Waymaker

by Michael D. Warden

Following up the cliffhanger ending of acclaimed novel Gideon's Dawn, Waymaker continues the saga of Gideon Dawning as he lives out his uncertain yet pivotal role in the Inherited Lands, in the war between the Remnant and the Council. In Waymaker, Dawning begins a perilous quest to find and bring a sentient orb of power to Wordhaven. Author Michael Warden revisits the fantasy epic grandeur of his first book and leads readers to the ultimate conflict between the two Languages of Power. Grand adventure, a detailed world teeming with danger and wonder, and beloved characters lead the charge in this compelling sequel. Troubled loner Gideon Dawning seeks the key to averting war in the Inherited Lands while a living evil quietly plots to capture his soul.

Genres: Fantasy, Christian, Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Hi! I'm Michael. I'm the author of The Pearlsong Refounding, an epic fantasy tetralogy that’s taken me a truly epic amount of time to write. :)

In the midst of that decades-long work, I’ve also written several other books and essays—on spirituality, leadership, and personal development. I’ve also written a fair bit of curriculum for both young people and adults, dabbled in poetry, built a successful career as a coach for leaders and teams (PCC, baby!), and even created a training community for men that I’m really proud of (www.thebraveheartmen.com).

These days I divide my time between writing, coaching, and telling stories from the road, where I currently live in my van named Van Gogh.

That’s super eclectic, I know. But, hey, I’ve never been one to live a normal life.

Follow me on instagram (@the.sojournist) and substack (The Sojournist) if you want to follow along on my latest writings and travel adventures.

Reviews

[Alexis Marie Chute · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm excited for book three in this series!

[Rachelle Sperling · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I'll speak to the physical book itself. It was bound well. The print, however, was blurry (doubled but not directly on top of the previous) so it was horribly hard to read. At the beginning of paragraphs where there should have been one large letter, the first letter of the word, it was generally missing altogether. I have bought a number of self-published books over the years and though they cost more I am happy to do so, but never have I received one of such poor printing quality.

Now, to the story. I love Michael Warden's writing. I enjoy his creativity and his wordsmithing. I found the story a captivating continuation of Gideon's Dawn and had a very hard time setting the book down (though I had to because the blurry print gave me a headache). I wasn't at all disappointed with the content of Waymaker and was in fact impressed with the depth of the story and the beautiful descriptiveness that allowed me to enter the Inherited Lands and their surroundings with ease.

Overall, the story gets 5 stars, the printing gets a 0. My profile has my rating system and I'll rate this as a four, though I'm not sure I can put my vision through the hardship of trying to read the book again.

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with "Gideon's Dawn" an inexcusable number of typos; apparently there was no time for proofreading. Still, the book was entertaining, albeit bordering on salacious at moments, disappointing and inappropriate for the Christian-fiction genre.

[Richelle Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book - but definitely for older teens and adults.