Tower of the Four — The Champions Academy: Episodes 1-3 [The Quad, The Tower, The Test]

Tower of the Four #1-3

by Todd Fahnestock

The Collector knocked upon Brom’s door‪…‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ ... told him he was chosen. Was this the chance of a lifetime or a death sentence?‬‬‬ ‪Being chosen meant Brom could learn magic at the Champions Academy, something only the most talented were selected to do.‬ So Brom took The Collector’s hand and left his family behind.‬‬‬‬‬‬ ‪But when he arrived at the school, he discovered the truth. He must form a Quad. Bonding with three violent classmates was the one path to magic…‬‬‬‬‬‬ ‪...and the only way to survive.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ ‪Can Brom bridge a decades-old feud between two mortal enemies, tame a vicious little urchin, and make them into a Quad before they are expelled?‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ ‪You’ll love this epic fantasy, because what’s a little bloodshed among friends‬?‬‬‬‬

Genres: Fantasy

394 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2020

About the author

TODD FAHNESTOCK is a fantasy/sci-fi author of the bestselling Tower of the Four, Threadweavers and The Whisper Prince series. He was a winner of the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age, a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in 2021 for Tower of the Four: The Champions Academy, and a finalist in the Colorado Authors League Writing Awards for the past two years, for Charlie Fiction and The Undying Man. His passions are fantasy and his quirky, fun-loving family. When he’s not writing, he teaches taekwondo, swaps middle grade humor with his son, plays Ticket to Ride with his wife, scribes modern slang from his daughter and goes on morning walks with Galahad the Weimaraner. Visit Todd at www.toddfahnestock.com.

Reviews

[Arya Poff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fastest book I’ve read since Harry Potter! Seriously just from the character names, details and storyline I was entranced with how this book would end. I fully expected Quad Brilliant to get what they wanted when got to the final chapter but of course it ends not how you’d expected , and now Im ready dive deep into episodes 4-6 just I can see how my Quad does and hopefully The Four gets what’s coming to them!

[Bri Waite · Rating 5 out of 5]

TLDR: Amazing. Easy to read. Engaging characters. High fantasy and good world building. Some easy to predict twists and some that blindside you. Definitely pick up this book.

First things first, I honestly don’t know how this series doesn’t have more fans/reviews on here. I inhaled this book over the course of three days after meeting the author at San Diego Comic-Con.

I grew up on Harry Potter and I am a huge fan of Sarah J Maas, so naturally I was interested in this book because of its genre.

The book starts out with the classic young person wishing to be destined for more trope. It throws him into a magic academy setting paired off with three other MCs who are more different than they are alike. Of course, to move forward, they must put aside these differences. I will say the author could have spun more out of this, but his writing style is more fast paced. The story follows them as they grow in their magic.

In order to keep the plot moving, the “headmasters” of the school are revealed to be the big baddies (of this book and the next, at least). What really keeps you engaged is the “will these four kids make it through this test/event/etc together” suspense.

The world building is smooth, easy to catch on and you seem to learn at the pace of the characters, which I enjoy. There are interesting tidbits of information that is fed to you throughout the book that becomes really relevant later on.

Overall, 5/5 stars. I think any fan of high fantasy will enjoy this book and you’ll be reaching for the next.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. There were a few spots where the storyline was a bit slow, but then, Holy Cow! The story takes all kinds of twists and turns. The world building and how the magic works is extremely creative and interesting. It's been a wild ride and I am anxious to read books 4-6.

[Luiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the sum of its parts
I took my time reading this. Honestly, the beginning wasn't very captivating, and I spent more than a couple of months to get through the start, and I only managed to do it because I was bored and there wasn't anything else... it wasn't bad by any measure, I just wasn't very interested in the plot to begin with. I'm glad I stuck with it though, because although the plot isn't very strong, this is more of a character driven story and it excels at that.

We have four main characters and each one is deeply flawed. Flawed enough that there really wasn't any character that I really liked, but not enough that I'd want to see them fail. In fact, their flaws made me look forward to seeing them overcome them and grow. Spoilers below:


Brom is loyal, but kind of naïve and too forgiving. Kind of boring in the way coming-of-age main characters often are. He could learn to hold more of a grudge.
Oriana has a deep sense of responsibility, but she is dismissive and entitled.
Royal is loyal and righteous, but narrow-minded and impulsive.
I have a suspicion that Vale was the author's favorite. And the one I liked the least. She is self-centered (a quality that applies to every other except Brom), utilitarian, prejudiced and egotistical. If I had to pick a virtue, I'd say she is driven.


Although the author wrote this as separate stories, I feel like it works better if you read it all at once.

[Ligia Wit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I didn't read this book sooner.
I've read other books by Todd Fahnestock, and they've all immersed me in incredible adventures, but for some reason, I thought this one would be too YA for me.
Boy, was I wrong.
I think I might have been a little prejudiced toward "adult" fantasy, forgetting that incredible adventures, jaw-dropping world-building, and amazing storytelling can be found anywhere, regardless of the age category.
I'm usually a slow reader, but I devoured this book and immediately downloaded the next three episodes, which I'm loving just as much.
What made me love this one so much? The immersive narrative, the compelling and diverse cast of characters, and the plot. Man, THE PLOT! Original, fresh, captivating, and flawlessly executed. It's the kind of story that makes you not want to put the book down.

Are there sexy scenes? Mostly fade-to-black, and only when the story calls for them, which is Fahnestock's usual way of handling these moments. Honestly, I'm more than fine with that. In fact, I'm discovering that I actually prefer it because the story never has to rely on those scenes to keep me invested.

This book proves once again why Todd Fahnestock is one of my absolute favorite fantasy authors.
Can't recommend this one enough!

[V]

I got this book on a stuff your Kindle day. Not really there to follow the kid who doesn't understand that leaving guard duty is bad.