Fire Sower

Fire Sower #1

by Callie Kanno

Idris couldn’t wait to choose an item from the royal treasury on his fifteenth birthday. It was a chance to bring prosperity to his family’s farm. But something was waiting there among the gold and jewels—something that would take him from the safety of his home and change his life forever.

Genres: Fantasy

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

Callie comes from a family of writers, and has loved telling stories from an early age. She dabbled a bit in poetry and other short works until she discovered her passion for novels. She is a wife and a mother, and currently lives in Utah with her family.

Reviews

[Dave Neuendorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one held my interest from beginning to end. It was well written with only a few typos and other errors. There is no explanation of how magic works, only that it comes from magical creatures like dragons or chimeras. Romance isn't a big factor yet, which makes sense since the main character is only fifteen, but there is a foreshadowing of a possible romantic relationship to come. I found Idris, the protagonist, likeable due to his humble farm upbringing. Even his relationship with his sentient, magical weapon is complex and interesting. Several characters grow during the story, including Idris's weapon.

I will be reading any sequels that are published.

[Michael White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant surprise

No sudden super powers. Some intrigue, some growth. The characters are very likable. I can't wait to read the sequel.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

This book. started our slow but build up to a great story. I am looking forward to a sequel soon.

[Michael James Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding ! .

A really good book, highlighting the good in one man, can make a difference to all.

The story moves along great and I stayed up all night to read it!

The one bad review is crap! Buy this book, it is a really nice, and honest story of some growing up, and learning how to be a great man.

[grace duck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

I loved reading this book and seeing through the main characters eyes. I felt I got enough information to follow what was happening without giving away how the story was going to play out.

[Davidl Campbell'Sr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good

Again l passed over a fantastic book for weeks b4 l got around to reading it. Then l found myself unable to put it down! ! I highly recommend it for its a great read with good characters and plot plus a great climax that could be in a Movie Please enjoy it l Did.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting, sweet, beautifully written

This book was lovely. I was fully invested in these characters. The story was exciting, sweet, and beautifully written. If I had a son, I'd want him to be just like Idris.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book
Highly recommend it

[Judy Ferrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can a farmer save a king?

I'm this paranormal take it is up to a young farmer to save his king. It can be done with trust. This is a tale of old. I enjoyed it. It held my attention with the fast pace. The description of characters and scenery put you right in the middle of the action.

[Karsa Orlong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Coming off age novel about a 15 year old boy who moves from the country to the big city. Like how Idris overcomes some of his fears to help his team in the end, also liked the concept of magical weapons made from magical creatures. Loved the little princess.

[Christie Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent example of fantasy

It took me a little while to get into this book, but I'm glad I did. It's an excellent example of fantasy, giving the same feel as classic epics, but just different enough to capture interest.

[Melissa Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable story, especially for a YA fantasy adventure. Good characters, sentient weapons, MC that is moral, kind, yet not perfect or overpowered. Recommended for Sword and Sorcery fans.

[Rosann Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting story

Engaging story and great characters. Really pulls you into the story. I would recommend this book to my friends. Enjoy!

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Callie has made a fun, exciting, new world. The characters are great (human and weapon). Idris is endearing and a protagonist you really want to root for. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun and creative world to be transported to! Looking forward to learning more about the magical backstory in the sequel.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was very good, it has a slow but steady build up. It is kind of the typical story, but not really, it manages to avoid most of the classical setups, but keeps the story going. We have a typical magical world, where the magical weapons choose who is going to use them (or not them per se, but magic). This boy is chosen, but the weapon, who has a personality and everything, doesn't want him to be his new master. It is difficult for him to get to where he needs to be, and several times he even thinks of not continuing with his training, since he has so many problems, but he doesn't want to let his family down and keeps going, until he ends up being the hero. It wasn't the typical story where the boy gets the weapons and then immediately knows how to do everything and he is in control, he struggles, and has problems, and fights with his weapon and eventually manages to do things right, but it wasn't as bad as it usually is in this kind of books.

