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The Sigilord Chronicles #1
The Fifth Vertex
Urus Noellor--a boy born deaf who is about to be publicly branded as a burden, incapable of being the warrior his people demand--stands upon a rooftop, poised to throw himself over the edge. His failed attempt at suicide unlocks within him a long-dormant form of magic thought to have died out thousands of years before, a power that may be the key to saving the world from an equally ancient enemy.
Urus and his companions--Goodwyn, the greatest warrior in Kest, and Cailix, a mysterious orphan--must find a way to stop a powerful group of sorcerers from destroying the five long-hidden vertices that ward the world against threats from beyond, while fighting off threats from within. They soon learn that the scope of the coming danger may be more dire than any of them could have imagined. As the battle for the vertices spreads to the neighboring realms, Goodwyn must face the realities of war and death; Cailix discovers a devastating truth that could change everything; and Urus discovers his uncanny gifts and courage as he peels away clues to his true identity. But even as Urus gains the power he has always craved, he experiences it all in profound, lonely silence.
Urus and his companions--Goodwyn, the greatest warrior in Kest, and Cailix, a mysterious orphan--must find a way to stop a powerful group of sorcerers from destroying the five long-hidden vertices that ward the world against threats from beyond, while fighting off threats from within. They soon learn that the scope of the coming danger may be more dire than any of them could have imagined. As the battle for the vertices spreads to the neighboring realms, Goodwyn must face the realities of war and death; Cailix discovers a devastating truth that could change everything; and Urus discovers his uncanny gifts and courage as he peels away clues to his true identity. But even as Urus gains the power he has always craved, he experiences it all in profound, lonely silence.
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 2, 2014
14 people are currently reading
794 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 91 reviews
September 12, 2014
Okay, I needed to look this up: a vertex is a corner point, of a pentagon for instance, as is the case in this novel. No, I don’t think it is a bad thing to have a title that is not immediately understood – how many people knew what ‘hallows’ were before Harry Potter 7 was released?
With such a title, one may expect that Hoffman’s novel is a science fiction story; after reading the blurb, one will expect fantasy. What makes this novel refreshing is its blend of fantasy and steampunk, with just enough science fiction added to the equation to make the magic in the book more interesting and thought through than the standard fantasy magic.
The first protagonist the reader meets is Urus, a young man on the edge of adulthood, who failed the initiation test to be admitted as a worthy member of society in the city of Kest. We aren’t told what this test entails exactly, other than that it involves fighting. He is therefore going to be ‘culled’ in a grand ceremony, and he cannot live with the idea of such a humiliation. Intending to kill himself by jumping off a building, he discovers his magical abilities at a very convenient moment, because the fall does not even injure him.
The second perspective offered is that of Cailix, an orphan girl who works as a servant in a monastery. When the monks are all slaughtered by the blood mage Anderis, who is looking for the map showing the locations of the five vertices, she discovers the sight of blood makes her wild with excitement. Anderis sees this and realises Cailix must be a blood mage, too. Yes, Cailix is quite a creepy girl, especially when we realise how young she must be – too young to be sold as a whore, Anderis points out.
Two stories of underdogs who discover their magical powers: it is a story we have heard many times before. However, Hoffman manages to give an original twist to this standard idea. First of all, Cailix seems to have led a pretty decent life in spite of her poverty and solitude. Hoffman repeatedly points out that she has always had to fend for herself, but if the murder of the monks is the first time she sees a significant amount of blood up close, her life can’t have been all bad.
Secondly, Urus is born deaf, and for the most part, this seems to be a positive asset. The only one who has a genuine problem with it is his deranged, abusive father. Yes, he fails one of the initiation tests because it involved blindfolded fighting, but he flunks all the others because his personality simply isn’t inclined to violence. Meanwhile, Kest and its surrounding civilisations have developed a sign language lingua franca for trade purposes, and Urus is a talented interpreter. It is in doing magic, however, that his sign language skills are the most useful. As in many fantasy stories where no wands are used, magic is conjured through moving one’s hands in the air – magic is actually a sign language. It makes so much sense.
There are a few gaping plot holes in both Urus’s and Cailix’s storylines, however. His magical abilities make Urus a sigilord, someone with very powerful blood. The blood mages have previously wiped out all the sigilords in a massive genocide in order to obtain their blood. However, why did the mages not simply keep the siligords chained up with a drain in their arm, like they do with horseshoe crabs these days, in order to ensure a more steady supply of blood? And as for Cailix, when she is captured she needs to wriggle around in her bonds to bite in her arm, to get blood so she can do magic. Why doesn’t she simply bite her tongue or lips? (Also, this ability would allow for very interesting period jokes. Perhaps in the sequel…)
Finally, I must make a nasty remark about the cover. When I first saw it, I liked it. The way the figures are sketched is a relief compared to the many sleek, photoshopped covers of YA novels these days. However, when I had read the book and looked at the cover again, I felt disturbed. The cover shows three people who clearly are supposed to be Urus, his friend Goodwyn, and Cailix – and all three of them are light-skinned. In the book, only Cailix is light-skinned, the other two are dark. Has the illustrator actually read the book? Or is someone afraid readers will be deterred if the cover shows two black people? This hurts.
All in all, I recommend this book. It is a refreshing addition to the genre. I judge the cover, but I like the contents.
[I received an advance reading copy of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
With such a title, one may expect that Hoffman’s novel is a science fiction story; after reading the blurb, one will expect fantasy. What makes this novel refreshing is its blend of fantasy and steampunk, with just enough science fiction added to the equation to make the magic in the book more interesting and thought through than the standard fantasy magic.
The first protagonist the reader meets is Urus, a young man on the edge of adulthood, who failed the initiation test to be admitted as a worthy member of society in the city of Kest. We aren’t told what this test entails exactly, other than that it involves fighting. He is therefore going to be ‘culled’ in a grand ceremony, and he cannot live with the idea of such a humiliation. Intending to kill himself by jumping off a building, he discovers his magical abilities at a very convenient moment, because the fall does not even injure him.
The second perspective offered is that of Cailix, an orphan girl who works as a servant in a monastery. When the monks are all slaughtered by the blood mage Anderis, who is looking for the map showing the locations of the five vertices, she discovers the sight of blood makes her wild with excitement. Anderis sees this and realises Cailix must be a blood mage, too. Yes, Cailix is quite a creepy girl, especially when we realise how young she must be – too young to be sold as a whore, Anderis points out.
Two stories of underdogs who discover their magical powers: it is a story we have heard many times before. However, Hoffman manages to give an original twist to this standard idea. First of all, Cailix seems to have led a pretty decent life in spite of her poverty and solitude. Hoffman repeatedly points out that she has always had to fend for herself, but if the murder of the monks is the first time she sees a significant amount of blood up close, her life can’t have been all bad.
Secondly, Urus is born deaf, and for the most part, this seems to be a positive asset. The only one who has a genuine problem with it is his deranged, abusive father. Yes, he fails one of the initiation tests because it involved blindfolded fighting, but he flunks all the others because his personality simply isn’t inclined to violence. Meanwhile, Kest and its surrounding civilisations have developed a sign language lingua franca for trade purposes, and Urus is a talented interpreter. It is in doing magic, however, that his sign language skills are the most useful. As in many fantasy stories where no wands are used, magic is conjured through moving one’s hands in the air – magic is actually a sign language. It makes so much sense.
There are a few gaping plot holes in both Urus’s and Cailix’s storylines, however. His magical abilities make Urus a sigilord, someone with very powerful blood. The blood mages have previously wiped out all the sigilords in a massive genocide in order to obtain their blood. However, why did the mages not simply keep the siligords chained up with a drain in their arm, like they do with horseshoe crabs these days, in order to ensure a more steady supply of blood? And as for Cailix, when she is captured she needs to wriggle around in her bonds to bite in her arm, to get blood so she can do magic. Why doesn’t she simply bite her tongue or lips? (Also, this ability would allow for very interesting period jokes. Perhaps in the sequel…)
Finally, I must make a nasty remark about the cover. When I first saw it, I liked it. The way the figures are sketched is a relief compared to the many sleek, photoshopped covers of YA novels these days. However, when I had read the book and looked at the cover again, I felt disturbed. The cover shows three people who clearly are supposed to be Urus, his friend Goodwyn, and Cailix – and all three of them are light-skinned. In the book, only Cailix is light-skinned, the other two are dark. Has the illustrator actually read the book? Or is someone afraid readers will be deterred if the cover shows two black people? This hurts.
All in all, I recommend this book. It is a refreshing addition to the genre. I judge the cover, but I like the contents.
[I received an advance reading copy of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
October 23, 2014
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The men and women of Kest are warriors, and they deem anyone who isn't a fierce warrior as unworthy. Those who don't pass the test to become warriors are culled, meaning they are ignored by everyone else in the kingdom, and will only be considered a burden to those around them. Urus is set to be culled, and rather than live as a burden, he decides to jump off a tall building. His suicide attempt fails, and he is mysteriously saved by a glowing blue light. Thus begins his journey to find out who he really is.
The Fifth Vertex is a clever blend of science fiction, fantasy, and steampunk. While the tale of a reluctant hero with magical abilities is a familiar one, this story includes a twist - the protagonist is deaf. Urus has spent his life being ridiculed and abused due to his deafness, yet his ability to sign seems to be extremely helpful to him as he learns to cast sigils.
I thought the idea of sigilords and blood mages was very interesting, but I would have liked to have read more about what a sigilord actually does. Without someone to teach him how to use his ability, Urus was blindly casting sigils throughout the book in the hopes that it would help him in whatever precarious situation he found himself in at the moment. I think a little more information about the sigilords would have been helpful. Instead of just reading about how his blue sigils were incredibly powerful and should have been impossible, I would like to know why. Hopefully that is something that will be addressed in subsequent books.
While I enjoyed the book, I did find a few small things bothersome. The main problem I had was that the ages of some of the characters are hard to pinpoint. Several of the main characters - including Urus, Goodwyn, and Caillax - all suffer from this issue. Their ages are never clearly stated; at times I thought they were children, yet at other times, I imagined them as teenagers or young adults. It wasn't a major problem, but it did cause a little bit of confusion at the beginning when I was trying to picture the characters.
Another small thing I disliked was that there was no closure at the end. There is a major cliff-hanger, and I was left feeling like there should have been more to the book. I don't mind cliff-hangers in general, but I feel that this one was a bit too abrupt. That being said, I will read the next book in the series once it is released, if only to get some closure to the story.
The men and women of Kest are warriors, and they deem anyone who isn't a fierce warrior as unworthy. Those who don't pass the test to become warriors are culled, meaning they are ignored by everyone else in the kingdom, and will only be considered a burden to those around them. Urus is set to be culled, and rather than live as a burden, he decides to jump off a tall building. His suicide attempt fails, and he is mysteriously saved by a glowing blue light. Thus begins his journey to find out who he really is.
The Fifth Vertex is a clever blend of science fiction, fantasy, and steampunk. While the tale of a reluctant hero with magical abilities is a familiar one, this story includes a twist - the protagonist is deaf. Urus has spent his life being ridiculed and abused due to his deafness, yet his ability to sign seems to be extremely helpful to him as he learns to cast sigils.
I thought the idea of sigilords and blood mages was very interesting, but I would have liked to have read more about what a sigilord actually does. Without someone to teach him how to use his ability, Urus was blindly casting sigils throughout the book in the hopes that it would help him in whatever precarious situation he found himself in at the moment. I think a little more information about the sigilords would have been helpful. Instead of just reading about how his blue sigils were incredibly powerful and should have been impossible, I would like to know why. Hopefully that is something that will be addressed in subsequent books.
While I enjoyed the book, I did find a few small things bothersome. The main problem I had was that the ages of some of the characters are hard to pinpoint. Several of the main characters - including Urus, Goodwyn, and Caillax - all suffer from this issue. Their ages are never clearly stated; at times I thought they were children, yet at other times, I imagined them as teenagers or young adults. It wasn't a major problem, but it did cause a little bit of confusion at the beginning when I was trying to picture the characters.
Another small thing I disliked was that there was no closure at the end. There is a major cliff-hanger, and I was left feeling like there should have been more to the book. I don't mind cliff-hangers in general, but I feel that this one was a bit too abrupt. That being said, I will read the next book in the series once it is released, if only to get some closure to the story.
August 26, 2014
I picked up The Fifth Vertex because I'm acquainted with the author from many years ago and knew how much this novel meant to him. I'm glad I did - it's a solid entry into the genre.
The setup here is familiar: protagonists who don't quite fit in with their surroundings are thrust, somewhat unwillingly, into a conflict larger than themselves by forces they can't quite come to terms with, and grow to rely on each other as they save the day by using powers they didn't know they had.
But the author has a few tricks up his sleeve here to keep readers interested. The heroes have interesting flaws and depth, the fantasy races are different (while still accessible), there are some complex cultural issues raised, and quantum mechanics make an appearance in an interesting and relevant way. These factors combine to give the story a novel feel in a crowded genre.
This book belongs to the fast-paced action-adventure school of fantasy. The plot moves along as quickly as you turn the pages, as characters are rapidly shuffled from location to location to deal with ever-rising stakes. It's more important to keep the plot moving than to deal with the impact of the major changes going on. As a reader sometimes I wished I had a bit more time to adjust to the rising scope of the conflict. And, if you're looking forward to pages of landscape descriptions as our heroes make their way from Hobbiton to Mordor, you won't find it here.
However, this also means you won't find the frustrating "I can't decide what to do, let me brood on it for a few months" nor the "This whole plot would unravel if we just told each other the truth but instead we'll let artificial tension drive a couple hundred pages of text" tropes which plague epic fantasy novels (even the big-name ones we all know and love).
It's also worth noting that while this is a self-published debut novel, this is professionally written and carefully edited. The author is not new to the craft, having published many technical books prior to this fiction debut. So you will not be distracted by typos, tense or POV inconsistencies, or other issues of clumsy craft. This is a writer who cares about his product and his readers, and it shows.
This is a strong debut novel which Young-Adult audiences will eat up, and other fans of fantasy literature should give it a shot as well. It's an easy read and priced affordably, and I'll be buying the sequel.
The setup here is familiar: protagonists who don't quite fit in with their surroundings are thrust, somewhat unwillingly, into a conflict larger than themselves by forces they can't quite come to terms with, and grow to rely on each other as they save the day by using powers they didn't know they had.
But the author has a few tricks up his sleeve here to keep readers interested. The heroes have interesting flaws and depth, the fantasy races are different (while still accessible), there are some complex cultural issues raised, and quantum mechanics make an appearance in an interesting and relevant way. These factors combine to give the story a novel feel in a crowded genre.
This book belongs to the fast-paced action-adventure school of fantasy. The plot moves along as quickly as you turn the pages, as characters are rapidly shuffled from location to location to deal with ever-rising stakes. It's more important to keep the plot moving than to deal with the impact of the major changes going on. As a reader sometimes I wished I had a bit more time to adjust to the rising scope of the conflict. And, if you're looking forward to pages of landscape descriptions as our heroes make their way from Hobbiton to Mordor, you won't find it here.
However, this also means you won't find the frustrating "I can't decide what to do, let me brood on it for a few months" nor the "This whole plot would unravel if we just told each other the truth but instead we'll let artificial tension drive a couple hundred pages of text" tropes which plague epic fantasy novels (even the big-name ones we all know and love).
It's also worth noting that while this is a self-published debut novel, this is professionally written and carefully edited. The author is not new to the craft, having published many technical books prior to this fiction debut. So you will not be distracted by typos, tense or POV inconsistencies, or other issues of clumsy craft. This is a writer who cares about his product and his readers, and it shows.
This is a strong debut novel which Young-Adult audiences will eat up, and other fans of fantasy literature should give it a shot as well. It's an easy read and priced affordably, and I'll be buying the sequel.
September 30, 2014
Wasn't certain what to think when I read the synopsis and found out that the main character was deaf. I couldn't imagine how the author was going to make that work. It's brilliant! What a wonderful job! Don't let that dissuade you from reading this book. He did a fantastic job with it! It was never a distraction, nor did it come off as gimmicky. The story flows smoothly, and I never felt as though I was trying to relate to the character. I just did. Beautifully written, well thought out, and the characters are all quite believable. If you're a librarian and aren't sure about this one, believe me, it's worth adding it to your collection. I'll be adding it to my library.
August 17, 2014
Ending
Ending
just a warning the ending is a cliffhanger. as such I can not wait till the next book to come out. I just wanted to cry out at the end though.
Ending
just a warning the ending is a cliffhanger. as such I can not wait till the next book to come out. I just wanted to cry out at the end though.
December 29, 2014
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Publisher: Kevin Hoffman
Publishing Date: August 2014
ISBN: 9780990647904
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.4/5
Publisher Description: Urus and his companions–Goodwyn, the greatest warrior in Kest, and Cailix, a mysterious orphan–must find a way to stop a powerful group of sorcerers from destroying the five long-hidden vertices that ward the world against threats from beyond, while fighting off threats from within. They soon learn that the scope of the coming danger may be more dire than any of them could have imagined. As the battle for the vertices spreads to the neighboring realms, Goodwyn must face the realities of war and death; Cailix discovers a devastating truth that could change everything; and Urus discovers his uncanny gifts and courage as he peels away clues to his true identity.
Review: This was a real entertaining read but it didn’t go down smoothly at times. Here’s why. You were expected to take the characters at face value in terms of their present circumstances. What was lacking was supportive material and relevant connections to their pasts. Most of these discrepancies in information can be explained away in successive novels, but we are reading the one in front of us and demand clarity. Another problem was some of the scene progression. For instance. Cailix gets thrown under a table and a bunch of books (trapped) while a blood mage kills one of his cohorts in order to save a warded map. As Anderis uses the monk, Toyce, to tell him where the Woan map is, Cailix “…stood transfixed, mesmerized by the power Anderis wielded”. How do you stand when you’re trapped under ancient books? In another scene the Loderans scuttle their boat only to have it appropriated by Urus, Goodwyn and Murin who “Held the boat steady while Goodwyn deftly slid on board…”. To scuttle a boat means to sink it. Other minor fall downs are Goodwyn’s statements about how badass Urus really is yet lacks the “warrior” spirit with no explanation given as to how Urus was culled and what type of tests he failed.
Despite my shjtpicking, this had great world building infused with creative insight. The characters were fairly well developed to promote your willingness to see them overcome obstacles. Cailix was a little too one dimensional and you ended not caring what happened to her. This novel verges on being placed in the Gay/Lesbian genre of fantasy as the developing romance was between two elite Kestian soldiers, Goodwyn and Therron. With a heavy dose of editing to clean up some obvious fails in logic, grammatical errors and story-line continuity this is worthy of a 5 star rating.
Publisher: Kevin Hoffman
Publishing Date: August 2014
ISBN: 9780990647904
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.4/5
Publisher Description: Urus and his companions–Goodwyn, the greatest warrior in Kest, and Cailix, a mysterious orphan–must find a way to stop a powerful group of sorcerers from destroying the five long-hidden vertices that ward the world against threats from beyond, while fighting off threats from within. They soon learn that the scope of the coming danger may be more dire than any of them could have imagined. As the battle for the vertices spreads to the neighboring realms, Goodwyn must face the realities of war and death; Cailix discovers a devastating truth that could change everything; and Urus discovers his uncanny gifts and courage as he peels away clues to his true identity.
Review: This was a real entertaining read but it didn’t go down smoothly at times. Here’s why. You were expected to take the characters at face value in terms of their present circumstances. What was lacking was supportive material and relevant connections to their pasts. Most of these discrepancies in information can be explained away in successive novels, but we are reading the one in front of us and demand clarity. Another problem was some of the scene progression. For instance. Cailix gets thrown under a table and a bunch of books (trapped) while a blood mage kills one of his cohorts in order to save a warded map. As Anderis uses the monk, Toyce, to tell him where the Woan map is, Cailix “…stood transfixed, mesmerized by the power Anderis wielded”. How do you stand when you’re trapped under ancient books? In another scene the Loderans scuttle their boat only to have it appropriated by Urus, Goodwyn and Murin who “Held the boat steady while Goodwyn deftly slid on board…”. To scuttle a boat means to sink it. Other minor fall downs are Goodwyn’s statements about how badass Urus really is yet lacks the “warrior” spirit with no explanation given as to how Urus was culled and what type of tests he failed.
Despite my shjtpicking, this had great world building infused with creative insight. The characters were fairly well developed to promote your willingness to see them overcome obstacles. Cailix was a little too one dimensional and you ended not caring what happened to her. This novel verges on being placed in the Gay/Lesbian genre of fantasy as the developing romance was between two elite Kestian soldiers, Goodwyn and Therron. With a heavy dose of editing to clean up some obvious fails in logic, grammatical errors and story-line continuity this is worthy of a 5 star rating.
