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The Continua Chronicles #1
The Seventh Cadence
An action-packed epic fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, and Michael J. Sullivan
After a supernatural and unforeseen calamity shatters the tentative alliance of the five realms, the Deseran Dominion has returned to take back their homeland and restore their oppressive regime.
As the Dominion readies their troops for invasion, the fate of the entire world rests in the hands of a fugitive scientist, a powerful pacifist, and an unseasoned prince with little to guide them but their own ideals. With the freedom of a kingdom at risk, each must find their place in a world torn asunder.
The Seventh Cadence is a sweeping high fantasy epic of war, found family, and reckoning with fate.
After a supernatural and unforeseen calamity shatters the tentative alliance of the five realms, the Deseran Dominion has returned to take back their homeland and restore their oppressive regime.
As the Dominion readies their troops for invasion, the fate of the entire world rests in the hands of a fugitive scientist, a powerful pacifist, and an unseasoned prince with little to guide them but their own ideals. With the freedom of a kingdom at risk, each must find their place in a world torn asunder.
The Seventh Cadence is a sweeping high fantasy epic of war, found family, and reckoning with fate.
689 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2021
About the author
Jim Wilbourne
3 books54 followersJim Wilbourne is a creative at heart. If he’s not writing a novel, he’s writing and recording a song, or once again trying to learn how to draw. When he’s not working on the next project, he spends his free time working on another project. He totally has a life. Jim lives in the deep south with his wife and son and doesn’t miss the snow at all.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
December 21, 2021
*I was sent this for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This story is certainly one which ticks a lot of the boxes for stuff that I like. We have dragons, big tick, drama, across the world and within small stories of the characters, another tick, and epic scope and large worlds, tick. Generally speaking this was fun and easy to get into, I think it has great scenes and moments from the big battles to the smaller conversations.
We follow three main characters: Tele - a keeper of knowledge; Navid - a seer trying to control his curse; and Gabriel - the son of the king. Each character has their own sections of the book but of course all three plot lines cross over and affect one another.
Of the three, I liked Tele’s and Gabriel’s plots best. They were the most enjoyable to me as they’re pretty complex characters and they felt like they had things to prove. Personally Navid was less interesting to me but he did have his shining moments at times.
One interesting thing in this book is the journey. We see a lot of journey in both a literal sense and also in a metaphorical sense. The characters do a lot of travelling to uncover truths and learn new knowledge and pass on news. They traverse across various cultures and terrains and I found their conversation as they went to be a good part of the plot. Gabriel in particular goes on a more personality/physical journey with his morals and goals. I think his is a stereotypical growth story, but I love this troupe and I enjoyed his development over the book. Also, did I mention DRAGONS?!
I generally had a good time with this and it seems like this author has a ton of potential and the world and story too. I would likely try future books in this world and I am pretty intrigued to see what comes next. 3.5*s.
Final constructive note:
I did have a niggle with this book, which was a pretty irritating for me (although likely this would not bother most people). I am an editor in my day job so I often spot typos/errors in books, and I have a fair tolerance for this, but this book had a super weird issue where the author appears to use the wrong spelling of a word, or a very similar word in place of the correct one. I started to note down instances of this once I’d got halfway through and seen it time and time again:
Parish/perish
Affect/effect
Phased/fazed
Manor/manner
Ceased/Seized
I know this is something that a solid re-edit of the book would pick up and fix, so it’s not a big detractor overall, and hopefully this will be fixed in future editions, but it was just such an odd and frequent thing I can’t not mention it.
This story is certainly one which ticks a lot of the boxes for stuff that I like. We have dragons, big tick, drama, across the world and within small stories of the characters, another tick, and epic scope and large worlds, tick. Generally speaking this was fun and easy to get into, I think it has great scenes and moments from the big battles to the smaller conversations.
We follow three main characters: Tele - a keeper of knowledge; Navid - a seer trying to control his curse; and Gabriel - the son of the king. Each character has their own sections of the book but of course all three plot lines cross over and affect one another.
Of the three, I liked Tele’s and Gabriel’s plots best. They were the most enjoyable to me as they’re pretty complex characters and they felt like they had things to prove. Personally Navid was less interesting to me but he did have his shining moments at times.
One interesting thing in this book is the journey. We see a lot of journey in both a literal sense and also in a metaphorical sense. The characters do a lot of travelling to uncover truths and learn new knowledge and pass on news. They traverse across various cultures and terrains and I found their conversation as they went to be a good part of the plot. Gabriel in particular goes on a more personality/physical journey with his morals and goals. I think his is a stereotypical growth story, but I love this troupe and I enjoyed his development over the book. Also, did I mention DRAGONS?!
I generally had a good time with this and it seems like this author has a ton of potential and the world and story too. I would likely try future books in this world and I am pretty intrigued to see what comes next. 3.5*s.
Final constructive note:
I did have a niggle with this book, which was a pretty irritating for me (although likely this would not bother most people). I am an editor in my day job so I often spot typos/errors in books, and I have a fair tolerance for this, but this book had a super weird issue where the author appears to use the wrong spelling of a word, or a very similar word in place of the correct one. I started to note down instances of this once I’d got halfway through and seen it time and time again:
Parish/perish
Affect/effect
Phased/fazed
Manor/manner
Ceased/Seized
I know this is something that a solid re-edit of the book would pick up and fix, so it’s not a big detractor overall, and hopefully this will be fixed in future editions, but it was just such an odd and frequent thing I can’t not mention it.
September 30, 2022
There are a lot of things that I really enjoyed about this book. The different cultures, POVs, creatures, and the magic wove together to create an interesting world, history, and the adventure that we followed in this book. Wilbourne’s take on dragons was really refreshing and fun to follow. I liked Navid’s POV especially because of his character growth throughout the book thanks to his interactions with the world at large and a couple of characters specifically. One of my favorite parts of this book is how important the connection between nature and its laws and the magic system is. The detail there is really nice without being boring. I also like the focus on knowledge in general and think that Wilbourne did an excellent job of having characters act in accordance with their upbringing, whether that was in the way they view the world or how awkwardly they sometimes interact with other people.
I do have a couple of things though that didn’t work so well for me. Two of them in particular, with one of them taking up more page space than the other. The smaller one is convenience. There was a particular item, that while really cool, is rather convenient in many situations. I did like that there was at least a little bit of a limitation put on its use but overall I would’ve liked more background information on it so it’s not just a thing that turns into exactly what you happen to need in those particular situations. I’m sorry I’m so vague but I don’t want to give too much away. This one is probably me being a bit picky but I struggle with convenience items in general. The other one though is what I really struggled to find believable, which is the ability (or rather inability?) of the military. I don’t know how to describe this without spoilers but for one person to come in and rise in its ranks is alright, but for a whole group of new people to become better than the rest of the entire military with zero experience beforehand? That was a bit too much for me. The country may have been young but there was a war previously and there were career soldiers, so I don’t see how this group of new soldiers would be given such important tasks to complete with absolutely nobody of any significant experience involved. I would also expect the opponent, a militarized country, to be more capable in their setup and skills.
These are both things that may not be an issue to many readers at all and the raving reviews I have seen obviously show that. I also want to add that I am definitely invested and intrigued enough that I will be continuing with the series as well. In addition, I like Wilbourne’s writing style in general. It feels really smooth apart from a little bit more editing neededand I like that he writes in a way that lends itself to theorizing and discussing, which I both love to do.
I do have a couple of things though that didn’t work so well for me. Two of them in particular, with one of them taking up more page space than the other. The smaller one is convenience. There was a particular item, that while really cool, is rather convenient in many situations. I did like that there was at least a little bit of a limitation put on its use but overall I would’ve liked more background information on it so it’s not just a thing that turns into exactly what you happen to need in those particular situations. I’m sorry I’m so vague but I don’t want to give too much away. This one is probably me being a bit picky but I struggle with convenience items in general. The other one though is what I really struggled to find believable, which is the ability (or rather inability?) of the military. I don’t know how to describe this without spoilers but for one person to come in and rise in its ranks is alright, but for a whole group of new people to become better than the rest of the entire military with zero experience beforehand? That was a bit too much for me. The country may have been young but there was a war previously and there were career soldiers, so I don’t see how this group of new soldiers would be given such important tasks to complete with absolutely nobody of any significant experience involved. I would also expect the opponent, a militarized country, to be more capable in their setup and skills.
These are both things that may not be an issue to many readers at all and the raving reviews I have seen obviously show that. I also want to add that I am definitely invested and intrigued enough that I will be continuing with the series as well. In addition, I like Wilbourne’s writing style in general. It feels really smooth apart from a little bit more editing neededand I like that he writes in a way that lends itself to theorizing and discussing, which I both love to do.
October 11, 2021
This book is epic! The Seventh Cadence immediately grabbed my attention; it has dragons, adventure, action, intrigue, found family trope, and did I already say DRAGONS?
We follow three characters as they try to stop an invasion from happening. We have Tele - a keeper of the covenant, Navid - a seer deemed cursed by humans, and Gabriel - a warrior and a prince. These characters are well-written and their voices are distinct.
This is a slow-burn book and it perfectly suited the plot. It made me enjoy the immersive world-building more as there was no info dump happening. It's detailed and vivid that I can imagine each scene clearly. The magic system and its lore are interesting and the same as the world-building, it's gradually introduced. I can't wait to learn more about the magic system in book 2 'coz I just know, there's more to be explored.
Overall, The Seventh Cadence is an awesome debut novel by Jim Wilbourne. Fantasy readers MUST give this book a try. I'm definitely watching out for more of his works.
We follow three characters as they try to stop an invasion from happening. We have Tele - a keeper of the covenant, Navid - a seer deemed cursed by humans, and Gabriel - a warrior and a prince. These characters are well-written and their voices are distinct.
This is a slow-burn book and it perfectly suited the plot. It made me enjoy the immersive world-building more as there was no info dump happening. It's detailed and vivid that I can imagine each scene clearly. The magic system and its lore are interesting and the same as the world-building, it's gradually introduced. I can't wait to learn more about the magic system in book 2 'coz I just know, there's more to be explored.
Overall, The Seventh Cadence is an awesome debut novel by Jim Wilbourne. Fantasy readers MUST give this book a try. I'm definitely watching out for more of his works.
September 28, 2022
Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4,5 out of 5 stars)
Full review text: https://vueltaspodcast.wordpress.com/...
Interview with Jim Wilbourne: https://vueltaspodcast.wordpress.com/...
The Seventh Cadence is the initial novel in the Continua Chronicle series, by Jim Wilbourne. I'm a big fan of epic fantasy, and after seeing so high praise for Jim's book, I couldn't resist picking it and reading it to see if it could fulfill the big shoes he chose to take; and in that regard, you can be calm: Jim Wilbourne has a great talent to weave a big epic story which doesn't have to envy to Sanderson's ones.
The book follows three primary characters, which will be really well developed as we are in a slow-burn fantasy. Tele is a keeper of knowledge (a sort of scientist); Navid, a seer who is trying to fight his curse; and Gabriel, the heir to the throne of his kingdom who would like to stand as a warrior. There are a bunch of secondary characters that sometimes will take the POV, but to be fair, the most important are these three, and they will be really well developed. Tele has a different cultural background in comparison with the rest of the characters, and Jim Wilbourne does an excellent job showing this, using it as a way to show us the magic or the lore of this world, but never going too heavy into it, avoiding feeling dumpy. Personally, I think the three main characters are easy to connect with, being probably Tele the one that I got closer to in that regard, although I also loved so much Navid, as it is near to what I call a broken character.
Also, let's stop to talk a little about worldbuilding because I think it's the aspect that we must talk more about. As we are going to be in an immense world, this is probably one of the most difficult things to nail. The world is divided into different dominions, being controlled by different cultures; in a really ambitious way. There are certain helpers that allow you to recognize characters from different places, as it can be the semantics of the name, and the maps included in the book will help us to keep in mind where we are. Another original aspect of this worldbuilding is the dragons, as there is a new twist on how this beloved creature is created in this world. And throw into all of this mix the magic system which we learn about progressively.
While the plot building starts slow, it is true that you feel as all the movements become necessary to give the importance the final part will have, as what we are going to experience is that all of this slow-burning building will be rewarded with an authentic page-turner in the final part, in the same way Sanderson does. It also sets up several characters that can be used in future books, or in side stories, as can be done with Gavini, Owen, Amie, or Mara; and honestly, I would like to get more info about the Wizard Titan, but I hope all of these get fulfilled in book 2.
If you are looking for a slow-burning, epic fantasy novel, look no more, The Seventh Cadence is the perfect introduction to a fantastic world as Continua is. A solid debut by Jim Wilbourne, and a world to which I'm itching for a return.
Full review text: https://vueltaspodcast.wordpress.com/...
Interview with Jim Wilbourne: https://vueltaspodcast.wordpress.com/...
The Seventh Cadence is the initial novel in the Continua Chronicle series, by Jim Wilbourne. I'm a big fan of epic fantasy, and after seeing so high praise for Jim's book, I couldn't resist picking it and reading it to see if it could fulfill the big shoes he chose to take; and in that regard, you can be calm: Jim Wilbourne has a great talent to weave a big epic story which doesn't have to envy to Sanderson's ones.
The book follows three primary characters, which will be really well developed as we are in a slow-burn fantasy. Tele is a keeper of knowledge (a sort of scientist); Navid, a seer who is trying to fight his curse; and Gabriel, the heir to the throne of his kingdom who would like to stand as a warrior. There are a bunch of secondary characters that sometimes will take the POV, but to be fair, the most important are these three, and they will be really well developed. Tele has a different cultural background in comparison with the rest of the characters, and Jim Wilbourne does an excellent job showing this, using it as a way to show us the magic or the lore of this world, but never going too heavy into it, avoiding feeling dumpy. Personally, I think the three main characters are easy to connect with, being probably Tele the one that I got closer to in that regard, although I also loved so much Navid, as it is near to what I call a broken character.
Also, let's stop to talk a little about worldbuilding because I think it's the aspect that we must talk more about. As we are going to be in an immense world, this is probably one of the most difficult things to nail. The world is divided into different dominions, being controlled by different cultures; in a really ambitious way. There are certain helpers that allow you to recognize characters from different places, as it can be the semantics of the name, and the maps included in the book will help us to keep in mind where we are. Another original aspect of this worldbuilding is the dragons, as there is a new twist on how this beloved creature is created in this world. And throw into all of this mix the magic system which we learn about progressively.
While the plot building starts slow, it is true that you feel as all the movements become necessary to give the importance the final part will have, as what we are going to experience is that all of this slow-burning building will be rewarded with an authentic page-turner in the final part, in the same way Sanderson does. It also sets up several characters that can be used in future books, or in side stories, as can be done with Gavini, Owen, Amie, or Mara; and honestly, I would like to get more info about the Wizard Titan, but I hope all of these get fulfilled in book 2.
If you are looking for a slow-burning, epic fantasy novel, look no more, The Seventh Cadence is the perfect introduction to a fantastic world as Continua is. A solid debut by Jim Wilbourne, and a world to which I'm itching for a return.
