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The Knights of Nine #1
The Lightning Knight
Po Pondarion has always dreamed of becoming a true knight. What he doesn’t know is that he’s destined to save the world and reignite the spark of magic within it.
But this isn’t his story, it’s mine. See, I once thought magic was only the stuff of fairytales, and I was wrong. I’m doing my best to protect, train, and mentor Po as we search for the key to unlock magic before a dangerous secret group gets there first.
I mean, while that all seems a bit much to take on for a sixteen year-old, that's because it is. Here I was just planning on courting the girl of my dreams, figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, and trying not to get into too much trouble. But things can never be that easy, can they? I guess if it were easy, it wouldn’t be me.
I am Oliver Quartermaine, and my life is about to get a lot more complicated.
But this isn’t his story, it’s mine. See, I once thought magic was only the stuff of fairytales, and I was wrong. I’m doing my best to protect, train, and mentor Po as we search for the key to unlock magic before a dangerous secret group gets there first.
I mean, while that all seems a bit much to take on for a sixteen year-old, that's because it is. Here I was just planning on courting the girl of my dreams, figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, and trying not to get into too much trouble. But things can never be that easy, can they? I guess if it were easy, it wouldn’t be me.
I am Oliver Quartermaine, and my life is about to get a lot more complicated.
- GenresFantasy
456 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 23, 2020
24 people are currently reading
470 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 25, 2021
The Lightning Knight
by Sean P. Valiente is a fantasy novel that transported this reader to another time and world. To me, this was a coming-of-age epic fantasy. The author hooked me with the first sentence and the pace didn’t let up until I finished the book. It includes many typical fantasy elements with knights, quests, dragons, elves, tournaments.
Our protagonist, Oliver Quartermaine, is sixteen years old and after the summer tournaments he and his friends Yokel and Roc will be attending their final year of instruction and education at the Institute. After these five years, attendees are expected to do something with the knowledge they attained and the connections they’ve made. However, Oliver has yet to decide what to do with his life. While Oliver shows some growth over the course of the book, he definitely has flaws and some growing up that is needed. As a reader, we see different aspects of his personality during downtime and stressful times and everything in between.
The plot is well done with lots of unknowns and some twists. One of the fascinating things about this book was the interactions of the characters as the stakes got higher. Will you be surprised by some of the events? The ending was somewhat less than satisfactory, leaving many threads for the next book in the series. There are some violent battle scenes and themes include depression, racism, honor, friendship, greed, family, grief, guilt, power, sadness, anger, hope, romance, sharing, death, secrets, and much more.
Overall, this book is engaging, entertaining, and suspenseful. This is the first novel in The Knights of Nine series and the first book that I have read by this author. I definitely want to read the next book in the series. If you like suspenseful epic fantasies, then you may enjoy this one as much as I did.
I received a digital copy of this book from the author in a Goodreads Giveaway. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
Our protagonist, Oliver Quartermaine, is sixteen years old and after the summer tournaments he and his friends Yokel and Roc will be attending their final year of instruction and education at the Institute. After these five years, attendees are expected to do something with the knowledge they attained and the connections they’ve made. However, Oliver has yet to decide what to do with his life. While Oliver shows some growth over the course of the book, he definitely has flaws and some growing up that is needed. As a reader, we see different aspects of his personality during downtime and stressful times and everything in between.
The plot is well done with lots of unknowns and some twists. One of the fascinating things about this book was the interactions of the characters as the stakes got higher. Will you be surprised by some of the events? The ending was somewhat less than satisfactory, leaving many threads for the next book in the series. There are some violent battle scenes and themes include depression, racism, honor, friendship, greed, family, grief, guilt, power, sadness, anger, hope, romance, sharing, death, secrets, and much more.
Overall, this book is engaging, entertaining, and suspenseful. This is the first novel in The Knights of Nine series and the first book that I have read by this author. I definitely want to read the next book in the series. If you like suspenseful epic fantasies, then you may enjoy this one as much as I did.
I received a digital copy of this book from the author in a Goodreads Giveaway. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
May 25, 2023
More reviews at undertheradarsffbooks.com
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I didn’t know what to expect walking into this debut novel until the author told me to think of Star Wars with Luke being the chosen one but the story being told through Obi-Wan’s perspective. With that being said, this is the only similarity to Star Wars this book contains. The Lightning Knight is a classical fantasy story with some typical fantasy troupes we have seen over the years such as: knights, elves, tournaments, and noble families. What makes this story stand out to me is the character comradery as well as how they interact with each other. The story will take you down a path and you feel certain you know what the outcome will be, but then Sean will pull the rug out from underneath you and you won’t know which way is up. I was pleasantly surprised upon completion and I look forward to seeing what Sean Valiente has in store for future novels.
The story is told through the eyes of Oliver Quartermaine and he is not your typical Obi-Wan. Born into a noble family with a photographic memory when it comes to his studies for becoming a knight. Oliver is also your typical sixteen year old as he puts his foot in his mouth several times throughout the novel, especially around girls. Magic this world is said to have only existed in fairytales, but when Oliver is confronted by one of his teachers, his whole world is turned upside down. It turns out that magic is real and the Queen had magic banished from the realm and all of its users put to death. Oliver comes to discover that he must find a boy named Po, as he is destined to save the world and reignite the spark of magic within it. To do this, Po must become the legendary Lightning Knight and Oliver is tasked with training him. Quite a task for a sixteen year old who just wants to court the girl of his dreams and stay out of trouble. Trouble eventually finds Oliver in the form of a secret group known as the spider’s web and their goal is to restore magic for themselves and obtain power over the realm.
This may seem like a lot to unpack, but the plot is very well fleshed out and I never once felt lost in Sean Valiente’s world. The Lightning Knight is a slow-burn of a novel with flashes of great combat, tournaments, training sessions, and secret missions. I will say that I did have a negative while I was reading the first half of the novel. Part 1 was very slow at times and it seems like it took a while for the plot to really get going. After reading the entire novel, I realize that this was done to build the characters, tensions, and for the reader to get a feel for the stakes that are up for grabs. Once I got to part 2, the story really takes off and you will not be able to guess where the story is going to go. No spoilers, but the last few chapters completely blindsided me and the story goes in a completely different direction then what I expected to happen and it was a joy to read.
Sean Valiente does a great job of building the lore and history of the world ever so slowly throughout his first novel and I feel there is still so much more to unravel. I also enjoyed the scenes where we got to enter Oliver’s mind palace and see how he stores all the information about the hundreds of books he has read over the years. We also get to experience flashback scenes for Oliver to understand the boy he was and the man he has to be. His story is not set in stone and it will take everything he has to protect Po and restore magic to the realm.
Congratulations Sean Valiente on your debut novel. Can’t wait to see what you have in store!
Cheers!
My podcast Episode with Sean is linked below:
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/...
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I didn’t know what to expect walking into this debut novel until the author told me to think of Star Wars with Luke being the chosen one but the story being told through Obi-Wan’s perspective. With that being said, this is the only similarity to Star Wars this book contains. The Lightning Knight is a classical fantasy story with some typical fantasy troupes we have seen over the years such as: knights, elves, tournaments, and noble families. What makes this story stand out to me is the character comradery as well as how they interact with each other. The story will take you down a path and you feel certain you know what the outcome will be, but then Sean will pull the rug out from underneath you and you won’t know which way is up. I was pleasantly surprised upon completion and I look forward to seeing what Sean Valiente has in store for future novels.
The story is told through the eyes of Oliver Quartermaine and he is not your typical Obi-Wan. Born into a noble family with a photographic memory when it comes to his studies for becoming a knight. Oliver is also your typical sixteen year old as he puts his foot in his mouth several times throughout the novel, especially around girls. Magic this world is said to have only existed in fairytales, but when Oliver is confronted by one of his teachers, his whole world is turned upside down. It turns out that magic is real and the Queen had magic banished from the realm and all of its users put to death. Oliver comes to discover that he must find a boy named Po, as he is destined to save the world and reignite the spark of magic within it. To do this, Po must become the legendary Lightning Knight and Oliver is tasked with training him. Quite a task for a sixteen year old who just wants to court the girl of his dreams and stay out of trouble. Trouble eventually finds Oliver in the form of a secret group known as the spider’s web and their goal is to restore magic for themselves and obtain power over the realm.
This may seem like a lot to unpack, but the plot is very well fleshed out and I never once felt lost in Sean Valiente’s world. The Lightning Knight is a slow-burn of a novel with flashes of great combat, tournaments, training sessions, and secret missions. I will say that I did have a negative while I was reading the first half of the novel. Part 1 was very slow at times and it seems like it took a while for the plot to really get going. After reading the entire novel, I realize that this was done to build the characters, tensions, and for the reader to get a feel for the stakes that are up for grabs. Once I got to part 2, the story really takes off and you will not be able to guess where the story is going to go. No spoilers, but the last few chapters completely blindsided me and the story goes in a completely different direction then what I expected to happen and it was a joy to read.
Sean Valiente does a great job of building the lore and history of the world ever so slowly throughout his first novel and I feel there is still so much more to unravel. I also enjoyed the scenes where we got to enter Oliver’s mind palace and see how he stores all the information about the hundreds of books he has read over the years. We also get to experience flashback scenes for Oliver to understand the boy he was and the man he has to be. His story is not set in stone and it will take everything he has to protect Po and restore magic to the realm.
Congratulations Sean Valiente on your debut novel. Can’t wait to see what you have in store!
Cheers!
My podcast Episode with Sean is linked below:
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/...
January 18, 2021
I have recently finished this refreshing take on the fantasy genre. Turning ideas and established parts of the genre on their head, consequently this has been one of the more entertaining reads of 2021 so far. Watch out for a full review on my blog soon.
February 19, 2021
“Promise me this. Promise me that you will try as hard as you can in everything you do. That you will not let anything stop you, and that you will become a knight.”
“I promise.”
🦄🦄🦄
Po Pondarion has always dreamed of becoming a true knight. What he doesn’t know is that he’s destined to save the world and reignite the spark of magic within it.
But this isn’t his story, it’s mine. See, I once thought magic was only the stuff of fairytales, and I was wrong. I’m doing my best to protect, train, and mentor Po as we search for the key to unlock magic before a dangerous secret group gets there first.
I mean, while that all seems a bit much to take on for a sixteen year-old, that's because it is. Here I was just planning on courting the girl of my dreams, figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, and trying not to get into too much trouble. But things can never be that easy, can they? I guess if it were easy, it wouldn’t be me.
I am Oliver Quartermaine, and my life is about to get a lot more complicated.
🦄🦄🦄
The Lightning Knight is the first book in the Knights of Nine series, a fantasy series by Sean P. Valentine.
THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!!!
It's like a retelling of the classic 'Chosen One' story where we experience the adventure from the eyes of the mentor as the 'Chosen One' prepares for what is to come. (Has anyone else ever wondered how life for these mentors are before and after they meet their pupils?)
I loved the character, Oliver because the guy's 16 and yea I know it's a big burden being the Chosen One, but imagine being responsible for the person while dealing with a ton of other things in your life like bullies, other quests and a (non-existent) love life 😂!
The book's long (like most fantasy series that I love) but when I tell you that you won't even realize that you've reached the end, I'm not kidding.
The world building is phenomenal and the plot as well. It keeps you engaged and is written in such a way that you connect with the characters (just as well because man do some of them go through A LOT! I LOVE IT! But I didn't find it emotionally overbearing. Well, there were a couple of times I felt my heart being ripped out of my chest...)
I loved the book and I'm looking forward to reading the entire series soon! (P.s. the book's available for free on Kindle Unlimited so give it a shot!)
🦄🦄🦄
Rated 10/10
Melina L.
“I promise.”
🦄🦄🦄
Po Pondarion has always dreamed of becoming a true knight. What he doesn’t know is that he’s destined to save the world and reignite the spark of magic within it.
But this isn’t his story, it’s mine. See, I once thought magic was only the stuff of fairytales, and I was wrong. I’m doing my best to protect, train, and mentor Po as we search for the key to unlock magic before a dangerous secret group gets there first.
I mean, while that all seems a bit much to take on for a sixteen year-old, that's because it is. Here I was just planning on courting the girl of my dreams, figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, and trying not to get into too much trouble. But things can never be that easy, can they? I guess if it were easy, it wouldn’t be me.
I am Oliver Quartermaine, and my life is about to get a lot more complicated.
🦄🦄🦄
The Lightning Knight is the first book in the Knights of Nine series, a fantasy series by Sean P. Valentine.
THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!!!
It's like a retelling of the classic 'Chosen One' story where we experience the adventure from the eyes of the mentor as the 'Chosen One' prepares for what is to come. (Has anyone else ever wondered how life for these mentors are before and after they meet their pupils?)
I loved the character, Oliver because the guy's 16 and yea I know it's a big burden being the Chosen One, but imagine being responsible for the person while dealing with a ton of other things in your life like bullies, other quests and a (non-existent) love life 😂!
The book's long (like most fantasy series that I love) but when I tell you that you won't even realize that you've reached the end, I'm not kidding.
The world building is phenomenal and the plot as well. It keeps you engaged and is written in such a way that you connect with the characters (just as well because man do some of them go through A LOT! I LOVE IT! But I didn't find it emotionally overbearing. Well, there were a couple of times I felt my heart being ripped out of my chest...)
I loved the book and I'm looking forward to reading the entire series soon! (P.s. the book's available for free on Kindle Unlimited so give it a shot!)
🦄🦄🦄
Rated 10/10
Melina L.
February 17, 2021
The Lightning Knight is a character driven, action-packed story with many unexpected twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat! I really loved the characters and the world building. The book follows Oliver on his quest to bring magic back to his world, making new friends and kicking butt along the way. The universe is immersive, and I really enjoyed learning about Starfall and the Dragonlands. In classic fantasy fashion, you are left with lots of questions at the end of the book-can’t wait for the next installment!
February 18, 2021
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
In a world where magic has been banned by the authorities, a minor magician must teach The Chosen One how to use magic to save the world.
The usual stuff from an unusual perspective.
In a world where magic has been banned by the authorities, a minor magician must teach The Chosen One how to use magic to save the world.
The usual stuff from an unusual perspective.
July 4, 2021
I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review - thank you Sean P. Valiente!
According to Amazon this book is written for the 13-18 year age group, but despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. From looking at the cover design I got the impression the story would be much darker than it was.
The Lightning Knight is an epic YA fantasy told entirely from the point of view of Oliver Quartermaine, the sixteen year old son of a wealthy nobleman. His mother is dead and his father, a highly talented Smith and Inventor, is absent more often than not. He has a younger sister, Reagan, with whom he is close and also an older brother, Wiggin, who left them five years ago and has not been seen since.
Oliver is very talented at fighting and his story follows his journey via the Southern Tournament towards the ultimate fighting tournament – the Dragon Championship. Along the way he is supported by a cast of friends and family, his sister Reagan, the love of his life, Iris, his best friend Riley “Roc” Roclan, who is a jousting tournament champion, Yokel, his other best friend and a master strategist, and Hugo “Po” Pondarian, a 12 year old who they decide to train as their squire, when Oliver is given a quest to protect Po.
Starfall, the town in which they live, is part of a kingdom which used to know magic, but from which magic was banished by the High Queen Soraya:
“The High Queen was known to hate magic more than anyone, and she had been sent to Soraya from a distant land by the Nine Gods themselves to rid our world of it. They’d blessed her with eternal life, and she used that life to further her quest. Her Black Sun Battalion was charged with destroying all rumors of magic and all the people related to it.
Before the High Queen, all the kingdoms and queendoms of Soraya were splintered and separate. Magic was used by those who could summon it for all manner of tasks, including waging war. The legendary Knights of Nine were said to help quell those wars and protect those who used magic, but the Knights had been defeated by the High Queen and were never seen again.”
Early in the story, Oliver is given a number of quests which include saving magic, rescuing Iris from a relationship with his nemesis, the bully Rhidan, saving his friends from Rhidan and his cronies, and protecting Po, who is supposed to become the next Lightning Knight.
Oliver, Roc, Yokel and Po form a vigilante alliance, which they name Whisky Danger and together patrol the city from the rooftops, trying to keep it safe. In so doing they meet two mysterious “Knight Angels”, Pathfinder and Windrunner who join their group but whose identities remain hidden, by masks and voice changing apparatus, until near the end of the novel. I think most readers would be able to guess who these two characters are, and I found it a little frustrating that Oliver was unable to.
There are magical artefacts in their world – Iris has a magical book which Oliver takes from her and finds that, with the help of a ring given to him by Po, he is able to unlock it and converse through the book with a snarky old man called Haralabos – the previous Lightning Knight who resides in the in-between, a timeless place.
In addition to the main story there are many exciting secondary elements: a secret society known as The Spider’s Web, dragons, mentions of elves and goblins – which I suspect will come into play in future stories. There are also some annoyingly cheesy parts to the story – Oliver sings a song in front of the entire school, to try and win Iris’s affection and it felt to me very much like something out of “High School Musical”. Oliver is also a ladies man and seems to win the affection of any beautiful girl he meets. This facet of his character was something I didn’t enjoy – but after all he is only sixteen and stupidly rich, so I can probably forgive him! It leads to a lot of confusion on Oliver’s part, a love triangle and much teenage angst, which may put off some readers. Oliver comes to the time-honoured conclusion:
“Girls were complicated and boys were dumb.”
There were some badass female characters in this book – Reagan and Pathfinder in particular – which I enjoyed.
I didn’t really like the amount of alcohol these kids drank, or the pipe-smoking Fool who was supposed to be about their age. If this book is aimed at 13-18 year olds (according to Amazon) I felt those themes could have been downplayed.
However I did like the positive message which came up a few times:
“Why make enemies, when you can make friends?”
There were also the difficult subjects of slaves and xenophobia in the city of Romiria, which were not delved into deeply and which were treated with dislike by our heroes.
Another thing readers may find jarring is the inclusion of trains, matches, elevators and voice changing technology, in a typical (yet supposedly non-magical) fantasy world, which were explained away by the fact that Oliver’s father, grandfather and uncle had all been extremely talented inventors. I was prepared to accept this explanation so these anachronistic-feeling items did not bother me.
There is a lot of action in this novel and it flows along at a fairly fast pace, with jousting tournaments, swordplay, (too much) romance, plenty of magic in a world where magic is no longer supposed to exist, dragons, secret societies, and much more. If you like coming of age stories, with quests undertaken by a group of very supportive friends, I would recommend this book without hesitation.
According to Amazon this book is written for the 13-18 year age group, but despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. From looking at the cover design I got the impression the story would be much darker than it was.
The Lightning Knight is an epic YA fantasy told entirely from the point of view of Oliver Quartermaine, the sixteen year old son of a wealthy nobleman. His mother is dead and his father, a highly talented Smith and Inventor, is absent more often than not. He has a younger sister, Reagan, with whom he is close and also an older brother, Wiggin, who left them five years ago and has not been seen since.
Oliver is very talented at fighting and his story follows his journey via the Southern Tournament towards the ultimate fighting tournament – the Dragon Championship. Along the way he is supported by a cast of friends and family, his sister Reagan, the love of his life, Iris, his best friend Riley “Roc” Roclan, who is a jousting tournament champion, Yokel, his other best friend and a master strategist, and Hugo “Po” Pondarian, a 12 year old who they decide to train as their squire, when Oliver is given a quest to protect Po.
Starfall, the town in which they live, is part of a kingdom which used to know magic, but from which magic was banished by the High Queen Soraya:
“The High Queen was known to hate magic more than anyone, and she had been sent to Soraya from a distant land by the Nine Gods themselves to rid our world of it. They’d blessed her with eternal life, and she used that life to further her quest. Her Black Sun Battalion was charged with destroying all rumors of magic and all the people related to it.
Before the High Queen, all the kingdoms and queendoms of Soraya were splintered and separate. Magic was used by those who could summon it for all manner of tasks, including waging war. The legendary Knights of Nine were said to help quell those wars and protect those who used magic, but the Knights had been defeated by the High Queen and were never seen again.”
Early in the story, Oliver is given a number of quests which include saving magic, rescuing Iris from a relationship with his nemesis, the bully Rhidan, saving his friends from Rhidan and his cronies, and protecting Po, who is supposed to become the next Lightning Knight.
Oliver, Roc, Yokel and Po form a vigilante alliance, which they name Whisky Danger and together patrol the city from the rooftops, trying to keep it safe. In so doing they meet two mysterious “Knight Angels”, Pathfinder and Windrunner who join their group but whose identities remain hidden, by masks and voice changing apparatus, until near the end of the novel. I think most readers would be able to guess who these two characters are, and I found it a little frustrating that Oliver was unable to.
There are magical artefacts in their world – Iris has a magical book which Oliver takes from her and finds that, with the help of a ring given to him by Po, he is able to unlock it and converse through the book with a snarky old man called Haralabos – the previous Lightning Knight who resides in the in-between, a timeless place.
In addition to the main story there are many exciting secondary elements: a secret society known as The Spider’s Web, dragons, mentions of elves and goblins – which I suspect will come into play in future stories. There are also some annoyingly cheesy parts to the story – Oliver sings a song in front of the entire school, to try and win Iris’s affection and it felt to me very much like something out of “High School Musical”. Oliver is also a ladies man and seems to win the affection of any beautiful girl he meets. This facet of his character was something I didn’t enjoy – but after all he is only sixteen and stupidly rich, so I can probably forgive him! It leads to a lot of confusion on Oliver’s part, a love triangle and much teenage angst, which may put off some readers. Oliver comes to the time-honoured conclusion:
“Girls were complicated and boys were dumb.”
There were some badass female characters in this book – Reagan and Pathfinder in particular – which I enjoyed.
I didn’t really like the amount of alcohol these kids drank, or the pipe-smoking Fool who was supposed to be about their age. If this book is aimed at 13-18 year olds (according to Amazon) I felt those themes could have been downplayed.
However I did like the positive message which came up a few times:
“Why make enemies, when you can make friends?”
There were also the difficult subjects of slaves and xenophobia in the city of Romiria, which were not delved into deeply and which were treated with dislike by our heroes.
Another thing readers may find jarring is the inclusion of trains, matches, elevators and voice changing technology, in a typical (yet supposedly non-magical) fantasy world, which were explained away by the fact that Oliver’s father, grandfather and uncle had all been extremely talented inventors. I was prepared to accept this explanation so these anachronistic-feeling items did not bother me.
There is a lot of action in this novel and it flows along at a fairly fast pace, with jousting tournaments, swordplay, (too much) romance, plenty of magic in a world where magic is no longer supposed to exist, dragons, secret societies, and much more. If you like coming of age stories, with quests undertaken by a group of very supportive friends, I would recommend this book without hesitation.
March 18, 2021
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
The Lightning Knight is the first book in The Knights of Nine series and honestly didn’t know what to expect especially as fantasy is quite a hit or miss genre for me, but this one was definitely a hit.
The Lightning Knight follows Oliver the main character who is on a quest to bring back magic to his world, as magic has been banished from his world.
This is a well written fantasy that has all the elements of a classic fantasy yet the storyline is a unique one. I have to admit I did struggle with the first part of the book, finding it a little slow and taking a while for the storyline to get going. But once it got going I was more invested. There was lots of action and twists that I never even imagined or saw coming. I really liked the world building it was really well done and enjoyed reading and learning about the world.
The Lightning Knight is a character driven fantasy and I thought the characters were so well done, especially Oliver’s character. Oliver is your typical sixteen year old teenager until his sent on his quest to find a boy named Po and to train him to become the legendary Lightning Knight. You can really see Oliver’s character develop as the storyline progressed.
This may have been a bit of a slow burn fantasy but I enjoyed it. Well done Sean on a really good debut novel. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next book. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys reading a good character driven fantasy.
A big thank you to Sean P. Valiente for getting in touch and sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
The Lightning Knight is the first book in The Knights of Nine series and honestly didn’t know what to expect especially as fantasy is quite a hit or miss genre for me, but this one was definitely a hit.
The Lightning Knight follows Oliver the main character who is on a quest to bring back magic to his world, as magic has been banished from his world.
This is a well written fantasy that has all the elements of a classic fantasy yet the storyline is a unique one. I have to admit I did struggle with the first part of the book, finding it a little slow and taking a while for the storyline to get going. But once it got going I was more invested. There was lots of action and twists that I never even imagined or saw coming. I really liked the world building it was really well done and enjoyed reading and learning about the world.
The Lightning Knight is a character driven fantasy and I thought the characters were so well done, especially Oliver’s character. Oliver is your typical sixteen year old teenager until his sent on his quest to find a boy named Po and to train him to become the legendary Lightning Knight. You can really see Oliver’s character develop as the storyline progressed.
This may have been a bit of a slow burn fantasy but I enjoyed it. Well done Sean on a really good debut novel. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next book. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys reading a good character driven fantasy.
A big thank you to Sean P. Valiente for getting in touch and sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
March 23, 2021
Truly a super read for every fan of a magician named Harry. Oliver is everything a reader wants in a hero - 16, rich, smart and driven. Tasked to achieve the simple goal of saving the world… how could any 16-year-old say no? The author takes the reader on a roller coaster ride. There are thrills and chills, excitement and seemingly disappointments but never give up! Oliver never gives up!
Sticking with The Lightning Knight will reward the reader. There is even a Draco-eque persona that will appeal to all the fans of HP! Well written and engaging. The reader is easily drawn into this world. The book flows and moves and often has the reader on the edge of a seat. Join Oliver and yes, join Po and see how much excitement can come from just saving the world and .... magic.
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author in the hopes I'd review it.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
Sticking with The Lightning Knight will reward the reader. There is even a Draco-eque persona that will appeal to all the fans of HP! Well written and engaging. The reader is easily drawn into this world. The book flows and moves and often has the reader on the edge of a seat. Join Oliver and yes, join Po and see how much excitement can come from just saving the world and .... magic.
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author in the hopes I'd review it.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
January 23, 2021
A TALL TALE -WELL TOLD
A creative saga well worth reading if you are a fan of fantasy! Adventure, romance (teenage romance), magic. A beautiful blending of fantasy and medieval duels. Read and enjoy!
A creative saga well worth reading if you are a fan of fantasy! Adventure, romance (teenage romance), magic. A beautiful blending of fantasy and medieval duels. Read and enjoy!
February 24, 2021
This is a great fantasy offering. Interesting characters set in a imaginative world this story really had a great flow. I look forward to reading more in this series.
February 11, 2021
All the Feels
I love fantasy, but I’m all about character-driven narratives, and The Lightning Knight hits both those sweet spots.
The story showcases a platonic (and beautiful) mentor/student relationship with a twist on the Chosen One trope. Oliver and Po feel like real people, and the author straight-up rips my heart out at the end, then tenderly returns it to my chest in a way that makes me think that maybe, in the past, his heart had been broken too.
Lovely story, strong writing, great characters.
I love fantasy, but I’m all about character-driven narratives, and The Lightning Knight hits both those sweet spots.
The story showcases a platonic (and beautiful) mentor/student relationship with a twist on the Chosen One trope. Oliver and Po feel like real people, and the author straight-up rips my heart out at the end, then tenderly returns it to my chest in a way that makes me think that maybe, in the past, his heart had been broken too.
Lovely story, strong writing, great characters.
January 20, 2021
I couldn’t put this novel down. I’m one who can get caught up in twists predictably getting laid out. But this story had twists that I didn’t see coming by kept honest to the story. Which is something I appreciate.
It’s world building is phenomenal. Has depth similar to a lot of the classic fantasy worlds you think about. Just as a said that, two or three came to mind. Yes, those! You really dive in like Jacques Cousteau to the depth of near drowning but you just want to keep sucking the world into your lungs.
And the character building is just as strong the Walls of Constantinople. The character arcs & journeys are as driven as Ryan Gosling, and as endearing. Their heart aches, angst, and triumphs are relatable and inspiring. And if all that doesn’t get you, the action will.
All in all, I loved this book. I got sucked into the imaginative world and didn’t want to leave. I wouldn’t be surprised, and I’ll be thrilled, if this is the start of a series because the seed have been planted and it’d be a shame to not see this world even more devolved and us to live in it even more.
I’m honestly not a binger when it comes to hard copies of novels. It’s just so hard to find the time to sit down and read chapter after chapter. But I couldn’t put this one down. If this comes out in audio form, I’m going to get those too so I can listen to it while I multitask. My wife and I generally listen to another fantasy series (name redacted) as we lay to sleep, and this is one I’d listen to over and over again as I rest.
Can’t get enough 10/10 would read in a matter of days again.
It’s world building is phenomenal. Has depth similar to a lot of the classic fantasy worlds you think about. Just as a said that, two or three came to mind. Yes, those! You really dive in like Jacques Cousteau to the depth of near drowning but you just want to keep sucking the world into your lungs.
And the character building is just as strong the Walls of Constantinople. The character arcs & journeys are as driven as Ryan Gosling, and as endearing. Their heart aches, angst, and triumphs are relatable and inspiring. And if all that doesn’t get you, the action will.
All in all, I loved this book. I got sucked into the imaginative world and didn’t want to leave. I wouldn’t be surprised, and I’ll be thrilled, if this is the start of a series because the seed have been planted and it’d be a shame to not see this world even more devolved and us to live in it even more.
I’m honestly not a binger when it comes to hard copies of novels. It’s just so hard to find the time to sit down and read chapter after chapter. But I couldn’t put this one down. If this comes out in audio form, I’m going to get those too so I can listen to it while I multitask. My wife and I generally listen to another fantasy series (name redacted) as we lay to sleep, and this is one I’d listen to over and over again as I rest.
Can’t get enough 10/10 would read in a matter of days again.
March 12, 2021
I loved it!!! I’m not a fan of fantasy, but this book was great. It grabbed me from start to finish. You have me hooked and can’t wait for the next book.
January 13, 2021
In this outstanding epic fantasy novel, the series kicker in The Knights of Nine series, Valiente seamlessly blends high fantasy into thrills of a fast-paced adventure story.
Sixteen-year-old Oliver Quartermain is ready to come back home in Starfall after his final sword fighting tournament of the summer and relax, but an ancient prophecy prompts him to learn the secrets of magic and save its very existence. With a sinister organization bent on destroying the world, Oliver must decipher the secrets of the Magical Codex or risk losing the world to dark forces.
Valiente’s prose is crisp, all his characters, including the dragons are fully fleshed-out (the interactions between humans and dragons are especially entertaining), and his insights into the fears and longings that drive his characters satisfyingly sharp.
For the most part, the narrative is told in Oliver’s voice which adds to the intrigue of the story. The worldbuilding is expensive and the battle scenes exciting, with the intricate fighting tactics seamlessly blended into the narrative.
This compelling epic fantasy with wide interpersonal and internal struggles, intensely high stakes, and nonstop twists showcases both Valiente’s versatility and creativity as a promising epic fantasy writer.
Readers will wait eagerly for the next in the series.
Sixteen-year-old Oliver Quartermain is ready to come back home in Starfall after his final sword fighting tournament of the summer and relax, but an ancient prophecy prompts him to learn the secrets of magic and save its very existence. With a sinister organization bent on destroying the world, Oliver must decipher the secrets of the Magical Codex or risk losing the world to dark forces.
Valiente’s prose is crisp, all his characters, including the dragons are fully fleshed-out (the interactions between humans and dragons are especially entertaining), and his insights into the fears and longings that drive his characters satisfyingly sharp.
For the most part, the narrative is told in Oliver’s voice which adds to the intrigue of the story. The worldbuilding is expensive and the battle scenes exciting, with the intricate fighting tactics seamlessly blended into the narrative.
This compelling epic fantasy with wide interpersonal and internal struggles, intensely high stakes, and nonstop twists showcases both Valiente’s versatility and creativity as a promising epic fantasy writer.
Readers will wait eagerly for the next in the series.
January 19, 2021
It is crazy to believe that this is Sean's first novel! The story hooked me from the start and I honestly cannot wait to read the next book when it comes out.
The character development and storyline was great. I enjoyed all of the dialogue. And unlike many books that focus on describing the landscape for many pages (which I detest), this one stuck to describing what was happening very vividly.
I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi novel or just a good and engaging book!
The character development and storyline was great. I enjoyed all of the dialogue. And unlike many books that focus on describing the landscape for many pages (which I detest), this one stuck to describing what was happening very vividly.
I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi novel or just a good and engaging book!
January 15, 2021
The Lightning Knight is just really fun. Valiente does a great job of creating characters you can see and want to spend time with, and then sets them on a grand adventure. I looked forward to each pocket of time that I found to pick it back up and continue on the journey.
The Lightning is warm and exciting, I can’t wait to read the next one. We all need a little magic.
The Lightning is warm and exciting, I can’t wait to read the next one. We all need a little magic.
September 21, 2021
Most epic fantasies that I have read have the main character as our hero. This makes perfect sense; after all, if we’re going to follow a character around for several hundred pages, we might as well follow the hero, right? But what if we weren’t following the hero? What if we were following the person meant to find and train the hero? Sean Valiente’s The Lightning Knight does just that, but in a way that was entirely unexpected.
1. Thoughts on the plot
Epic fantasies are typically done on a grand scale. This book is no exception, though the grand scale this time takes place with the number of plot points, as well as the effect on the world. Oliver Quartermain is a rich noble who has no worries in life. He is well versed in fighting and has very few worries in life. When he is tasked with finding and saving magic, focused on the boy Po, who is the key to it all, Oliver finally has something greater than himself to worry about. And he’s not entirely sure he’s prepared for it.
This book is very intricate in the number of details it goes through to move the story along. This is not at all bad. Most of this is very entertaining. Everything builds on itself, growing organically and becoming the larger story that we need. However, at around 80% of the way through the novel, the details falter a little bit. There are plot points that are left to fester, becoming holes that are not explained in favour of the larger story. Granted, these holes are really quite small, and—as far as I can tell—have no real bearing on the overall plot, but I did notice them. For a book that was so entertaining up to that point, I was a little disappointed.
2. Thoughts on the characters
At first, I didn’t like Oliver Quartermain. He was arrogant enough to be annoying, seemed to deal with affection in such a way that precluded the use of communication skills, and did not seem to have a care in the world. As it turns out, he gets much, much more entertaining. The introduction of some struggle into his life is just what this character needed to become a character with depth and intrigue, someone a reader could really root for. I really like Oliver (after about the first 7% of the book) and found him even more interesting as the story goes on. By the end, I think he was at just the right point to be absolutely fascinating.
The other characters didn’t develop nearly as much as Oliver. Though they were side-characters, and this is understandable, we did see them a lot and I was hoping that they would show some of the same depth. However, it didn’t really detract from the story for me at all, and I did like Oliver.
3. Favourite part
The ending. I think that ending was the perfect solution to the story and it was a great twist on the premise. Can’t go into details because of spoilers, but I really liked the ending.
4. Critique
The biggest critique I have is the point mentioned above in section 1, regarding those plot points that just sort of fizzled out. Without going into detail, I would say that the Professor, Ridhan and Oliver’s relationship, and Roc and Iris’s situation at the end are the main ones. They either appear out of nowhere, or are never fully explained. These are fairly minor, but significant enough to be noticed. I didn’t miss any of the overarching plot, and nothing felt as though it was a glaring hole, but they did leave questions unanswered.
Overall, I think The Lightnight Knight was an interesting twist on the hero’s journey, with Oliver training the hero instead of featuring as one. I like the premise and I found the characters very interesting. A good book.
1. Thoughts on the plot
Epic fantasies are typically done on a grand scale. This book is no exception, though the grand scale this time takes place with the number of plot points, as well as the effect on the world. Oliver Quartermain is a rich noble who has no worries in life. He is well versed in fighting and has very few worries in life. When he is tasked with finding and saving magic, focused on the boy Po, who is the key to it all, Oliver finally has something greater than himself to worry about. And he’s not entirely sure he’s prepared for it.
This book is very intricate in the number of details it goes through to move the story along. This is not at all bad. Most of this is very entertaining. Everything builds on itself, growing organically and becoming the larger story that we need. However, at around 80% of the way through the novel, the details falter a little bit. There are plot points that are left to fester, becoming holes that are not explained in favour of the larger story. Granted, these holes are really quite small, and—as far as I can tell—have no real bearing on the overall plot, but I did notice them. For a book that was so entertaining up to that point, I was a little disappointed.
2. Thoughts on the characters
At first, I didn’t like Oliver Quartermain. He was arrogant enough to be annoying, seemed to deal with affection in such a way that precluded the use of communication skills, and did not seem to have a care in the world. As it turns out, he gets much, much more entertaining. The introduction of some struggle into his life is just what this character needed to become a character with depth and intrigue, someone a reader could really root for. I really like Oliver (after about the first 7% of the book) and found him even more interesting as the story goes on. By the end, I think he was at just the right point to be absolutely fascinating.
The other characters didn’t develop nearly as much as Oliver. Though they were side-characters, and this is understandable, we did see them a lot and I was hoping that they would show some of the same depth. However, it didn’t really detract from the story for me at all, and I did like Oliver.
3. Favourite part
The ending. I think that ending was the perfect solution to the story and it was a great twist on the premise. Can’t go into details because of spoilers, but I really liked the ending.
4. Critique
The biggest critique I have is the point mentioned above in section 1, regarding those plot points that just sort of fizzled out. Without going into detail, I would say that the Professor, Ridhan and Oliver’s relationship, and Roc and Iris’s situation at the end are the main ones. They either appear out of nowhere, or are never fully explained. These are fairly minor, but significant enough to be noticed. I didn’t miss any of the overarching plot, and nothing felt as though it was a glaring hole, but they did leave questions unanswered.
Overall, I think The Lightnight Knight was an interesting twist on the hero’s journey, with Oliver training the hero instead of featuring as one. I like the premise and I found the characters very interesting. A good book.
January 10, 2021
Valiente introduces an action-packed, richly entertaining adventure full of reluctant heroes, sinister villains, and intimidating dragons in this opening installment in The Knights of Nine series.
Coming from a wealthy family, 16-year-old Oliver Quartermain has no care in the world. Accompanied by his friends Roc and Yokel, he spends his time touring the land to compete in sword fighting tournaments. Preparing to return to his hometown after his last tournament, Oilver suddenly finds himself becoming the bearer of an ancient prophecy and is assigned with the gruesome task of finding the long-lost magic and protect it.
Valiente is skilled at characterization: he adeptly puts his characters through significant emotional and physical pains. There are nobles: Oliver, Ridhan who have it all, and then there are characters from unprivileged background such as Po who are forced to struggle against class disparity as well as the system stacked against them. However, despite their background all the characters, major or small have their own individual struggles, trauma, and personal tragedies. Oliver, with his sense of fairness and empathy makes for a memorable protagonist. Iris, Po, Roc, Yokel are equally convincing.
Oliver’s underlying chemistry with Iris seems genuine and his bond with Kiara provides romantic conflict in the story. Valiente relies on some of the popular elements of epic fantasy—unwilling heroes, enigmatic vigilantes working behind the scene to bring out revolution, a clear line that separates good from evil, significant personal tragedies, exceptionally high stakes leaving readers to decide whether to fear that the dark forces will crush the protagonists or hope that the heroes will eventually overcome the difficulties—but the way he infuses all these elements into the narrative structure is done with great skill.
Weaving various plot threads, he brings mini storylines together, tying them neatly into a single plot. Through his characters’ backstories, he skillfully imbues the plot with themes of class discrimination, grief, trauma, family and friendship bonds, and identity issues.
The story is dense with details and backstory, but moves at a lightening pace. Without losing momentum, Valiente skillfully crafts the sequence of events leading up to the satisfying cliffhanger.
With its high narrative tension and an array of memorable characters, conflicting motives, and familiar fantasy arcs, the novel offers a promising start to a distinctive fantasy series.
This fantastic tale should easily find a home with fans of epic fantasy.
Coming from a wealthy family, 16-year-old Oliver Quartermain has no care in the world. Accompanied by his friends Roc and Yokel, he spends his time touring the land to compete in sword fighting tournaments. Preparing to return to his hometown after his last tournament, Oilver suddenly finds himself becoming the bearer of an ancient prophecy and is assigned with the gruesome task of finding the long-lost magic and protect it.
Valiente is skilled at characterization: he adeptly puts his characters through significant emotional and physical pains. There are nobles: Oliver, Ridhan who have it all, and then there are characters from unprivileged background such as Po who are forced to struggle against class disparity as well as the system stacked against them. However, despite their background all the characters, major or small have their own individual struggles, trauma, and personal tragedies. Oliver, with his sense of fairness and empathy makes for a memorable protagonist. Iris, Po, Roc, Yokel are equally convincing.
Oliver’s underlying chemistry with Iris seems genuine and his bond with Kiara provides romantic conflict in the story. Valiente relies on some of the popular elements of epic fantasy—unwilling heroes, enigmatic vigilantes working behind the scene to bring out revolution, a clear line that separates good from evil, significant personal tragedies, exceptionally high stakes leaving readers to decide whether to fear that the dark forces will crush the protagonists or hope that the heroes will eventually overcome the difficulties—but the way he infuses all these elements into the narrative structure is done with great skill.
Weaving various plot threads, he brings mini storylines together, tying them neatly into a single plot. Through his characters’ backstories, he skillfully imbues the plot with themes of class discrimination, grief, trauma, family and friendship bonds, and identity issues.
The story is dense with details and backstory, but moves at a lightening pace. Without losing momentum, Valiente skillfully crafts the sequence of events leading up to the satisfying cliffhanger.
With its high narrative tension and an array of memorable characters, conflicting motives, and familiar fantasy arcs, the novel offers a promising start to a distinctive fantasy series.
This fantastic tale should easily find a home with fans of epic fantasy.
January 14, 2023
This one is LONG, and I have many thoughts; this is going to be a complex review.
I didn’t *not* enjoy many parts of it. BUT, there were tons of aspects that drove me nuts (particularly in the second half). This is a super fun and fast paced concept; the delivery is a challenge. There is very little flow between scenes/conflicts and everything happens very abruptly. It’s a lot of telling vs *showing*. Oliver would say, “I was depressed”. That depression would be described for 1.5 pages and then…next topic. New problem. Moving on. The love triangle (pentagon?) was super icky. I had a strong feeling about one of the romantic conflicts and it ended up being the case, but it was still far too many girls. Oliver handled it *horrifically* and I found myself wanting him to be left with NONE of his “options” because he was awful to them all.
As with the love interests, there was also an insane number of antagonists and conflicts. It legitimately changed every 12-15 pages. It was Ridhan, then the Queen, oh wait no! The Spider’s Web are the enemy. And now The Fool. Oh. And now Sekou. Ridhan again! Plus every competition opponent and others that I’m sure I’m forgetting. I enjoy a good fast pace- but this was taking it too far. I’m intelligent. I’m a quick learner; I couldn’t keep up. Around the halfway point the text mentioned events from the start of the book being “months ago”. The timeline was choppy and there was SO much crammed in. Page 220 should’ve been the end of “Book One”. I was pretty engaged until 220 but then finishing the second half was a struggle. It took far too many sittings for what had begun as a fast pace and good story.
I think, ultimately, this almost 500 page book should’ve been split into at *least* two novels in a series. It was a fun concept, and I enjoyed lots of the modern teenage dialect interwoven into the fantasy aspects, but it felt as if the author took 9-10 different SERIES ideas and threw them all into one “Book One”. It was almost as if I could *sense* how much fun the author had creating and writing…it felt like he wanted EVERYTHING in this book. But no one reeled him in and helped him settle on a clear focus and development of ONE relationship and ONE conflict to get these books rolling. It was a bunch of good ideas; but a BUNCH very quickly crammed in, to the point that it weakened each aspect.
I was very excited about this book and am grateful to Red Clover Digital for the chance to read it. I’m ultimately leaving with definite curiosity for how it all turns out for Oliver, but I don’t know if I could tolerate another 500 pages similarly written.
I didn’t *not* enjoy many parts of it. BUT, there were tons of aspects that drove me nuts (particularly in the second half). This is a super fun and fast paced concept; the delivery is a challenge. There is very little flow between scenes/conflicts and everything happens very abruptly. It’s a lot of telling vs *showing*. Oliver would say, “I was depressed”. That depression would be described for 1.5 pages and then…next topic. New problem. Moving on. The love triangle (pentagon?) was super icky. I had a strong feeling about one of the romantic conflicts and it ended up being the case, but it was still far too many girls. Oliver handled it *horrifically* and I found myself wanting him to be left with NONE of his “options” because he was awful to them all.
As with the love interests, there was also an insane number of antagonists and conflicts. It legitimately changed every 12-15 pages. It was Ridhan, then the Queen, oh wait no! The Spider’s Web are the enemy. And now The Fool. Oh. And now Sekou. Ridhan again! Plus every competition opponent and others that I’m sure I’m forgetting. I enjoy a good fast pace- but this was taking it too far. I’m intelligent. I’m a quick learner; I couldn’t keep up. Around the halfway point the text mentioned events from the start of the book being “months ago”. The timeline was choppy and there was SO much crammed in. Page 220 should’ve been the end of “Book One”. I was pretty engaged until 220 but then finishing the second half was a struggle. It took far too many sittings for what had begun as a fast pace and good story.
I think, ultimately, this almost 500 page book should’ve been split into at *least* two novels in a series. It was a fun concept, and I enjoyed lots of the modern teenage dialect interwoven into the fantasy aspects, but it felt as if the author took 9-10 different SERIES ideas and threw them all into one “Book One”. It was almost as if I could *sense* how much fun the author had creating and writing…it felt like he wanted EVERYTHING in this book. But no one reeled him in and helped him settle on a clear focus and development of ONE relationship and ONE conflict to get these books rolling. It was a bunch of good ideas; but a BUNCH very quickly crammed in, to the point that it weakened each aspect.
I was very excited about this book and am grateful to Red Clover Digital for the chance to read it. I’m ultimately leaving with definite curiosity for how it all turns out for Oliver, but I don’t know if I could tolerate another 500 pages similarly written.
July 17, 2021
A young adult fantasy book set in a medieval world where magic is just a children’s tale. Oliver is a young man training to be a knight, only to have a pile of quests piled upon him. Such as... protecting a possible chosen one, finding magic again, you know, easy stuff!
While I loved the premise of this book, there was something in it that just didn't click for me. Heck, it might just be a question of "it's not you, it's me" with this one, since it's gotten so much love. But there are a few things that threw me off.
Oliver was just a little to... what's the male equivalent of a Mary Sue? He was too perfect, so much so that his flaws barely felt like flaws. Just the best at everything, super rich, secretly doing things that felt too improbable. It made him incredibly hard to relate to.
I loved everything about the Po plotline and the whole chosen one/not chosen one trope being flipped on its head. It was a very smart move on the part of the author, but Oliver still got a lot of chosen one predictability.
Stylistically, there were things that threw me off. For example, there is a scene where they get on a train, then get off it at the beginning of the next chapter. They mention an event happening that they would be telling stories about for a long time... why don't we get to hear that story? If it was important enough for them to mention in the next few chapters, and refer back to the event, why can't we know about it?
The story also switches from first person to third person POV halfway through and I'm not sure why. It may have been a stylistic choice but it threw me off.
All in all, I feel like the premise was compelling, but the book wasn't for me.
While I loved the premise of this book, there was something in it that just didn't click for me. Heck, it might just be a question of "it's not you, it's me" with this one, since it's gotten so much love. But there are a few things that threw me off.
Oliver was just a little to... what's the male equivalent of a Mary Sue? He was too perfect, so much so that his flaws barely felt like flaws. Just the best at everything, super rich, secretly doing things that felt too improbable. It made him incredibly hard to relate to.
I loved everything about the Po plotline and the whole chosen one/not chosen one trope being flipped on its head. It was a very smart move on the part of the author, but Oliver still got a lot of chosen one predictability.
Stylistically, there were things that threw me off. For example, there is a scene where they get on a train, then get off it at the beginning of the next chapter. They mention an event happening that they would be telling stories about for a long time... why don't we get to hear that story? If it was important enough for them to mention in the next few chapters, and refer back to the event, why can't we know about it?
The story also switches from first person to third person POV halfway through and I'm not sure why. It may have been a stylistic choice but it threw me off.
All in all, I feel like the premise was compelling, but the book wasn't for me.
August 15, 2025
The Lightning Knight sweeps you into a richly imagined world where magic, friendship, and destiny collide in the most unexpected ways. Oliver and Po’s journey is both heartfelt and thrilling, with twists that keep you turning pages late into the night. Sean P Valiente blends humor, action, and emotion seamlessly, making you root for this unlikely band of heroes from start to finish.
If you love epic fantasy with a fresh voice and a dash of charm, this is a must-read. Can’t wait to see what comes next in this world!
If you love epic fantasy with a fresh voice and a dash of charm, this is a must-read. Can’t wait to see what comes next in this world!
May 22, 2021
What a wonderful read from a new author! The Lightning Knight is fast-paced, keeps you guessing, and feels like such an homage to fantasy and fandoms. There are plenty of subtle pop-culture allusions that add to the fun.
Can't wait for the next installment!
Can't wait for the next installment!
April 8, 2021
It's a decent read, but I am not a huge fan of the first person perspective and a little more world building would be welcome.
March 9, 2021
If you're a fan of young adult fantasy stories, then this should be next on your list. Valiente's debut novel brings escape and intrigue in the familiar form of fantasies we all know and love. Even though it is familiar, he still manages to surprise the reader with a few fun twists. The characters have great chemistry and depth. I can't wait for the next book!
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