July 18, 2015
I received a free copy of this book by the book's publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Urus has been given three attempts to become a great and noble warrior of Kest. His Uncle is second in command and greatness is expected from him. But when Urus fails his third attempt, all hopes are lost. Usus is forced to be culled. However, when Urus attempts suicide by jumping from a build, a mysterious blue light appears and saves him. Life as a culled may not be as bad as Urus has expected. After all, what are the five vertexes and what part does Urus have to play in their very survival? You'll just have to read to find out!
I really enjoyed reading this and I was swept into Urus' world immediately. Throughout I was rooting for his survival and quest. All of the characters are well written and likeable although a few are deliberately rather dislikable! The journey Urus and his friends take is thrilling with blood mages, sigilords and all sorts of fantastical creatures! There are amazing inventions and spellcraft too in this incredible mission to save and protect the vertexes. A fun read to take on holiday or to relax and read at home.
A lovely read, full of intrigue and excitement. A book which children, teens and adults alike will definitely throroughly enjoy!
Urus has been given three attempts to become a great and noble warrior of Kest. His Uncle is second in command and greatness is expected from him. But when Urus fails his third attempt, all hopes are lost. Usus is forced to be culled. However, when Urus attempts suicide by jumping from a build, a mysterious blue light appears and saves him. Life as a culled may not be as bad as Urus has expected. After all, what are the five vertexes and what part does Urus have to play in their very survival? You'll just have to read to find out!
I really enjoyed reading this and I was swept into Urus' world immediately. Throughout I was rooting for his survival and quest. All of the characters are well written and likeable although a few are deliberately rather dislikable! The journey Urus and his friends take is thrilling with blood mages, sigilords and all sorts of fantastical creatures! There are amazing inventions and spellcraft too in this incredible mission to save and protect the vertexes. A fun read to take on holiday or to relax and read at home.
A lovely read, full of intrigue and excitement. A book which children, teens and adults alike will definitely throroughly enjoy!
September 12, 2014
A marvelous, compelling beginning to what promises to be a quality, epic fantasy series.
A pleasure to read--the writer in me finds this book well-written and edited. There were no homophone errors, no missing quotes, no clumsy POV shifts to make me wince. This is a story told by someone skilled in the craft of writing.
As for the story itself, like the LOTR, Harry Potter, and Wheel of Time books, this story will appeal to young people and adults. The main protagonists are each compelling, interesting, and sympathetic. They are well enough fleshed-out that we understand their motivations without being inundated with superfluous details. Just enough is revealed to keep us reading in hopes of learning more.
The story is fascinating in how it blends quantum mechanics with a preindustrial world that has forgotten its part in a multidimensional war of space-time and magic.
I'm not going to say more about the story. Read it. For the first time in a long time I feel like I've underpaid for an eBook.
A pleasure to read--the writer in me finds this book well-written and edited. There were no homophone errors, no missing quotes, no clumsy POV shifts to make me wince. This is a story told by someone skilled in the craft of writing.
As for the story itself, like the LOTR, Harry Potter, and Wheel of Time books, this story will appeal to young people and adults. The main protagonists are each compelling, interesting, and sympathetic. They are well enough fleshed-out that we understand their motivations without being inundated with superfluous details. Just enough is revealed to keep us reading in hopes of learning more.
The story is fascinating in how it blends quantum mechanics with a preindustrial world that has forgotten its part in a multidimensional war of space-time and magic.
I'm not going to say more about the story. Read it. For the first time in a long time I feel like I've underpaid for an eBook.
October 6, 2014
Thoroughly enjoyable fantasy with a little science fiction and steampunk thrown in. The author starts with a couple of familiar tropes but changes things up very creatively. I enjoyed the magic, the variety of races with their different strengths and weaknesses, and the fact that the main character is deaf. The accommodations that disability required of Urus and how it impacted his ability to be a warrior were well done, I thought. In addition, we got to see the growing maturity of several of the characters as they discovered not just some magic power, but their own inner strength as well.
I am looking forward to the second book in this series. The main conflict of the first book is resolved, but there are still a lot of issues I am eager to see play out.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.
I am looking forward to the second book in this series. The main conflict of the first book is resolved, but there are still a lot of issues I am eager to see play out.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.
August 28, 2014
There is a moment in every good book when the reader is suddenly pulled in; the story and characters form tethers in your mind and the reader is not able to turn the page fast enough to keep up. In the first chapter of The Fifth Vertex, the reader is welcomed, the second, intrigued, and by the third chapter, hooked.
Fans of Epic Fantasy novels will treasure this debut novel, read it again and again, and lovingly place it on the shelf next to Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Fans of Epic Fantasy novels will treasure this debut novel, read it again and again, and lovingly place it on the shelf next to Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
September 23, 2014
Urus tells the majority of this epic tale of magical forces set on tearing apart the world. He is a young adult, on the verge of being outcast from his clan--for lack of being a better warrior on account of his deafness. He discovers a magic within himself when he attempts to commit suicide. He is a sigilord, though he doesn't yet know what this means, or the power he holds.
Cailix is an orphan in the care of monks, when three blood mages arrive and slaughter the monks to obtain the vertex map they guard and gain the power of their blood. She attaches to the head blood mage, Anderis, and begins to learn this killing art--always in the effort to gain enough power to escape her new mentor.
Goodwyn, Urus's BFF is a gifter warrior, with the ability to "see" the near future in his mind. He also has a dark secret that would alter his status if it were revealed.
As it turns out, Anderis is tasked with destroying the five dimensional vertices on this world. In doing so he will release his fellow entrapped blood mages and they will then be able to traverse not only this world, but all other worlds.
There is an exiled arbiter, Murin, who becomes a guide for Urus, helping him to gain the knowledge of his power and also find the lost vertices and protect them from destruction. Unfortunately the blood mages gain power with every kill, and even the combined strength of Urus, Goodwyn and Cailix may not be enough to prevent annihilation when the vertices get crushed.
This was an interesting hero's saga. Urus and Goodwyn are good characters, both having deeper layers. Urus was routinely beaten as a child, whereas Goodwyn loves one he cannot claim. These internal issues definitely affect the choices they make. Cailix learns the truth of her parentage, and it only makes her more determined to use her blood sorcery for good. Plus, it seems she has an affinity for Urus.
War is being batted throughout this world, but there comes a time when fences get mended and enemies unite to assault the larger evil, and it is handled in a way that is respectful and honest. Lots of gore--due to the wars incited by the blood mages, and also by the mages harvesting blood for their own power--which directly affects Urus; his sigilord blood power is enormous compared with that of normal people, or even blood mages.
What I loved about this book was the variety of form. Urus and Goodwyn are from Kest--and they are black with yellowish eyes. Murin, Urus's arbiter guide is a grey man. Cailix is a pale girl with red hair, some of the others in the book range from dwarfish to giant. The people of this world are all different, unique to their locale. Urus's main skill is his abiility to communicate with them, even if he cannot hear and has limited speech--so this was a decent trick, though there were times I wondered if he could possibly read all those lips! His developing sigilord skill was interesting to witness--it comes on slow and builds with time and trial.
The world is set in less modern times, with hand-to-hand combat being the order of war. Groups that had been allied with the blood mages gained technology far superior to the norm, and for this they paid dearly, but it brought a steampunk element into the plot, allowing for the Old World v. Technology theme to be explored.
The end comes a little quickly, I thought, but I was glad that it ended in such a way that the resolution is solid, and without a cliffhanger. Yes, there is a tie that will bind on to book two, but it is not the outcome of the battles.
At times I worried about so many points of view--but they were all well defined. Urus tells the bulk of the story (well his POV does) and Cailix and Goodwyn share other parts for when they are separated and how the battles progress via their eyes. These really move the plot forward, and there is little overlap or recap upon reunion.
I think lovers of epic fantasy will find this book to be interesting and engaging. I look forward to the sequel. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Cailix is an orphan in the care of monks, when three blood mages arrive and slaughter the monks to obtain the vertex map they guard and gain the power of their blood. She attaches to the head blood mage, Anderis, and begins to learn this killing art--always in the effort to gain enough power to escape her new mentor.
Goodwyn, Urus's BFF is a gifter warrior, with the ability to "see" the near future in his mind. He also has a dark secret that would alter his status if it were revealed.
As it turns out, Anderis is tasked with destroying the five dimensional vertices on this world. In doing so he will release his fellow entrapped blood mages and they will then be able to traverse not only this world, but all other worlds.
There is an exiled arbiter, Murin, who becomes a guide for Urus, helping him to gain the knowledge of his power and also find the lost vertices and protect them from destruction. Unfortunately the blood mages gain power with every kill, and even the combined strength of Urus, Goodwyn and Cailix may not be enough to prevent annihilation when the vertices get crushed.
This was an interesting hero's saga. Urus and Goodwyn are good characters, both having deeper layers. Urus was routinely beaten as a child, whereas Goodwyn loves one he cannot claim. These internal issues definitely affect the choices they make. Cailix learns the truth of her parentage, and it only makes her more determined to use her blood sorcery for good. Plus, it seems she has an affinity for Urus.
War is being batted throughout this world, but there comes a time when fences get mended and enemies unite to assault the larger evil, and it is handled in a way that is respectful and honest. Lots of gore--due to the wars incited by the blood mages, and also by the mages harvesting blood for their own power--which directly affects Urus; his sigilord blood power is enormous compared with that of normal people, or even blood mages.
What I loved about this book was the variety of form. Urus and Goodwyn are from Kest--and they are black with yellowish eyes. Murin, Urus's arbiter guide is a grey man. Cailix is a pale girl with red hair, some of the others in the book range from dwarfish to giant. The people of this world are all different, unique to their locale. Urus's main skill is his abiility to communicate with them, even if he cannot hear and has limited speech--so this was a decent trick, though there were times I wondered if he could possibly read all those lips! His developing sigilord skill was interesting to witness--it comes on slow and builds with time and trial.
The world is set in less modern times, with hand-to-hand combat being the order of war. Groups that had been allied with the blood mages gained technology far superior to the norm, and for this they paid dearly, but it brought a steampunk element into the plot, allowing for the Old World v. Technology theme to be explored.
The end comes a little quickly, I thought, but I was glad that it ended in such a way that the resolution is solid, and without a cliffhanger. Yes, there is a tie that will bind on to book two, but it is not the outcome of the battles.
At times I worried about so many points of view--but they were all well defined. Urus tells the bulk of the story (well his POV does) and Cailix and Goodwyn share other parts for when they are separated and how the battles progress via their eyes. These really move the plot forward, and there is little overlap or recap upon reunion.
I think lovers of epic fantasy will find this book to be interesting and engaging. I look forward to the sequel. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 8, 2015
My thanks to NetGalley and Kevin Hoffman for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
I got to 43% and then just had to stop. My apologies, but this book was just horrid.
