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The War Ender's Apprentice
In the chaotic universe, many intelligent species are on the brink of war, but the Guild holds the violence at bay to foster peaceful trade. The most renowned War Ender is Lady Alana of House Eyreid. Alana hopes to train her nephew Roark, in her vocation.
It was supposed to be a simple training mission aboard an Interrealm slave ship. However, when Alana find her people enslaved, she murders the crew and rescues every slave—whether criminal, dishonored, or stolen. A fleeting vision tells her to offer the newly freed Eohan a War Ender’s education. For her vision to come true, Alana must rescue Eohan’s young brother who was sold in the last port and lost somewhere in the Realms, but first, they have a war to end.
It was supposed to be a simple training mission aboard an Interrealm slave ship. However, when Alana find her people enslaved, she murders the crew and rescues every slave—whether criminal, dishonored, or stolen. A fleeting vision tells her to offer the newly freed Eohan a War Ender’s education. For her vision to come true, Alana must rescue Eohan’s young brother who was sold in the last port and lost somewhere in the Realms, but first, they have a war to end.
- GenresFantasy
178 pages, Paperback
Published October 27, 2017
3 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Guizzetti
36 books353 followersElizabeth Guizzetti currently lives in Seattle, WA with her husband. When not writing, she loves hiking and birdwatching.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 6, 2017
Elizabeth Guizzetti weaves a delightful tale of wars, politics and intrigue across seven worlds in her new novella, “The War Ender’s Apprentice.” Her characters are engaging and nicely portrayed. I was especially taken with Eohan as he tries to figure out how to exist in his new world as apprentice to a War Ender. I went to bed, but couldn’t put the book down until I finished it. I felt like my child self, hiding under my blanket with a flashlight—I kept expecting my mother to come in and tell me it was past my bedtime. A fun, quick read.
January 13, 2018
I liked the diversity and originality of this novel.
Believeable and Relatable characters really help to captivate the reader and get them invested in the happenings of this story.
This was a great start to the series, a lot of backstory needed and had to understand a lot as with a lot of first in series, but I am excited to see where it goes next.
Believeable and Relatable characters really help to captivate the reader and get them invested in the happenings of this story.
This was a great start to the series, a lot of backstory needed and had to understand a lot as with a lot of first in series, but I am excited to see where it goes next.
January 11, 2018
I really enjoyed the pacing and how it was steady throughout. It is fast paced and doesn’t let up and didn’t have moments that dragged. It made for a fast and furious read.
It was a great start to the series and really shined light on to the characters and world in general that make us want to learn more.
I liked that this was fantasy but also had many other qualities that made it lovable to readers.
It was a great start to the series and really shined light on to the characters and world in general that make us want to learn more.
I liked that this was fantasy but also had many other qualities that made it lovable to readers.
November 14, 2017
Elizabeth Guizzetti weaves an action-packed fantasy here that sings traditional, old-style, nostalgic fantasy. Elves and Dwarfs mingle with humans on a violent scale. These people don't really get along, and each have their own agenda in a universe consisting of many realms.
Guizzetti's characterisation is what grabs you here, especially when her characters belong in such a complicated, but interesting mythology. We have guilds and realms and official titles such as the War Ender. The book has some very adult themes: slavery and politics for example, but I felt like I was sucked back into my childhood reading authentic fantasy. And mixed in with the adult overtones there is a coming of age story too. Eohan was actually my favourite character, and seeing his progression through the book kept me going until the end.
Elizabeth Guizzetti's no nonsense writing packs many punches and combines intelligent themes. I'm hooked to see where the Chronicles of the Martlet series takes me. Fans of Terry Brooks and Dionne Lister will love this.
Guizzetti's characterisation is what grabs you here, especially when her characters belong in such a complicated, but interesting mythology. We have guilds and realms and official titles such as the War Ender. The book has some very adult themes: slavery and politics for example, but I felt like I was sucked back into my childhood reading authentic fantasy. And mixed in with the adult overtones there is a coming of age story too. Eohan was actually my favourite character, and seeing his progression through the book kept me going until the end.
Elizabeth Guizzetti's no nonsense writing packs many punches and combines intelligent themes. I'm hooked to see where the Chronicles of the Martlet series takes me. Fans of Terry Brooks and Dionne Lister will love this.
November 16, 2017
It's often difficult to create a complete fantasy world in novella form, but Elizabeth Guizzetti pulls it off in The War Ender's Apprentice. Lady Alana of House Eyreid is a Guild assassin with a special role. She's plied her trade for fifty years, but now it's time to make room for an apprentice. While attacking a slave ship, she has a vision of the future, and discovers a new apprentice among the newly freed slaves. In this rich, absorbing tale of a powerful woman in her declining years, Lady Alana leads an effort to rescue a still-enslaved boy and leave a legacy poets will celebrate for centuries. The War Ender's Apprentice is exciting, well-paced entertainment that signals the start of an excellent series. Note: The author provided a copy to this reader in exchange for an honest review.
November 14, 2017
As expected from Guizzetti: superb, detailed world building, both the physical environment and the social structure. For those who care about such things, the fight scenes are beautifully choreographed as well, blood and all. I found both the over-all adventure and the character development to be interesting, although it wasn't always clear whether the title apprentice (I presume the one she rescued from slavery) was the focal character, or if it was more about the elf knight herself.
December 20, 2017
I absolutely loved this book. I love the world building and the world itself. The novella is about a War Ender name Alana. She's an elf species called fairsigne. She is working for a guild in which she saves people by ending wars. I enjoyed it a how lot if fall somewhere between the feel of an old sword and magic fantasy novel and Dungeons and dragon.
March 7, 2018
The War Ender’s Apprentice is the first book in the Chronicles of the Martlet series by Elizabeth Guizetti, and also the self-professed first novella by the author.
It stars three main characters. The majority of the book is in the point of view of Alana, the Martlet (third born noble elf) in House Eyreid and aging War Ender for the mysterious Guild. The story opens with her and the soon to be second protagonist Roark, her nephew, on a ship carrying slaves from her own lands. The Guild contract was simply to collect a debt, and policy dictates that she must obey the laws in the country she takes the contract in, but her oaths as a Martlet overwhelm the Guild rules in her mind, so she rescues the slaves and releases them.
Among them we meet our third protagonist, Eohan, whom Alana sees in a vision as being key to Roark’s future within their noble family. She takes him as an apprentice, and soon they’re assigned a war to end.
Without giving too much more away, the war ending portion that follows is where the novel really shines. Guizzetti’s skill as a world builder is top notch. Even though the hierarchy systems (and the politics between her various races) are complex and unique, she works enough explanation through action and character thought that I was able to follow, without having to resort to the oh-too-familiar info-dumps commonly found in epic fantasy novels. Each of her races felt specifically unique to her work, and the brief encounters with blood magic and magic involving the afterlife gave me a taste of what could potentially follow in the rest of the series.
Her non human characters also felt non-human, as opposed to being some exaggeration of human qualities or race relations masquerading as characters. This is a bugbear of mine in epic fantasy, and I’ve only seen it done right in a handful of books. This is one of them.
The e-book’s formatting was a little rough, and in some places the chapter breaks didn’t fall where they needed to, but the storytelling was compelling enough that I perked an eyebrow and moved on.
4.5/5, looking forward to the next book in the series.
It stars three main characters. The majority of the book is in the point of view of Alana, the Martlet (third born noble elf) in House Eyreid and aging War Ender for the mysterious Guild. The story opens with her and the soon to be second protagonist Roark, her nephew, on a ship carrying slaves from her own lands. The Guild contract was simply to collect a debt, and policy dictates that she must obey the laws in the country she takes the contract in, but her oaths as a Martlet overwhelm the Guild rules in her mind, so she rescues the slaves and releases them.
Among them we meet our third protagonist, Eohan, whom Alana sees in a vision as being key to Roark’s future within their noble family. She takes him as an apprentice, and soon they’re assigned a war to end.
Without giving too much more away, the war ending portion that follows is where the novel really shines. Guizzetti’s skill as a world builder is top notch. Even though the hierarchy systems (and the politics between her various races) are complex and unique, she works enough explanation through action and character thought that I was able to follow, without having to resort to the oh-too-familiar info-dumps commonly found in epic fantasy novels. Each of her races felt specifically unique to her work, and the brief encounters with blood magic and magic involving the afterlife gave me a taste of what could potentially follow in the rest of the series.
Her non human characters also felt non-human, as opposed to being some exaggeration of human qualities or race relations masquerading as characters. This is a bugbear of mine in epic fantasy, and I’ve only seen it done right in a handful of books. This is one of them.
The e-book’s formatting was a little rough, and in some places the chapter breaks didn’t fall where they needed to, but the storytelling was compelling enough that I perked an eyebrow and moved on.
4.5/5, looking forward to the next book in the series.
June 15, 2019
This book has way too much going on with not enough explaining. It leaves you feeling confused
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews