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The Manakor Chronicles #1
The Firebrand Legacy
A magical language. An enchanted flame. A word to save everything.
Fourteen-year-old Carine has hated dragons and the magic they bring ever since the ash dragon Kavariel murdered her sister.
Every year, Carine endures the Ten Dragon Festival celebrating the dragon's delivery of an enchanted flame. The enchanted flame kills, but also provides magic that keeps the Heartless Ones at bay.
Until this year. The dragon that Carine hates never comes, leaving her kingdom vulnerable to attack.
Separated from her parents, Carine joins forces with two very different princes on a death-defying journey of magic and adventure to save all she holds dear.
This award-winning middle grade fantasy adventure is perfect for readers of Gail Carson Levine, J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis, and Patricia C. Wrede.
Fourteen-year-old Carine has hated dragons and the magic they bring ever since the ash dragon Kavariel murdered her sister.
Every year, Carine endures the Ten Dragon Festival celebrating the dragon's delivery of an enchanted flame. The enchanted flame kills, but also provides magic that keeps the Heartless Ones at bay.
Until this year. The dragon that Carine hates never comes, leaving her kingdom vulnerable to attack.
Separated from her parents, Carine joins forces with two very different princes on a death-defying journey of magic and adventure to save all she holds dear.
This award-winning middle grade fantasy adventure is perfect for readers of Gail Carson Levine, J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis, and Patricia C. Wrede.
- GenresFantasy
266 pages, Paperback
Published December 8, 2015
663 people want to read
About the author
T.K. Kiser
2 books28 followersT.K. Kiser (@AuthorTKKiser) writes young adult fantasy adventure fiction in Greenville, South Carolina.
She loves stories about quests, battles, and good’s triumph over evil because they reveal things about real life.
Find T.K. Kiser on Facebook, Twitter, or at tkkiser.com.
She loves stories about quests, battles, and good’s triumph over evil because they reveal things about real life.
Find T.K. Kiser on Facebook, Twitter, or at tkkiser.com.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 17, 2015
T.K. Kiser takes us into a rich world of dragons, merpeople, and magic in the Firebrand Legacy. By far, the most impressive part of this book is the magical world-building. From the scenery to the rules of magic, the world feels real. The characters are rich and well developed. Like all the best characters, they have the capacity to surprise the reader - and they do - but they also always feel true to themselves. The plot moves well and does not drag. There are twists and turns, surprises, complications and adventures. Although Kiser puts forward some notions of good and evil in the book, she does not simply recreate the dichotomy - the divide between good and evil is complicated, murky, and interesting. T.K. Kiser deftly explores what it means to love, the nature of friendship, and family dynamics. A true page-tuner, I read this book in 1 day.
I recommend this book to any readers middle-school aged and up. I found this book a delight, and although it is geared towards a younger audience, I heartily recommend it as a fun read for adults as well.
I recommend this book to any readers middle-school aged and up. I found this book a delight, and although it is geared towards a younger audience, I heartily recommend it as a fun read for adults as well.
March 1, 2017
Did not finish at 50%.
I was so excited when I read the synopsis for this one, but it just never got interesting, or even good.
The characters were flat to the point that I can barely remember anything about anyone including their names.
The most interesting aspect was the idea of the Heartless magic users and the dragon flames. That was interesting.
Spending 20% of the beginning on a boat, pass.
We're told the MC has no schooling, but she randomly knows all these school-like things. She hates the dragons and their fire yet "thanks the flame". There was just far too much inconsistency.
The overall diction of the narration was all over the place. It has this very other world, fantasy feel and then we'd get phrases and words from present day, reality. It just created a jarring effect and jolted me from the story.
I dropped it at 50% as is my rule with books that can't keep my attention. Perhaps further development would fix the narrative, but I never got any sense of character. And at this point I just don't care about them.
Needs more work. Feels very first draft-y.
I was so excited when I read the synopsis for this one, but it just never got interesting, or even good.
The characters were flat to the point that I can barely remember anything about anyone including their names.
The most interesting aspect was the idea of the Heartless magic users and the dragon flames. That was interesting.
Spending 20% of the beginning on a boat, pass.
We're told the MC has no schooling, but she randomly knows all these school-like things. She hates the dragons and their fire yet "thanks the flame". There was just far too much inconsistency.
The overall diction of the narration was all over the place. It has this very other world, fantasy feel and then we'd get phrases and words from present day, reality. It just created a jarring effect and jolted me from the story.
I dropped it at 50% as is my rule with books that can't keep my attention. Perhaps further development would fix the narrative, but I never got any sense of character. And at this point I just don't care about them.
