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The Aurelian Archives #1
Palatine First
Welcome to The Aurelian Academy…
…also known as The Owl. A well-to-do institution where the bright and dapper youths of the Epimetheus galaxy study to become airship architects, deep space cartographers, or intragalactic politicians. Unless they’re like Reece Sheppard, who can’t seem to find the time to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming an airship captain between solving kidnappings, cracking Parliament conspiracies, and trying to keep Nivy – the mysterious mute girl left to his care by his missing step-brother – alive.
And as if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, with his brother MIA, Reece has been unwillingly promoted to Palatine First, heir to planet Honora’s dukeship. He’s hardly ready to put down his riding goggles and pick up the crown, but he might not have a choice unless he can find out who’s behind the assassination attempts on the reigning Grand Duke. His estranged father.
…also known as The Owl. A well-to-do institution where the bright and dapper youths of the Epimetheus galaxy study to become airship architects, deep space cartographers, or intragalactic politicians. Unless they’re like Reece Sheppard, who can’t seem to find the time to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming an airship captain between solving kidnappings, cracking Parliament conspiracies, and trying to keep Nivy – the mysterious mute girl left to his care by his missing step-brother – alive.
And as if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, with his brother MIA, Reece has been unwillingly promoted to Palatine First, heir to planet Honora’s dukeship. He’s hardly ready to put down his riding goggles and pick up the crown, but he might not have a choice unless he can find out who’s behind the assassination attempts on the reigning Grand Duke. His estranged father.
323 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 4, 2012
About the author
Courtney Grace Powers
7 books51 followersCOURTNEY GRACE POWERS has been telling stories since she was six years old, sometimes with music, sometimes with costumes, sometimes with photos and art…but always with her first love, the written word. She believes ferociously that Storytellers of every medium are the sculptors of history, with powers that should be leveraged for good. A Dungeon Master, Rebel Legion member, and new mom, she lives with the Kanan to her Hera and in the middle of Ohio cornfields.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 4, 2014
This is so far my favorite of the books I've read this year. It had compelling and realistic characters, a fast paced and engaging plot, and fantastic world building. While I thought at first the characters were going to be cliche I was surprised to discover how real and like able they were. It wasn't the kind of book that had me screaming, "No way!" But I didn't feel like the characters were slow in piecing things together. I liked being able to understand things along with Reece and everyone else.
Palantine First tells the story of Reece Sheppard, a young man estranged from his family (his father is the Duke of their planet, his brother the Palantine First or second in line) who wants to become an airship captain. He has his three best friends: Hayden (hands down my favorite character), the doctor of the group, and Gideon (dirt straight), the brute strength. Sounds cliche? Courtney Grace Powers keeps it there as far as cliches are to go. What may sound like a cast of overdone tropes isn't. Gideon for one won me over. He's so funny! And I loved reading in his point-of-view.
That's another thing. Powers does an excellent job of portraying third person deep point-of-view. WHY AREN'T MORE AUTHORS DOING THIS? For the love of Nancy! Though it was in third person I felt like I was in Gideon or Hayden's head. It was excellent!
Now the plot begins when Reece fails his aviation test and tries to figure out why, which leads him to a huge plot involving the government and so much more that I couldn't cover in this review alone. It doesn't help that his brother, Liem, is kidnapped and leaves Reece in charge of his strange mute fiance Nivy.
Palantine First was one of those books that I wanted to read but was afraid to finish because I wasn't ready to leave the world. I got the free Kindle version from Noisetrade but hot dang you better believe I'm getting myself a physical copy as well as a copy of the next book. The only thing that bothered me was the use of adverbs, but who cares? It was such an enjoyable read I didn't notice much at all. Okay so I still did but I didn't expect perfection.
I'm rather interested to see how the characters continue to develop in the next two books. Hayden has shown some character development but I'm eager to see more of Po and Scarlet as well. In the few scenes I got to know her I felt like Scarlet wasn't featured enough. She just screams "cool." And Po was adorable and someone I instantly fell in love with.
Look, just get this book. Buy it. Love it. Gush with me about it. I'm sad I didn't read it sooner, but I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. Dirt straight!
Palantine First tells the story of Reece Sheppard, a young man estranged from his family (his father is the Duke of their planet, his brother the Palantine First or second in line) who wants to become an airship captain. He has his three best friends: Hayden (hands down my favorite character), the doctor of the group, and Gideon (dirt straight), the brute strength. Sounds cliche? Courtney Grace Powers keeps it there as far as cliches are to go. What may sound like a cast of overdone tropes isn't. Gideon for one won me over. He's so funny! And I loved reading in his point-of-view.