July 16, 2022
4.5 stars rounded up
Buzzwords: slow-burn fantasy, detailed worldbuilding and magic system, multiple POV, complex characters, dragons, found family, reluctant prince, great female characters and religious conflicts.
I had been eyeing this book ever since it came out, because look at that cover!! And I am happy to report that, for me, the inside of the book lived up to the outside! I had an absolute blast. This was the type of book that constantly made me want to pick it back up once I put it down and that is a feeling I love when reading!
This book follows three primary characters. Tele, a keeper of knowledge (think: awesome female scientist); Navid - a seer trying to control his mysterious curse; and Gabriel - the heir to the throne who just wants to be a warrior. These characters all felt very distinct and I enjoyed each of their POVs. There are also a couple of other characters (including the antagonist) that we get the occasional chapter from and I think they were just as well-developed as the main three we follow, so that just goes to show how good the character work is here.
Also, I really connected to these characters from the start, which is super important for my enjoyment of a book. I think Tele was my favourite, but I really enjoyed following all of them. There’s some amazing character development in this book (for all of the characters) and I loved to see that, it felt super earned and natural to me!
Tele has a different cultural background than the other two characters and I think that the author did a really good job of showing the cultural differences through her POV. We see The Dominion through her eyes and learn about this land with her. And since she is a scientist-type of character, we get to dive deep into the magic and lore of the world along with her. Therefore, the wordbuilding never felt info-dumpy or overwhelming to me, it all clicked into place as we got further into the story.
Speaking about worldbuilding, I love the fresh take on dragons here. I am not going into detail, because part of the fun of this story was uncovering the mysteries of this world. But safe to say that they were awesome and I would love to see more of them (even though they were not the benevolent companions that you sometimes see in other dragon stories, but I loved that!).
I would say that parts (or Movements) 1 through 4 of this book felt quite slow-burn, but that is something I really enjoy. The story was compelling all the way through, but I wouldn’t describe this as a super ‘edge of your seat’ book… for the most part. Because once we get to part/Movement 5, the pace suddenly increases and the stakes are raised. We switch POVs way quicker than before and that really adds to the sense of urgency, I just couldn’t put the book down anymore at that point.
Now, this isn’t a perfect book. I had this weird experience with the writing, where I really enjoyed the prose and descriptions, but then there were some odd technical errors that kinda broke my immersion. I’m not a prose snob whatsoever, but at some point I started to notice that some sentences missed a word or that some words were just spelled wrong, which changed the meaning of the word (i.e. ‘where/were’, ‘clinched/clenched’, ‘ceased/seized’, ‘parish/perish’). Now, it’s not like the book was littered with these mistakes, but it happened enough times that I started to notice it and therefore I find it worth mentioning.
Aside from that, the book felt super polished and I really liked the addition of interior artworks and cool chapter headers!
Overall, I had a really good time with this book. I can’t wait to see where these characters go next, because I am quite invested in their stories!
Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys epic, slow-burn fantasy with detailed worldbuilding and super compelling characters.
Buzzwords: slow-burn fantasy, detailed worldbuilding and magic system, multiple POV, complex characters, dragons, found family, reluctant prince, great female characters and religious conflicts.
I had been eyeing this book ever since it came out, because look at that cover!! And I am happy to report that, for me, the inside of the book lived up to the outside! I had an absolute blast. This was the type of book that constantly made me want to pick it back up once I put it down and that is a feeling I love when reading!
This book follows three primary characters. Tele, a keeper of knowledge (think: awesome female scientist); Navid - a seer trying to control his mysterious curse; and Gabriel - the heir to the throne who just wants to be a warrior. These characters all felt very distinct and I enjoyed each of their POVs. There are also a couple of other characters (including the antagonist) that we get the occasional chapter from and I think they were just as well-developed as the main three we follow, so that just goes to show how good the character work is here.
Also, I really connected to these characters from the start, which is super important for my enjoyment of a book. I think Tele was my favourite, but I really enjoyed following all of them. There’s some amazing character development in this book (for all of the characters) and I loved to see that, it felt super earned and natural to me!
Tele has a different cultural background than the other two characters and I think that the author did a really good job of showing the cultural differences through her POV. We see The Dominion through her eyes and learn about this land with her. And since she is a scientist-type of character, we get to dive deep into the magic and lore of the world along with her. Therefore, the wordbuilding never felt info-dumpy or overwhelming to me, it all clicked into place as we got further into the story.
Speaking about worldbuilding, I love the fresh take on dragons here. I am not going into detail, because part of the fun of this story was uncovering the mysteries of this world. But safe to say that they were awesome and I would love to see more of them (even though they were not the benevolent companions that you sometimes see in other dragon stories, but I loved that!).
I would say that parts (or Movements) 1 through 4 of this book felt quite slow-burn, but that is something I really enjoy. The story was compelling all the way through, but I wouldn’t describe this as a super ‘edge of your seat’ book… for the most part. Because once we get to part/Movement 5, the pace suddenly increases and the stakes are raised. We switch POVs way quicker than before and that really adds to the sense of urgency, I just couldn’t put the book down anymore at that point.
Now, this isn’t a perfect book. I had this weird experience with the writing, where I really enjoyed the prose and descriptions, but then there were some odd technical errors that kinda broke my immersion. I’m not a prose snob whatsoever, but at some point I started to notice that some sentences missed a word or that some words were just spelled wrong, which changed the meaning of the word (i.e. ‘where/were’, ‘clinched/clenched’, ‘ceased/seized’, ‘parish/perish’). Now, it’s not like the book was littered with these mistakes, but it happened enough times that I started to notice it and therefore I find it worth mentioning.
Aside from that, the book felt super polished and I really liked the addition of interior artworks and cool chapter headers!
Overall, I had a really good time with this book. I can’t wait to see where these characters go next, because I am quite invested in their stories!
Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys epic, slow-burn fantasy with detailed worldbuilding and super compelling characters.
September 28, 2022
“It takes courage to turn away from the easiest path. It takes honor to do what’s right.” My favorite line
Although I enjoyed the world building and the battles, I prefer strong character arcs. Maps are so important in a wide world like this one. I was always looking at it to envision where the characters were. My favorite land was the Tal Tribelands. Those multi-colored glowing mushrooms just stole the scene for me!
Now there are three main characters with several important side persons.
Tele, a desert thief-scientist-healer, who must preserve her book of knowledge. Watching her use her magical knowledge of plants to heal was one of my favorite parts. Navid, a Seer, who is searching for his place and family. He also has a curse of some kind, which I want to know more about! Gabriel, the heir to the throne of Hzorah, who doesn’t want to become king but be a warrior and stay out of politics in the court. We follow their journeys and slowly the paths intersect to an exciting ending.
Now some of the side characters could possibly be important in future books like Gavini, Owen, Amie and Mara, and Gareth. Speaking of books, the Gateway Abbreviation seems to have many magical spells and information, so I’ll wonder how it will play a role in further stories.
A wonderful debut!
Although I enjoyed the world building and the battles, I prefer strong character arcs. Maps are so important in a wide world like this one. I was always looking at it to envision where the characters were. My favorite land was the Tal Tribelands. Those multi-colored glowing mushrooms just stole the scene for me!
Now there are three main characters with several important side persons.
Tele, a desert thief-scientist-healer, who must preserve her book of knowledge. Watching her use her magical knowledge of plants to heal was one of my favorite parts. Navid, a Seer, who is searching for his place and family. He also has a curse of some kind, which I want to know more about! Gabriel, the heir to the throne of Hzorah, who doesn’t want to become king but be a warrior and stay out of politics in the court. We follow their journeys and slowly the paths intersect to an exciting ending.
