle of the book is fun (I think I enjoyed that more than the actual adventure this time), well thought out, and portrayed well. While some of the characters still seem more like names with quirks, those who do get fleshed out are all the more interesting for it.

The first half of the book is fun and fairly well told, but the second half seems to be a rush towards the finish. While this entry in the series *IS* better than the first, it does not hold up to the level of the second book.

Book 4 - The Secret Sister and the Silver Knight
Book four, like book five, reads more like (and is broken up like) two smaller books. It is easily the strongest of the five volumes and the first half of this book, the Secret Sister, would be fine without any fantasy elements at all. The most interesting and enjoyable aspect to this book is the interplay between the characters and the romances that develop between Chasmira and a pair of other characters.

Yes, this is still an adventure story, but in the case of book four, there really is no ending here (which is potentially unsatisfying) but the fantasy adventure is more an afterthought to the character development of the main character.

Far and away the best book of the series, this one managed to cross into 4 star territory for me. Yes, the book still has issues but I am, mostly, able to overlook them because of the rest of the story.

This book shows that Christine Schulze has some seriously solid potential as an author and, when she finds her groove, she can create a wonderfully engaging tale.

Book 5 - The Princess of Destiny and the Princess of the Night
I rolled from book four directly into book five and finished them back to back. Book five, as a series conclusion, isn't really satisfying. After four other books, one expects more of a payoff, and it just isn't here.

First, the entire book is too short to build up any serious tension. To put it into perspective, book five took me a little over an hour to read. It breezes along like a pair of short stories. Making matters worse is the shallow treatment of the character of Eric. With Aaron's death in book four, he becomes the new "love interest" for Chasmira. The situation is delicate and frought with potential emotional issues, making the second half of book four, and the first half of book five, very interesting reading.

Then, with no real warning or explanation, he is revealed to be a traitor and a spy so that he can be conveniently moved aside with the return of Aaron. That entire transition came off as flat and unsatisfying whereas the return of Aaron was well handled and interesting.

The ending of the book was truncated and..."meh." Once again, there is a great deal of interesting character interaction with Chasmira, but when we get to the actual adventure, the entire issue will be resolved in four or five, very short, chapters. The problem is confronted and is resolved so quickly that it doesn't seem to matter much.

The book does have its positive moments, but in the end I was left sorely disappointed by this book. While still better than the first book in the series (which appears to have been mauled by horrible editing), I would say not by much.

One final complaint I have is the inclusion of the Dristann and Tiffany ... thread. One cannot call it a plotline and, even after the author injects a small explanation, it makes no sense. Frankly, if I need to read another series of books to make any sense of three pages per book in a series, perhaps those three pages do not belong there. It comes off as self-indulgent and adds nothing to the overall story told.

The book is worth reading for the story of Aaron and Chasmira but, as the finale of a fantasy series, it just falls flat.

As a Series
The Hero Chronicles is a flawed, but enjoyable cycle of books. Christine Schulze is not the next Tolkein, or the next Rowling, but she does have a firmly established voice of her own. The romance with the main characters is certainly the strongest aspect to this series, with the adventure seeming more of an after thought. However the character of Chasmira is strong enough to hold the reader's interest and so that it is generally satisfying.

Some aspects of the fantasy come off a bit rushed, or ill-explained, but I feel that may be due to the overall number of books in this world (upwards of 30), and so a new reader may find things a bit rushed, but a reader more familiar with Ms. Schulze's works probably won't even notice.

I do find it a shame that books one and five, the opening and ending to the series, are the weakest volumes but the series is still worth a read and book four is really a hidden gem that I might not have found otherwise.

[Freya · Rating 1 out of 5]

First-Reads Giveaway

The author very kindly emailed me a pdf of The Hero Chronicles almost a year ago now, and I have finally gotten around to reading it.

I'm afraid I just did not like this book, but I was determined to finish it so that I could review it honestly.

There were a number of phrases repeated often which just grated on my mind, a few examples being: 'coolio', 'uncoolio', 'Jiminy Cricket' and 'upchuck'.

There were some instances which forcibly reminded me of elements from Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings, plus the mention of 'Spongy Triangle Trousers' which even in it's undisguised name is a programme which gives me an irritable twitch.

There are some turns of phrase which don't seem to fit well, and words like 'drug' which in the context of a sentence such as "He drug himself to the breakfast table" can't be a real word. p.17 - "qualm her churning stomach" is also not right.

There was a little too much praying (I have no problem with praying), but it seemed almost 2-3 times a page in some parts of the book which was a little repetitive.

And my final niggle was in the expressing of emotion and stuff - a little too much 'flashing of the eyes' which made me worry at times that the characters would spontaneously combust.

I am not intending to nit-pick (although I realise I have), but I merely wanted to highlight why this book did not work for me. The overall idea was lovely, the characters fun and the story a nice little adventure, I think it was just the style of writing which affected my view of the book.

[Chris Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. Anyone that enjoys sword and sorcery fantasy would not go wrong to give this book a read.