That's another thing. Powers does an excellent job of portraying third person deep point-of-view. WHY AREN'T MORE AUTHORS DOING THIS? For the love of Nancy! Though it was in third person I felt like I was in Gideon or Hayden's head. It was excellent!
Now the plot begins when Reece fails his aviation test and tries to figure out why, which leads him to a huge plot involving the government and so much more that I couldn't cover in this review alone. It doesn't help that his brother, Liem, is kidnapped and leaves Reece in charge of his strange mute fiance Nivy.
Palantine First was one of those books that I wanted to read but was afraid to finish because I wasn't ready to leave the world. I got the free Kindle version from Noisetrade but hot dang you better believe I'm getting myself a physical copy as well as a copy of the next book. The only thing that bothered me was the use of adverbs, but who cares? It was such an enjoyable read I didn't notice much at all. Okay so I still did but I didn't expect perfection.
I'm rather interested to see how the characters continue to develop in the next two books. Hayden has shown some character development but I'm eager to see more of Po and Scarlet as well. In the few scenes I got to know her I felt like Scarlet wasn't featured enough. She just screams "cool." And Po was adorable and someone I instantly fell in love with.
Look, just get this book. Buy it. Love it. Gush with me about it. I'm sad I didn't read it sooner, but I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. Dirt straight!
January 6, 2016
This is a fantastic book and any complaints I have about it are so minor in comparison to the overall book that I'm not even going to mention them.
A lot of books today have the "strong female character" theme going so it's nice to see a book almost entirely from a male point of view. The female characters in it are diverse and well done, but still this was a nice change of pace.
All of the characters have depth to them even if they appear to fall into certain stereotypes at first. The world setting is definitely a different one and the plot was well done. It wasn't overly complicated, but its certainly not simple either.
This isn't really my type of novel but even so there is no mistaking a great book and a great author when I see it.
Highly recommended reading material!
A lot of books today have the "strong female character" theme going so it's nice to see a book almost entirely from a male point of view. The female characters in it are diverse and well done, but still this was a nice change of pace.
All of the characters have depth to them even if they appear to fall into certain stereotypes at first. The world setting is definitely a different one and the plot was well done. It wasn't overly complicated, but its certainly not simple either.
This isn't really my type of novel but even so there is no mistaking a great book and a great author when I see it.
Highly recommended reading material!
May 17, 2012
This book is fantastic. The characters are my favorite part, though it's hard to pick a favorite. They are unique and loveable. And a few are hateable, as they should be. The retrospace/steampunk theme is really fun, but isn't overused to the point that it detracts from the story. The plot is exciting the whole time, but with great human elements to keep it easy to relate to. I finished and immediately wanted to pick up the next one. And I may have read it more than once...
October 3, 2015
I love this book. Let’s just start there. The first time I read it, I enjoyed it. Then I was seized by an inexplicably reason to re-read it not even three weeks later. So I did. And then two months after that.
First and foremost, this story is about friendship and loyalty. We begin with three boys who are brought together by circumstance and a dash of luck, but stay together because of shared respect (though sometimes given grudgingly) and love. There is nothing that Reece, Hayden and Gideon wouldn’t do for each other, even when Hayden despairs of Gideon teaching his sister how to throw knives. This carries through the entire book, grounding the fantastical in a very real bond between these three boys.
The steampunk sci-fi setting of Palatine First never seemed forced. The first time I read the book I was a little frustrated at references to things in the Honoran world that I didn’t understand. However, upon rereading I find this a very refreshing example of “showing and not telling”. Instead of dumping us with explanations of what each object or person or historical fact is right at the first mention, we slowly settling into our understanding of this world as the story unfolds. In the long run, I found this much more satisfying.
One of the more enjoyable parts of this book for me were the very Harry Potter-esque moments when homework and exams interrupted the unfolding drama, forcing the main characters for begrudgingly remember their academics.
Throw in several mysterious characters like Nivy and Eldritch, the at-first ambiguous motives of the Grand Duke and rag-tag humor of Mordecai and Po and you have a fully-fleshed story full of different cultures and walks of life. There’s a little bit of everything: mystery, adventure, comedy, sci-fi, and every bit of it delightfully executed.
I am incredibly curious to see where these characters go. What role will Scarlet come to play? Will Nivy get home to her planet? What state will we find that planet in? How will Reece’s relationship with his father progress? Will Reece be able to handle the immense responsibility I’m sure he will be faced with in the future?
Palatine First is one of my favorite stories that I have read recently, and I am absolutely dying for the sequel. Any news on that?? Any?? I’m dying!!