Now some of the side characters could possibly be important in future books like Gavini, Owen, Amie and Mara, and Gareth. Speaking of books, the Gateway Abbreviation seems to have many magical spells and information, so I’ll wonder how it will play a role in further stories.
A wonderful debut!
September 12, 2021
** My full video review can be found here: https://youtu.be/BKuqmQwJ950 **
** Thanks to the publisher, Emergent Realms, for providing an advance copy for my review **
The Seventh Cadence, by Jim Wilbourne, is the first instalment in the Continua Chronicles – an epic fantasy adventure that’s now available for you to buy and read.
We follow Tele, a young girl who may well be the last of the Keepers of the Covenant; Navid, a Seer tasked with finding Tele and bringing her back to the magical city of Caldor; and Gabriel, a prince and warrior, looking for acceptance among his people.
First things first, I really enjoyed this book. It’s 700-odd pages of good, honest fantasy with some great characters and intriguing worldbuilding.
Tele has led a sheltered life and hasn’t really seen too much outside of her family existence, so when the Thief-Takers come and rip that all away from her, she’s left on her own, fighting to survive and to guard the secrets entrusted to her people.
We explore the world through Tele’s eyes, seeing things for the first time because she is seeing them for the first time – and although this is a good technique, I felt there were times we followed a little too closely, or for too long.
I also found that some of Tele’s interactions with others were a little odd, but that could just be because of her inexperience of the wider world. Despite this though, I thought Tele was an interesting character and I enjoyed her storyline.
The magic in this book was also interesting, seeing people experience magic for the first time and trying to understand and replicate it, or create new magic of their own. The lore that went along with the world’s magic was well told and it will be interesting to see where this goes with book two and beyond.
If you like epic fantasy, with interesting character paths, magic and the occasional dragon (just look at that gorgeous cover!) then The Seventh Cadence is a book I definitely recommend you take a look at.
** Thanks to the publisher, Emergent Realms, for providing an advance copy for my review **
The Seventh Cadence, by Jim Wilbourne, is the first instalment in the Continua Chronicles – an epic fantasy adventure that’s now available for you to buy and read.
We follow Tele, a young girl who may well be the last of the Keepers of the Covenant; Navid, a Seer tasked with finding Tele and bringing her back to the magical city of Caldor; and Gabriel, a prince and warrior, looking for acceptance among his people.
First things first, I really enjoyed this book. It’s 700-odd pages of good, honest fantasy with some great characters and intriguing worldbuilding.
Tele has led a sheltered life and hasn’t really seen too much outside of her family existence, so when the Thief-Takers come and rip that all away from her, she’s left on her own, fighting to survive and to guard the secrets entrusted to her people.
We explore the world through Tele’s eyes, seeing things for the first time because she is seeing them for the first time – and although this is a good technique, I felt there were times we followed a little too closely, or for too long.
I also found that some of Tele’s interactions with others were a little odd, but that could just be because of her inexperience of the wider world. Despite this though, I thought Tele was an interesting character and I enjoyed her storyline.
The magic in this book was also interesting, seeing people experience magic for the first time and trying to understand and replicate it, or create new magic of their own. The lore that went along with the world’s magic was well told and it will be interesting to see where this goes with book two and beyond.
If you like epic fantasy, with interesting character paths, magic and the occasional dragon (just look at that gorgeous cover!) then The Seventh Cadence is a book I definitely recommend you take a look at.
October 25, 2021
Dragons, found family and heroes aplenty abound in Jim Wilbourne’s sprawling epic, The Seventh Cadence.
The Seventh Cadence is as interesting novel that introduces a new world to readers that lies somewhere between Brandon Sanderson’s epic Stormlight series, and David Eddings’ chosen one familiarity.
Tele is a Keeper, a not altogether safe occupation and one that her family and the other Keepers have hidden in order to maintain knowledge that is passed through the generations until the Wizard Titan makes his triumphant return. However, the world has split into various races and religions that see the object of their religion in different lights, ranging from near slight observation of the religious edicts to the fundamentalist zealotry of the Dominion (the bad guys of the story).
If epic fantasy is your bag, then I would definitely point you in the direction of The Seventh Cadence. It has all the things that you would expect from the genre and it builds on these admirably. I have always had a soft spot for the found family trope, and the relationships between Tele and Navid, a seer who has the potential to be dangerous and every time that he meets others during their travels, we are aware that he is classed as a dangerous weapon and is thus shunned in fear from all that he meets, plays to that soft spot
It takes quite a while to see the sheer awesomeness that Navid is capable of, as throughout most of the book spends his time shielding those around him from the power that he holds. However, this is nicely played on and he is regularly seen as weak, especially by Tele, the prickly Keeper who has spent most of her time shielded by her family. Which whilst keeping her safe, also affects her ability to interact with others around her, and a large portion of the first act of the book shows us the steadily growing relationships between her and Navid as we learn about the two characters and the main motivations that drive them.
In amongst Tele and Navid’s story is the build up of political events in the city of Caldor, and the King of the Hzorah, Jeremiah. Besides giving the reader some political and cultural insight into the world the characters inhabit, it is also an opportunity for the book to provide some background to how the world was shaped. We learn that the world is split into a number of different cultures that were once dominated by the Dominion, and their fundamentalist religion The Creed. However, through a series of wars and skirmishes the people gained their freedom and their right to self-govern themselves. However, the Dominion, with the Prophet Tristan are always in the background, ready to reassert their dominance and bring everyone back into the fold, including the religious leaders of the other lands, The prophets.
During Jeremiah’s stay in the city of Caldor, calamity strikes and a whole city is decimated resulting in the death of King Jeremiah, and subsequently leading the way for another of the main characters to be introduced, the reluctant boy king Gabriel, who whilst being a fearsome warrior, does not really see himself as the leader that his father was.
Structurally, the book alternates between the points of view of four main characters, Gabriel, Tele and Navid, Amie and her sister Mara (who we learn are related to Navid, quite early in the book) and a member of the Dominion, General Darius Gareth. With these differing points of view, Jim Wilbourne is able to give differing world views and build the different areas and people that the characters encounter.
There is a lot of world building within The Seventh Cadence, and Jim Wilbourne is able to carefully add layer by layer, different aspects of the world. At times, the intricateness of the world building can hamper the pacing of the plot as Jim Wilbourne takes his time to layer his canvas. However, if you have patience and enjoy the carefully laid strokes you are rewarded with an ambitiously entertaining introduction to The Continua Chronicles.
The Seventh Cadence is as interesting novel that introduces a new world to readers that lies somewhere between Brandon Sanderson’s epic Stormlight series, and David Eddings’ chosen one familiarity.
Tele is a Keeper, a not altogether safe occupation and one that her family and the other Keepers have hidden in order to maintain knowledge that is passed through the generations until the Wizard Titan makes his triumphant return. However, the world has split into various races and religions that see the object of their religion in different lights, ranging from near slight observation of the religious edicts to the fundamentalist zealotry of the Dominion (the bad guys of the story).
If epic fantasy is your bag, then I would definitely point you in the direction of The Seventh Cadence. It has all the things that you would expect from the genre and it builds on these admirably. I have always had a soft spot for the found family trope, and the relationships between Tele and Navid, a seer who has the potential to be dangerous and every time that he meets others during their travels, we are aware that he is classed as a dangerous weapon and is thus shunned in fear from all that he meets, plays to that soft spot
It takes quite a while to see the sheer awesomeness that Navid is capable of, as throughout most of the book spends his time shielding those around him from the power that he holds. However, this is nicely played on and he is regularly seen as weak, especially by Tele, the prickly Keeper who has spent most of her time shielded by her family. Which whilst keeping her safe, also affects her ability to interact with others around her, and a large portion of the first act of the book shows us the steadily growing relationships between her and Navid as we learn about the two characters and the main motivations that drive them.
In amongst Tele and Navid’s story is the build up of political events in the city of Caldor, and the King of the Hzorah, Jeremiah. Besides giving the reader some political and cultural insight into the world the characters inhabit, it is also an opportunity for the book to provide some background to how the world was shaped. We learn that the world is split into a number of different cultures that were once dominated by the Dominion, and their fundamentalist religion The Creed. However, through a series of wars and skirmishes the people gained their freedom and their right to self-govern themselves. However, the Dominion, with the Prophet Tristan are always in the background, ready to reassert their dominance and bring everyone back into the fold, including the religious leaders of the other lands, The prophets.
During Jeremiah’s stay in the city of Caldor, calamity strikes and a whole city is decimated resulting in the death of King Jeremiah, and subsequently leading the way for another of the main characters to be introduced, the reluctant boy king Gabriel, who whilst being a fearsome warrior, does not really see himself as the leader that his father was.
Structurally, the book alternates between the points of view of four main characters, Gabriel, Tele and Navid, Amie and her sister Mara (who we learn are related to Navid, quite early in the book) and a member of the Dominion, General Darius Gareth. With these differing points of view, Jim Wilbourne is able to give differing world views and build the different areas and people that the characters encounter.
There is a lot of world building within The Seventh Cadence, and Jim Wilbourne is able to carefully add layer by layer, different aspects of the world. At times, the intricateness of the world building can hamper the pacing of the plot as Jim Wilbourne takes his time to layer his canvas. However, if you have patience and enjoy the carefully laid strokes you are rewarded with an ambitiously entertaining introduction to The Continua Chronicles.
September 24, 2021
This is the first book in the epic fantasy, The Continua Chronicles. After a supernatural and unforeseen calamity shatters the tentative alliance of the five realms, the Deseran Dominion has returned to take back their homeland and restore their oppressive regime.
We follow Navid, a Seer, who is viewed as cursed because of his ability, on his quest to find Tele and bring her to the Prophets. Tele could be the crucial piece to protecting their kingdom from the Deseran Dominion. Probably my fav character. You get to experience his thoughts and feelings in regards to being seen as a cursed person. Tele has a strong personality and I definitely respect her for this. As far as some of her thoughts and decisions, maybe not.
We also follow Gabriel, King Jeremiah’s son, who wants to lead his people and fight for them on the battlefield. I didn’t quite vibe with his character. I wanted more out of him since he’s such a main POV. I had a hard time getting through some of his chapters and reading some of the dialogue. Most reviews I’ve seen love Gabriel so I’m in the minority here.
I enjoyed the few POV scenes of the Deseran Dominion. The General in these scenes had the personality, vigor, and depth that I want out of all of the characters.
This is mostly a slow-building plot containing some quests, military training, and ice dragons! This book doesn’t have a ton of action. I was pleased with the prologue and first half. A lot of world building and relationships formed here. I want more of this – this is a good thing and shows the potential this world has.
The middle part of the book was where I wasn’t quite as invested as I was in the beginning. There were some conveniences that helped move the plot along and things seemed to happen quickly. I wanted to see more depth from the characters here.
The ending scenes had me feeling like I did in the beginning. There are also a couple of twists that seemed to come out of nowhere – but made so much sense! Nicely done here.
Thanks to the publisher, Emergent Realms, for providing me with an ARC for my honest review.
We follow Navid, a Seer, who is viewed as cursed because of his ability, on his quest to find Tele and bring her to the Prophets. Tele could be the crucial piece to protecting their kingdom from the Deseran Dominion. Probably my fav character. You get to experience his thoughts and feelings in regards to being seen as a cursed person. Tele has a strong personality and I definitely respect her for this. As far as some of her thoughts and decisions, maybe not.
We also follow Gabriel, King Jeremiah’s son, who wants to lead his people and fight for them on the battlefield. I didn’t quite vibe with his character. I wanted more out of him since he’s such a main POV. I had a hard time getting through some of his chapters and reading some of the dialogue. Most reviews I’ve seen love Gabriel so I’m in the minority here.
I enjoyed the few POV scenes of the Deseran Dominion. The General in these scenes had the personality, vigor, and depth that I want out of all of the characters.
This is mostly a slow-building plot containing some quests, military training, and ice dragons! This book doesn’t have a ton of action. I was pleased with the prologue and first half. A lot of world building and relationships formed here. I want more of this – this is a good thing and shows the potential this world has.
The middle part of the book was where I wasn’t quite as invested as I was in the beginning. There were some conveniences that helped move the plot along and things seemed to happen quickly. I wanted to see more depth from the characters here.
The ending scenes had me feeling like I did in the beginning. There are also a couple of twists that seemed to come out of nowhere – but made so much sense! Nicely done here.
Thanks to the publisher, Emergent Realms, for providing me with an ARC for my honest review.
October 13, 2022
4/5 Stars
“You can’t play music with someone and leave without some of their soul.”
The Seventh Cadence is book one in The Continua Chronicles. A high fantasy epic with war, dragons, lore, magic, and found family. This is a slow burn with a satisfying avalanche toward the end.
The Deseran Dominion has returned to claim their homeland and restore their way of life to the heathens of Hzorah. As war stirs, three unlikely heroes must protect the kingdom and find their place in a broken world.
We follow 3 main POV’s; Tele, a scientist on the run to protect her family’s legacy. Navid, tasked with finding Tele and fulfilling his goal in life, and Gabriel, a prince determined to find his own path and protect his people. We’re also given a wide cast of side characters that received care and time into their own character work.
There was great character development and I quickly found myself invested in the characters. Their motivations, struggles, worries and choices are well explored. It was easy for me to get lost into the POV’s and even become fond of some of the side characters. While the characters travel quite a bit, there is lots happening within those scenes as the characters interactions and developments are mixed in well with the worldbuilding, action and story.
The worldbuilding felt both familiar and unique, all while smoothly built into the story. I often found myself forgetting that world building was happening as it just felt natural, for this reason. The world is large with a variety of cultures spread throughout different Dominions. I also appreciated the refreshing take on dragons with this world too.
There were also themes woven throughout The Seventh Cadence which felt philosophical in ways with an exploration of humanity. Ethics, the meaning of honour, grief and much more are touched on. While the start of this is a slow burn, everything has purpose and there is plenty to keep readers engaged.
This is the kind of book I’ll be thinking about for some time.
A strong debut and start the series from Jim Wilbourne, making him an author to watch. I’m looking forward to continuing the series with Strangers in the Promised Land.
Recommended for any fantasy readers or Brandon Sanderson fans!
“You can’t play music with someone and leave without some of their soul.”
The Seventh Cadence is book one in The Continua Chronicles. A high fantasy epic with war, dragons, lore, magic, and found family. This is a slow burn with a satisfying avalanche toward the end.
The Deseran Dominion has returned to claim their homeland and restore their way of life to the heathens of Hzorah. As war stirs, three unlikely heroes must protect the kingdom and find their place in a broken world.
We follow 3 main POV’s; Tele, a scientist on the run to protect her family’s legacy. Navid, tasked with finding Tele and fulfilling his goal in life, and Gabriel, a prince determined to find his own path and protect his people. We’re also given a wide cast of side characters that received care and time into their own character work.
There was great character development and I quickly found myself invested in the characters. Their motivations, struggles, worries and choices are well explored. It was easy for me to get lost into the POV’s and even become fond of some of the side characters. While the characters travel quite a bit, there is lots happening within those scenes as the characters interactions and developments are mixed in well with the worldbuilding, action and story.
The worldbuilding felt both familiar and unique, all while smoothly built into the story. I often found myself forgetting that world building was happening as it just felt natural, for this reason. The world is large with a variety of cultures spread throughout different Dominions. I also appreciated the refreshing take on dragons with this world too.
There were also themes woven throughout The Seventh Cadence which felt philosophical in ways with an exploration of humanity. Ethics, the meaning of honour, grief and much more are touched on. While the start of this is a slow burn, everything has purpose and there is plenty to keep readers engaged.
This is the kind of book I’ll be thinking about for some time.
A strong debut and start the series from Jim Wilbourne, making him an author to watch. I’m looking forward to continuing the series with Strangers in the Promised Land.
Recommended for any fantasy readers or Brandon Sanderson fans!
January 19, 2024
This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The Seventh Cadence
The Deseran Dominion seeks to reclaim lands lost to King Jeremiah, and reunify people under their religious doctrine to the Wizard Titan. And if they are to succeed, their fanatical ways will be forced on the people they rule over. As they launch an invasion, the fates of Gabriel, Tele, Navid, Amie, and her sister Mara will become interwoven. Each has their part to play against the Dominion from succeeding, even if they don’t realize it.
Jim Wilbourne works with multiple characters' POVs and takes time to immerse the reader in each character’s story. They have such different experiences throughout the novel, yet their stories fit together extremely well. Readers will find themselves emotionally invested in the characters as they experience tragedy and revelation. Each of them will find their views of the world constantly expanding as the story progresses.
The pacing of The Seventh Cadence was so well done. Enough time is spent with each character to really understand where they are coming from, and who they are to become. Not a single POV was left without emotionally charged scenes and self-discovery. Towards the end of the novel, their POVs gradually become more clipped and intense. This builds such an enormous amount of tension as everyone’s life and future hangs in the balance. I had to make myself slow down because of the driving need to know what was going to happen.
There is also a delightful new take on dragons and mystery surrounding magic. Magic for the most part was lost with Wizard Titan’s sudden departure. Having seen how the world was using magic, Titan chose to leave it behind instead of laying witness to his creation being used for evil. There are those who keep the histories and information called Keepers, but they are being eradicated from the world. Tele is one of the characters charged with maintaining knowledge of magic and the world’s inner workings until Wizard Titan reappears. Through Tele, readers will rediscover magic and the capabilities it could have for both good and evil. Including the emergence of dragons and the unique twist seen on them.
I highly recommend The Seventh Cadence to fans of high fantasy. There is always something to keep the reader’s attention, whether it is the inner turmoil the characters are facing or an outside threat. The world building is so artfully layered into the story, accenting the experience and fully immersing readers. I cannot wait to see what else Jim Wilbourne writes, I am fully invested in this world.
The Deseran Dominion seeks to reclaim lands lost to King Jeremiah, and reunify people under their religious doctrine to the Wizard Titan. And if they are to succeed, their fanatical ways will be forced on the people they rule over. As they launch an invasion, the fates of Gabriel, Tele, Navid, Amie, and her sister Mara will become interwoven. Each has their part to play against the Dominion from succeeding, even if they don’t realize it.
Jim Wilbourne works with multiple characters' POVs and takes time to immerse the reader in each character’s story. They have such different experiences throughout the novel, yet their stories fit together extremely well. Readers will find themselves emotionally invested in the characters as they experience tragedy and revelation. Each of them will find their views of the world constantly expanding as the story progresses.
The pacing of The Seventh Cadence was so well done. Enough time is spent with each character to really understand where they are coming from, and who they are to become. Not a single POV was left without emotionally charged scenes and self-discovery. Towards the end of the novel, their POVs gradually become more clipped and intense. This builds such an enormous amount of tension as everyone’s life and future hangs in the balance. I had to make myself slow down because of the driving need to know what was going to happen.
There is also a delightful new take on dragons and mystery surrounding magic. Magic for the most part was lost with Wizard Titan’s sudden departure. Having seen how the world was using magic, Titan chose to leave it behind instead of laying witness to his creation being used for evil. There are those who keep the histories and information called Keepers, but they are being eradicated from the world. Tele is one of the characters charged with maintaining knowledge of magic and the world’s inner workings until Wizard Titan reappears. Through Tele, readers will rediscover magic and the capabilities it could have for both good and evil. Including the emergence of dragons and the unique twist seen on them.
I highly recommend The Seventh Cadence to fans of high fantasy. There is always something to keep the reader’s attention, whether it is the inner turmoil the characters are facing or an outside threat. The world building is so artfully layered into the story, accenting the experience and fully immersing readers. I cannot wait to see what else Jim Wilbourne writes, I am fully invested in this world.
November 11, 2021
*Disclaimer: I was kindly gifted an electronic copy of this book by Emergent Realms in exchange for an honest review.
3.5
"Every action you take is a choice - even inaction. And the very first choice you must make is leadership."
The Seventh Cadence is the debut novel of Jim Wilbourne and is the first book in The Continua Chronicles series.
In this High Fantasy mixed with adventure, we are taken to Continua, a world you haven't experienced before. With detailed descriptions about the surroundings, you walk with the characters and experience the adventure and war first hand. The story is told from three POVs. Tele, a Keeper of the Covenant; Navid, a Seer and Gabriel, King Jeremiah's son.
If you love a slow-burn plotline, this story is for you. The Deseran Dominion wants to take back their homeland but Tele plays an important role in protecting the Kingdom. Navid needs to find Tele as he believes she will restore the balance. After King Jeremiah's passing, Gabriel needs to step into his father's role and lead the people.
I had a difficult time getting into the story and connecting with the characters. Perhaps because I'm not an avid reader of High Fantasy and don't prefer slow-burn plotlines. I want everything to happen at once but slow-burn plotlines have their advantages and this book taught me patience. The Kindle edition has 733 pages, perhaps if it was down to 500 pages I would have gotten into the story easier. In a detailed world such as this, it's important for the story to progress at a steady pace, and in the case with The Seventh Cadence, the author did a wonderful job with the pacing.
The world-building is phenomenal and the epic quest is intriguing. I loved the ice dragons, the journey the characters had to take and the introduction to a new world. There are wonderful detailed maps of different lands which adds to the uniqueness of the story.
I'm looking forward to the next book and would like to know what happens next. The ending caught my attention. It's not a major cliffhanger that leaves you hanging mid-air but more like a kind of cliffhanger that has you in its grip and knows you will be coming back for more.
If you enjoyed Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, this book is for you.
READ THIS IF YOU LIKE
- Found Family Trope
- High Fantasy
- Slowburn
- Detailed World-building
This review is posted on my blog:
https://willowscornerbook.wordpress.c...
3.5
"Every action you take is a choice - even inaction. And the very first choice you must make is leadership."
The Seventh Cadence is the debut novel of Jim Wilbourne and is the first book in The Continua Chronicles series.
In this High Fantasy mixed with adventure, we are taken to Continua, a world you haven't experienced before. With detailed descriptions about the surroundings, you walk with the characters and experience the adventure and war first hand. The story is told from three POVs. Tele, a Keeper of the Covenant; Navid, a Seer and Gabriel, King Jeremiah's son.
If you love a slow-burn plotline, this story is for you. The Deseran Dominion wants to take back their homeland but Tele plays an important role in protecting the Kingdom. Navid needs to find Tele as he believes she will restore the balance. After King Jeremiah's passing, Gabriel needs to step into his father's role and lead the people.
I had a difficult time getting into the story and connecting with the characters. Perhaps because I'm not an avid reader of High Fantasy and don't prefer slow-burn plotlines. I want everything to happen at once but slow-burn plotlines have their advantages and this book taught me patience. The Kindle edition has 733 pages, perhaps if it was down to 500 pages I would have gotten into the story easier. In a detailed world such as this, it's important for the story to progress at a steady pace, and in the case with The Seventh Cadence, the author did a wonderful job with the pacing.
The world-building is phenomenal and the epic quest is intriguing. I loved the ice dragons, the journey the characters had to take and the introduction to a new world. There are wonderful detailed maps of different lands which adds to the uniqueness of the story.
I'm looking forward to the next book and would like to know what happens next. The ending caught my attention. It's not a major cliffhanger that leaves you hanging mid-air but more like a kind of cliffhanger that has you in its grip and knows you will be coming back for more.
If you enjoyed Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, this book is for you.
READ THIS IF YOU LIKE
- Found Family Trope
- High Fantasy
- Slowburn
- Detailed World-building
This review is posted on my blog:
https://willowscornerbook.wordpress.c...
May 29, 2022
4.5, so close to a 5 that I rounded up. Review and stuff coming soon - so good y'all need to go read it now!
April 13, 2023
3,5* rounded up
I've been given an ARC of Seventh Cadence quite a while ago, and just finally managed to get around to it. There's quite a lot of typos in it, which I hope is due to the ARC, and edited by now.
This book is a very promising epic fantasy debut, that offers readers a lot of things! A big world, politics, two nations at war, multiple POVs, intriguing world building, different cultures, dragons, and a personal favourite of mine: scholars!
If you like the classic feel of some good old tropes, but also with a few nice new ideas, this is definitely up your alley!
I'd definitely recommend it if you like authors like Ryan Cahill or Michael Miller.
It's a big book, and at times it definitely could have been trimmed down a bit, when there were 10 words where one would have sufficed. Especially if it is repetitive descriptions, or being told things yet again. Here's a minor example:
Wilbourne uses the good old "let me explain this to you" from one character to another, which obviously is in fact meant to explain things to the reader. Mostly it's done smoothly enough, but at times I thought "Yes, yes, I got it, can we move on?".
Despite this, and the slow burn pace, I was happily reading along, always intrigued about what would happen, and where we'd go exploring next! I was easily hooked by the mysteries, the characters and found the magic fascinating.
The characters took a bit too really show their depth, but I liked most of them from the start.
I adored Tele, as she's a keeper, and as I said earlier, I love bookish characters who are all about studying. Learning along with them is definitely a favourite trope of mine! And a female scholar who also knows how to fight? Even better! She's also socially awkward, which made it even easier for me to connect to her.
Navid I really enjoyed for being quite naive in a way, and not the typical fighter you get in epic fantasy so often. He learns how to fight, but he'd rather avoid it. I liked seeing him grow and stretch throughout the book.
Gabriel is a bit too much the typical prince. Here's a direct quote about him:
Now some of the character actions just felt weird, or just very... convenient. People who have absolutely no experience get promoted in the army and sent on very special missions. Some scenes really don't make sense beyond making the plot work, but it feels more like a bandage to patch a hole, than a smooth part of the story. As this is a debut I won't really take a star off for it, as overall it wasn't too annoying and most series and authors get better at this with every book.
I realise this sounds like a lot of criticism, but I still read this 700+ page book in just under two weeks, so it definitely has a lot about it to like as well! It's just always easier to point out the weaknesses. As I said I really enjoyed the characters, and especially one culture we meet a bit later in the book. I found the idea about what dragons are really fascinating, and definitely want to learn more about them, and magic. The Keepers are a giant plus for me, and I hope we'll see more of that in book two! The plot also kept me interested, especially through some mysteries and obstacles that weren't predictable.
All in all this was a fun and intriguing epic fantasy I quite enjoyed, and an author I'll happily keep an eye out for!
I've been given an ARC of Seventh Cadence quite a while ago, and just finally managed to get around to it. There's quite a lot of typos in it, which I hope is due to the ARC, and edited by now.
This book is a very promising epic fantasy debut, that offers readers a lot of things! A big world, politics, two nations at war, multiple POVs, intriguing world building, different cultures, dragons, and a personal favourite of mine: scholars!
If you like the classic feel of some good old tropes, but also with a few nice new ideas, this is definitely up your alley!
I'd definitely recommend it if you like authors like Ryan Cahill or Michael Miller.
It's a big book, and at times it definitely could have been trimmed down a bit, when there were 10 words where one would have sufficed. Especially if it is repetitive descriptions, or being told things yet again. Here's a minor example:
The forest was dark, but alive. It wasn’t the darkness Navid had been used to in Caldor—the dead feeling of a windowless room. Here, the darkness was alive.
Wilbourne uses the good old "let me explain this to you" from one character to another, which obviously is in fact meant to explain things to the reader. Mostly it's done smoothly enough, but at times I thought "Yes, yes, I got it, can we move on?".
Despite this, and the slow burn pace, I was happily reading along, always intrigued about what would happen, and where we'd go exploring next! I was easily hooked by the mysteries, the characters and found the magic fascinating.
The characters took a bit too really show their depth, but I liked most of them from the start.
I adored Tele, as she's a keeper, and as I said earlier, I love bookish characters who are all about studying. Learning along with them is definitely a favourite trope of mine! And a female scholar who also knows how to fight? Even better! She's also socially awkward, which made it even easier for me to connect to her.
Navid I really enjoyed for being quite naive in a way, and not the typical fighter you get in epic fantasy so often. He learns how to fight, but he'd rather avoid it. I liked seeing him grow and stretch throughout the book.
Gabriel is a bit too much the typical prince. Here's a direct quote about him:
He was impulsive. He let his passions guide him. He was idealistic to a fault. The very best of his father.While I grew to like him once we started into some training, I definitely struggled with his chapters every so often, because it seems everything goes his way. On the other hand I liked the camaraderie surrounding him!
Now some of the character actions just felt weird, or just very... convenient. People who have absolutely no experience get promoted in the army and sent on very special missions. Some scenes really don't make sense beyond making the plot work, but it feels more like a bandage to patch a hole, than a smooth part of the story. As this is a debut I won't really take a star off for it, as overall it wasn't too annoying and most series and authors get better at this with every book.
I realise this sounds like a lot of criticism, but I still read this 700+ page book in just under two weeks, so it definitely has a lot about it to like as well! It's just always easier to point out the weaknesses. As I said I really enjoyed the characters, and especially one culture we meet a bit later in the book. I found the idea about what dragons are really fascinating, and definitely want to learn more about them, and magic. The Keepers are a giant plus for me, and I hope we'll see more of that in book two! The plot also kept me interested, especially through some mysteries and obstacles that weren't predictable.
All in all this was a fun and intriguing epic fantasy I quite enjoyed, and an author I'll happily keep an eye out for!
February 1, 2023
Review to come ⚔️
October 17, 2021
Thank you very much to the publisher Emergent Realm for my advanced copy, this in no way affects my opinion.
It has been quite a while since I have dived into a new epic fantasy series, and if you are looking to start a new series like me, I cannot recommend The Seventh Cadence enough. Jim Wilbourne has a fantastic writing style that leaves you fully submerged in the action and leaves you just wanting to binge the series.
In The Seventh Cadence, there is a wide range of characters, and while we mainly focus on a select few, none of the rest are ignored. Jim Wilbourne does an amazing job at connecting them all and keeping them interwoven into the story, so while they may not be referenced by name, you know exactly who is being spoken to or about. My favourite character has to be Tele because while she is working through her traumatic past, she is so headstrong and independent, which I love. I also really loved getting some different POVs that added to the atmosphere and gave the plot a good depth.
