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Warrior of Light
Tim Matthias has only ever known the peace of the South, but that peace is shattered when a group of mysterious creatures destroys his home. In search of answers, Tim discovers the poisoned wastelands of the North, where the Dark Lord Zadinn Kanas rules over all. It is here that Tim joins forces with a band of freedom fighters on a quest to find the Army of Kah’lash, a mythical force destined to serve those in need. At the same time, Tim must learn to use the magic of the Lifesource, for he is the Warrior of Light. As Tim struggles to accept his destiny, those around him must battle their way across the North, seeking a means to wage one last, desperate stand against Zadinn and his armies...
- GenresFantasy
486 pages, Paperback
Published November 10, 2016
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50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 11, 2022
Warrior of Light by William Heinzen is a traditional Chosen One, farm boy tropey story that excels at everything it set out to be and left me wanting more.
Tim Matthias has only ever known the peace of the South, but that peace is shattered when a group of mysterious creatures destroys his home. In search of answers, Tim discovers the poisoned wastelands of the North, where the Dark Lord Zadinn Kanas rules over all. It is here that Tim joins forces with a band of freedom fighters on a quest to find the Army of Kah'lash, a mythical force destined to serve those in need. At the same time, Tim must learn to use the magic of the Lifesource, for he is the Warrior of Light. As Tim struggles to accept his destiny, those around him must battle their way across the North, seeking a means to wage one last, desperate stand against Zadinn and his armies...
Heinzen has created a world that feels familiar but distantly unique. He has chocked this novel full to the brim with plot, world-building and characters that are interesting in their own right. We are submerged into the lore that doesn't feel forced but is impactful. Tim, our hero, is thrown into a journey filled with loss, action and a plot for the ages. The characters are different enough that we can relate but at times Heinzen could refrain from using their name in a sentence. This may be bad editing but I felt like I read the names of characters repetitively in a sentence 4 or 5 times when it was unnecessary.
The plot can sometimes be convenient where the characters are introduced to a situation that is significant but has no plot build up. I'd like to have saw some fantastic lines that hinted to future plot points but I either missed them or they were not present. I enjoyed the story a lot though and Tim and Boblin are great characters and the monsters are so unique and creepily described that I can see them translate well to art.
This was a solid foundation that is great for those that love traditional fantasy in the vein of Lord of the Rings or the Wheel of Time but diluted down. I'd be happy with a sequel to this however there would have to be a lot of improvement to make it stand out amongst the others.
Tim Matthias has only ever known the peace of the South, but that peace is shattered when a group of mysterious creatures destroys his home. In search of answers, Tim discovers the poisoned wastelands of the North, where the Dark Lord Zadinn Kanas rules over all. It is here that Tim joins forces with a band of freedom fighters on a quest to find the Army of Kah'lash, a mythical force destined to serve those in need. At the same time, Tim must learn to use the magic of the Lifesource, for he is the Warrior of Light. As Tim struggles to accept his destiny, those around him must battle their way across the North, seeking a means to wage one last, desperate stand against Zadinn and his armies...
Heinzen has created a world that feels familiar but distantly unique. He has chocked this novel full to the brim with plot, world-building and characters that are interesting in their own right. We are submerged into the lore that doesn't feel forced but is impactful. Tim, our hero, is thrown into a journey filled with loss, action and a plot for the ages. The characters are different enough that we can relate but at times Heinzen could refrain from using their name in a sentence. This may be bad editing but I felt like I read the names of characters repetitively in a sentence 4 or 5 times when it was unnecessary.
The plot can sometimes be convenient where the characters are introduced to a situation that is significant but has no plot build up. I'd like to have saw some fantastic lines that hinted to future plot points but I either missed them or they were not present. I enjoyed the story a lot though and Tim and Boblin are great characters and the monsters are so unique and creepily described that I can see them translate well to art.
This was a solid foundation that is great for those that love traditional fantasy in the vein of Lord of the Rings or the Wheel of Time but diluted down. I'd be happy with a sequel to this however there would have to be a lot of improvement to make it stand out amongst the others.