First and foremost, this story is about friendship and loyalty. We begin with three boys who are brought together by circumstance and a dash of luck, but stay together because of shared respect (though sometimes given grudgingly) and love. There is nothing that Reece, Hayden and Gideon wouldn’t do for each other, even when Hayden despairs of Gideon teaching his sister how to throw knives. This carries through the entire book, grounding the fantastical in a very real bond between these three boys.
The steampunk sci-fi setting of Palatine First never seemed forced. The first time I read the book I was a little frustrated at references to things in the Honoran world that I didn’t understand. However, upon rereading I find this a very refreshing example of “showing and not telling”. Instead of dumping us with explanations of what each object or person or historical fact is right at the first mention, we slowly settling into our understanding of this world as the story unfolds. In the long run, I found this much more satisfying.
One of the more enjoyable parts of this book for me were the very Harry Potter-esque moments when homework and exams interrupted the unfolding drama, forcing the main characters for begrudgingly remember their academics.
Throw in several mysterious characters like Nivy and Eldritch, the at-first ambiguous motives of the Grand Duke and rag-tag humor of Mordecai and Po and you have a fully-fleshed story full of different cultures and walks of life. There’s a little bit of everything: mystery, adventure, comedy, sci-fi, and every bit of it delightfully executed.
I am incredibly curious to see where these characters go. What role will Scarlet come to play? Will Nivy get home to her planet? What state will we find that planet in? How will Reece’s relationship with his father progress? Will Reece be able to handle the immense responsibility I’m sure he will be faced with in the future?
Palatine First is one of my favorite stories that I have read recently, and I am absolutely dying for the sequel. Any news on that?? Any?? I’m dying!!
July 11, 2014
The Palatine First is an original, interesting, young-adult novel set in a space meets steam-punk alternate universe. It's about a group of friends (and some other individuals) who must work together to figure out a diabolical political plot that is deeply rooted in their society. From the moment they're thrust into the plot (which, by the way, was done in a believable way) they must fight to find answers and save themselves and their loved ones.
In the first chapter of this book, I got a distinct Harry Potter feel. It started with three young kids meeting on the ship to school (one brainy and awkward, one rebellious and a bit of an outcast, and the other the defiant, charming protagonist). However, beyond the first chapter, this book definitely is nothing like Harry Potter. It's a completely different world and the bulk of the novel takes place after the three friends are actually finished school (or, more accurately, close to being finished). The school has very little to do with the story and is in fact not the main setting. So, if you pick this book up and have your doubts about it because of the first chapter (if you think it's just gonna be some Harry Potter-esque knock-off), just keep reading, I promise you it'll break away from what you might have been expecting and in a very good way.
For some reason this book took me quite a long time to read. However, that's not because it wasn't interesting or held my attention. It is fairly fast-paced, exciting, and has very likeable characters.
One of my favourite things about this book was how well the author did the dialog and the narrative for each character. One of the characters, Gideon, had a very distinct voice, which was not only heard in his words, but also in the surrounding narrative of the chapters that focused on him.
On the whole, this book was really well written and I am definitely planning on reading the next book in the series.
In the first chapter of this book, I got a distinct Harry Potter feel. It started with three young kids meeting on the ship to school (one brainy and awkward, one rebellious and a bit of an outcast, and the other the defiant, charming protagonist). However, beyond the first chapter, this book definitely is nothing like Harry Potter. It's a completely different world and the bulk of the novel takes place after the three friends are actually finished school (or, more accurately, close to being finished). The school has very little to do with the story and is in fact not the main setting. So, if you pick this book up and have your doubts about it because of the first chapter (if you think it's just gonna be some Harry Potter-esque knock-off), just keep reading, I promise you it'll break away from what you might have been expecting and in a very good way.
For some reason this book took me quite a long time to read. However, that's not because it wasn't interesting or held my attention. It is fairly fast-paced, exciting, and has very likeable characters.
One of my favourite things about this book was how well the author did the dialog and the narrative for each character. One of the characters, Gideon, had a very distinct voice, which was not only heard in his words, but also in the surrounding narrative of the chapters that focused on him.
On the whole, this book was really well written and I am definitely planning on reading the next book in the series.
May 6, 2017
2013: There was so much I loved about this novel. For the sake of length, I'll only list a few.
The characters, though at first appearing to be a stereotype (the rebel hero, the brain, the brawn,) they became so much more than that. Each had their own distinct personality and voice. Each were given a chance in the spotlight, not only to advance the story, but so that the reader would get to know them, understand them better. Each of them grew as the novel progressed, even though for some it may have been subtle.