I requested it from NetGalley because the MC was deaf. I like to see characters in books who aren't "perfect" and I think it's great to see characters who are what the world consider to be handicapped do big and great things, despite their handicap. That was a big draw for me. When handicapped characters are written well and with empathy, I think it helps readers who don't have those issues to better relate to those who do in real life.
That being said, this book fell prey to much that I find distasteful in books.
1) Special snowflakes who have no idea they are special instinctively figuring out their powers when first introduced to the concept of their power.
2) TSTL actions in characters letting dangerous bad guys live when they could have quite easily ended the conflict 30% into the book. It doesn't make a good guy "good" because they refuse to kill the bad guy. That just makes them dumb. The bad guy has killed with no thought other than to enjoy the killing. They will continue to do so again. Stop them, stop senseless murder. Let them live, thousands of innocents will die. Seems like a no-brainer to me. It's not like going to the authorities will help in this book's instance, so do what you have to do to protect yourself and the world. I don't like when a character's uncharacteristic stupidity is used to further the plot of the book. That's sloppy writing.
3) Deaf character, raised to be a warrior, is in a new place at a bar/eatery. He sits with his back to the room, so he can't see ANYthing that is going on. Ummm...no. He doesn't have "spidey-sense", he wouldn't do that. Again, TSTL action to further the plot. Not cool.
4) Character who knows what is going on and yet will only tell the MCs in bits and pieces. If the fate of the whole world/universe is at stake, you tell EVERYone EVERYthing they need to know to stop the bad guy/s. You don't get extra points for dramatic suspense and milking it. The author just makes a series off of it.
Despite this not having romance in it, at least, not in the first 43% I read, the YA trope Bingo card does apply. I wish I had the gif so I could show it, but we have not one, but TWO orphans, THREE super special snowflakes, one with red wine tresses that cascade down her back, TSTL actions, all with impossible to pronounce names and magical powers that seems to come naturally to two of the MCs, despite never even knowing they were special in the first place. Though I guess all of that is par for the course with fantasy books, it just seems like there was too much of it to be believable.
The kicker is it isn't horribly written. It goes quickly and the characters, when they aren't being TSTL, are interesting and the plot isn't half bad. But the negative completely outweighs the good for me on this one. I was really, really trying to make it to the end, but I just couldn't.
For me, one big, fat, disappointed one star. I was expecting so much more from this. Just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean others won't, but I can't recommend it to anyone.
I got to 43% and then just had to stop. My apologies, but this book was just horrid.
I requested it from NetGalley because the MC was deaf. I like to see characters in books who aren't "perfect" and I think it's great to see characters who are what the world consider to be handicapped do big and great things, despite their handicap. That was a big draw for me. When handicapped characters are written well and with empathy, I think it helps readers who don't have those issues to better relate to those who do in real life.
That being said, this book fell prey to much that I find distasteful in books.
1) Special snowflakes who have no idea they are special instinctively figuring out their powers when first introduced to the concept of their power.
2) TSTL actions in characters letting dangerous bad guys live when they could have quite easily ended the conflict 30% into the book. It doesn't make a good guy "good" because they refuse to kill the bad guy. That just makes them dumb. The bad guy has killed with no thought other than to enjoy the killing. They will continue to do so again. Stop them, stop senseless murder. Let them live, thousands of innocents will die. Seems like a no-brainer to me. It's not like going to the authorities will help in this book's instance, so do what you have to do to protect yourself and the world. I don't like when a character's uncharacteristic stupidity is used to further the plot of the book. That's sloppy writing.
3) Deaf character, raised to be a warrior, is in a new place at a bar/eatery. He sits with his back to the room, so he can't see ANYthing that is going on. Ummm...no. He doesn't have "spidey-sense", he wouldn't do that. Again, TSTL action to further the plot. Not cool.
4) Character who knows what is going on and yet will only tell the MCs in bits and pieces. If the fate of the whole world/universe is at stake, you tell EVERYone EVERYthing they need to know to stop the bad guy/s. You don't get extra points for dramatic suspense and milking it. The author just makes a series off of it.
Despite this not having romance in it, at least, not in the first 43% I read, the YA trope Bingo card does apply. I wish I had the gif so I could show it, but we have not one, but TWO orphans, THREE super special snowflakes, one with red wine tresses that cascade down her back, TSTL actions, all with impossible to pronounce names and magical powers that seems to come naturally to two of the MCs, despite never even knowing they were special in the first place. Though I guess all of that is par for the course with fantasy books, it just seems like there was too much of it to be believable.
The kicker is it isn't horribly written. It goes quickly and the characters, when they aren't being TSTL, are interesting and the plot isn't half bad. But the negative completely outweighs the good for me on this one. I was really, really trying to make it to the end, but I just couldn't.
For me, one big, fat, disappointed one star. I was expecting so much more from this. Just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean others won't, but I can't recommend it to anyone.
November 17, 2014
I received the book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I have to say I was not too sure about this book since it is a fantasy. I don't do well with fantasy, but since this was a YA fantasy it was much easier for me to grasp. Although I would class this more towards adult fantasy since it was a rather violent read.
In this story you have Urus who was born Deaf and felt like a failure because he could not pass the warrior tests for Kest and would be branded a burden because of that. So he plans his suicide as he climbs to the rooftop to throw himself over. His suicide fails and unlocks magic that is thought to have been extinct for many years. Urus and his friends must stop a dangerous bunch of blood mages from destroying the 5 vertices that protect their world.
This book has some great imagery and great world building. The author constructed some very vivid scenes not for the faint of heart. There was also a lot of action and adventure. The book flowed very well and was very fluid and easy to read, especially for a fantasy novel. This was a nice surprise for me. There is also some nice twists in the story and also a pretty good cliffhanger.
The characters were also pretty well developed although a bit more backstory on Cailix would be great, I feel like she was a but more incomplete although her growth was good. She is one of my favorite characters in this book. She is a very strong female protagonist. I also enjoyed Urus as well. He had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get where he was by the end of the story, so he had really good growth I think, as did Cailix. The antagonists in the story were also developed very well and were the perfect villains. They were very powerful and also spiteful and relentless.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, but as I stated earlier it is definitely not for the faint of heart with some of the more descriptive scenes in the story, and I would definitely say this is geared more towards Adult fiction.
In this story you have Urus who was born Deaf and felt like a failure because he could not pass the warrior tests for Kest and would be branded a burden because of that. So he plans his suicide as he climbs to the rooftop to throw himself over. His suicide fails and unlocks magic that is thought to have been extinct for many years. Urus and his friends must stop a dangerous bunch of blood mages from destroying the 5 vertices that protect their world.
This book has some great imagery and great world building. The author constructed some very vivid scenes not for the faint of heart. There was also a lot of action and adventure. The book flowed very well and was very fluid and easy to read, especially for a fantasy novel. This was a nice surprise for me. There is also some nice twists in the story and also a pretty good cliffhanger.
The characters were also pretty well developed although a bit more backstory on Cailix would be great, I feel like she was a but more incomplete although her growth was good. She is one of my favorite characters in this book. She is a very strong female protagonist. I also enjoyed Urus as well. He had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get where he was by the end of the story, so he had really good growth I think, as did Cailix. The antagonists in the story were also developed very well and were the perfect villains. They were very powerful and also spiteful and relentless.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, but as I stated earlier it is definitely not for the faint of heart with some of the more descriptive scenes in the story, and I would definitely say this is geared more towards Adult fiction.
September 22, 2014
I think the premise is awesome. Very sci-fi and fantasy in one. It is amazing to me the feats that some of the characters could pull off on a moment's notice, but I'm okay with that. What really drew me to the book was that the main protagonist was deaf. That just opens up a whole new form of interaction between the characters, one that hearing people (such as myself) don't fully comprehend the meaning behind. I think the special sign (the charging bull) that the protagonist and his uncle share is amazing and carries so much more meaning than words could convey.
The only thing that was a turn off for me was the whole gay emphasis for one of the characters. The author seemed to go out of his way for that (and the innuendo involved) to be included. I just hope it doesn't become a focal point that casts a shadow on the rest of the story in future book releases.
The only thing that was a turn off for me was the whole gay emphasis for one of the characters. The author seemed to go out of his way for that (and the innuendo involved) to be included. I just hope it doesn't become a focal point that casts a shadow on the rest of the story in future book releases.
September 22, 2014
The Fifth Vertex: The Sigilord Chronicles, Book 1
Kevin Hoffman
Pub Date: Aug 2 2014
Yes. Yes, this is a worthy tale. There is enough backstory to account for changes across worlds, as well as compelling evolution of events regarding the characters we follow. Remarkably, there is war on scale that will please those who enjoy it and not too much as to totally bore or alienate those who do not-- this is a singular feat, few books come close to the balance required. And the final line is simply perfect...the echoes across my mind as I grasp /all/ it means, that is WONDERFUL.
Permalink: http://martysreads.blogspot.com/2014/...
Kevin Hoffman
Pub Date: Aug 2 2014
Yes. Yes, this is a worthy tale. There is enough backstory to account for changes across worlds, as well as compelling evolution of events regarding the characters we follow. Remarkably, there is war on scale that will please those who enjoy it and not too much as to totally bore or alienate those who do not-- this is a singular feat, few books come close to the balance required. And the final line is simply perfect...the echoes across my mind as I grasp /all/ it means, that is WONDERFUL.
Permalink: http://martysreads.blogspot.com/2014/...
September 24, 2014
I received this book for my honest review from NetGalley.I found this book to be interesting and intriguing. I didn't want to put down the book because I needed to know what happens next. This book is for both YA and Adults. You are drawn to the story and the characters. I liked how Kevin would give you the characters different point of views but at the same time knowing that Urus was the main character. The book is very detailed and imaginative. I like how it is done in another time and place but you can still image things happening here in the real world. I look forward to the second book in this series.
September 20, 2014
Given To Me For An Honest Review
The Fifth Vertex (The Sigilord Chronicles Book 1) is the beginning of a great epic fantasy series by Kevin Hoffman. It is fast paced and action filled. All the characters are well rounded. Once you begin reading it you will not be able to put it down. It is a real page turner from beginning to end with many twists and turns. I enjoyed reading it very much. I gave it 5 stars but it deserves more. I highly recommend it to all and I look forward to reading more by Kevin Hoffman.
The Fifth Vertex (The Sigilord Chronicles Book 1) is the beginning of a great epic fantasy series by Kevin Hoffman. It is fast paced and action filled. All the characters are well rounded. Once you begin reading it you will not be able to put it down. It is a real page turner from beginning to end with many twists and turns. I enjoyed reading it very much. I gave it 5 stars but it deserves more. I highly recommend it to all and I look forward to reading more by Kevin Hoffman.
September 12, 2014
I loved this book. It was great that the hero is hearing-impaired. He has no problem doing what needs to be done, even though he doesn't have much faith in his abilities. He is very likable and easy to relate to. The story is a quick read only because you want to find out what is going to happen next. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series.
September 15, 2014
I received this book through netgalley for a review. I'm glad I did! It was a quick read with a lot of characters that you love right away. I cannot wait until the second book comes out. Keep writing Kevin!
September 12, 2014
This is the best YA fantasy I've read in years. The plot was fast paced and world building excellent. I can't wait for the next book!
March 18, 2015
A rather boring book, nothing about it engaged me which is a shame becuase it promised a lot. Simply an average story.
September 23, 2014
great book, enjoy the story very much
January 7, 2015
Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This review contains spoilers.
I was excited to get into the Fifth Vertex. It's not really a secret that SFF tends to be quite the offender when it comes to lack of diversity with characters, and I leapt at the chance to read a story from the point of view of our hero, Urus, who is deaf. I can't recall the last time I saw a deaf character in any type of book, never mind fantasy.
First thing's first - I feel that this story moves far too quickly, and is quite bloated. We're being introduced to a lot of things, and quickly, and aren't given much time to sit down and absorb them, preferably alongside the characters that all of these new things are happening to. They seemed to simply ask a token 'What's going on here?' before apparently shrugging it off and getting on with it. I might have expected something like that from Goodwyn (who, if I'm reading correctly, seems to have had access to his magic since his birth, at least, though that was not made clear), but not Urus, who seemed to have come to his magic later in life. Too many things happened that didn't make sense and had relatively no explanation that I could recall (Urus somehow entering Murin's mind, Murin somehow becoming Urus' familiar, etc). The entire story felt as if it were a duffel bag being packed for a camping trip - instead of careful planning of what was needed and neat and efficient packing, the book felt more like things that happened to be nearby and looked interesting or useful were shoved in the bag until it was bursting at the seams. It'll probably get you through the weekend, yes, but not nearly as neatly and easily as it could've gone. Normally exposition is something that has to be handled carefully, but in this case, I really think that the story could've benefited from more of it.
I'm not sure how to explain this next part, but a lot of the time it seemed as if I could 'feel' the scaffolding of the story, the research and ideas that built it up and into what it was. It felt very much as if the author had been reading about issues with diversity in fantasy literature and decided to address it head-on with The Fifth Vertex - we have a deaf character, main characters who are not white, a gay character, and a female main character. This, in itself, isn't a bad thing. However, it made the entire story stick out like a sore thumb. I think that this ties in with both my previous point (the story moves too quickly), and my next point:
I could not connect emotionally with the characters. Oh, I wanted to. The characters were exactly the sort of thing I love to see in fantasy. The problem for me was that I never had time to sit back and get to know them. The story moved from one action sequence to the next, all fast-paced peaks and no development valleys to cool off with after them. I couldn't suspend disbelief that these people were being thrown into violent and life-changing situations with so little feeling towards it. They just seemed to quirk a brow at it, accept, and then move on. I was expecting doubt, and giddiness, and misunderstanding, and mistakes being made, and then learning from said mistakes, or not learning at all. I was expecting these characters to react in a much more realistic way to everything happening to them. By the end of the book I felt very much as if I was emerging from a retelling of a fever dream that someone had. I skimmed along the surface of the characters, never really latching on to any of them, no matter how much I wanted to. These characters felt like just that: characters. They didn't feel like real people to me. They didn't react in ways I was expecting them to, but not with pleasant surprise at the unpredictable nature of, well, human nature. Urus arguably had the most development, seeing as we learn not only parts of his back-story, but also how dealing with deafness in his culture has been a struggle for him, and his eventual realization that he was simply not cut out for being a warrior like he thought he had always dreamed of. Apart from that, little changes. Many of the large decisions involving him were made for him, rather than by him. It's a bit strange to think that he did not go through enough internal struggle in my opinion, considering that he went through plenty...but it didn't feel like the right sort of struggle at times. A lot of it was personal, and that's good. That helps trigger development. But I feel that not enough of it stemmed from moral dilemmas presented. He never really sat down and thought about the things he was going through. Neither did Goodwyn, nor Cailix. The end result was that I was simply unable to learn and grow with these characters, despite my attempts to do so. Too many times, something would happen that nobody would really react to - the very sudden death of the duke being the worst case, in my opinion. Whether they come from a warrior nation or not, Urus and Goodwyn saw a man very suddenly and violently betrayed and bled to death in front of them. Even Corliss seemed very blase about the whole thing. There was no surprise whatsoever, no shock, and I had to backtrack to make sure I was reading the scene correctly, that I hadn't missed a paragraph somewhere. There was a huge lack of characters showing their emotions. How many times have you seen a person you know very well walking? How many times could you tell how they were feeling simply from that one action alone? Walking slowly with thoughtful movements - calmness. Quick strides, furrowed brow, clutching some item close to them - stress, the need to hurry, anxiety. Back straight, shoulders back, jaw stiff - anger, irritation. Shoulders slumped, eyes downcast, steady yet robotic steps - unhappiness, distress, bleakness. So much can be said about a person without words, and there was so little of that in The Fifth Vertex. Seeing the characters actually showing their emotions, and more than just smiling, would've done a lot of good for the book.
The magic systems themselves were interesting, but again, so many of them were thrown at the reader that it was hard to follow them. Most of them weren't complicated to follow, but some of the things that Murin spoke of were a complete 180 to this, mostly soaring straight over my head. It left me incredibly confused most of the time, until even the most understandable of the magics left me completely bewildered. Again, I strongly feel that this is because simply not enough time was devoted strictly to a little bit of explaining here and there. Murin states that Goodwyn and Urus are both a quiver and sigilord respectively - we get a little more insight on what a sigilord is, but absolutely nothing on what a quiver is, or why they can see ahead the way they do, or why they seemed to be either extremely rare or wiped out like the sigilords were. Not to mention, it's awfully convenient that Urus, the apparent last true sigilord, just so happens to be best friends with Goodwyn, a quiver...whatever that is, apart from rare. Murin becomes Urus' familiar - okay, but how? Why? A bond that formed between them when Urus entered Murin's mind was mentioned, but again, how and why? In this story, what is a familiar? I know that they're usually presented in the forms of animals, often intelligent and able to converse in some manner with their 'master', and they tend to accompany magical beings. But what are they in The Fifth Vertex? We get no explanation whatsoever, except that Murin's former student finds it very funny, for reasons we don't actually understand, making it neither informative nor amusing. I'm assuming that whatever blood mages and arbiters are get explained in the next book, but considering that Murin was apparently an arbiter and knowledgeable on blood mages, I would've thought that he would've taken even a few minutes to delve into what they are a little more than what he did say, which admittedly wasn't much, and confusing to boot. Far too many things are shoved at us and we're expected to either retain it for the next book or just 'get it' and keep going. I know that if I were one of the main characters in that sort of situation, I'd get incredibly frustrated and aggravated waiting for some insight as to what the hell was actually going on.
To end it off, I'd like to say a few things about the technical side of the writing. The first half of the book was quite impressive, and I found very few spelling/grammatical errors. In fact, I don't recall seeing a single one. In the second half, however, they cropped up quite frequently. While the first half of the book feels much more polished and ready-to-read, the second really fell behind and seemed as if it had only been skimmed rather than scrutinized.
In short, I liked the idea of this book. I could see what the author was going for, and I enjoyed that quite a bit. I personally felt that the execution fell quite flat, though. My final thought on The Fifth Vertex? Those seven weeks that were skipped when Urus, Goodwyn, and Murin magically left Kest and found themselves on that road? That time, injected back into the story, strictly with character development and rounding out the edges of the world-building in mind, would've solved a lot of the issues I personally had with the story.
To sum it up -
Pros:
- A diverse cast of characters
- Interesting premise and magic
- Very unusual, bold overall setting
- Nice mixture of magic with a lot steampunk/dieselpunk-esque elements
- Fast-paced. This is not strictly a pro with me, but I know that many people prefer a much quicker story. I do not.
- The author is a good writer, despite the more frequent errors in the second half of the book
Cons:
- Fast-paced. Way, way too fast. Again, I realize that some people would flat out disagree with me, but I wanted this book to be one I could really sink my teeth into.
- Not nearly enough time was devoted strictly to exposition and development, character-wise and world-wise. I know normally too much exposition can and will ruin a story, but quite the opposite in this case.
- Sadly, characters felt flat and disconnected. Lack of introspection, lack of showing emotion, lack of reacting in ways that would've made them feel much more real
- Story is bloated with too much magic 'stuff' being introduced, and then absolutely nothing being done about it - no explanation, no time to understand it a little better, no follow-up on certain things that made absolutely no sense
- The ending cut off so abruptly that I thought I'd broken my ereader somehow when it didn't turn to the next page. I literally had no forewarning that it was coming to a close, and in this case, I'm not sure that the cliffhanger ending added to the book. It left me feeling dazed, annoyed, and unable to process the story for some time afterwards.
- Run-of-the-mill errors that were missed in the proofreading stage, particularly in the last third of the story - not groundbreaking, but obvious
- Cailix. I know that she was supposed to be a good, interesting female character, but to me, she felt far more like a token. 'Strong' does not equate to 'hungry for power', though it can be part of true character strength. Despite her power, she spent half of her scenes captured and looking for ways to escape. Strong, yes, perhaps, but she doesn't seem to have obvious motivation/goals apart from killing Anderis
This review contains spoilers.
I was excited to get into the Fifth Vertex. It's not really a secret that SFF tends to be quite the offender when it comes to lack of diversity with characters, and I leapt at the chance to read a story from the point of view of our hero, Urus, who is deaf. I can't recall the last time I saw a deaf character in any type of book, never mind fantasy.
First thing's first - I feel that this story moves far too quickly, and is quite bloated. We're being introduced to a lot of things, and quickly, and aren't given much time to sit down and absorb them, preferably alongside the characters that all of these new things are happening to. They seemed to simply ask a token 'What's going on here?' before apparently shrugging it off and getting on with it. I might have expected something like that from Goodwyn (who, if I'm reading correctly, seems to have had access to his magic since his birth, at least, though that was not made clear), but not Urus, who seemed to have come to his magic later in life. Too many things happened that didn't make sense and had relatively no explanation that I could recall (Urus somehow entering Murin's mind, Murin somehow becoming Urus' familiar, etc). The entire story felt as if it were a duffel bag being packed for a camping trip - instead of careful planning of what was needed and neat and efficient packing, the book felt more like things that happened to be nearby and looked interesting or useful were shoved in the bag until it was bursting at the seams. It'll probably get you through the weekend, yes, but not nearly as neatly and easily as it could've gone. Normally exposition is something that has to be handled carefully, but in this case, I really think that the story could've benefited from more of it.
I'm not sure how to explain this next part, but a lot of the time it seemed as if I could 'feel' the scaffolding of the story, the research and ideas that built it up and into what it was. It felt very much as if the author had been reading about issues with diversity in fantasy literature and decided to address it head-on with The Fifth Vertex - we have a deaf character, main characters who are not white, a gay character, and a female main character. This, in itself, isn't a bad thing. However, it made the entire story stick out like a sore thumb. I think that this ties in with both my previous point (the story moves too quickly), and my next point:
I could not connect emotionally with the characters. Oh, I wanted to. The characters were exactly the sort of thing I love to see in fantasy. The problem for me was that I never had time to sit back and get to know them. The story moved from one action sequence to the next, all fast-paced peaks and no development valleys to cool off with after them. I couldn't suspend disbelief that these people were being thrown into violent and life-changing situations with so little feeling towards it. They just seemed to quirk a brow at it, accept, and then move on. I was expecting doubt, and giddiness, and misunderstanding, and mistakes being made, and then learning from said mistakes, or not learning at all. I was expecting these characters to react in a much more realistic way to everything happening to them. By the end of the book I felt very much as if I was emerging from a retelling of a fever dream that someone had. I skimmed along the surface of the characters, never really latching on to any of them, no matter how much I wanted to. These characters felt like just that: characters. They didn't feel like real people to me. They didn't react in ways I was expecting them to, but not with pleasant surprise at the unpredictable nature of, well, human nature. Urus arguably had the most development, seeing as we learn not only parts of his back-story, but also how dealing with deafness in his culture has been a struggle for him, and his eventual realization that he was simply not cut out for being a warrior like he thought he had always dreamed of. Apart from that, little changes. Many of the large decisions involving him were made for him, rather than by him. It's a bit strange to think that he did not go through enough internal struggle in my opinion, considering that he went through plenty...but it didn't feel like the right sort of struggle at times. A lot of it was personal, and that's good. That helps trigger development. But I feel that not enough of it stemmed from moral dilemmas presented. He never really sat down and thought about the things he was going through. Neither did Goodwyn, nor Cailix. The end result was that I was simply unable to learn and grow with these characters, despite my attempts to do so. Too many times, something would happen that nobody would really react to - the very sudden death of the duke being the worst case, in my opinion. Whether they come from a warrior nation or not, Urus and Goodwyn saw a man very suddenly and violently betrayed and bled to death in front of them. Even Corliss seemed very blase about the whole thing. There was no surprise whatsoever, no shock, and I had to backtrack to make sure I was reading the scene correctly, that I hadn't missed a paragraph somewhere. There was a huge lack of characters showing their emotions. How many times have you seen a person you know very well walking? How many times could you tell how they were feeling simply from that one action alone? Walking slowly with thoughtful movements - calmness. Quick strides, furrowed brow, clutching some item close to them - stress, the need to hurry, anxiety. Back straight, shoulders back, jaw stiff - anger, irritation. Shoulders slumped, eyes downcast, steady yet robotic steps - unhappiness, distress, bleakness. So much can be said about a person without words, and there was so little of that in The Fifth Vertex. Seeing the characters actually showing their emotions, and more than just smiling, would've done a lot of good for the book.
The magic systems themselves were interesting, but again, so many of them were thrown at the reader that it was hard to follow them. Most of them weren't complicated to follow, but some of the things that Murin spoke of were a complete 180 to this, mostly soaring straight over my head. It left me incredibly confused most of the time, until even the most understandable of the magics left me completely bewildered. Again, I strongly feel that this is because simply not enough time was devoted strictly to a little bit of explaining here and there. Murin states that Goodwyn and Urus are both a quiver and sigilord respectively - we get a little more insight on what a sigilord is, but absolutely nothing on what a quiver is, or why they can see ahead the way they do, or why they seemed to be either extremely rare or wiped out like the sigilords were. Not to mention, it's awfully convenient that Urus, the apparent last true sigilord, just so happens to be best friends with Goodwyn, a quiver...whatever that is, apart from rare. Murin becomes Urus' familiar - okay, but how? Why? A bond that formed between them when Urus entered Murin's mind was mentioned, but again, how and why? In this story, what is a familiar? I know that they're usually presented in the forms of animals, often intelligent and able to converse in some manner with their 'master', and they tend to accompany magical beings. But what are they in The Fifth Vertex? We get no explanation whatsoever, except that Murin's former student finds it very funny, for reasons we don't actually understand, making it neither informative nor amusing. I'm assuming that whatever blood mages and arbiters are get explained in the next book, but considering that Murin was apparently an arbiter and knowledgeable on blood mages, I would've thought that he would've taken even a few minutes to delve into what they are a little more than what he did say, which admittedly wasn't much, and confusing to boot. Far too many things are shoved at us and we're expected to either retain it for the next book or just 'get it' and keep going. I know that if I were one of the main characters in that sort of situation, I'd get incredibly frustrated and aggravated waiting for some insight as to what the hell was actually going on.
To end it off, I'd like to say a few things about the technical side of the writing. The first half of the book was quite impressive, and I found very few spelling/grammatical errors. In fact, I don't recall seeing a single one. In the second half, however, they cropped up quite frequently. While the first half of the book feels much more polished and ready-to-read, the second really fell behind and seemed as if it had only been skimmed rather than scrutinized.
In short, I liked the idea of this book. I could see what the author was going for, and I enjoyed that quite a bit. I personally felt that the execution fell quite flat, though. My final thought on The Fifth Vertex? Those seven weeks that were skipped when Urus, Goodwyn, and Murin magically left Kest and found themselves on that road? That time, injected back into the story, strictly with character development and rounding out the edges of the world-building in mind, would've solved a lot of the issues I personally had with the story.
To sum it up -
Pros:
- A diverse cast of characters
- Interesting premise and magic
- Very unusual, bold overall setting
- Nice mixture of magic with a lot steampunk/dieselpunk-esque elements
- Fast-paced. This is not strictly a pro with me, but I know that many people prefer a much quicker story. I do not.
- The author is a good writer, despite the more frequent errors in the second half of the book
Cons:
- Fast-paced. Way, way too fast. Again, I realize that some people would flat out disagree with me, but I wanted this book to be one I could really sink my teeth into.
- Not nearly enough time was devoted strictly to exposition and development, character-wise and world-wise. I know normally too much exposition can and will ruin a story, but quite the opposite in this case.
- Sadly, characters felt flat and disconnected. Lack of introspection, lack of showing emotion, lack of reacting in ways that would've made them feel much more real
- Story is bloated with too much magic 'stuff' being introduced, and then absolutely nothing being done about it - no explanation, no time to understand it a little better, no follow-up on certain things that made absolutely no sense
- The ending cut off so abruptly that I thought I'd broken my ereader somehow when it didn't turn to the next page. I literally had no forewarning that it was coming to a close, and in this case, I'm not sure that the cliffhanger ending added to the book. It left me feeling dazed, annoyed, and unable to process the story for some time afterwards.
- Run-of-the-mill errors that were missed in the proofreading stage, particularly in the last third of the story - not groundbreaking, but obvious
- Cailix. I know that she was supposed to be a good, interesting female character, but to me, she felt far more like a token. 'Strong' does not equate to 'hungry for power', though it can be part of true character strength. Despite her power, she spent half of her scenes captured and looking for ways to escape. Strong, yes, perhaps, but she doesn't seem to have obvious motivation/goals apart from killing Anderis
January 27, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.
After years of reading them, I have to admit it: I don't care for most YA fantasy. I love the promise of teenagers facing off world-shattering events. Unfortunately, tropes (especially Mary Stu/Sues) and bad, unconvincing romance overwhelm the poor semblance of plot nearly every time.
This book is not that. While it's definitely geared toward a young audience based on plot complexity and world building, The Fifth Vertex is solid fantasy novel that blows most of the YA hits of the last decade out of the water. It's also refreshingly diverse for a book written in 2014— the main character Urus is deaf, and another important character is gay.
After years of reading them, I have to admit it: I don't care for most YA fantasy. I love the promise of teenagers facing off world-shattering events. Unfortunately, tropes (especially Mary Stu/Sues) and bad, unconvincing romance overwhelm the poor semblance of plot nearly every time.
This book is not that. While it's definitely geared toward a young audience based on plot complexity and world building, The Fifth Vertex is solid fantasy novel that blows most of the YA hits of the last decade out of the water. It's also refreshingly diverse for a book written in 2014— the main character Urus is deaf, and another important character is gay.
March 21, 2015
Picking up a book with no established publishing provenance, large or small press, is always a bit risky in terms of time, a lot like going through a slush pile, or scraping the sidewalks of New York City's jewelry district for gold shavings. James Patrick Kelly has a great On the Net feature about this topic for this month's Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Kelly writes about the need for some sort of better curation of 'indie' authors; that is definitely the case, but I too am unsure how this can be pulled off until a group of already-respected indie authors organize some type of recommendation system. Until then, it is an unfortunate matter of chance, of some undefinable element attracting a reviewer's eye to fit it into reading schedules.
I don't recall why I requested this on NetGalley, but it was probably the combination of seeming like a plot I may enjoy and the novel already having some reviews that indicated aspects, such as the protagonists here, that seemed noteworthy to give it a shot. Whatever the reasons, I'm glad I had the chance to read this fantasy novel, which bills itself as young adult mostly to my eyes because of the protagonist's age. Based on this first book of a planned series, I think that The Sigilord Chronicles could go into some really interesting directions and will be looking for the followup to come.
The plot of The Fifth Vertex is a standard one, familiar to any fantasy reader and perhaps even one you might be tired of: the coming of age tale of a likable, socially outcast young man who ends up on a quest and discovers powers of which he previously was unaware. But, while Hoffman doesn't particularly cover any new ground in this regard, he does make this archetypical tale really entertaining. Through the development of an interesting society and well-formed protagonists, Hoffman makes the story compelling.
The first protagonist is Urus, and though he comes from a well-to-do stratus of his society, his place (role) in that society is not determined as much through birth as much as through testing his worth as a warrior. For it is a warrior that the society most respects, and what Urus is expected to be as his family before him. Urus defines himself according to this limited narrative and perspective, but at heart he is more of a gentle soul, and while full of brains, has no brawn. The novel starts with his failure in his 'testing' and his subsequent attempt at suicide at having failed to live up to those expectations of society. The simple theme present here is easily recognizable and relevant to the world of reality, particularly for a young adult, so the story would have appeal for those readers. In addition to not meeting the expectations of being a warrior, Urus additionally must adapt to living in his society as a deaf person.
Characters with physical disability aren't exactly common, and when present they usually serve as unfortunate caricatures or vehicles for showing how certain perceived limitations can actually have strengths of their own. Sadly they are never just included as a 'regular' person without the detail of disability 'called out' in a way integral to the plot. Here is no exception, but at least Urus is not objectified or mishandled here, falling more into that category where limitations perceived by the abled turn out to be vital for saving society and everyone's life. For Urus this is not just the perceived weakness of his deafness, but also the perceived weakness of his physical strength and stomach for violence. Hoffman handles the deafness aspect in terms of the narrative with respect and it is interesting to read the explanations of the signage made between Urus and his companions.
The other point of view protagonist, a young orphan girl named Cailix, is another interesting character who starts as a servant at a monastery but is soon forced to 'grow up' too quickly when forcibly taken captive by a group of blood mages intent on gaining secret knowledge. As this plot intersects with Urus', the reader begins to appreciate Cailix's development from scared, somewhat sheltered child, to stronger, more wise young lady (in a manner similar to Sansa Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire, actually). There is a certain darkness and pessimism to Cailix that is a perfect complement to Urus, made literal in the way their 'magical' talents end up complementing.
Though fantasy, Hoffman makes some effort to explain the magical elements in The Fifth Vertex, from a rudimentary scientific perspective, making this a blend of speculative genres in some ways. Overall this is a really impressive book that will appeal to many SFF fans, and there is a diversity to the characters (including race that as others have noted is sadly not reflected in the cover illustration). Though taking the 'self published' (or 'indie author') route, The Fifth Vertex was really indistinguishable to me from something I'd expect from a genre paperback publisher.
Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reading copy of this from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I don't recall why I requested this on NetGalley, but it was probably the combination of seeming like a plot I may enjoy and the novel already having some reviews that indicated aspects, such as the protagonists here, that seemed noteworthy to give it a shot. Whatever the reasons, I'm glad I had the chance to read this fantasy novel, which bills itself as young adult mostly to my eyes because of the protagonist's age. Based on this first book of a planned series, I think that The Sigilord Chronicles could go into some really interesting directions and will be looking for the followup to come.
The plot of The Fifth Vertex is a standard one, familiar to any fantasy reader and perhaps even one you might be tired of: the coming of age tale of a likable, socially outcast young man who ends up on a quest and discovers powers of which he previously was unaware. But, while Hoffman doesn't particularly cover any new ground in this regard, he does make this archetypical tale really entertaining. Through the development of an interesting society and well-formed protagonists, Hoffman makes the story compelling.
The first protagonist is Urus, and though he comes from a well-to-do stratus of his society, his place (role) in that society is not determined as much through birth as much as through testing his worth as a warrior. For it is a warrior that the society most respects, and what Urus is expected to be as his family before him. Urus defines himself according to this limited narrative and perspective, but at heart he is more of a gentle soul, and while full of brains, has no brawn. The novel starts with his failure in his 'testing' and his subsequent attempt at suicide at having failed to live up to those expectations of society. The simple theme present here is easily recognizable and relevant to the world of reality, particularly for a young adult, so the story would have appeal for those readers. In addition to not meeting the expectations of being a warrior, Urus additionally must adapt to living in his society as a deaf person.
Characters with physical disability aren't exactly common, and when present they usually serve as unfortunate caricatures or vehicles for showing how certain perceived limitations can actually have strengths of their own. Sadly they are never just included as a 'regular' person without the detail of disability 'called out' in a way integral to the plot. Here is no exception, but at least Urus is not objectified or mishandled here, falling more into that category where limitations perceived by the abled turn out to be vital for saving society and everyone's life. For Urus this is not just the perceived weakness of his deafness, but also the perceived weakness of his physical strength and stomach for violence. Hoffman handles the deafness aspect in terms of the narrative with respect and it is interesting to read the explanations of the signage made between Urus and his companions.
The other point of view protagonist, a young orphan girl named Cailix, is another interesting character who starts as a servant at a monastery but is soon forced to 'grow up' too quickly when forcibly taken captive by a group of blood mages intent on gaining secret knowledge. As this plot intersects with Urus', the reader begins to appreciate Cailix's development from scared, somewhat sheltered child, to stronger, more wise young lady (in a manner similar to Sansa Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire, actually). There is a certain darkness and pessimism to Cailix that is a perfect complement to Urus, made literal in the way their 'magical' talents end up complementing.
Though fantasy, Hoffman makes some effort to explain the magical elements in The Fifth Vertex, from a rudimentary scientific perspective, making this a blend of speculative genres in some ways. Overall this is a really impressive book that will appeal to many SFF fans, and there is a diversity to the characters (including race that as others have noted is sadly not reflected in the cover illustration). Though taking the 'self published' (or 'indie author') route, The Fifth Vertex was really indistinguishable to me from something I'd expect from a genre paperback publisher.
Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reading copy of this from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 9, 2021
A good underdog story of a boy who is deaf and was about to throw away his life. But ends up in a journey. It's a good book with a blend of magic, sci fi world, and fantasy. The story might feel seen before. I caught it for the good cover.
August 23, 2015
For more reviews go to SpExReviews
The Fifth Vertex by Kevin Hoffman is a Fantasy/Steampunk blend novel with an interesting premise and protagonist. Urus, a deaf inhabitant of the proud warrior city of Kest, stands on the roof of the castle because he has failed his kingdom, his uncle and himself because he did not pass the tests to become a warrior. He is set to become culled: branded a burden on society, begrudgingly fed and losing all his rights as a citizen. He jumps but miraculously survives, the fall unleashes a strange power that he never knew he had.
Urus, along with his best friend Goodwyn, an unusual old man with odd powers called Murin and a strange orphan called Cailix, get caught up in adventure when a band of blood mages set out to destroy the five vertices that protect their world from other worlds. All of the characters face their own story arcs and challenges that take them across their own kingdoms and others while the try to save the world.
Urus is very interesting because as a deaf character he gives us a perspective that you don’t often come across in fantasy novels and we are forced to see how limiting it is to be in a society that talks to each other but his is the one person in the room who has to be looking at the person’s lips to know what they’re saying. I would have liked it if the book had gone into more detail about tradesign and the other languages that Urus can understand. I do find that his power is a very interesting one, I expect that Hoffman is saving most of the explanations of exactly what Urus can do until the next book in the series because we are given only a small glimpse into it.
Goodwyn is my favourite character because he deals with forbidden love, the type of forbidden love he has in his very masculine and warrior based culture almost made me want to give the book an extra star, and I probably would have if it had focused on him a little more throughout. Goodwyn is also the best warrior in the graduating class in Kest, he can see his opponents moves before they make them. Unfortunately Goodwyn’s powers are also not even remotely explained enough for me.
Cailix has the most interesting and throughly explained power of the young characters, she faces a really big revelation in the book which, while extremely interesting and I didn’t see it coming, I don’t think she agonised over exactly how big a revelation it was.
One of the best things about this book is that it manages to avoid one of the rather common mistakes of fantasy books makes and that is the length. Although I do have many complaints about certain things feeling rushed or glossed over it at least moves at a quick enough pace as to not get terribly boring or spending fifty pages on a journey where nothing happens or spending ten pages with angsty internal monologue.
Unfortunately while avoiding that pitfall it does fall into one that is a well-known fantasy trope and that’s the Chosen One plot. The book starts off with two of the characters in very dark and sad places and everything in their life is awful until they find out THEY’RE MAGICAL and it’s a good thing they found out just in time because their kind of magic is the only thing that can SAVE THE WORLD.
There are also a few very major plot holes, I won’t go into details over most of them because I don’t want to spoil the book but there is one that has frustrated me and that’s to do with the languages and Murin’s ability to make everyone around him appear to speak the same language and this is never explained and it also seems to stick around when Murin leaves some of the characters even though it was previously established that they could only do that when he was around.
Overall I really enjoyed the book but it isn’t groundbreaking.
★★★☆☆
The Fifth Vertex by Kevin Hoffman is a Fantasy/Steampunk blend novel with an interesting premise and protagonist. Urus, a deaf inhabitant of the proud warrior city of Kest, stands on the roof of the castle because he has failed his kingdom, his uncle and himself because he did not pass the tests to become a warrior. He is set to become culled: branded a burden on society, begrudgingly fed and losing all his rights as a citizen. He jumps but miraculously survives, the fall unleashes a strange power that he never knew he had.
Urus, along with his best friend Goodwyn, an unusual old man with odd powers called Murin and a strange orphan called Cailix, get caught up in adventure when a band of blood mages set out to destroy the five vertices that protect their world from other worlds. All of the characters face their own story arcs and challenges that take them across their own kingdoms and others while the try to save the world.
Urus is very interesting because as a deaf character he gives us a perspective that you don’t often come across in fantasy novels and we are forced to see how limiting it is to be in a society that talks to each other but his is the one person in the room who has to be looking at the person’s lips to know what they’re saying. I would have liked it if the book had gone into more detail about tradesign and the other languages that Urus can understand. I do find that his power is a very interesting one, I expect that Hoffman is saving most of the explanations of exactly what Urus can do until the next book in the series because we are given only a small glimpse into it.
Goodwyn is my favourite character because he deals with forbidden love, the type of forbidden love he has in his very masculine and warrior based culture almost made me want to give the book an extra star, and I probably would have if it had focused on him a little more throughout. Goodwyn is also the best warrior in the graduating class in Kest, he can see his opponents moves before they make them. Unfortunately Goodwyn’s powers are also not even remotely explained enough for me.
Cailix has the most interesting and throughly explained power of the young characters, she faces a really big revelation in the book which, while extremely interesting and I didn’t see it coming, I don’t think she agonised over exactly how big a revelation it was.
One of the best things about this book is that it manages to avoid one of the rather common mistakes of fantasy books makes and that is the length. Although I do have many complaints about certain things feeling rushed or glossed over it at least moves at a quick enough pace as to not get terribly boring or spending fifty pages on a journey where nothing happens or spending ten pages with angsty internal monologue.
Unfortunately while avoiding that pitfall it does fall into one that is a well-known fantasy trope and that’s the Chosen One plot. The book starts off with two of the characters in very dark and sad places and everything in their life is awful until they find out THEY’RE MAGICAL and it’s a good thing they found out just in time because their kind of magic is the only thing that can SAVE THE WORLD.
There are also a few very major plot holes, I won’t go into details over most of them because I don’t want to spoil the book but there is one that has frustrated me and that’s to do with the languages and Murin’s ability to make everyone around him appear to speak the same language and this is never explained and it also seems to stick around when Murin leaves some of the characters even though it was previously established that they could only do that when he was around.
Overall I really enjoyed the book but it isn’t groundbreaking.
★★★☆☆
November 23, 2014
The Quick Review:
The main characters fight with magic, they fight with technology, they fight multiple races, and do it all on two continents, one island, one ocean, in the air, and on a mountain. The action is non-stop and the book gives you just enough to know what’s going on but have so many more questions on what the big picture is.
This book is a real stand out in the high fantasy genre. The Fifth vertex contained many unique elements that I have not commonly read. A main character that is deaf and signs to communicate is not something that would have ever crossed my mind as an idea; it’s an instant curiosity-type hook that pulls you into the story from the very beginning. The magical structure set up in this realm is ancients, but nearly extinct, and doesn’t conform to the usual magical status quo. The book is loaded with battles varying in size and complexity and Kevin Hoffman did a great job mixing new-age-like technology into a magical, Easteros/Westeros type realm.
Story Summary:
Ursus, a teen from the warrior based people called Kestians, discovers a blue colored force of magic runs through his veins. A seemingly crazy old man, Murin, shows up in Kest, foretelling of 4 massive armies approaching the city in order to destroy a vertex that has been anchored under the city for over 3 millennia.
Ursus is plunged into a chase to save the five vertices, learning along the way that he is somehow the ancestor of an ancient race of magic wielders called Sigilords. He follows around the mysterious Murin, protecting this realm from a cult of blood mages who have not been heard from in ages.
With the help of his best friend, Therrin, and a rogue blood mage pupil, Ursus must quickly come to terms with his cryptic ancestry in order to save the world as he knows it.
The Longer Review:
Kevin Hoffman took the concept of multiple dimensions, which is commonly used in futuristic scifi genres, and made it work in a medieval setting. Don’t think teleporting and spacemen, think mystics and acolytes and magical tethers between worlds. Cool, right? I think so anyway.
Magic in this realm is nearly extinct. History of a massive ancient war tells of crusade led by the blood mages to massacre the Sigilords. The Sigilords have been extinct for millennia, and the blood mages had left the real to rebuild in an alternate dimension.
Sounds crazy right? The whole multiple dimension thing. Trust me when I say it fit so well into the book. It’s not all Dr. Who/ Star Trek sounding as it seems. Murin is an arbiter from a group of thousand year old ancients who oversea multiple dimensions and make sure they don’t end up involved with each other. The vertices in this realm act as dimensional anchors, holding everything in place, so to speak.
The book covers four types of magic users, Arbiters, Sigilords, blood mages, and quivers. Quivers are least explained and least magical. All we learn about them is most quivers don’t know they are magical. Their powers revolve around an innate sense to know directions and patterns. Blood mages is self explanatory; they use blood to do magic. Sigilords use sigils(like hieroglyphics) to perform magic. And the arbiters, as said before, are the inter-dimensional overseers. It is made clear throughout the book that there is a whole bunch of magic out there that we don’t know about yet.
Conclusion:
Kevin Hoffman’s new realm has a thousand possibilities, and so does the Vertex Series. He left a killer cliff hanger at the end, and I did not expect it. The entire story concluded nicely and then he pulled it all out from under me. I need a sequel now…
The main characters fight with magic, they fight with technology, they fight multiple races, and do it all on two continents, one island, one ocean, in the air, and on a mountain. The action is non-stop and the book gives you just enough to know what’s going on but have so many more questions on what the big picture is.
This book is a real stand out in the high fantasy genre. The Fifth vertex contained many unique elements that I have not commonly read. A main character that is deaf and signs to communicate is not something that would have ever crossed my mind as an idea; it’s an instant curiosity-type hook that pulls you into the story from the very beginning. The magical structure set up in this realm is ancients, but nearly extinct, and doesn’t conform to the usual magical status quo. The book is loaded with battles varying in size and complexity and Kevin Hoffman did a great job mixing new-age-like technology into a magical, Easteros/Westeros type realm.
Story Summary:
Ursus, a teen from the warrior based people called Kestians, discovers a blue colored force of magic runs through his veins. A seemingly crazy old man, Murin, shows up in Kest, foretelling of 4 massive armies approaching the city in order to destroy a vertex that has been anchored under the city for over 3 millennia.
Ursus is plunged into a chase to save the five vertices, learning along the way that he is somehow the ancestor of an ancient race of magic wielders called Sigilords. He follows around the mysterious Murin, protecting this realm from a cult of blood mages who have not been heard from in ages.
With the help of his best friend, Therrin, and a rogue blood mage pupil, Ursus must quickly come to terms with his cryptic ancestry in order to save the world as he knows it.
The Longer Review:
Kevin Hoffman took the concept of multiple dimensions, which is commonly used in futuristic scifi genres, and made it work in a medieval setting. Don’t think teleporting and spacemen, think mystics and acolytes and magical tethers between worlds. Cool, right? I think so anyway.
Magic in this realm is nearly extinct. History of a massive ancient war tells of crusade led by the blood mages to massacre the Sigilords. The Sigilords have been extinct for millennia, and the blood mages had left the real to rebuild in an alternate dimension.
Sounds crazy right? The whole multiple dimension thing. Trust me when I say it fit so well into the book. It’s not all Dr. Who/ Star Trek sounding as it seems. Murin is an arbiter from a group of thousand year old ancients who oversea multiple dimensions and make sure they don’t end up involved with each other. The vertices in this realm act as dimensional anchors, holding everything in place, so to speak.
The book covers four types of magic users, Arbiters, Sigilords, blood mages, and quivers. Quivers are least explained and least magical. All we learn about them is most quivers don’t know they are magical. Their powers revolve around an innate sense to know directions and patterns. Blood mages is self explanatory; they use blood to do magic. Sigilords use sigils(like hieroglyphics) to perform magic. And the arbiters, as said before, are the inter-dimensional overseers. It is made clear throughout the book that there is a whole bunch of magic out there that we don’t know about yet.
Conclusion:
Kevin Hoffman’s new realm has a thousand possibilities, and so does the Vertex Series. He left a killer cliff hanger at the end, and I did not expect it. The entire story concluded nicely and then he pulled it all out from under me. I need a sequel now…
January 30, 2015
I received this book Via Netgalley
And i think it's safe to say that I thought this book was:-
seriously!
I actually LOVED the characters in this book, we meet an unlikely Hero, also A girl who has become embittered by life, and a boy who believed his future was all planned out. 3 young people who will be the fighting force to free people of the wickedness and injustices of their lands.
The writing is exquisite, good on you Mr Hoffman you kept me engaged and biting my nails the entire time!
THERE IS SO MUCH ACTION IN THIS!
Okay, So first of all, lets get to talking about the plot.
We meet Urus (who is probably my favourite person...seriously). Urus is facing a difficult time, he has failed perhaps the most prestigious tests of his people...The Kest.
He has failed to pass his warrior test and now he must be culled. (being culled is like going at the bottom of the food chain, you're no better than elephant dung...hehe get the pun?)
Urus in his depression and abject horror, decides to end his life.
So what happens when he jumps off the roof of the palace only to find something very strange happen to him?
You'll have to find out!
I have never really read about a deaf Male Protagonist before! I loved the idea.
Hoffman did such an amazing job at character growth for both Goodwin and Urus! I could see them mature throughout the story.
My only thing is that I didn't see or notice when Cailix began to consider them family...i have no idea when that happened.
However!
This book was awesome.
Hoffman had a few scenes where I shuddered in disgust, Some related to the bad guys, I mean we're dealing with Blood Mages here, that's bound to be SERIOUSLY unsavoury and REALLY messed up.
Especially when they're in the form of ruthless bad guys!
Oh and I did like Cailix too, though at first because she was so ruthless and cunning, I thought she'd be a villainous character!
Okay 10/10 for world building!
I have a thing for desert world-setting and warriors in leather with all different kind of weapons.
Seriously if read the back of a book and see that it's set in the desert, I'll buy it!
At the end of this book, I just held my tablet in disbelief, my mind singing:-
why did you end it like that? *bawls*
So if you like Fantasy, steam spunk, awesome characters and devious bad guys...You'll really like this book!
Now the girl question- Romance, is there any? Well the answer is yes and no. There is the potential for one but not really one.
Have a wonderful read!
-The Book Herald
Find me on twitter- @thebookherald
And i think it's safe to say that I thought this book was:-
seriously!
I actually LOVED the characters in this book, we meet an unlikely Hero, also A girl who has become embittered by life, and a boy who believed his future was all planned out. 3 young people who will be the fighting force to free people of the wickedness and injustices of their lands.
The writing is exquisite, good on you Mr Hoffman you kept me engaged and biting my nails the entire time!
THERE IS SO MUCH ACTION IN THIS!
Okay, So first of all, lets get to talking about the plot.
We meet Urus (who is probably my favourite person...seriously). Urus is facing a difficult time, he has failed perhaps the most prestigious tests of his people...The Kest.
He has failed to pass his warrior test and now he must be culled. (being culled is like going at the bottom of the food chain, you're no better than elephant dung...hehe get the pun?)
Urus in his depression and abject horror, decides to end his life.
So what happens when he jumps off the roof of the palace only to find something very strange happen to him?
You'll have to find out!
I have never really read about a deaf Male Protagonist before! I loved the idea.
Hoffman did such an amazing job at character growth for both Goodwin and Urus! I could see them mature throughout the story.
My only thing is that I didn't see or notice when Cailix began to consider them family...i have no idea when that happened.
However!
This book was awesome.
Hoffman had a few scenes where I shuddered in disgust, Some related to the bad guys, I mean we're dealing with Blood Mages here, that's bound to be SERIOUSLY unsavoury and REALLY messed up.
Especially when they're in the form of ruthless bad guys!
Oh and I did like Cailix too, though at first because she was so ruthless and cunning, I thought she'd be a villainous character!
Okay 10/10 for world building!
I have a thing for desert world-setting and warriors in leather with all different kind of weapons.
Seriously if read the back of a book and see that it's set in the desert, I'll buy it!
At the end of this book, I just held my tablet in disbelief, my mind singing:-
why did you end it like that? *bawls*
So if you like Fantasy, steam spunk, awesome characters and devious bad guys...You'll really like this book!
Now the girl question- Romance, is there any? Well the answer is yes and no. There is the potential for one but not really one.
Have a wonderful read!
-The Book Herald
Find me on twitter- @thebookherald
Displaying 1 - 29 of 91 reviews