The Gifted

The Daegmon War #1

by Matthew Dickerson

The Daegmon War is a three-- volume fantasy novel beginning with The Gifted , continuing with The Betrayed , and ending with The Mountain . The centuries-- old war against the Daegmon Lord has been dormant for generations and knowledge of the Gifts (powers of healing, of supernatural knowledge, and of strength over demonic foes) has faded into dim folklore.


When one of the Daegmons suddenly returns to wage war against the All-- Maker and his people, only one small band, led by a young Westwash woman named Elynna and an Andani hunter--guide, rises up against the terrible foe. But they are few, and only a handful of them number among the Gifted. When their own king and his armies turn against the them, all seems lost for the company. Only Thimeon’s faith in the All-- Maker and in the Holy Mountain sustains the faithfulfew.

Genres: Fantasy

448 pages, Paperback

First published August 29, 2014

About the author

Matthew Dickerson (PhD, Cornell University) is a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, a writer, the former director of the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf and the current co-director of the Northern Pen Young Writers' Conference. His previous works include fantasy novels The Gifted and The Betrayed; works about fantasy including From Homer to Harry Potter along with Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C. S. Lewis, A Hobbit Journey, and Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J. R .R. Tolkien; some medieval historic romance including The Rood and the Torc; and even philosophy of mind and computation The Mind and the Machine: What it Means to be Human and Why it Matters.

Reviews

[Andrea: BookStoreFinds · Rating 4 out of 5]

The gifted is a high fantasy book about a small group of people (Some of which has gifts of special powers) who rise up against the Daegmon. The story revolves around Elynna, the leader of this small group, and Thimeon, the Hunter, while going through the trials of defeating the Daegmon.

Dickerson really brought the characters to life in this book. I really enjoyed the band of characters that he created and the fact that the characters felt very real. They weren't perfectly created like most characters you find now in books. They were realistic and flawed, and that made them highly relatable. I really enjoyed Elynna and Thimeon.

I would like to say that the book is very detailed. The world building is Wonderful, in which I really felt that I was there due to the amount of time and effort that Dickerson put into creating the surrounding. Some people may say that it was too detailed, but I am not one of them. I like my fantasy as detailed as possible so I can immerse my self into the world and pretend that I'm there, and The Gifted did that for me.

I would suggest The Gifted to reader who like high fantasy like Snow like Ashes and Falling Kingdoms!

My Rating: four-stars

[Bryan Cardenas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me quite long but I finally read it.

I'll start by saying that I had long consisted not so much go into a book. And although the story is fantastic, the author tends to be extremely detailed and descriptive. Which is good, but not in excess.Now, one of the aspects that I liked about the story was how well the world is detailed, Matthew Dickerson truly is a master when it refers to the world building . The plot is fascinating, rarely declines and there are always things happening which makes reading a very smart and fun.It gets a little heavy at first but once you get acquainted with the world, the characters and the story becomes highly enjoyable.It's a fantasy story, so the descriptions are very important when it comes to imagine the world of which we are reading, but a few times I wanted more action since all the details distract me from the main objective.He shows a superb diligence in terms of character development, since even the smallest of them has a role and a past that nicely complement the story.When I start a fantasy book my expectations are always high thanks to George RR Martin, Tolkien and JK Rowling, but I really dare say that The Gifted lived up to meet them and Matthew did an excellent job in his writing.I'm not one to praise works easily and when I do it is because he really liked it, as it is in this case.Although it was a book that met my expectations and kept me entertained all the time, I did not feel like others have done. But I still hope to read the second and continue reading more of this autor and his works.

Don't be intimidated by its size, 435 pages is not that much when you're enjoying it

[The Burrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so it took me a while to get around to this as I have a stack of review books a mile high, but I finally started it the other day and it took around three days in all to read. I have to start by saying that I'm not a fan of fantasy (with the exception of HP and PJO, of course!). The only high fantasy fiction that I've enjoyed in the past was The Hobbit. I've attempted Got and ToG and LOTR numerous times but got too confused with the strange character/place names. In this book, the world building is definitely explained. In too much detail, sometimes! It meant that the first part of the book seemed to be prolonged and drawn-out and I was waiting on the action to start. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people would appreciate the excessive detail, it's just not my cup of tea, as such. Saying that, once the book did get going, I began to get invested in the storyline. I found Elynna to be quite a good female lead and I enjoyed seeing her character develop page by page.
As I said at the start, this really isn't my genre but I was able to see Dickerson's excellent writing skills throughout and it was this that kept me reading until the final page. He definitely has a way with words which is entertaining to the reader and I could appreciate this. I would imagine that GoT and ToG fans would devour this book and take far more out of it than I did. As it is, I'm still giving the book 4 stars because of the work that's gone into the world-building and because of the excellent writing skills. This was the first book in Dickerson's Daegmon War series. If you're a fan of fantasy - go and pick a copy up!

[Jade Klinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally made the time to read The Gifted and there's honestly nothing I regret about reading it. Matthew has a striking talent for creating an epic fantasy that's extremely well detailed and well thought out, with overly amazing well rounded characters! The plot blew me away! There was so much that went on in so little time it made me adrenalized and disoriented all in the best of ways. At the very beginning of The Gifted, it felt slow and prolonged. But after you adapt to the world, it becomes very addicting. Matthew's writing style is very precise, making you really take every word in. Almost every line and description plays an important part in his story, which at times was slightly overbearing because there was so much description involved I found myself craving for more action. but don't get me wrong, Matthew Dickerson has a killer talent for world building! I love Tolkien's novels and the world that he created, so to find similar story style here was most impressive. And from going into The Gifted not knowing much, I was completely stunned with how well Matthew tackled creating an epic fantasy! Everything about the character development was outstanding, and I just loved how developed all of the characters back stories are. I'm also pretty intrigued as to what will happen with the main love triangle.
I made sure I read The Gifted somewhat slow so I could savor it and not wait too long for the second novel (The Betrayal) to come out!
All I can say is that if you loved The Hobbit or or any Tolkien novels you will not be disappointed with The Gifted.

[Brooke Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it! The story was engaging. The characters were well developed and the gifts were very creative. I had a hard time liking the heroine but perhaps that will change in the following books. All in all, though, a great story very well told.

[TheNatashaReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let’s start with the book cover, when I first saw it I think that it is absolutely stunning. It gives me the Lord of the Rings vibes. Hence, a star for this.

Besides that, let’s talk about the writing, the writing was amazing and I would highly recommend this book for fans of Tolkien. The writing will make you want to read it and not stop until you know the ending.

Furthermore, The Gifted’s world building and character development are very good too. The world felt real as the author managed to explain it in great detail and will make readers understand.

Lastly, I like the main character Elynna as she has good characteristics and good character development. This book is a good fantasy read suitable for young adults and adults.

Overall, this book was a good read with 5/5 rating for me! I highly recommend this book for readers that likes fantasy books.

Thank you, Matthew Dickerson for sending me this book for review.

This book is available at Amazon!

Sincerely,

Natasha (TheNatashaReads)

[Mariah Raichert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! The Gifted reminded me of Lord of the Rings and the story is beautifully done and this is a very deep book!!! And on July 1 2015 Anna and I found it at Barnes and Noble and she told me that she didn’t think there would be anything else that’s a fantasy and yet it is a Christian allegory, but we both found it there in the Fantasy section. Anyway

[Amy]

I read this one awhile ago and it was fantastic. I will tell you that the start was slow but hold on for the adventure, it will come in due time! The characters and story-line are wonderfully written. I was drawn into the story and felt as if I was traveling right along with them, a part of the haphazard band.
When the book ended I wanted more and I waited in great anticipation for book 2. Book 2 came and I couldn't bring myself to pick it up knowing a 3rd book was in the works. My wait has payed off and I have now finished all 3. Do yourself a favor, when (not if) you start reading this book, be sure to have the rest at the ready.

[R.M. Lutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great epic-fantasy/quest type story. I would recommend it to fans of Tolkien and people who enjoyed detailed works with believable, flawed characters. It would be well-suited for teens and young adults, although adults could certainly enjoy the story as well.

Like Christian fantasy and science-fiction? Check out my blog, thebookhoundchristianspecfic.blogspot.com

[Sophie Riggsby / allthingsequilateral · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not a surprise to me, given Matthew's love of traditional fantasy stories from Tolkein and C.S. Lewis, that he would write an epic high fantasy that could stand up proudly next to those classics. The tale has it all -- high stakes, an impossible adventure and characters whose motivation you understand from page one.

What did surprise me was how well Matthew wrote the female lead character, Elynna. She is as strong and determined as the best of YA heroines --a Katniss battling against impossible odds. I completely loved her and cheered her on through her quest.

The lore behind the story is a well developed one. The geography of the world stretches well beyond this initial story (and yes, I adored the enclosed map). It is an epic fantasy setting, after all. But again, what surprised me (yes, it's rare that I'm so surprised these days), was the mythology. A nice nod to the idea of a dormant evil which tests the faith of ragtag band of believers. Just add a bit of magic and a dragon and you have the start of a classic tale.

While I read this, I was reminded of another story, Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky. Although the settings are different, the quest-style plots are similar and the level of detail in the back stories and mythology is definitely there. Plus, the characters in both stories are ones that will steal your hearts. If you enjoyed the Under the Never Sky series, be sure to pick up The Gifted.

[Anne Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have three requirements for what I judge to be a good book.

When I read a book, the ability to ‘get into it’ is the most important thing to me. I want to forget that I am reading and feel as though I am a character in the story. The Gifted, Book 1 of The Daegmon War, by @matthewtdickerson does just that. Every time I picked it up, I lost myself in the story. I was right there with Elynna, Thimeon, Tienna and the rest of their group as they traveled on their quest. When danger approached, my heart would pound in my chest. And when things went right, I was elated.

Another requirement for me is that the story must be realistic. This doesn’t mean that there can’t be magic or talking animals, etc. I just mean that the story cannot contradict itself. There are a lot of fantastical aspects to The Gifted, but they are so well developed that they are very realistic.

Finally, a book has to leave me wanting more. Simply put, I cannot wait to read The Betrayed, Book 2 of The Daegmon War.

I give The Gifted ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. I loved it!

[Ellis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it was a mistake, but I started by flipping to the endnotes, where there is a pronunciation guide (pretentious) and a brief history of the world (boring). I think Dickerson thinks he's Tolkien or something.

I then returned to the beginning, which was rough. I could only take the first four pages or so of exposition and major descriptions of the characters' physical appearances--I don't care that the huntress is thinner than Elynna, and I don't need to know everyone's eye colour.

Maybe I'll give this book another shot when I have more patience and a smaller to-read list.

[Steven Thiele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great setup of the enemy and establishment of the main characters, however there was a clear disparity between the inner circle of the group and the rest of the band whom I didn't really care about. The world-building was detailed and vivid.