January 30, 2021
I met William at a comic con in New Orleans and wanted to read this novel. It has a bit of Jedi lost in middle earth vibe, but that’s okay. I like those types of tales. Lucas stole heavily from LOTR anyway. So if you enjoy those stories this is an interesting tale that has three converging storylines. I like that in a fantasy novel because you get to see and understand the world you are in even better. It was not a fast read but it has some enjoyable moments that kept me interested.
February 11, 2022
Brace yourselves, because this is going to take a while.
First of all, you should know I am: 1. not male, 2. not in my teens or twenties, 3. well versed in writing and editing and 4. a decades-long fantasy buff. I’ve read good fantasy, bad fantasy, horrible best-selling fantasy, wonderful obscure indie fantasy, and everything in between. I’m writing a review based on all of the above.
So, let’s begin.
This book starts well: some effort has been made to grab the attention of the reader in the first pages, so the reader buys the book. (Check! Book bought.)
The theme is male wish fulfillment—chosen-one trope, so, the usual. Not a deal breaker, if done well.
It’s not done particularly well. Feel free to stop here. Lengthy explanation follows.
The whole presentation of characters is juvenile and incomplete. Events don’t emerge from the plot but are mostly thrown at the reader. In order for something to make sense, a knowledgeable elder routinely explains tons of pre-history to the clueless main character. This is a well-known literary device which can work well, but certainly not when used to impart nearly all the information. Things rarely emerge naturally from the plot. The whole feels forced.
The evil characters are almost comically evil. The adventures of the main characters feel like they’ve been thrown in there for sensationalism and pure juvenile action-philia, and made me think of a kind of fantasy-mission-impossible, like watching a tropey Hollywood movie, with Ethan Hunt doing stunts. It could fit into Lit-RPG.
The races in the books are ELions (=ELves, tall, slender, light-footed), DWerions (=DWarves, short, stout, hard fighters; interestingly, no beards), and humans. Our chosen one is, of course, a teenage boy who reminds us of Rand from Wheel of Time, complete with the One Power — which has a different name here, but is pretty much the same thing. Only, here the hero stumbles into it and becomes expert in it right away, because he’s just the best. There’s no sense of development as the hero stumbles upon growth without there being enough reason for it, except that he kind of needs to for the book to work out.
The populations in the book, who have been separated for hundreds of years or millennia, meet and chat with no linguistic problems. Even swear words are freely understood, whereas in our world, Brits and Americans still misunderstand each other regularly despite cultural give and take. But this is a minor issue.
Important plot points are thrown at you in a “by the way” way, and then getting lost, or forgotten. An undead prince, the leader of the army that fell to the Dark Lord, is discovered in a crystal where he’s been hibernating for 200 years! The son of the last emperor! Important, right? But no, the group of refugee-heroes kind of stumble on him in the mountains (Old Wise Man explains to us that he’s been expecting it—zero buildup to this incredibly important revelation), then the prince wakes up, and…
…nothing. Nothing happens. He remains insignificant to the end, begging the question, what purpose did his inclusion in the book serve? Anyone can be the chieftain of the few hundred survivors at that point. Maybe he appeared for the sake of the stunt of one of our heroes surfing downhill on a block of crystal.
There’s more I could say, for example about the author’s weak attempt at being inclusive (there was a “they” instead of “he” in a general statement, a mother who fought along with her husband, two female warriors of whom one dies and the other one functions primarily as the love interest over whom two boys fight). But this is a story about boys. Not surprising—so common in fantasy that one hardly expects different from a young male author.
What did eventually get on my nerves, though, is the relentless repetition of names. If you’re an author, please be advised there’s zero reason to repeat one person’s name every two lines in a single-person scene. There’s no reason for Tim to go to the forest, where Tim’s shoes get muddy, and Tim gets tired so Tim falls asleep to realize that a stranger is looking at Tim. It feels like being beaten over the head with a Tim-sounding hammer. And the same goes for the battle scenes, and for various beasts that attack the heroes: their names are repeated relentlessly, sometimes twice in a sentence, with no thought to words such as “beast,” “vulture,” “bird,” “creature” or any other of the wonderful variations the English language has to offer.
I was curious, so I did a search: there are over 1,800 instances of “Tim” in the book, and over 1,200 instances of “Boblin.” Because when Boblin jumps off a rock, Boblin has to turn around and take his sword in his hand, so that the beast that attacks Boblin can’t kill Boblin. A real example of a sentence: “When Tim told Quentiin about the lands of the Army of Kah’lash, and of the fact that Tim could not return there, such a look of sadness came into Tim’s eyes that Quentiin felt like weeping even though he’d never seen the place.” It continues: “The deaths of Daniel and Rosalie cut deep into Tim’s soul, and Tim had found the healing he needed in the peace of those evergreen forests and blue lakes.” I asked myself if the writer just hates pronouns, but he uses them in some sentences. Who knows what’s going on here? Bad editor? The editor seems to have done okay otherwise—there’s some excessive filtering but otherwise the book is fairly clean.
After a final battle taking a full 10% of the book, where we follow every single skirmish in excruciating detail and people are redeemed in all the trite Hollywood ways, and after a duel between Warrior and Dark Lord you’ve read a dozen times before in every single fantasy series, we’re finally delivered. Oh, and both protagonist boys rise considerably in status, with everyone worshiping them. And Boblin gets the girl! Who was, of course, Our Token Surviving Female. Phew!
First of all, you should know I am: 1. not male, 2. not in my teens or twenties, 3. well versed in writing and editing and 4. a decades-long fantasy buff. I’ve read good fantasy, bad fantasy, horrible best-selling fantasy, wonderful obscure indie fantasy, and everything in between. I’m writing a review based on all of the above.
So, let’s begin.
This book starts well: some effort has been made to grab the attention of the reader in the first pages, so the reader buys the book. (Check! Book bought.)
The theme is male wish fulfillment—chosen-one trope, so, the usual. Not a deal breaker, if done well.
It’s not done particularly well. Feel free to stop here. Lengthy explanation follows.
The whole presentation of characters is juvenile and incomplete. Events don’t emerge from the plot but are mostly thrown at the reader. In order for something to make sense, a knowledgeable elder routinely explains tons of pre-history to the clueless main character. This is a well-known literary device which can work well, but certainly not when used to impart nearly all the information. Things rarely emerge naturally from the plot. The whole feels forced.
The evil characters are almost comically evil. The adventures of the main characters feel like they’ve been thrown in there for sensationalism and pure juvenile action-philia, and made me think of a kind of fantasy-mission-impossible, like watching a tropey Hollywood movie, with Ethan Hunt doing stunts. It could fit into Lit-RPG.
The races in the books are ELions (=ELves, tall, slender, light-footed), DWerions (=DWarves, short, stout, hard fighters; interestingly, no beards), and humans. Our chosen one is, of course, a teenage boy who reminds us of Rand from Wheel of Time, complete with the One Power — which has a different name here, but is pretty much the same thing. Only, here the hero stumbles into it and becomes expert in it right away, because he’s just the best. There’s no sense of development as the hero stumbles upon growth without there being enough reason for it, except that he kind of needs to for the book to work out.
The populations in the book, who have been separated for hundreds of years or millennia, meet and chat with no linguistic problems. Even swear words are freely understood, whereas in our world, Brits and Americans still misunderstand each other regularly despite cultural give and take. But this is a minor issue.
Important plot points are thrown at you in a “by the way” way, and then getting lost, or forgotten. An undead prince, the leader of the army that fell to the Dark Lord, is discovered in a crystal where he’s been hibernating for 200 years! The son of the last emperor! Important, right? But no, the group of refugee-heroes kind of stumble on him in the mountains (Old Wise Man explains to us that he’s been expecting it—zero buildup to this incredibly important revelation), then the prince wakes up, and…
…nothing. Nothing happens. He remains insignificant to the end, begging the question, what purpose did his inclusion in the book serve? Anyone can be the chieftain of the few hundred survivors at that point. Maybe he appeared for the sake of the stunt of one of our heroes surfing downhill on a block of crystal.
There’s more I could say, for example about the author’s weak attempt at being inclusive (there was a “they” instead of “he” in a general statement, a mother who fought along with her husband, two female warriors of whom one dies and the other one functions primarily as the love interest over whom two boys fight). But this is a story about boys. Not surprising—so common in fantasy that one hardly expects different from a young male author.
What did eventually get on my nerves, though, is the relentless repetition of names. If you’re an author, please be advised there’s zero reason to repeat one person’s name every two lines in a single-person scene. There’s no reason for Tim to go to the forest, where Tim’s shoes get muddy, and Tim gets tired so Tim falls asleep to realize that a stranger is looking at Tim. It feels like being beaten over the head with a Tim-sounding hammer. And the same goes for the battle scenes, and for various beasts that attack the heroes: their names are repeated relentlessly, sometimes twice in a sentence, with no thought to words such as “beast,” “vulture,” “bird,” “creature” or any other of the wonderful variations the English language has to offer.
I was curious, so I did a search: there are over 1,800 instances of “Tim” in the book, and over 1,200 instances of “Boblin.” Because when Boblin jumps off a rock, Boblin has to turn around and take his sword in his hand, so that the beast that attacks Boblin can’t kill Boblin. A real example of a sentence: “When Tim told Quentiin about the lands of the Army of Kah’lash, and of the fact that Tim could not return there, such a look of sadness came into Tim’s eyes that Quentiin felt like weeping even though he’d never seen the place.” It continues: “The deaths of Daniel and Rosalie cut deep into Tim’s soul, and Tim had found the healing he needed in the peace of those evergreen forests and blue lakes.” I asked myself if the writer just hates pronouns, but he uses them in some sentences. Who knows what’s going on here? Bad editor? The editor seems to have done okay otherwise—there’s some excessive filtering but otherwise the book is fairly clean.
After a final battle taking a full 10% of the book, where we follow every single skirmish in excruciating detail and people are redeemed in all the trite Hollywood ways, and after a duel between Warrior and Dark Lord you’ve read a dozen times before in every single fantasy series, we’re finally delivered. Oh, and both protagonist boys rise considerably in status, with everyone worshiping them. And Boblin gets the girl! Who was, of course, Our Token Surviving Female. Phew!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2017
If George R. R. Martin and J. R. R. Tolkien had a baby, it would be Warrior of Light's author William Heinzen. This book is written with colorful, metaphorical, fantastical language which sets the tone for three concurrent story lines which culminate into an incredibly satisfying finish.
I particularly enjoyed getting to know the characters through description and commentary. I also appreciate that WoL does not have the raunchy sex scenes - like in Game of Thrones - and it supersedes the settings as described in Lord of the Rings. I found this WoL a great diversion to all of the craziness occurring in today's real world. It simultaneously builds one's imagination and vocabulary.
I particularly enjoyed getting to know the characters through description and commentary. I also appreciate that WoL does not have the raunchy sex scenes - like in Game of Thrones - and it supersedes the settings as described in Lord of the Rings. I found this WoL a great diversion to all of the craziness occurring in today's real world. It simultaneously builds one's imagination and vocabulary.
December 12, 2017
This book reads like the author was obsessed with the Star Wars series and the Wheel of Time and decided to write a novel merging them both with elves and dwarves. It's not bad. The author writes well and the characters are unique enough, but I kept thinking through the whole novel that this is this part of Star Wars, or this is when Rand did this. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone.
September 6, 2019
3.5 Stars
“He had no choice but to step forward, because there was no going back.”
If 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 and 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘴 had a baby, it would read something like William Heinzen’s 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. A high fantasy novel filled with adventure, magic, and mystical creatures.
𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 is the story of Tim Matthias, a young man, uncertain of his place in the world. When an evil army breaches The Barrier, a great wall that divides the North from the South, Tim is enmeshed in a battle of good versus evil. The burden of victory falls on Tim’s shoulders, but is he strong enough to carry it’s weight? Tim is joined by a cast of characters to help him along the way. Quentiin, a dwarf with an unbreakable spirit, Boblin, a shy elion outcast, and Nazgar, an advocate of the Lifesource who trains Tim to wield it’s power.
I enjoyed this book. Heinzen is a talented new author. The battle scenes were well written, and I found the creatures that Tim encountered very interesting. I would have liked more dialogue and personality from the characters; Tim especially. Boblin and Quentiin stole the show. Overall, this was a fun adventure story, sure to please fans of the genre. There is a sequel, 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, which I look forward to reading. I hope to read more from this author and wish him great success.