Needs more work. Feels very first draft-y.
March 29, 2016
The Firebrand Legacy is an excellent young adult debut! Kiser builds an intriguing and complex world, tying together familiar mythical creatures, but creates her own rules for magic, weaving them into the fabric of the story, rather than taking a chunk of text to explain. This can be a bit confusing at times, but overall lends itself well to her writing style and the storyline.
I also loved Carine! Carine is a strong, well-rounded and complex protagonist. She's independent and in full control over her choices, yet she still cares about her friends and family, and considers her actions thoughtfully. Carine is a character that young girls will look up to. She's a welcome addition to the list of female protagonists in middle-grade lit.
I'm excited to read book 2!!
I also loved Carine! Carine is a strong, well-rounded and complex protagonist. She's independent and in full control over her choices, yet she still cares about her friends and family, and considers her actions thoughtfully. Carine is a character that young girls will look up to. She's a welcome addition to the list of female protagonists in middle-grade lit.
I'm excited to read book 2!!
June 5, 2016
I had high hopes for this book, which makes the fact that I didn't enjoy it even more frustrating. I felt like the writing was confusing. The author jumped from place to place without any kind of transitions, so half the time I wondered why they were suddenly on horses, or why one of the characters suddenly had a bow in his hand that had not been mentioned at all beforehand. Other than the main characters, everyone was extremely flat (which also makes the climax/ending make no sense whatsoever), and even those people needed some serious developing. Overall, the book kind of felt like a bad dream. Pity because the ideas where good, but it just felt too much like a first draft.
December 30, 2015
The story is captivating! Kiser's characters came alive from the very start. Carine has strong beliefs that were challenged throughout the book. She was willing to continually evaluate her situation and herself in light off those beliefs, opening the world of possibilities. I am looking forward to book 2 of The Manakor Chronicles.
December 12, 2015
Spectacular new middle grade fantasy! This book has terrific main characters and is full of action, adventure, magic, and even dragons. . . I read it straight through to the excellent ending that gave interesting food for thought. Full review on Hall Ways blog http://kristinehallways.blogspot.com/...
October 1, 2019
Classic fantasy adventure with some fresh twists and satisfyingly deep world-building. Descriptions put me right in the scenes, and the pace moved along without glossing over character development.
February 5, 2021
This book was poorly written. I would not recommend it to read.
December 8, 2015
T.K. Kiser’s debut novel is a page-turner filled with adventure and driven by a plot that keeps you guessing while transporting you into a world of wonder and magic. I felt like I was joining Carine on her adventures from dense forests to ocean shores, meeting mystical creatures and interesting characters along the way. Carine’s character is smart and fearless, a refreshing character to the genre and one who was easily relatable and who I wanted to learn more about as the story unfolded. By using Carine as an anchor, Kiser was successful in creating a magical world that was grounded enough to keep the plot plausible and exciting.
Aside from its rich plot and settings, “The Firebrand Legacy” led me on a journey as I learned about the exciting world of magic that is so delicately entwined with the characters and most importantly….Kavariel the dragon. I’m excited to see what T.K. Kiser publishes next.
I received a free copy for review.
Aside from its rich plot and settings, “The Firebrand Legacy” led me on a journey as I learned about the exciting world of magic that is so delicately entwined with the characters and most importantly….Kavariel the dragon. I’m excited to see what T.K. Kiser publishes next.
I received a free copy for review.
April 26, 2017
3.75 Stars **
If you would like to see all my thoughts on this book, be sure to check out the review on my blog:
www.abooktropolis01.blogspot.co.za
But here is a snippet and overview of what I thought:
Overall, I thought this was a really enjoyable book. I would probably recommend this book to people who are quite into middle grade as oppose to people who read a lot of YA. I thought that the story was well thought through and beautifully written. I think that the characters could've gone through a bit more development, once again this is just a personal opinion and not something I critiqued the book on too harshly because this is the first book in the series and I am sure that there would be more development in the next book. Thank you so much to the lovely author for sending me a copy of this to review!
If you would like to see all my thoughts on this book, be sure to check out the review on my blog:
www.abooktropolis01.blogspot.co.za
But here is a snippet and overview of what I thought:
Overall, I thought this was a really enjoyable book. I would probably recommend this book to people who are quite into middle grade as oppose to people who read a lot of YA. I thought that the story was well thought through and beautifully written. I think that the characters could've gone through a bit more development, once again this is just a personal opinion and not something I critiqued the book on too harshly because this is the first book in the series and I am sure that there would be more development in the next book. Thank you so much to the lovely author for sending me a copy of this to review!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews