As a long-time viewer of Mr. Herne’s YouTube channel and a reader of his books, I can confidently say this is easily his best work yet. This was just the book I needed as a refreshing break from the behemoth that is the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo. Jed Herne is living proof that YouTubers CAN write good books, and while I have my critiques, this was an overall solid start to (what‘s planned to be) a trilogy that I will be following.
With that said, I’d like to go through each category of this story and give my honest reviews on each of them.
[Spoiler Warning]
Let’s start with,
Pacing:
For a 600-something-page book, this was a shockingly fast-paced read. No chapter feels like it goes on longer than it should and any chapter that feels like added fat still serves a purpose in some way for the characters or plot. Just like what chapters are supposed to do. There was even a part where I got through a hundred or so pages over the course of a weekend, which doesn't normally happen to me.
So, while this is his longest book by a longshot, it reads just as fast as his others. You won’t be reading this and going, “This is dragged out too much.”
Plot:
Honestly, I don’t have much to add on the plot. The synopsis does its job of summarizing what happens, and while there are definitely larger aspects and subplots, it’s a mostly straightforward premise and execution. Absolutely nothing wrong with that by any means, that’s just stating my thoughts.
If you read the premise on the back cover, then you’re made aware of what you’re getting into. Some authors will leave plots vague in their summaries while others will tell you what’s gonna happen and Herne is part of that latter category.
The plot itself is great. There are definite twists you won’t see coming and will shock you when they happen—Jed is very good at that.
Bottom line, if the synopsis piques your interest, you’re bound to like it.
Characters:
The two main protagonists are likable in their own ways and you get more attached to them as the story goes on.
Zora was my favorite of the two. She’s fun, driven, and strong-willed while also having flaws that imperfect her. Plus, she delivered my favorite like in the book.
Vaylith: “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Zora: “We’ll take our chances.”
That one got a physical reaction out of me.
Rovan was compelling as well and served as a great vessel to display how the magic works. I just liked Zora more.
I enjoyed some of the standout side characters while others I thought could have used a bit more fleshing out.
One of them died at the end, but since I wasn’t that connected to her, I wasn’t that affected by it.
Another one, Milorad, had a mini-arc (or at least a start to a full arc) about discovering his family owns slaves and wanting to free them, and I couldn’t buy that as much as I wanted to. I liked his blossoming relationship with the Edi, though. That was cute and made me smile.
Audlan was chill. I liked him and his antics. Nothing more to say there. Could I have gone this entire review without mentioning my interest in Audlan? Yes. Did I go out of my way to express my interest in him? Also yes.
I also felt like the main villain, Eredan, wasn’t as imposing as he could have been at times.
Overall, the characters are good. Their chemistry flows smoothly. If you can overlook those few critiques I mentioned, you’ll have a good time.
Magic and Worldbuilding:
My biggest critique of this book is that I wish we could have seen more of the Sunwarden magic. I watched Jed’s videos where he describes what the Sunwardens can do, and when I didn’t see all of those powers in this book, I was the slightest bit disappointed.
I will say, going to the moon made up for that in spades.
Plus, I loved the lore and worldbuilding in Rovan’s storyline. Especially in his intro. The amulets that show lore flashbacks was an amazing concept, Alegium was great, the dragons…
I didn't like them all that much. I fear that should be a turn-off for a book with the word “Dragons” in the title, but that’s just my opinion. I wasn’t endeared by them the way dragon companions typically endear me. I have nothing against them, they just didn’t strike the right cord with me.
Overall, I enjoyed learning about this world Jed’s created and it does make me want to learn more.
And, lastly, some final critiques:
There are some spelling errors in the beginning 1/3 of the book. That irked me quite a bit. Mistakes happen, but you would think spellcheck would catch those kinds of things.
You may roll your eyes, but I felt like there could have been more descriptions of environments or inner thoughts to get a better sense of things.
I wish Zora discovering Rovan’s identity was a bit longer with more emotional thought processes so the knife could have twisted more. I’m a sadist in that way.
This next one is more of a personal thing:
I don't mind the classic “Two main characters get together” trope, but I hate it when Main Character A is in a great relationship with Side Character A and yet the story ends with Main Character A leaving them for Main Character B because expectation demanded it. Two hundred pages in and I was weeping for Mudson. And then I was weeping for him again towards the end of the book when Rovan made his life worse by framing him for freaking murder.
Plus, I felt like Zora fell for Rovan a little too fast after just leaving her boyfriend. If Mudson was more of a toxic partner towards Zora, I would believe it more, but they were literally having consensual boat sex a couple chapters before breaking up; they seemed perfectly healthy.
60% of the missing star from my rating is because Jed Herne made me advocate for toxic boyfriends.
That said, Zora and Rovan’s dynamic grew on me after a while. Still felt bad for my boy Mudson, but I’ll respect the author’s choice.
And this last one is a bit long, but I just wanna mention it:
Early 2023, Herne posted the first 50 or so pages of the first draft showcasing Zora and Rovan’s origin stories. I read it, and the reveal that Eredan killed Zora’s parents was much more surprising and I was disappointed to learn those flashbacks were cut and even more disappointed with how it was handled with much less spectacle. I understand the beta readers said the origins were boring, but I personally would have liked that reveal to have stuck.
That’s just me.
In summary: I had a good time with this book.
Jed Herne is the kind of writing Youtuber who practices what he preaches and that’s evident here. While I wouldn’t say it’s something groundbreaking, it is something that you will read cover-to-cover, put down when finished, and think “That was good.”
You won’t be dissappointed.