I loved the world setting. It leaned more towards the sci-fi of steampunk rather than the historical fiction/fantasy side. Planet-hopping on airships, photon wands, different terminology and slang (I loved the use of "dirt" for a curse word. So funny, yet fitting), even small details helped bring their universe to life.
The plot, though some parts I could predict, I still thoroughly enjoyed their revelation. There where quite a few moments moments and twists I did not see coming at all! A final point of praise, though I could still lush, was the fight scenes. It is quite challenging to write a fight scene in a way that your reader can follow and visualize while still retaining the feel of action and intensity. Powers did that and quite well! Those scenes, most of the book in fact, played like a movie in my head as I read.
All in all, Palatine First is definitely a book I would recommend to all my friends, of any age, a book that I would read again, and one which I cannot wait to read the sequel!
2017: Reread this so I could read the sequels and not be confused. There were a few grammatical errors but they were minor; and yes, certain things were a bit obvious. Yet this still remains a fun story with likeable (& unlikable) characters, and an interesting universe.
The characters, though at first appearing to be a stereotype (the rebel hero, the brain, the brawn,) they became so much more than that. Each had their own distinct personality and voice. Each were given a chance in the spotlight, not only to advance the story, but so that the reader would get to know them, understand them better. Each of them grew as the novel progressed, even though for some it may have been subtle.
I loved the world setting. It leaned more towards the sci-fi of steampunk rather than the historical fiction/fantasy side. Planet-hopping on airships, photon wands, different terminology and slang (I loved the use of "dirt" for a curse word. So funny, yet fitting), even small details helped bring their universe to life.
The plot, though some parts I could predict, I still thoroughly enjoyed their revelation. There where quite a few moments moments and twists I did not see coming at all! A final point of praise, though I could still lush, was the fight scenes. It is quite challenging to write a fight scene in a way that your reader can follow and visualize while still retaining the feel of action and intensity. Powers did that and quite well! Those scenes, most of the book in fact, played like a movie in my head as I read.
All in all, Palatine First is definitely a book I would recommend to all my friends, of any age, a book that I would read again, and one which I cannot wait to read the sequel!
2017: Reread this so I could read the sequels and not be confused. There were a few grammatical errors but they were minor; and yes, certain things were a bit obvious. Yet this still remains a fun story with likeable (& unlikable) characters, and an interesting universe.
April 21, 2016
I wish I could give this book a 2.5 stars. It was really hard to read through the first 80% of this book. I wouldn't have continued if I hadn't promised my friend that I would read this book. It was sluggish and the characters were very two dimensional (I get it, Gid is a bad-ass who likes guns, I don't need to be reminded every time he appears in a scene.) The characters are more caricatures and not in a good way. The last 20% was where it started to get relatively good, but only because the author throws a lot of action, and FINALLY, some plot development to finish up the story. Its really sad that I finally start to 'kinda' like the characters at the end of the book. If you have the patience to sit through some pretty laborious/boring reading to get to the predictable but action packed end, this book would be an okay read.
April 17, 2013
This book is the beginning of one amazing, exhilarating adventure and I absolutely loved it. The setting is fascinating, and what I saw of the Epimetheus Galaxy in the book leaves me curious for more.
I think my favorite thing about this book is the characters. They're lovable, and even though at the beginning the main characters seemed to fall into some stereotypes, but as the story progresses I see that there is a lot more to them and love them all the more for it. The interaction between the characters is well written and I adore the friendship between the main characters. I also like how the female characters are written.
The plot is well-paced and the excitement keeps the pages flying. I would definitely recommend it to my friends! I can't wait to read more of this series.
I think my favorite thing about this book is the characters. They're lovable, and even though at the beginning the main characters seemed to fall into some stereotypes, but as the story progresses I see that there is a lot more to them and love them all the more for it. The interaction between the characters is well written and I adore the friendship between the main characters. I also like how the female characters are written.
The plot is well-paced and the excitement keeps the pages flying. I would definitely recommend it to my friends! I can't wait to read more of this series.
May 2, 2014
I couldn't get into this story. The world-building was too slow and choppy. I feel this would be a good read for steampunk fans, and it is written well. It just wasn't for me. If a story doesn't grab you from the beginning, it's hard to build that momentum later.
March 26, 2013
I love the book. Definitely recommend it.
Want to Read
October 30, 2013So excited for this, such a great sci-fi blurb, saying that it has all my favorite things... politics, space opera... schools...
Somehow, gotta get a copy of it.
Somehow, gotta get a copy of it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews