World Serpent Arcanist

Frith Chronicles #5

by Shami Stovall

Death. Destiny. The rise of god-arcanists.
Volke Savan has reunited with the Frith Guild just in time to help fight the Second Ascension, a group of power-hungry dastards bent on controlling the newly created god creatures. The world serpent is the first on their list, and if the Second Ascension manages to harness its power, the world will forever be changed for the worse.
But the Frith Guild has another plan. They intend to beat the Second Ascension to the world serpent and have it bond with someone trustworthy-a mysterious man who Guildmaster Eventide believes will usher the world into an era of peace. As Volke struggles to improve his magic, and also become a mentor for a new knightmare arcanist, he realizes that this may be one adventure the guild never makes it back from...
Continue the Frith Chronicles with the fifth book, World Serpent Arcanist !
Praise for the Frith Chronicles!
"Perfect for those who enjoy the Codex Alera series, the Homas Wildus series and the Harry Potter series. Stovall is quickly becoming a name I look for." - Seattle Book Review (for Knightmare Arcanist , Book I)
" Dread Pirate Arcanist is a brilliant novel from start to finish." - Coffee Pot Book Club (for Dread Pirate Arcanist , Book II)
"Marvelously entertaining!" - The Prairies Book Review (for Coliseum Arcanist , Book III)
"It is [the] seamless inclusion of lore, world-building, and character back story that marks Shami Stovall's writing, and what keeps her books head and shoulders above others in her genre." - ManyBooks Review (for Plague Arcanist , Book IV)

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult, Fiction, Adventure, Romance

614 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2020

About the author

Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level, and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators.

If you want to contact her, you can do so at the following locations:

Website: https://sastovallauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GameOverStation/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAStovall/
Email: s.adelle.s@gmail.com

Reviews

[Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Volke is reunited with his friends with the Frith Guild, the Second Ascension are seeking to bond with god creatures. The Frith Guild is determined to locate the person meant to bond with the World Serpent and beat the Second Ascension to it. Meanwhile Volke is training himself, an apprentice arcanist, and preparing for the possibility that the next battle may be his last.

The World Serpent Arcanist was a good book. I was hoping for another book like Plague Arcanist that was truly intense and dropped many of the young adult elements the series has gripped tightly to. Unfortunately that's not the case as young adult romance drama takes up a good bit of time...that and traveling.

Regarding romance; the romance in the book is definitely one of its major drawbacks. The first few books were normal enough for young adult where Volke liked Atty, Illia liked Volke, Zaxis liked Illia, and no one knew who Atty liked. This was all perfectly normal. Now Zaxis and Illia are a couple and things keep getting stranger outside of them. Volke is basically catnip and practically every young woman is a cat. I'd call it a James Bond situation, but Volke is basically helpless and doesn't know what to do. These young women skip past appreciation for Volke's help and nature and go straight to love. From my vantage only one character's affection seems real enough to make it past the honeymoon phase. All the unreal romance makes me cringe and roll my eyes at times.

This book was far more introspective as Volke is concerned with what's most important to him. He's always willing to lay his life on the line for what's right. He sacrifices what could be the easy and happy path in order to protect others.

I felt this book was a bit more crowded and no one character got enough page time. With Volke being reunited with the Frith Guild and the crew of the Sun Chaser being around nearly everyone fell to the wayside. Evianna may have been the next most prominently featured character. Master Zelfree came up often, but Volke's initial team and the Sun Chaser crew felt largely like after thoughts.

The World Serpent Arcanist was interesting and I'm hoping the series gets even better moving forward.

Major spoiler alert:
So the ending... I hated it. It may play out well in the future, but killing Luthair gutted me and I'm not sure my interest returns. Making Volke a God Arcanist with the World Serpent directly afterwards left a bad taste in my mouth. Overall I've enjoyed the series, but this level of power scaling bothers me. I would have rather scene Volke play a major support role in the age of God Arcanists. I hope it all feels worthwhile and I can enjoy the series going forward, but I'm not sure I will.

3.5 out of 5 stars

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volke y sus compañeros, junto al Frith Guild salen a la búsqueda de la Serpiente del Mundo, la primera de las criaturas místicas, antes de que lo hagan los secuaces de la Segunda Ascensión, un grupo de poderosos arcanistas liderados por el Autarca. Para ello cuentan con un joven predestinado a vincularse con este eldrin, la Serpiente del Mundo, lo que daría lugar a un dios-arcanista, capaz de cambiar la situación en el mundo.

Magnífica continuación de la saga, con un Volke luchando por acostumbrarse a su nueva situación como arcanista, además de lidiar con una aprendiz. Hay algo de romance y situaciones graciosas que hacen avanzar muy bien la trama, una trama que se vuelve épica, con un gran giro final.

[Jay B · Rating 2 out of 5]

this books just hammers how much the other apprentices that Volke joined up with suck. still self centered and useless. they’re dealing with possible world ending events and yet Atty is still hung up over the bullshit her mom expects of her, Zaxis only cares about looking good while being a prick, Illia continues to be a judgmental ass , and Hexa continues to be a nonentity. maybe it would matter more if the characters were more involved in the story but it’s like they only pop up to be hurdles and that’s their sole purpose.

Fain, Adelgis, and the merc crew are way more likable and helpful. They actually feel like a cohesive unit doing things while the Firth “apprentices” are all running as fast as they can in opposite directions. Especially feel bad for Karna just left on the sidelines.

lost count of the many times the word “dastard” was used and how many times Volke rubbed the back of his neck.

the Ryker reveal wasn’t much of one. kept harping how he was shocked the guy was just as big as Volke and then the whole him searching for his parents things. big flags and one of the few tropes the author hadn’t used yet. ending was apparent because there wasn’t any further they could go with Luthair so the only other way to power Volke up further was to make him god tier. felt very rushed and sloppily done in the end.

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

Original review removed

Not sure by who, but this is the 4th or 5th time one of my reviews has been deleted. It only happens to negative reviews, and decidedly is targeted against conservative reviewers.

They won't delete the same review twice though, and they never touch reviews that have "likes" or other people commenting on them.

No idea if it's some rogue employee or if it an automated thing. Seems to be very hit and run, kinda shady. In this case they deleted my reviews on books one though 5 of this series, kept the 2 five star review ratings, but deleted the 3 one star ratings--that doesn't seem like an automated system to me since they were keeping only the positive ratings.

[Shakib · Rating 4 out of 5]

good story GREAT ending

World Serpent Arcanist dives into darker, more dangerous territory—and takes a bold turn in the end. And that ending? Absolutely epic. I loved it.

But I do think the brilliant Shami Stovall missed a beat here. Volke doesn’t get nearly enough time with the rest of the cast. While I really enjoyed the bonding with the new Knightmare Arcanist, I missed the group dynamics—especially the camaraderie from the flying ship crew. Shami’s strength lies in those rich, emotional character interactions, and this book felt a little lean in that department. Or at least that’s how it landed for me.

Overall, this entry didn’t quite hit the highs of the earlier ones. But hey—it’s still a Shami Stovall book, with a signature thunderclap of an ending. Totally worth the ride.

As always, on to the next adventure!

[Tobias Granberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The frith Chronicles books tend to follow a similar and frustrating pattern. The starting 60-70% of a book is mainly teenage angst (somewhat understandable, it is YA after all) which often times bores me to tears. But the ending part tend to be quite tense and exciting, culminating in a "eureka moment" / Angerdriven temporary powerspike for the main protagonist(s) which then gets mostly retracted in the next book.

The powerscaling / powerbalance in this fantasy universe is wildly inconsistent. Like most "nitty gritty" magic systems it would benefit from applying "brandon sanderson's laws of magic" and not shifting the protagonists aptitude levels all over the place to fabricate tension.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picking up right after the breath-taking conclusion of the previous book, our heroes continue their furious race to reach the World Serpent before the villains.

This entry has some great development for our main character Volke, as he grows into his new powers and position in the Frith Guild. It's great to see his confidence rise to match his abilities.

We also get some seriously exciting fights and some huge twists that left me stunned. If you've made it this far in the series then you'll love this one.

[baisik · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars.

I cried in my car on the way to work... Great book.

[Garrett Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

A wonderful addition to this awesome series! Had really nice pacing and a very good ending. The character development is also very well done.

[Book Goblin, Page Devourer · Rating 2 out of 5]

After I mulled over the ending I'm here to say....
THIS IS BULLSHIT.
About Luthair:
Luthair gaining his true form in the last book and giving Volke a whole spectrum of new powers was great! But the whole book ending was... just bad writing. You can't just build a bond like the one Volke had with Luthair only to have one killed off like that as a plot device. And then five seconds later Volke bonds with the god creature? No matter how much you lampshade this it's still bullshit and Luthair deserved better.
About Volke's bio family:
Ryker's role was, once again, a plot device. The fact that he's Volke's brother could be seen from miles afar, and while it's nice to see Volke finding his biological family it's also a bit useless. Found families are one of my favorite tropes and no matter how underdeveloped the side characters are, it's clear that they've become Volke's family. Two people share blood doesn't mean anything.
The romance part:

U G H DON'T GET ME STARTED.

The Evianna bit? Just weird. Weird and cringy. Volke has known Evianna since she was like 12, and now he's thinking of her as a potential lover? It was fun while it was played for laughs in the beginning of the book but... what the hell? (Although I must admit that the romance has always been kinda cringe, especially with Ilia HIS SISTER wanting to get some of that)
Karna: What the hell was that about? Why was Karna ruined like that? She's hinted to be old as balls but then goes and reacts like a 12 year old to cause a scene? Karna babe you desrve better.
Atty: While I could see why she withdrew, everything after she showed Volke her healing flame was entirely out of character.

Continuity mistakes:
Volke being surprised to learn about why Atty wants to get Titania gain her true form had me baffled, becuase I knew why, which meant it had been mentioned in the books. So I went to check:

Book 1:

“Or phoenixes resurrecting the dead,” Atty added in a whisper.
Adelgis and I laughed. But we both stopped when we realized
Atty had been serious.
“Is that what you want to do?” I asked.
Again, Atty’s face reddened. Her gaze drilled a hole in her lap as
she said, “My mother has told me that since I was young. Phoenixes
resurrect the dead, sweetie. You need to become powerful.” Atty
stared at my blankets. “One summer, my grandparents died in a
terrible boating accident out at sea. And then the next year, my
mother’s brother, my uncle, died of illness. Then my younger sister…
she…”
“Perhaps we should move on,” Luthair said from the corner,
startling everyone, myself included.
Atty nodded. “Yeah. I always hated talking about that with my
mother.” She sighed. “I had to be perfect, or else I didn’t have thepure soul needed to see a phoenix’s true form, so she would yell a
lot.” Then she forced a smile. “Let’s talk about something else.”
Her mother had forced her to be perfect? No wonder she acted
the way she did. I bet that had been an unbelievable amount of
pressure. No one was perfect. William had told me that time and
time again.

The writing:
It was building up to the climax and then it just felt rushed.
Chandra was killed off too quickly.
Hexa: still remains underdeveloped.
Zaxis: Love to see him grow, love his relationship with Volke. I still think he'd be a better love interest for him than any of his harem.
Ilia: Non-existent since book 4
Atty: see above
Adelgis: He's just an exposition and god narrator device now. Which is a pity.
There was the overuse of the word 'dastard' (wtf did you discover a new word, Volke?)

All in all... just disappointed...

[fane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished it in one day. Been waiting for the book.
First, I am so glad that we don't have a love triangle between Volke, Illia, and Zaxis (there was a hint in previous books but at least things are more clear in this book). I also find the interaction between Adelgis and Fein very cute and hope we get to see more. The only part that I do not like is how fast things are moving(it's just my personal preference). We are 5 books in and Volke already is a few of the strongest people in the world. I usually don't like books where the main character saves the world, but this book is one of the exceptions. We got the character we love, a good story, and an interesting world of magic. I cannot wait for the next book.

[Philipp Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining! Unique world build

I stumbled unto these books in a whim. Very well written. Story progresses very well. Good character development. I like the novel mechanics on how character abilities come to be. Also the way the world is built. Now I have to wait for the next book...

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very consistent with last two books. Onward to book 6.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

actual rating : 3.5

I kept thinking, what if Ryker, the person they were protecting and hoping to bond with the world serpent, turned out to be the villain? Then I was thinking, what if Volke's mother turned out to be the villain? We still do not know the identity of the Autarch. I'm glad that it hasn't gone in a predictable route.

But it was kind of obvious Ryker wasn't going to be the person who would bond with the world serpent. Volke's duty was to protect Ryker and keep him safe so he'd be able to bond with the
world serpent. However, Master Zelfree was keeping an eye on Volke who was watching Ryker and it made me think that is suspicious . I didn't like how Volke decided to be with Evianna (it's true Atty and Volke were having a break, but it just felt out of the blue). And oh god, Luthair. My heart...they've been through so much and it's just going to be weird without him.

[Erik Sapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story in this book is amazing. For the most part, it kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. The twist at the end surprised me; I did not see it coming.

The reason this book lost a star is Volke's love life. I really hope Ms. Stovall is going somewhere with it. As it is, it does not seem to serve a purpose.

[Fayth · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

the book was amazing the wait for it to come out was definitely worth the experience of the read and i can’t wait to see what volke and the guild does in the next book

[Anoop Chandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic...

A great book and one of the most thrilling books in the series. A bit sad about the departure of the wise and noble friend....cant wait for the next book.

[Andrey Lukyanenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I liked this book, even there were some things which I didn't like.
At the end of the fourth book when Volke became true arcanist, I was very excited and liked how it was executed. But at the same time it was obvious that Volke became too strong - he was easily able to kill his enemies, even though he was injured. In the Theasin's book it was written that True Arcanists become very strong, so I hoped that thanks to this Volke will be able to go toe to toe with enemy god arcanists in the future books.
It turned out that Volke simply got nerfed - no eclipse aura, no extremely dangerous solid shadows and so on. I understand that this was necessary - otherwise almost no characters would be comparable to him. Still a bit sad because of it.
One additional thing, which left me confused in the previous books - I'm not sure how big are arcanist guilds. At first I thought that such a famous guild had lots of members, but it turns out there are only 6 master arcanists (if I'm not wrong) not counting new additions in this book. It seems to me that the number of quite low.

Some thoughts:
* Side character development. This is a general problem for many series - when there are lots of characters it is very difficult to pay attention to all of them. One problem is that we had "time skip" (when Volke left the guild) and several characters, especially Zaxis, changed and it wasn't explored deep enough. And still I think the author was able to handle this quite well. There were several interactions will all main cast and with additional characters, so we saw how people are changing.
* Harem - this was a tough part of a book for me. In the previous book Karna didn't show such interest in Volke, I didn't expect her to want get him for herself. A crush from Evianna should have been expected - Volke is the only person left from her previous life and she was traumatized, so she tried to cling to him. But I expected Volke to stop her, not to do nothing. Though his attempts to get advices from other characters were hillarious :) About Ilia - I don't think he confessed love in the previous book, it was more like brotherly love. As for Atty - their relationship developed well, and the meeting with her mother was quite tough for both of them. I'm interested in seeing how will Atty progress - will she be shackled by her family, or will she be able to find her own path.
* I think it was obvious from the beginning that there was some secret about Ryker. I wasn't sure what was the matter - maybe the prophecy was too vague, maybe there was some second prophecy, maybe there was some other reason. Also possible death of Luthair was foreshadowed - he was ready to die to save Volke from arcane plague. But I didn't really expect his death, so it was a shock for me. I really hoped that Volke will continue as True Arcanist, but now he is a chosen hero. Let's see what will happen in future. I want to see how will main cast manage to remain relevant in future. And let's be honest - bonding with World Serpent was totally in character for Volke. He was always ready to do his duties and to sacrifice everything to do what is right and to help others.
* it irked me that Devlin so easily agreed to join the guild. In chapter 17 he barely agreed to meet Eventide and was ready to leave, if he didn't like her. In chapter 19 he completely agrees to follow her. I know, that he would have to follow her for plot reasons, but I hoped to see interaction between them;
* teleportation/shadow stepping. Honestly, it is totally overpowered and allows to escape almost any dangerous situation. And it is irritating that it often simply serves as a tool to keep villains alive
* Combining two types of magic sounds really cool. I'm looking forward for more examples!
* The idea with the fake runestone was amazing! It could be even better if there was an ambush in the cabin or some deadly trap inside the fake runestone.
* Ryker was an interesting character - an amazing foil for Volke. They are similar in that they care about other people, but we can see that Ryker can't overcome his insecurities and Volke can do it (often with help from others).
* I feel that True form of Phoenix either won't be able to revive people or it will have some very bad consequences. And I think this will be an important part of the future books.
* It seems that Mother of Shapeshifters didn't really help with reaching the World Serpent? And bonding with Ryker was very unexpected.
* I wonder if god arcanists can achieve true form.
* The description of the island city was amazing!

[MIKE Watkins Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

(no spoilers)

If you enjoyed the world-building and character development of V.E. Schwab's "Shades of Magic" series...this is the series for you.


This was the perfect book to help ease my stress/fatigue from studying for Law School Finals. A 5/5 quality book (a shoo-in but nevertheless 5/5). I usually alternate between a nonfiction/fiction read but with as much Law I've been digesting lately...I kinda needed a nice easy read and this series in general has been that for me.

If I did a top 10 fiction book list (and I've read probably slightly over 200 in my short lifetime), this would for sure make my top 20 list.


Pros:

1. World Building

One major thing that makes this a 5/5 book for me is in large part the world-building. This book, unlike books before it, takes you to various towns/cities within the overarching world that the book takes place in. Each geographical location has distinct physical features, cultures, and people that make it what it is. And I feel like this book, unlike the books before it, brings out all these distinct elements. IDK about you but when i search for a fiction legal, fantasy, or sci-fi book I look for a book that takes me to another place. Very few books manage to truly do this successfully....this book was one of those few books.


2. The character development/relationship building

Man oh man... when I tell you you'll be in for a roller coaster in this book....I'm not kidding. The author did a masterful job of building and tearing down relationships/connections between various characters in the book. And what made this so good is that...how do I put this... some of the relationships between characters would have ups/downs. You see this in particular with the MC regarding his romantic interests...and let's just say that the book is anything but predictable in this regard.

Beyond the relational development in this book...it was great to see individual characters develop in terms of their skill sets. You're also able to see characters develop when it comes to personality development and character in a way you didn't really see/glean in previous books. Interestingly enough...some characters experience a devolution of sorts in that regard.

3. The fighting!!!

I personally felt like the other books lacked in this area. Either the fights would conclude too quickly...or would clearly lean one way or the other. I like how the battles/fights in this book were balanced overall. Like sure there were those fights where one character clearly had the advantage...but they were placed just right...and were balanced by a fight/battle that would proceed not long after that one that would be balanced.



I can go on and on...but yeah...this is for sure one of the best fiction books i've ever read....and it's for sure the best i've read in at least a year. The last book that made me feel this way was perhaps the first book in the famous V.E. Schwab "Shades of Magic" series.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, but same issues as the others (outside of book4) for me.

Overall the story was great, I loved the build up to the end and the battle scenes as I think that's one of the strong points of the author. Again, like the last book, more enjoyable as Zaxis is absent for most of it.

Spoilers below here.

I loved the way the fight scene at the end against the Grim Reaper went and the sacrifices that were made. The subtle twist of the sybil's omen was a good one that I didn't see coming until it was spelled out at the end, as I thought for sure Ryker was just going to die.

A few of my gripes have spoilers, so they're here. Starting with a very minor one, I do wish that we had more time with Volke and Luthair in their true form. I understand why the story went the way it went, but it still saddens me we didn't see more of it. Even seeing the eclipse aua one more time would have been cool, but that didn't happen. Built up all they hype for it in book 3 to see it used once by Volke at the end of book 4 and then never again (so far, who knows what Evianna will do).

My next gripe is the one that goes from book to book for the last several, and it's the relationship stuff. I like that that Volke and Illia seem to be back to how they are in the first couple books with they repaired familial bond, and I do like how it shows a complex relationship between Volke and Atty as she's unhealthily focusing on attaining her true form eldrin and laahing out at Volke. What I don't like is how he treats both Karna and Evianna. He keeps Karna at a distance even though she's really into him, but then seems super into Evianna now that she's 'come of age' which just gives off real creepy vibes. It was like a switch was flipped in his head from 'child' to 'romantic partner option' as soon as she came of age, which is weird af. I can tell you from personal experience that getting surprise kissed romantically from someone you consider immature and childlike is really gross and off-putting, not something that switches your mind into DTF mode if you're a normal person. Honestly hope this relationship remains platonic for the sake of the rest of the storyline actually being good. I think the plot of pining for Atty while Karna is around could be good, but not with this weird Evianna plot in the mix.

[Margaret Adelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been a big fan of this series, ranking it among my highest indie series. So I was happy to continue reviewing with the fifth book!

For the most part, it's more of the same that I enjoyed in previous books. There was the same intriguing world building and steadily building tensions. I enjoy the way the author keeps magic from being "too easy" or giving the characters instant solutions to problems. The fight scenes continue to be intriguing and easy to follow and the characters are following decent developmental arcs.

However, this book is also my current least favorite in the series, as it negated a bit of the gravitas of previous endings. Volke and Luthair achieving true form at the end of the last book felt like a giant moment. But being a true form arcanist doesn't seem to mean much in this book. Aside from a new ability or two, there's not much weight to the true form. There was never a point in which I thought "good thing he was true form, or that never would have worked." The ending itself also felt like it undid a lot of the gravitas of the 3rd and 4th books, solving a problem built up to be big rather quickly and again negating Luthair's true form. That's not to say that I didn't like the concept of what happened at the end, but they felt like things that should have happened in later books.

This is also the first book in the series that felt like it had pure filler. There are now four different female characters that have expressed romantic interest in Volke and the emphasis on it in the face of an evil syndicate trying to take over the world made it seem even more like filler than it would have normally. And it again felt like it undermined the end of the 4th book and what appeared to be Volke admitting feelings to Ilia. Admittedly, I've never been a fan of the "look at how many people wanna get with the protagonist" trope, but Luthair definitely spoke for me when he repeatedly told Volke to focus on the issue at hand.

While there are some bigger issues that I didn't encounter in the fifth books, the series as a whole is still highly enjoyable and I'm excited to see where it goes next.

[Andrew Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series has a fun plot, but the characters are pretty lacklustre, to the point where it breaks the suspension of disbelief.

The MC lives among others in a big guild... but only ever talks to, or about, the same half-dozen people. What about the other 20-100 nameless people? It's like the author found it just too hard to invent minor characters. In cases where the plot absolute demands a random minor character present, the author recycles the same minor character from earlier.

The MC spends most of his time training himself, and on the rare occasion when other people do talk to him, he "mutters" the answers at least half the time. He often stares off into space thinking, even in battle, to the point where people around him have to yell at him to snap out of it. Yet despite his stunning lack of charisma, we are told everyone thinks he's awesome, including people who haven't met him, and 4 girls are actively vying for his attentions. Despite mediocre performances in battles, general lack of intelligence and strategy, and demonstrably bad judgement, the masters trust him with important missions. It all gets a bit implausible. The author clearly struggles with portraying characters plausibly.

Also, this is the 2nd series by this author to have a character who's a whiny girl who is constantly annoying, and whose absurd emotional demands are consistently enabled by the MC. It's also the 2nd series by this author to have a teenage male MC who's exceptionally conservative about nudity. The author seemingly finds it hard to invent new character tropes and seems to be stuck reusing previous ones. The same lack of inventiveness is seen in the magical beasts in her series, which are nearly always described as instances of 'rare' species of magical beasts and yet are repeated in her other series as if they were common. Apparently thinking up new species is too hard.

[Tammy Moldovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

More dangerous and exciting adventures

I loved, loved this continuation of the YA fantasy action adventures of the apprentice arcanists of the Frith Guild as seen through the eyes of Knightmare Arcanist Volke Savan. I swear each book gets better. The whole series needs more than 5 stars. This book starts where the last book ended. Volke has been cured of the plague after Luthair, his Knightmare eldrin, achieved its true form. He has reunited with the Frith Guild to join them in fighting the Second Ascension. Now they are in a race to find the first of the God creatures, the World Serpent. As Volke journeys and helps train a new Knightmare Arcanist, fight with the Guild and protect others, he continues to exude even more of the traits of a Knightmare Arcanist - loyalty, leadership, kindness, responsibility, honor, and empathy. Just like the other books in the series, this book had a layered storyline, witty dialogue, surprising plot twists, flawed main characters, mystery, and suspense all woven together in a captivating plot. The book includes what you’d expect from this genre - fighting, dangerous situations, end of the world scenarios, paranormal creatures, loyal friends and family, complicated families, painful pasts, mystical coincidences, snark, love, secrets, and laughs. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

While this book can be read as a standalone, there are some story arcs that are woven throughout the series so to get the most out of the story, the series should be read in order.

[Michael Schwartz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Painful

Omg I don't know what the deal is with almost all of the female characters but just about all of them are just so needy omg. They are all basically emotional inept, I have to say the only two characters that I actually like are Fain and Moonbeam because I understand how they can have emotional issues. Oh and really weird how the females around the main character seem to want to claim him and and so touchy feely and it's more or less ignored by him no this is good or bad just ignored. The "princess" acts more like a teenage boy constantly trying to prove themselve.
Then the there is the constant "Iam going", "Iwas" in the beginning of every chapter that starts with the word I no space, next is the my issues with the names of people fain is the only one and nickname Moonbeam but other than that some of the words throw in are just strange like dastard. I don't know what age group this series is targeted towards but has a very strange flow to it. Oh did i say that I thought that I felt just about everyone was an emotional cripple yeah I know i did ;). Oh and things like personal space and respect, they still act like children and its book 5 I would expect them to well act like a team and not so stupid.

[Tim Lavallee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good addition to the series. Overall I like the world that has been built. The characters and the magic system is great but I have a few complaints. They are mostly pet peeves but they take me out of the story somewhat. First is there are a lot of characters and they don't get nowhere enough page time. The story could benefit with another POV. Illia is severly underused. She is a great character that has all but disappeared after the second book beyond glorified cameos. The second complaint is the meandering romantic subplot. We are five books in and it is just a mess. Instead of clarifying it the author just muddies it more with the addition of yet a fourth possible partner. I hate to read through a large story/series and the payoff is in the last pages. We came on this journey and think the readers derserve a payoff and see how the couple can overcome trials and obstacles together. This is just my thinking but after five books I wish something substantial would have happened by now.

[Garrett Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a bold ending to this book. It makes up for some of the wandering bits. Something different in this book that I didn't particularly care for was the focus on romantic relationships. It seems to be an odd fantasy/advancement trope that the main character becomes irresistible to all, even though they are painfully awkward. Ms. Stovall writes action very well, but much of the romance does not seem incredibly organic.

As I read the books in these series back-to-back, some annoyances have come up from her writing style. The biggest one being her repetition of odd words. For instance, anyone who is an enemy is a "dastard" and everyone in the book calls them that. All the time. Not just our narrator. Also, there has got to be more ways to show ones displeasure in this world than "cursing the Abyssal Hells"

Still, the story is engaging, and kept my attention. This is also the first book in the series that the big twist at the end, I did not see coming at all, and yet still fit well with the story.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook. I think that the inspiration for most aspects of these books are so clear you lose the element of surprise I'd you've seen/read what is being drawn from. And with that in mind, I am willing to admit that I was genuinely surprised with one of the twists at the end, not the main twist mind, I think that was telegraphed way back.

This is a strange book, as it feels like it should be an end, but really it's the start of the mid point leading into the final act. There are enough conclusions here that you feel satisfied that the whole point of the book is the final chapters.

Even though the ending is obvious, it has left me ready to continue the series and I know I have no concerns that there won't be any further growth for Volke.

[Bee Happy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continues an awesome series that partners people with a creative roster of mythical creatures. I enjoyed this addition and found it exciting and fun.

That being said, the characters are getting older but the teenage drama stays juvenile by comparison. I kept wanting the focus not to be on Volke’s relationships, but all the other really important stuff going on around him: the plague, the bad guys’ plans, the fact they were going to meet a god-creature, heck…even the identity of the mysterious young man he was guarding every night who was intended to bond with said god-creature.

I also have my quibbles with the ending, but I’ll save them to keep this spoiler free. I couldn’t rate this five stars because of it.

[Enzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I am really enjoying this whole series. The characters and the world are well done, expansive and I could see another series born from it easily.
So Volke is reunited with his Guild and they are now on their way to the World Serpent. He will need to train and hone his abilities and see what he has gained from Luthair's growth. Along the way Volke is now also a mentor as he is training Evianna as she is also a knighmare arcanist.
On a personal level Volke also has major issues. Atty who seemed destined to be with Volke is really featured along with her family and its surprising to say the least.
All in all a great book, looking forward to more of the series.

[Jordan Encee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit there are points in the story where it drags too long. Like some of that teen drama in the story. I understand why it has to happen, but it feels that carries a bit too much. Beyond that, this book rocks. I'm seriously impressed by how great the climax is in each book. It keeps on getting better and better. And my boy, my knight in dark armor, what a way to go out. You hardly see this happen in a series, but it hits your heart hard when it happens. It will be so different not having him around anymore—one of the best characters in this series, hands down. This marks a heavy change in the series, and I am excited to see where this war will go.