“He had no choice but to step forward, because there was no going back.”
If 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 and 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘴 had a baby, it would read something like William Heinzen’s 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. A high fantasy novel filled with adventure, magic, and mystical creatures.
𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 is the story of Tim Matthias, a young man, uncertain of his place in the world. When an evil army breaches The Barrier, a great wall that divides the North from the South, Tim is enmeshed in a battle of good versus evil. The burden of victory falls on Tim’s shoulders, but is he strong enough to carry it’s weight? Tim is joined by a cast of characters to help him along the way. Quentiin, a dwarf with an unbreakable spirit, Boblin, a shy elion outcast, and Nazgar, an advocate of the Lifesource who trains Tim to wield it’s power.
I enjoyed this book. Heinzen is a talented new author. The battle scenes were well written, and I found the creatures that Tim encountered very interesting. I would have liked more dialogue and personality from the characters; Tim especially. Boblin and Quentiin stole the show. Overall, this was a fun adventure story, sure to please fans of the genre. There is a sequel, 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, which I look forward to reading. I hope to read more from this author and wish him great success.
April 1, 2020
I’ve had this book for a while, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read it. Once I actually sat down and started to read it, I had trouble putting it down. It’s got a solid plot, and the characters are well thought out and dynamic in a way that makes sense.
Tim is awesome, and imperfect in an interesting way. I enjoyed the fact that he did make mistakes and changed in a realistic way throughout the novel. Boblin was great, and Quentiin was pure hard-core awesomeness. A+ on the different species and creative vernacular of the world.
The story is good as a stand-alone, but I was excited to find out there’s a sequel! Definitely would recommend this book, as there is not a cliffhanger. The story wraps up quite nicely in one book. That being said, I’m looking forward to the sequel and will definitely be reading it sooner rather than later.
Tim is awesome, and imperfect in an interesting way. I enjoyed the fact that he did make mistakes and changed in a realistic way throughout the novel. Boblin was great, and Quentiin was pure hard-core awesomeness. A+ on the different species and creative vernacular of the world.
The story is good as a stand-alone, but I was excited to find out there’s a sequel! Definitely would recommend this book, as there is not a cliffhanger. The story wraps up quite nicely in one book. That being said, I’m looking forward to the sequel and will definitely be reading it sooner rather than later.
February 14, 2024
It was a super fun journey. Good characters, plenty of suspense, and a satisfying end. I picked it up at a local bookstore because William Heinzen is an author from my home state of North Dakota. My expectations were low, but it really delivered. And I enjoyed it more and more the further I got into the story. Great job William!
June 22, 2021
I love me some classic good vs evil high fantasy, and Mr. Heinzen's debut delivers admirably! The characters and story are familiar, but with enough unique flair and creative deviations to keep this reader happily engaged and invested.
4/5 Room to grow, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time here.
4/5 Room to grow, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time here.
May 22, 2018
A bit too much telling rather than showing made it hard to get sucked in.
I liked Boblin.
I liked Boblin.
August 26, 2025
Good for fans of Shannara and the Sword of Truth series. Fun epic fantasy adventure.
July 14, 2018
Warrior is a traditional fantasy story in a good way—Boy’s quiet life gets disrupted, Boy discovers the world is bigger than he thought, Boy must become a hero and defeat the Big Bad, Boy fights Big Bad [and wins]. I’ve read my fair share of these stories (and not nearly enough where Boy is Girl), but I still found the actual plot of Warrior of Light much more interesting than I had at first anticipated—not because I didn’t trust Bill, but because I’ve read a lot of “first published novel”s and a lot of them are recycled storylines (lookin’ at you, Eragon).
Full review here.
Full review here.
December 2, 2017
While it starts out in a rather standard fantasy way, the story develops well as it continues. I thought I had a pretty good handle on how the whole story would wrap up, but was pleasantly surprised to find the author had some nice twists still in store. Looking forward to see where he goes from here.
did-not-finish
April 22, 2018Too gruesome for my taste, and too wordy to be able to skip through the gruesome bits fast enough.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews