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Evermen Saga #1
Le Codex d'Altura
Depuis le jour où un enchanteur s’est servi de ses pouvoirs pour sauver son frère de la noyade devant ses yeux, Ella a trouvé sa voie.
De larges ressources et connaissances sont cependant nécessaires pour rejoindre l’Académie des Enchanteurs et, déterminée, Ella étudie tous les livres qui lui tombent sous la main tout en vendant des fleurs. Son frère, Miro, rêve quant à lui de devenir l’un des meilleurs épéistes du monde et de manier les puissantes armes enchantées de sa nation pour défendre sa terre natale.
Pendant ce temps, une force sombre se dresse à l’est, conquérant tout sur son passage, et Miro part pour le front. En son absence, un charmant étranger, Killian, séduit Ella. Mais Killian a un secret, et des actes d’Ella dépendra bientôt le sort de son frère, de son pays, et du monde.
704 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 29, 2012
5570 people are currently reading
10030 people want to read
About the author
James Maxwell
16 books1,099 followersJames Maxwell is a British-Australian best-selling author of epic fantasy novels, with millions of copies sold in multiple languages worldwide. With over a dozen acclaimed novels, including Enchantress, Golden Age, and A Girl From Nowhere, he is celebrated for his richly imagined worlds and epic, interwoven plots. His books have received multiple award nominations, including the World Fantasy Award, the Aurealis Awards, and three Arthur C. Clarke Award nominations, as well as garnering tens of thousands of reviews on Amazon.
Born in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, and raised in Brisbane, Australia, James attended Brisbane’s Anglican Church Grammar School and the University of Queensland, where he studied a diverse mix of arts and sciences.
Since becoming a full-time author in 2012, he has made his home on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, where his writing is accompanied by the rumbling sound of the sea and the antics of his capricious white cat.
Blood and Empire, published in March 2025, begins James Maxwell’s latest gripping series, The Gateway Saga.
Born in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, and raised in Brisbane, Australia, James attended Brisbane’s Anglican Church Grammar School and the University of Queensland, where he studied a diverse mix of arts and sciences.
Since becoming a full-time author in 2012, he has made his home on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, where his writing is accompanied by the rumbling sound of the sea and the antics of his capricious white cat.
Blood and Empire, published in March 2025, begins James Maxwell’s latest gripping series, The Gateway Saga.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,004 reviews
April 23, 2017
My experience with this book:
✔ Cool cover.
✔ Prologue is intriguing.
✗ Nope, prologue is a lie - it's not even about that character.. Clue number one about the rest of the book.
✗ Amateurish writing.
✔ Light fantasy tone with cozy, comfy clichés, which are good sometimes.
✔ Girl who's going to study to be an enchantress.
✔ Brother who's learning the sword.
✗ Except we don't get to see any of the actual learning.
✔ Until we do!
✗ Except it's just so that we can have a reason to witness...
✗ Sudden, gratuitous death (murder!) of an innocent, stray animal.
✗ Followed shortly by sudden, gratuitous death of characters that you just barely start to know, let alone like. What?
Now it's just going downhill fast.
✗ The random-seeming gruesomeness of the deaths seems out of place with the tone of the rest of it.
✗ Who to be invested in?? What's the point of anyone??
✗ World-building all over the place, too many names and places that mean nothing.
✗ Starting not even to care about the main characters because of the choppiness.
✗ Where is this even going, and what's the point of anything?
✗ Now we're going to war and don't understand the world we're at war with because the world-building is so bad, and death is sure to follow, and sure to be meaningless.
✗ The knowledge that more random gruesomeness is to come. More characters that you glimpse and start to like will inevitably die just because you thought you might like them. You don't even have time to care.
Yet all is relayed in a light tone.
Incongruous and jarring...
DNF.
✔ Cool cover.
✔ Prologue is intriguing.
✗ Nope, prologue is a lie - it's not even about that character.. Clue number one about the rest of the book.
✗ Amateurish writing.
✔ Light fantasy tone with cozy, comfy clichés, which are good sometimes.
✔ Girl who's going to study to be an enchantress.
✔ Brother who's learning the sword.
✗ Except we don't get to see any of the actual learning.
✔ Until we do!
✗ Except it's just so that we can have a reason to witness...
✗ Sudden, gratuitous death (murder!) of an innocent, stray animal.
✗ Followed shortly by sudden, gratuitous death of characters that you just barely start to know, let alone like. What?
Now it's just going downhill fast.
✗ The random-seeming gruesomeness of the deaths seems out of place with the tone of the rest of it.
✗ Who to be invested in?? What's the point of anyone??
✗ World-building all over the place, too many names and places that mean nothing.
✗ Starting not even to care about the main characters because of the choppiness.
✗ Where is this even going, and what's the point of anything?
✗ Now we're going to war and don't understand the world we're at war with because the world-building is so bad, and death is sure to follow, and sure to be meaningless.
✗ The knowledge that more random gruesomeness is to come. More characters that you glimpse and start to like will inevitably die just because you thought you might like them. You don't even have time to care.
Yet all is relayed in a light tone.
Incongruous and jarring...
DNF.
October 28, 2014
Imagine my excitement when I found that I could borrow this book from Amazon for free! Unfortunately, you often get what you pay for. After slogging through this book for a couple of hours, I decided not to finish it. I am a firm believer in finishing what I start, so it is a testament to how boring I found this book that I put it down.
I was unable to form any sort of attachment to the characters--twins named Ella and Miro, who sought to be an enchantress and a swordsman respectively. With no parents, the twins were forced to make their own way. Tritely, Ella sells flowers to save for tuition at the enchanting Academy. Miro, on the other hand, takes swordsmanship lessons and hides his skill in order to minimize the abuse and jealousy of the other students. When Miro finally strikes back against his classmates, he is punished with a four month expedition to a foreign country. It is then that the author not only delves into different magics and cultures, but also when I started to fall asleep. I simply didn't care about a world that housed other lackluster and boring characters.