I would have liked it more if the ending was a little different, the way it ended, you have to read the next book, because it's a continuation, I think that the author could have finished the book a few pages earlier, without the cliffhanger stuff, and it would still work and I would still want to read more about it, it's just that cliffhangers so obvious make me feel like someone is forcing me to keep reading, instead of making me want to keep reading.

In Idris' world, everyone can get something from the treasure when they turn fifteen, it's how the King helps them get their start in life once they become adults. Idris doesn't know what he wants, but when he arrives there he feels something calling for him, and then he chooses a partisan shaped like a dragon. As soon as he picks her up, a voice in his mind starts talking to him, not happy that someone that is not her master is holding her, but it turns out her master died a few centuries earlier, and she doesn't know. She is very loyal and doesn't want Idris as her new master, but since he picked her up, he doesn't get another chance at the treasure, is either keep her, or go empty handed. He wanted to stay with his family, but he has to go train for the royal guard, because of his magical weapon. He finally decides to give his training a chance.

Since he was raised a farmer, he is at a disadvantage at the palace, especially with the other magical trainees being a noble and the son of a captain that trained him to be in the guard since he was little. He makes a lot of mistakes, and Iona's (the weapon), dislike for him, makes everything harder. She doesn't like him, and he doesn't trust her, so they keep falling and falling behind the other two. The fact that nobody seems to like him or think much of him makes everything harder for him. When the palace is attacked and the royal family is in danger, Idris takes his mission of keeping the youngest daughter of the King safe a little too seriously for the likes of others, and they suspect him, since he left the King alone (to protect his daughter), and he was the only one who didn't have to fight anyone. He is put in jail, along with most of the royal guards and other important people, because the King thinks someone close to him helped in the attack. Tired of being suspected he uses Iona's help to escape, but he is found by another royal guard, and then he is taken to the King, where they explain that if the King doesn't trust his loyal guards, then there is no point in having a royal guard, and he admits that if they really wanted to escape they could, and they were there out of loyalty. Still the King is worried and wants to send his sons away, to protect the royal line, and the Queen is worried about her daughter, even if the King doesn't care about her, so Idris suggests taking her to his little town, and the Queen thinks it is a good idea and decides to go as well.

While being in Idris' little town, they found out that the weapon of another of the trainees is taking control of her making her do things against her will. Idris manages to stop her, but they fight, and their location is compromised. A group of soldiers arrives at the valley and start burning everything, trying to find the Queen, but they manage to escape, and then they find out about a plan to kill the King, so they go back. When they are trying to warn the King, the group of traitors arrives and attacks, but the royal guard, with the help of Idris, who is more friendly with Iona by then, manages to stop them. After that they know they will have to go to war eventually, and while the royal guard stays to protect the King, the captain of the royal guard decides to take the trainees away, so they can fix the evil weapon, since they are going to need everyone able to fight if they go to war.

[Samuel Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had an interesting premiss, and had been read by a friend (shout out to Mahfuz) with similar tastes. The rating was good so I thought, why not try it out? Well, I tried it and liked it, but it wasn't the greatest.

I liked Idris's character and thought with a solid head on his shoulders he could go places. Sadly, the book wasn't long enough for him to do that. No, I should say the story wasn't long enough.

Somehow the timeline managed to go for a year, but several months were skipped in between. Idris didn't seem to grow much as a character in that time, and as far as I can tell nothing really happened in the book. It had good steam starting out, then fell to a sluggish pace around 1/3 of the way through. Sluggish, but still entertaining.
Then it picked back up in the last quarter,



On top of that, I saw almost no training (be it Royal or regular) and not much development with Jui, (I thought she would be a little more important) and close to no mention of Meic beyond an encounter or two. I'm also a bit disappointed at the abrupt escalation and conclusion of the threat in the book's ending sequence.

I would have been much more generous to this book if it was only the first in a series, and it would be a much better story, but as a stand alone it wasn't really a great read. If the Author is interested in revisiting this book and turning it into a series I will look forward to reading those.