If the characters were poorly constructed, the magic at least had to be interesting, right? Wrong. How am I supposed to get excited over a deeply revered Animator entering a room with a staff that sprouts legs and leans itself against the wall? While I rolled my eyes at this childish display of power, Miro and the other characters were thoroughly astonished and impressed. If this Animator was what a fully powered enchanter was like, I didn't want to read hundreds more pages to discover what drab magics Ella would learn at the Academy.
I think I could have forgiven the boring characters and magics if the writing were good, but unfortunately, it was very bland and detached. To me, it read more like a cliché synopsis for what the author thought a fantasy novel should be, instead of an actual story. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a great fantasy read with complex characters, a richly developed world, and mystifying magics, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.
I was unable to form any sort of attachment to the characters--twins named Ella and Miro, who sought to be an enchantress and a swordsman respectively. With no parents, the twins were forced to make their own way. Tritely, Ella sells flowers to save for tuition at the enchanting Academy. Miro, on the other hand, takes swordsmanship lessons and hides his skill in order to minimize the abuse and jealousy of the other students. When Miro finally strikes back against his classmates, he is punished with a four month expedition to a foreign country. It is then that the author not only delves into different magics and cultures, but also when I started to fall asleep. I simply didn't care about a world that housed other lackluster and boring characters.
If the characters were poorly constructed, the magic at least had to be interesting, right? Wrong. How am I supposed to get excited over a deeply revered Animator entering a room with a staff that sprouts legs and leans itself against the wall? While I rolled my eyes at this childish display of power, Miro and the other characters were thoroughly astonished and impressed. If this Animator was what a fully powered enchanter was like, I didn't want to read hundreds more pages to discover what drab magics Ella would learn at the Academy.
I think I could have forgiven the boring characters and magics if the writing were good, but unfortunately, it was very bland and detached. To me, it read more like a cliché synopsis for what the author thought a fantasy novel should be, instead of an actual story. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a great fantasy read with complex characters, a richly developed world, and mystifying magics, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.
September 29, 2015
Nope, nope, nope...
This book started out being fairly interesting. It then began to sort of run hot and cold. It took maybe half the volume to really draw me in but then we got rolling on the story. For a while I thought it showed great promise.
But then that's what I thought about Wheel of Time for 6 volumes.
here we start out with our 2 young protagonists, a brother and sister. They each want to grow...advance...be something special. She wants to be a sorceress he wants to be a "sword-singer". (Yeah if you read the book you'll get the gist of that.) Sadly the novel quickly falls into a pattern. Each of them faces some horrible problem to over-come...
Each time some event occurs to "save the day" (one of the most notable does get explained later) but mostly they have a sort of deus ex machina feel. There are some good parts and the story mostly always drew me back in...but then, well I'll have to put this under a spoiler warning . For you who plan to read the book and don't want to read the spoiler it was just a bridge too far for me.
This series already has 4 volumes and a volume of short stories. I'm not doing this. If you want to I'm happy for you. This thing is already wandering around from forests to deserts. I can't take it, not again, I'm still traumatized from Wheel of Time...I can't do this again! I can't NO,NO,NO!!!!!
Okay anyway, not a great book I finally skimmed to the end. Some good writing, a good idea (though it's been done many times before). You know the fact that characters and plot points recur/reoccur doesn't generally bother me as there probably aren't any "really completely new" ideas or plots I suppose...just don't leave me with this, "been there done that" feeling.
Can't really recommend it...returning the book.
This book started out being fairly interesting. It then began to sort of run hot and cold. It took maybe half the volume to really draw me in but then we got rolling on the story. For a while I thought it showed great promise.
But then that's what I thought about Wheel of Time for 6 volumes.
here we start out with our 2 young protagonists, a brother and sister. They each want to grow...advance...be something special. She wants to be a sorceress he wants to be a "sword-singer". (Yeah if you read the book you'll get the gist of that.) Sadly the novel quickly falls into a pattern. Each of them faces some horrible problem to over-come...
Each time some event occurs to "save the day" (one of the most notable does get explained later) but mostly they have a sort of deus ex machina feel. There are some good parts and the story mostly always drew me back in...but then, well I'll have to put this under a spoiler warning . For you who plan to read the book and don't want to read the spoiler it was just a bridge too far for me.
This series already has 4 volumes and a volume of short stories. I'm not doing this. If you want to I'm happy for you. This thing is already wandering around from forests to deserts. I can't take it, not again, I'm still traumatized from Wheel of Time...I can't do this again! I can't NO,NO,NO!!!!!
Okay anyway, not a great book I finally skimmed to the end. Some good writing, a good idea (though it's been done many times before). You know the fact that characters and plot points recur/reoccur doesn't generally bother me as there probably aren't any "really completely new" ideas or plots I suppose...just don't leave me with this, "been there done that" feeling.
Can't really recommend it...returning the book.
January 6, 2015
*****WARNING******
A cat is tortured to death on pages 129-131
***************
I gave this book EVERY POSSIBLE CHANCE. I swear I did. But it just never jelled. It was terribly uneven, the characters were ciphers, the best scenes were lifted directly from Rothfuss and Ryan. It's as if the author thought he'd rewrite Name Of The Wind and Blood Song for a YA audience.
Everyone said it got better at the halfway mark. I read it through to that point and then skimmed. There were no characters to endear me to the story.
I wanted this book to live up to the hype. I truly did. But it doesn't.
I'm having trouble warming to this. I just started Chapter 6, and I have whiplash. The author starts the story going in a particular direction and them veers off into another sort of tale altogether. Twice now I've been ready to settle in and enjoy a certain type of story and twice now he's fast forwarded beyond the events I wanted to know about. It feels like he doesn't know what his book wants to be when it grows up.
A cat is tortured to death on pages 129-131
***************
I gave this book EVERY POSSIBLE CHANCE. I swear I did. But it just never jelled. It was terribly uneven, the characters were ciphers, the best scenes were lifted directly from Rothfuss and Ryan. It's as if the author thought he'd rewrite Name Of The Wind and Blood Song for a YA audience.
Everyone said it got better at the halfway mark. I read it through to that point and then skimmed. There were no characters to endear me to the story.
I wanted this book to live up to the hype. I truly did. But it doesn't.
I'm having trouble warming to this. I just started Chapter 6, and I have whiplash. The author starts the story going in a particular direction and them veers off into another sort of tale altogether. Twice now I've been ready to settle in and enjoy a certain type of story and twice now he's fast forwarded beyond the events I wanted to know about. It feels like he doesn't know what his book wants to be when it grows up.
September 19, 2018
Wanted to like it but in the end it was just way too generic. I kind of felt like the author just took a bunch of things that worked in other fantasy books and then just adapted them to his story. It was very easy to lose interest and I did for the most part, hence the poor rating.
February 12, 2015
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Books don't have to be original to be good. When I first started reading this, I was enjoying it for what it was: a fairly basic piece of epic fantasy with a semi-interesting magic system that went along with.
And then it fell apart.
An awfully convenient bit at the beginning about a noblewoman oddly befriending a peasant girl went from merely seeming like a plot device (needed a recommendation to get into Enchanting school, and what do you know, one source of recommendations is nobility) to flat out cliche that I suppose would be a spoiler if I revealed it, but let's just say I mentioned it in my recent review of Red Queen and it worked hell of a lot better there.
Ella is a Mary Sue: she's stunningly beautiful, she's amazingly smart, she's the most talented Enchantress in a generation, she loves her brother! Only nope, she's a total idiot who falls for the painfully obvious bad guy, I legitimately can't remember the last time I went "he's going to betray her" during his very introduction. And when said betrayal goes down and she spends half the book tracking him on her own despite having no skills needed for such a trip at all, she gets caught because even though she knew he was in the area, she's all "I still have time to take a bath!" And then starts flirting with him again after being his prisoner for a while. And then he changes.
For fuck's sake. (Pardon the French)
I hate, hate, hate this trope of making otherwise intelligent girls into completely idiots around boys, and her actions in the later part of the book do not make up for that.
Her brother Miro isn't so nearly a trope, but he's not that interesting either.
Finally, we have a token best friend in Amber, who disappears at the 20% mark to return at the 80% mark because the author suddenly decided we needed the POV of the masses to show us how bad war is.
Just. Sigh.
Originally I was tempted to give this a borrow it recommendation because it's well done for a self-published title and it could have been a book that scratched the itch of a fun bit of escapist fantasy. But yeah, in the end, I was started to yell at this book on twitter. Not squee, yell. And I can't in good consciousness recommend a book like that.
And then it fell apart.
An awfully convenient bit at the beginning about a noblewoman oddly befriending a peasant girl went from merely seeming like a plot device (needed a recommendation to get into Enchanting school, and what do you know, one source of recommendations is nobility) to flat out cliche that I suppose would be a spoiler if I revealed it, but let's just say I mentioned it in my recent review of Red Queen and it worked hell of a lot better there.
Ella is a Mary Sue: she's stunningly beautiful, she's amazingly smart, she's the most talented Enchantress in a generation, she loves her brother! Only nope, she's a total idiot who falls for the painfully obvious bad guy, I legitimately can't remember the last time I went "he's going to betray her" during his very introduction. And when said betrayal goes down and she spends half the book tracking him on her own despite having no skills needed for such a trip at all, she gets caught because even though she knew he was in the area, she's all "I still have time to take a bath!" And then starts flirting with him again after being his prisoner for a while. And then he changes.
For fuck's sake. (Pardon the French)
I hate, hate, hate this trope of making otherwise intelligent girls into completely idiots around boys, and her actions in the later part of the book do not make up for that.
Her brother Miro isn't so nearly a trope, but he's not that interesting either.
Finally, we have a token best friend in Amber, who disappears at the 20% mark to return at the 80% mark because the author suddenly decided we needed the POV of the masses to show us how bad war is.
Just. Sigh.
Originally I was tempted to give this a borrow it recommendation because it's well done for a self-published title and it could have been a book that scratched the itch of a fun bit of escapist fantasy. But yeah, in the end, I was started to yell at this book on twitter. Not squee, yell. And I can't in good consciousness recommend a book like that.
Read
June 12, 2023I am pleasantly satisfied with this book, it was absolutely amazing. there is an interesting magic system, with some very creative uses of it. the characters are well developed and intriguing, everyone here plays its own part, each one fighting for something/someone while confronting the same enemy. there's a lot of action, a ridiculous amount of it which is fine by me, and it was brutal.
February 21, 2018
This book was definitely a toss up for me. Okay, sot the beginning of Enchantress was so good. I was instantly hooked. I'm like, "Okay, I see you character and I like what story you are providing." THEN you go to the first chapter or so and end up thinking.."WTF? WHO IS THIS?" Eventually you get to the end and now you're thinking. "DAMN YOU CLIFFHANGER YOU!"
Or that could just be me..
This book definitely had it's up and downs. It had a ton of boring parts but then shoved you a great couple of chapters. The characters: some were interesting and some weren't. Okay, so this book is essentially about twins siblings: Ella and Miro. Ella wanted to be an Enchantress and Miro wanted to be a swordsman.
At the beginning I really adored these characters and then watching them sort of grow throughout the book. However, so many parts of their journey was so boring that I had to force myself to read more of the book with treats. For example, champagne gummy bears definitely helped me read this entire book. No, I didn't put gummy bears in champagne and let them soak (even though that does sounds like a brilliant idea!). Nah, I'm not that clever. No, actually they are from Sugarfina and they are so freaking delicious and highly addictive that I went through two boxes by the time I finished this book.
Besides the cute characters that become boring quite quickly, there's the writing. Oh god, how could it go from Ella getting into school in one chapter THEN it's a year later in the next. Or having Miro being a great swordsman in secret because he doesn't want people to be jealous of him!?!? Then the constant battle talk or whatever when it was his chapters were just UGH! I don't know how many times I would back track to certain pages or chapters just to see if I was reading the same book. It was kind of frustrating. Plus the whole Prologue having a great start to this book with pretty interesting characters and then nothing else really about them.
Overall, I was kind of bored while reading it until the end. The beginning and the end are what got me hooked to this book. Will I dive into book 2? Who the heck knows. If I do, I will definitely buy more gummy bears! If I don't, well I hope I'm reading a non-boring book.
I wish I liked it more.
I'm kind of happy I read it.
I don't know...what is life man.
Or that could just be me..
This book definitely had it's up and downs. It had a ton of boring parts but then shoved you a great couple of chapters. The characters: some were interesting and some weren't. Okay, so this book is essentially about twins siblings: Ella and Miro. Ella wanted to be an Enchantress and Miro wanted to be a swordsman.
At the beginning I really adored these characters and then watching them sort of grow throughout the book. However, so many parts of their journey was so boring that I had to force myself to read more of the book with treats. For example, champagne gummy bears definitely helped me read this entire book. No, I didn't put gummy bears in champagne and let them soak (even though that does sounds like a brilliant idea!). Nah, I'm not that clever. No, actually they are from Sugarfina and they are so freaking delicious and highly addictive that I went through two boxes by the time I finished this book.
Besides the cute characters that become boring quite quickly, there's the writing. Oh god, how could it go from Ella getting into school in one chapter THEN it's a year later in the next. Or having Miro being a great swordsman in secret because he doesn't want people to be jealous of him!?!? Then the constant battle talk or whatever when it was his chapters were just UGH! I don't know how many times I would back track to certain pages or chapters just to see if I was reading the same book. It was kind of frustrating. Plus the whole Prologue having a great start to this book with pretty interesting characters and then nothing else really about them.
Overall, I was kind of bored while reading it until the end. The beginning and the end are what got me hooked to this book. Will I dive into book 2? Who the heck knows. If I do, I will definitely buy more gummy bears! If I don't, well I hope I'm reading a non-boring book.
I wish I liked it more.
I'm kind of happy I read it.
I don't know...what is life man.
September 30, 2015
Everything about this book is bad.
Including my decision to acquire and read it.
Suppose the worst is that the author actually had a great idea, but his writing skills, world-building et al. couldn't really provide enough meat to keep it all together.
It's incredible how flat Maxwell managed to make his characters. Their motivations bland, connection to the world they are part of - non-existent. Their dialogue laughable. This novel is actually a textbook case of Bad Writing and should be used as a case study in Creative Writing classes.
Could continue my rage, this piece has been so mind-blowing sh*t.
And hilarious in its badness.
Including my decision to acquire and read it.
Suppose the worst is that the author actually had a great idea, but his writing skills, world-building et al. couldn't really provide enough meat to keep it all together.
It's incredible how flat Maxwell managed to make his characters. Their motivations bland, connection to the world they are part of - non-existent. Their dialogue laughable. This novel is actually a textbook case of Bad Writing and should be used as a case study in Creative Writing classes.
Could continue my rage, this piece has been so mind-blowing sh*t.
And hilarious in its badness.
September 9, 2013
I love books that you have to actually concentrate on to read.. ones that hold you hostage until you finish and this story is one of those books. A story that has such great detail you actually leave your reality and enter into the world the author creates. The story itself is about orphaned siblings finding their way in a not so hospitable world where sacrifice and hardship is an everyday occurrence. Twists and turns galore as the two main characters further their education learning to be an Enchanter and a Warrior. Then all changes in the blink of an eye as War breaks out and the land is threatened by an unknown evil who wants to take away all the magic. Characters are well developed, story line can get a bit draggy at times but for the most part it stays on track and begins to flow again towards the second half. Of course it has budding romances that help to create the storyline and you often wonder just who will end up with whom... worth the time it takes to read and I can't wait to see where book two takes us!!
September 18, 2014
I picked up Enchantress as a Kindle Daily Deal - the cover art and plot blurb drew my interest and it started off intriguing enough. I made it through the first few chapters and was starting to get into the story, which felt a little like Patrick Rothfuss's world, but when I got to the scene at the bar and the prostitute, I turned off my Kindle and stopped reading. Not my kind of book after all.
October 1, 2015
Trite, cliched, derivative, racially unenlightened. As other reviewers have mentioned, one weird aspect of the book is the way horrible, gruesome events are described in a light, pleasure-reading sort of tone. It's disturbing. And it says something that I quit reading at about 85%, since I try really hard to finish any book, especially those I've put a lot of time into. But it was just ridiculous--I was literally laughing every time someone turned into a "mist of blood." Definitely a sign to stop reading.
Other features: an over-the-top cheesy depiction of white people rebuilding the shrine of their noble-savage-type neighbors, which was destroyed by said white people's ancestors. All is healed.
Sudden, jerky turns away from the two main POV characters into the perspectives of characters we barely know, because the author clearly doesn't know how to tell a story that involves gaps; he can only tell it from the point of view of those in the know.
Sudden, jerky disappearances and reappearances of secondary characters.
Strong, clever, beautiful woman who becomes total moron around a guy.
Arab-type race introduced around 80% of the way through--only the warlike and tribal men ride horses, while the women keep house and rear children. :sigh:
Secret nobility! Bloodlines! Throw in a prophecy and the cliches will be complete!
Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the author threw in a prophecy in the 15% I didn't read.
Other features: an over-the-top cheesy depiction of white people rebuilding the shrine of their noble-savage-type neighbors, which was destroyed by said white people's ancestors. All is healed.
Sudden, jerky turns away from the two main POV characters into the perspectives of characters we barely know, because the author clearly doesn't know how to tell a story that involves gaps; he can only tell it from the point of view of those in the know.
Sudden, jerky disappearances and reappearances of secondary characters.
Strong, clever, beautiful woman who becomes total moron around a guy.
Arab-type race introduced around 80% of the way through--only the warlike and tribal men ride horses, while the women keep house and rear children. :sigh:
Secret nobility! Bloodlines! Throw in a prophecy and the cliches will be complete!
Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the author threw in a prophecy in the 15% I didn't read.
October 11, 2020
A really good read will be moving on to book two.
June 23, 2016
Ella and Miro are siblings living in the fantasy region of Altura where the 'lore' of the land is enchantments. The siblings have never known their parents and live with an old grandfather-like figure. Ella is determined to get into the local college to become an enchanter and Miro, who posseses a natural skill with a blade, wants to become a bladesinger, an elite form of soldier who uses enchantments to make his fighting even more lethal. But war is on the horizon and the siblings are about to become more involved than they would like.
Overall I think I have to give this one a 3 stars as it definitely lacked in some areas for me. I was really disappointed that I got to see so little of Ella and Miro's training in their chosen fields (when I say little, I mean basically none). Why tease a school of enchanters and not give a few days of lessons? I would have even enjoyed Ella's first day in school but she got in and the next chapter it was one year later? The lore and magic system seemed to have been figured out fairly well so I'm not sure why the author chose to leave the school system out.
At first, I thought I was getting some adequate world-building and was coming to terms with the different regions of the one land ruled by the emperor and what their skills was but it became lost to be honest. I would have benefit from a brief glossary at the start of the book detailing the land, who their leader was and what their 'lore' was. I kept trying to figure out who was who and getting confused with who was on what side.
There was also a lot of unnecessary gruesome and gory scenes in this book. Miro's chapters were enormously battle-staged and it did become a bit tiring after a time. There's only so many times you can read a battle without them all blending into one and also feeling a bit hopeless when so many people are dying. Compared to other scenes in the book, the ones that were very violent sometimes seemed out of place. I also really really really didn't appreciate the disgusting act of cruelty in the one brief glimpse we got at Ella's school - a cat being tortured until its back breaks and it vomits its insides is not something I want to read about and the graphic scene played on my mind all day.
One of the few bits I really enjoyed about this book was the Dunfolk. I found them really entertaining and interesting. I loved their words for certain things and how separate they were from the other people of Altura. I enjoyed ever scene with them and I would have loved more.
I'm no 100% sure if I'll go on and read more of this series. When I first finished, I thought I would but now I sit and think about my feelings on the series, I'm not 100% sure. I guess we'll see if my curiosity wins out in the end.
Overall I think I have to give this one a 3 stars as it definitely lacked in some areas for me. I was really disappointed that I got to see so little of Ella and Miro's training in their chosen fields (when I say little, I mean basically none). Why tease a school of enchanters and not give a few days of lessons? I would have even enjoyed Ella's first day in school but she got in and the next chapter it was one year later? The lore and magic system seemed to have been figured out fairly well so I'm not sure why the author chose to leave the school system out.
At first, I thought I was getting some adequate world-building and was coming to terms with the different regions of the one land ruled by the emperor and what their skills was but it became lost to be honest. I would have benefit from a brief glossary at the start of the book detailing the land, who their leader was and what their 'lore' was. I kept trying to figure out who was who and getting confused with who was on what side.
There was also a lot of unnecessary gruesome and gory scenes in this book. Miro's chapters were enormously battle-staged and it did become a bit tiring after a time. There's only so many times you can read a battle without them all blending into one and also feeling a bit hopeless when so many people are dying. Compared to other scenes in the book, the ones that were very violent sometimes seemed out of place. I also really really really didn't appreciate the disgusting act of cruelty in the one brief glimpse we got at Ella's school - a cat being tortured until its back breaks and it vomits its insides is not something I want to read about and the graphic scene played on my mind all day.
One of the few bits I really enjoyed about this book was the Dunfolk. I found them really entertaining and interesting. I loved their words for certain things and how separate they were from the other people of Altura. I enjoyed ever scene with them and I would have loved more.
I'm no 100% sure if I'll go on and read more of this series. When I first finished, I thought I would but now I sit and think about my feelings on the series, I'm not 100% sure. I guess we'll see if my curiosity wins out in the end.
August 20, 2012
If you are going to read this book, be prepared for an EPIC fantasy... this book is the definition of "epic fantasy". The world is complex and at times I was confused, but I actually really liked the world that the story takes place in. The storyline is pretty complex and I found myself backpedaling to remember details at some points.
I liked the characters, especially Ella, Miro, and Blademaster Rogan.
The prologue piqued my interest and is definitely what kept me reading at some points. The story didn’t exactly drag at some points, but there were times that I became frustrated that yet another twist was thrown in. This book felt long to me, but it was worth the time to read.
The ending felt solid, but I feel so attached to the characters that I want to know where their story goes.
I liked the characters, especially Ella, Miro, and Blademaster Rogan.
The prologue piqued my interest and is definitely what kept me reading at some points. The story didn’t exactly drag at some points, but there were times that I became frustrated that yet another twist was thrown in. This book felt long to me, but it was worth the time to read.
The ending felt solid, but I feel so attached to the characters that I want to know where their story goes.
May 17, 2017
3 Stars
I only gave this book 3 stars for many reasons. At first it was really hood and interesting but through out the book it got to be boring and to the point where it more a less just dragged on and on. I thought this book could be better if it was interesting through out the whole entire book instead of at the beginning. Overall it was not really one of my favorites.
I only gave this book 3 stars for many reasons. At first it was really hood and interesting but through out the book it got to be boring and to the point where it more a less just dragged on and on. I thought this book could be better if it was interesting through out the whole entire book instead of at the beginning. Overall it was not really one of my favorites.
January 15, 2018
Did not finish at 50%.
I feel bad giving this a 1 Star review but that’s my policy for DNF’s.
This book wasn’t terrible, i just couldn’t get into it. Feel like I’ve spent half my life listening to this mono tone narrator and just not invested enough to spend another 300 odd pages on it.
I feel bad giving this a 1 Star review but that’s my policy for DNF’s.
This book wasn’t terrible, i just couldn’t get into it. Feel like I’ve spent half my life listening to this mono tone narrator and just not invested enough to spend another 300 odd pages on it.
March 6, 2015
You know, I’ve read a lot of fantasy. I’ve seen dragons, elves, basilisks, undead (all in my own book!) plus demons, elementals, magicians, ghosts, and just about every other concotion of the imagination you can think of.
Except, that is, for what this guy has. Ever heard of prismatic orbs? Diringibles? Zenblades? No? Well, there you go. Maxwell had the genius idea of inventing technology... with magic. And what a damn fine idea it is too—I’m almost thinking of stealing it... Not that I’d ever do that, you see. Hardly even crossed my mind. Really.
Moving On...
Let’s start with the plot. I always start with the plot—it’s, like, the most important thing EVAH—so you should know this by now.
Anyway, it’s great. No, scratch that: it’s fucking fantastic. (That’s right folks: the f-word right there.)
Seriously. Maxwell... knows how to write the book. The plot sunk its hook; dragged you down; and God help you, you better damn well keep reading from there.
There’s never a moment of real inaction; in no chapter—heck, in no scene—do you ever wonder, ‘Hey, what the fuck is going on here? Shouldn’t there be one of those magical-glowing-bomb-thingies appearing right about now?’ If you did stop to wonder, you’re not going to be doing it for long—because, lo and behold, a magical-glowing-bomb-thingie actually does appear, and you’re left thinking ‘Where did that come from?’
And yet, there’s never that feeling of being wrenched from moment to moment; that quintessential giveaway of bad pace. Everything flows—you’d think you’d be reading Shakespeare (who writes plays anyway, and never did a particularly great job of pace; bad example), not some ho-hum guy from New Zealand (or was it Thailand?) who keeps going on about this gooey-liquid-stuff that kills you. Did you get that? Well, it’s called ‘Essence’, you see—or Raj Ichor, if you want get all fancy. I don’t really know what the hell it is—he hasn’t bothered to tell us much yet. But I can wait.
Aside from that: plenty of action. Did I mention the action? Well, I’ll say it again: there’s a lot of it. There’s dying—plenty of that—assassinations (I love a good assassination—don’t you?) along with fighting; enchanting; hiding; and, well, you get the point.
Okay, I’ve rambled long enough. Point is, it’s great. It flows from scene to scene, like sweet honey Essence; it inspires, and corrupts; and as for the ending, that’s a bomb. Literally, I mean. Not the weird glowing rune thingies.
Characters.
Uhm... how shall we say? Not so great.
Well, that’s being a bit harsh. Ella—the epynonymous enchantress (don’t you just love alliteration?)—is really quite good: she’s tough as nails; mellow as gold; and, as befitting of any good novel, she’s got personality, consistency and a clear, strong voice.
What about Miro? Again, nothing disappointing: he’s strong, gentle, and indefatigable as stone.
In fact, all of the characters seem well portrayed enough. Some even manage to surprise you; others are evil bastards. But they’re supposed to be evil bastards, so that’s okay.
Why, then, do I think the characters are not so great?
Maybe it’s because the plot has already set such high bars. But there’s more to it than that. For one, they don’t explode from the pages.
‘Alex!’ you say; ‘a touch exigent, are you not?’ Well, that’s right. I am a bit difficult to please. Except that I’ve read books where the characters really do jump off the pages—and this ain’t one of them.
Also, they never quite seem to possess true depth. You never feel there’s a real person behind the words—that their fears are real; their loves true, and their dreams held deep within the core of who they are.
Take Miro. Why do we never—not once—get a taste of the sheer terror that would surely frequent soldiers of the light? Does he not think of his people; does he not see the deprabations already wrought upon the Halrana befall his own?
I get it. He’s tough. He’s a determined bastard; and the Gods be damned if he won’t get his way. But, come on. He’s still human—and a young one at that.
Going into greater depth would be superfluous. The point is, the characters are good; but they are not great. They do not seem to breathe their hushed whispers of emotion into your ear; you do not glimpse the soul behind the mask.
Writing
The writing is... a conduit for the story. Rarely does one need stop and re-read; tales spring forth from their meaning as easily as water erupts from great oceans.
Still, it isn’t exceptional—not by any means. The semi-colons, in particular, feel terrible underused and misplaced; poor, lonely semi-colons!
The imagery is good, but awes you through its magnificent imagination rather than its literary aplomb.
Well, I guess that’s it for the writing. Unlike in many fantasy books—in which you’re always cursing those overabundant semi-colons—this book’s writing just gets on with it. I guess it’s refreshing. But I do miss the semi-colons...
Conclusion
There’s been a lot of negativity in this review. Don’t let it fool you: for all its flaws, this book gets me coming back for more. The plot’s a bomb. And as for the writing and characters—well, they’re not exactly bad. And with glowing zenblades singing, and magical rune bomb thingies explodin’—let’s just say it’s easy to forget.
Rating: 4/5.
June 15, 2017
I picked up this audiobook solely because it was voiced by Simon Vance, I knew nothing else about it. I didn't look any reviews up on goodreads or amazon so I had no idea what I was in store for.
The beginning started out so strong, I was so excited that this book was going to be great and I'd rate it 4 or 5 stars.
First the good:
I very much so enjoyed the magic in this world, it was old style sorceress/enchantress kind of stuff with magical items that can do wondrous things.
I always enjoy the magic university trope, I don't know what it is but I never get tired of it. In this world you only get one chance at it, when you turn 18 you show up with a recommendation, some money, and you take a test. You pass you're in, you fail and you're shit out of luck for the rest of your life. No pressure.
I like multi POV, I feel for most books it gives me a better sense of the world seeing it through multiple people's perspectives, so I did enjoy going back and forth between the main character and her brother.
As I said before, the beginning is strong, it really does a very good job of drawing you in and wondering what's going to happen next. There's no info dump so it's easy to follow, there's already plot points going down fast and the writing isn't overly flowery so you can read through it quickly.
Magic is dangerous here, mana can kill you HORRIFICLY, spine breaking, eye boiling, rash educing, horrible horrible shit. I like it when magic isn't all fun and games and there are serious consequences to being inadequate/flippant with your magic.
Why I rated it only three stars:
Towards the middle things really started to drag, there was a lot that could have been left out, the book was 626 pages long, but really it could/should have been around 400-450.
I started to be able to predict things. I hate that so much. I don't like when I know one character is going to be betrayed by another character with the introduction of the betraying character. I hate that even more when it's a romance.
The main character started to turn into a mary sue, sort of, it wasn't quite as bad as some other mary sue characters I've read, and I think without the other flaws in the book it would have been okay.
Overall I loved the bones of this book, but the execution was lacking.
May 14, 2014
This book encompass a lot more 'story' than I thought it would. I could have sworn I was already at least half-way done with the plot, when in fact I was only about 37% done. Thankfully, this book isn't full of filler fluff, it contains actual plot elements that serve to move the storyline. Although I found certain characters frustrating (okay, just Ella), I did think all of the characters were developed and had their own personalities. Just because Ella was naive, oblivious, and made some bad decision, doesn't mean she was a bad character. I also loved all the magic and the how magic came to be. It's clear this world was well thought out as there are many different lands, each with their own history and culture. I did find the names a bit disjointed, but it wasn't a huge deal (the author uses common and popular names from here/now, mixed with his own words).
Overall great book with only a few minor editing errors. Could use more romance, but not necessary!
Overall great book with only a few minor editing errors. Could use more romance, but not necessary!
August 19, 2014
Not epic enough. As a self published book especially, this is beautifully produced; gorgeous cover, well copy edited and proofread etc. The story, IMO, was lacking. I admit that I did not finish this and I probably won't read the others. It's well written but ultimately a little hollow. I prefer a more flawed book with plenty of Voice. This just doesn't have Voice. The character's are not explored in depth, we never become emotionally attached to them and the dialogue is a bit flat - it sounds the same no matter who is talking. There are some lovely ideas in this book - essence an armorsilk and bladesingers but it takes far too long to get to any real thrust of the action and the bridging conflict is not sufficiently interesting to draw me on. This is fantasy lite - nothing wrong with that. It'll be right up someone's street. But there is not enough jeopardy for me. If you like fantasy give it a try but don't expect to be able to go deep. You won't.
September 2, 2015
I downloaded this series as it was on offer on Amazon Kindle store.
So I thought... Why not!?
Having read some of the reviews on this book I was a little bit skeptical of how enjoyable this read was going to be.
I found this book difficult to get on with. Things seem to happen without much structure or provision of a reason as to why it is happening.
There is also a distinct lack of information about the world of this series. I often found myself struggling to picture the scene which in turn, I believe dampened the experience.
The characters feel loose and incomplete.
However, overall, I guess I can say I enjoyed it, I just wouldn't bother going out of my way to purchase this book.
My personal recommendation: read this if you want to, but don't expect great things. Do expect some clichés.
So I thought... Why not!?
Having read some of the reviews on this book I was a little bit skeptical of how enjoyable this read was going to be.
I found this book difficult to get on with. Things seem to happen without much structure or provision of a reason as to why it is happening.
There is also a distinct lack of information about the world of this series. I often found myself struggling to picture the scene which in turn, I believe dampened the experience.
The characters feel loose and incomplete.
However, overall, I guess I can say I enjoyed it, I just wouldn't bother going out of my way to purchase this book.
My personal recommendation: read this if you want to, but don't expect great things. Do expect some clichés.
October 15, 2018
This book actually made me angry... and I never get angry! I got to around chapter 38 and i just had to give up.
The story is SO bland - and this is coming from someone who has happily sat through and finished Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicals and Feist's Magician.
The characters are so maddeningly under-developed (especially the female characters). The main character 'Ella' has a promising start, but falls into that whiny, can't-do-anything-without-crying-about-it kind of girl, and don't get me started on 'Miro'. The boy has less substance and flavour than a fig roll... and I hate fig rolls.
I always like to give everything I read a fair go, but truely this is terrible.
The story is SO bland - and this is coming from someone who has happily sat through and finished Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicals and Feist's Magician.
The characters are so maddeningly under-developed (especially the female characters). The main character 'Ella' has a promising start, but falls into that whiny, can't-do-anything-without-crying-about-it kind of girl, and don't get me started on 'Miro'. The boy has less substance and flavour than a fig roll... and I hate fig rolls.
I always like to give everything I read a fair go, but truely this is terrible.
May 22, 2016
Excellent read
I gave this book 5 stars because from the beginning, it had me engrossed. Granted, its been about 5 years since I was last able to start and complete a book, so for me to find the escape I needed, this book gave that to me completely. Perhaps I am easily entertained. Even so, I am grateful that after all of that time of not reading, I could once again find myself immersed in the story, not wanting to stop. I am looking forward to book 2, and hope that it will give me the same satisfaction as this book gave me.
I gave this book 5 stars because from the beginning, it had me engrossed. Granted, its been about 5 years since I was last able to start and complete a book, so for me to find the escape I needed, this book gave that to me completely. Perhaps I am easily entertained. Even so, I am grateful that after all of that time of not reading, I could once again find myself immersed in the story, not wanting to stop. I am looking forward to book 2, and hope that it will give me the same satisfaction as this book gave me.
March 9, 2013
Wonderful, creative read. Beautiful construct. I immediately bought the second book in the series after finishing this one. The book stands alone in the creativity of it's storyline, but if I had to make comparisons regarding content, I'd name The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and The Game of Thrones series as being similar, only with regards to the style of the story itself. The author definitely sets himself and this series apart.
April 4, 2017
I tried, I really did, but the writing is execrable. I don't see any need for YA novels to dumb-down their writing for teens. A well-written book is necessary at all ages, and one of best ways to become an articulate, well-spoken adult is to read good literature in your formative years. This is not it.
March 30, 2016
Loved this book. I flew though it and the rest of the series. Magic, mystery, and a badass woman. I found it similar in writing style and theme to The Queen of the Tearling series (which i also loved!). READ THE SERIES.
February 22, 2018
This one was just average for me. I thought the very beginning was intriguing, and the end was pretty good, but it dragged in places and jumped around a lot - so it could have been better.
It is the story of 2 orphan siblings: Ella and Miro. Ella goes to school to be an Enchantress and basically learn the magic of her land. Miro is destined to be a soldier. It takes almost a third of the book for the land they live in to be thrust into turmoil and war and for stuff to actually start happening, then there is a lot of battle scenes and Ella goes on a long journey to recover something that was stolen (those parts are the ones that drag). Toward the end, both Miro and Ella find their places in the war, and discover the secrets of their parentage.
Basically, this book is character and world-building and sets things up for more action (and hopefully resolution) in the next book. I'm not certain I will be up for it.
It is the story of 2 orphan siblings: Ella and Miro. Ella goes to school to be an Enchantress and basically learn the magic of her land. Miro is destined to be a soldier. It takes almost a third of the book for the land they live in to be thrust into turmoil and war and for stuff to actually start happening, then there is a lot of battle scenes and Ella goes on a long journey to recover something that was stolen (those parts are the ones that drag). Toward the end, both Miro and Ella find their places in the war, and discover the secrets of their parentage.
Basically, this book is character and world-building and sets things up for more action (and hopefully resolution) in the next book. I'm not certain I will be up for it.
October 24, 2018
I have to say this ended up being a good book, getting there on the other hand...... I have been on an Epic Fantasy kick recently and this popped up on my KU recommended feed. I decided to start this via Audio on one of my many errands and work trips. I have to say that at first the narrator sounded like google translate...may even be the same person, but after about 15% I became use to it for the most part. As the story progressed I noticed that the voices of some of the characters changed Miro especially and it started to throw me after a while and had to just switch to reading it.
That being said, the plot line and the world was really complex and the author really liked them details to say the least, the first 30% of the book, well after the first little bit about Lady Katherine, really dragged on and on with some scenes even seeming useless. The passage of time though not really specified seemed to be years as each little adventure or mission took months. I mean Ella, our FMC, had time to start and even graduate from school all in the first 30%. The passage of time seemed to skip by as we alternated views between Ella and her brother Miro. From 30-60% I was starting to get intrigued and the characters of Ella and Miro really developed, I began to really feel like they were destined for greatness. Then after 60% I was completely hooked! Everything started hitting the fan, Ella and Miro both become awesome bad A's and they learn more and more about the past, and the legacy of the people, and their own heritage.
I want to say I am super excited to dive into the next one but that first 30% still haunts me for sure. I may shelve it for now and come back later. I really want to know what happens but I must first conquer my fear of the first 30%!
That being said, the plot line and the world was really complex and the author really liked them details to say the least, the first 30% of the book, well after the first little bit about Lady Katherine, really dragged on and on with some scenes even seeming useless. The passage of time though not really specified seemed to be years as each little adventure or mission took months. I mean Ella, our FMC, had time to start and even graduate from school all in the first 30%. The passage of time seemed to skip by as we alternated views between Ella and her brother Miro. From 30-60% I was starting to get intrigued and the characters of Ella and Miro really developed, I began to really feel like they were destined for greatness. Then after 60% I was completely hooked! Everything started hitting the fan, Ella and Miro both become awesome bad A's and they learn more and more about the past, and the legacy of the people, and their own heritage.
I want to say I am super excited to dive into the next one but that first 30% still haunts me for sure. I may shelve it for now and come back later. I really want to know what happens but I must first conquer my fear of the first 30%!
July 2, 2018
Well Written Intro For a Series
I enjoyed this book. It is well written and I was invested in the story and characters. It is, however, a very predictable coming of age story. This isn’t a terrible thing, but while my investment kept me reading along in anticipation, the predictability kept me from becoming completely engrossed in the book. This is one I would give another 1/2 star to if the rating existed.
I enjoyed this book. It is well written and I was invested in the story and characters. It is, however, a very predictable coming of age story. This isn’t a terrible thing, but while my investment kept me reading along in anticipation, the predictability kept me from becoming completely engrossed in the book. This is one I would give another 1/2 star to if the rating existed.
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