When it comes to the plot of The Seventh Cadence, while it is not difficult, it is definitely complex, but I loved this. Every element that Jim Wilbourne introduced had some sort of impact on the characters, even if it took 200 pages to get there. I love that attention to detail and it made the book feel more cohesive as a whole. Because of this, The Seventh Cadence did begin to get a little bit slow in the middle, but towards the end it picked up the pace, which was helped by some shorter chapters. There are a good variety in chapter lengths in The Seventh Cadence, which really helped in such a dense epic fantasy as it meant that the plot was always progressing in some way.
I can't wait to see where the sequel is going to go, especially after the events in the final chapter, because when I say I was shocked, that is not an understatement. If you are looking for a new fantasy series, I definitely recommend checking out The Seventh Cadence, especially as it is Jim Wilbourne's debut novel.
It has been quite a while since I have dived into a new epic fantasy series, and if you are looking to start a new series like me, I cannot recommend The Seventh Cadence enough. Jim Wilbourne has a fantastic writing style that leaves you fully submerged in the action and leaves you just wanting to binge the series.
In The Seventh Cadence, there is a wide range of characters, and while we mainly focus on a select few, none of the rest are ignored. Jim Wilbourne does an amazing job at connecting them all and keeping them interwoven into the story, so while they may not be referenced by name, you know exactly who is being spoken to or about. My favourite character has to be Tele because while she is working through her traumatic past, she is so headstrong and independent, which I love. I also really loved getting some different POVs that added to the atmosphere and gave the plot a good depth.
When it comes to the plot of The Seventh Cadence, while it is not difficult, it is definitely complex, but I loved this. Every element that Jim Wilbourne introduced had some sort of impact on the characters, even if it took 200 pages to get there. I love that attention to detail and it made the book feel more cohesive as a whole. Because of this, The Seventh Cadence did begin to get a little bit slow in the middle, but towards the end it picked up the pace, which was helped by some shorter chapters. There are a good variety in chapter lengths in The Seventh Cadence, which really helped in such a dense epic fantasy as it meant that the plot was always progressing in some way.
I can't wait to see where the sequel is going to go, especially after the events in the final chapter, because when I say I was shocked, that is not an understatement. If you are looking for a new fantasy series, I definitely recommend checking out The Seventh Cadence, especially as it is Jim Wilbourne's debut novel.
August 18, 2022
AR: 7/10
This review is long overdue — life has been hectic lately — so I apologize. I'm not going to remember everything that happened, but I remember the key parts and what I liked about the book.
Foremost, I loved the characters' interiority. I always felt like I knew why they were making the decisions they did, and none of them felt out of character. Jim did a fantastic job putting us deep inside the characters' heads and making us feel what they felt.
I also liked how POV characters were introduced as we met them in the story. That's a pretty interesting way to do it that I haven't seen before, and it feels like a really natural way to introduce important figures in the story.
There were times when the pacing was too slow for my taste — always a difficult thing for an author to keep a fast pace through such a long book — but when I was invested in the story, the chapters flew by, especially during the beginning and toward the end.
Overall, I had a good time with the book. It's a deeply character driven story with a big world-changing plot, and I can't wait to see where it goes next!
This review is long overdue — life has been hectic lately — so I apologize. I'm not going to remember everything that happened, but I remember the key parts and what I liked about the book.
Foremost, I loved the characters' interiority. I always felt like I knew why they were making the decisions they did, and none of them felt out of character. Jim did a fantastic job putting us deep inside the characters' heads and making us feel what they felt.
I also liked how POV characters were introduced as we met them in the story. That's a pretty interesting way to do it that I haven't seen before, and it feels like a really natural way to introduce important figures in the story.
There were times when the pacing was too slow for my taste — always a difficult thing for an author to keep a fast pace through such a long book — but when I was invested in the story, the chapters flew by, especially during the beginning and toward the end.
Overall, I had a good time with the book. It's a deeply character driven story with a big world-changing plot, and I can't wait to see where it goes next!
May 20, 2022
I wrote this book. I'm clearly biased, but I think it's great. Check it out 😉
October 8, 2021
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Seventh Cadence
Author: Jim Wilbourne
Book Series: The Continua Chronicles Book 1
Rating: 5/5
Recommended For...: Fantasy reads
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: October 8, 2021
Publisher: Emergent Realms
Pages: 733
Recommended Age: 13+ (violence, gore, death, grief)
Explanation of CWs: Violence and gore are throughout the read. Themes of grief explored.
Synopsis: After a supernatural and unforeseen calamity shatters the tentative alliance of the five realms, the Deseran Dominion has returned to take back their homeland and restore their oppressive regime.
As the Dominion readies their troops for invasion, the fate of the entire world rests in the hands of a fugitive scientist, a powerful pacifist, and an unseasoned prince with little to guide them but their own ideals. With the freedom of a kingdom at risk, each must find their place in a world torn asunder.
Review: Oh wow! This book immediately hooked me in and for the most part it was a great read. The book had great world building and character development. The found family aspect was so sweet and I loved it. And honestly it was just a fun read.
However, the book was a little tropey and the pacing was slow at times in it. I also thought the character dialogue wasn't the best in some spots.
Verdict: Highly recommend!
Book: The Seventh Cadence
Author: Jim Wilbourne
Book Series: The Continua Chronicles Book 1
Rating: 5/5
Recommended For...: Fantasy reads
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: October 8, 2021
Publisher: Emergent Realms
Pages: 733
Recommended Age: 13+ (violence, gore, death, grief)
Explanation of CWs: Violence and gore are throughout the read. Themes of grief explored.
Synopsis: After a supernatural and unforeseen calamity shatters the tentative alliance of the five realms, the Deseran Dominion has returned to take back their homeland and restore their oppressive regime.
As the Dominion readies their troops for invasion, the fate of the entire world rests in the hands of a fugitive scientist, a powerful pacifist, and an unseasoned prince with little to guide them but their own ideals. With the freedom of a kingdom at risk, each must find their place in a world torn asunder.
Review: Oh wow! This book immediately hooked me in and for the most part it was a great read. The book had great world building and character development. The found family aspect was so sweet and I loved it. And honestly it was just a fun read.
However, the book was a little tropey and the pacing was slow at times in it. I also thought the character dialogue wasn't the best in some spots.
Verdict: Highly recommend!
October 18, 2021
Adventure, magic, war and dragons – this book is a sweeping fantasy story on an epic scale. It harks back to the old classics that I read in my youth by Robert Jordan and Anne McCaffery and I feel that Jim Wilbourne is well on his way to being in the same category as these established fantasy authors.
The fabulous world building really sets the scenes well and there is great character introduction, ensuring that you relate and empathise with each one. This does mean that the first half of the book feels like a slow build up, but it definitely picks up the pace.
Anyone looking for their next grown up fantasy read need look no further.
The fabulous world building really sets the scenes well and there is great character introduction, ensuring that you relate and empathise with each one. This does mean that the first half of the book feels like a slow build up, but it definitely picks up the pace.
Anyone looking for their next grown up fantasy read need look no further.
October 8, 2021
This novel is as layered & descriptive as it is long. The author does a very good of weaving a world of tragedy, chaos, opportunity and hope.
I enjoyed reading The Seventh Cadence by Jim Wilbourne!
I dont want to spoil the story. This story's progression and craft will hold your attention and satisfy your desire to see a world by simply closing your eyes.
Many thanks to Emergent Realms and Jim Wilbourne for an advanced digital copy of The Seventh Cadence.
I enjoyed reading The Seventh Cadence by Jim Wilbourne!
I dont want to spoil the story. This story's progression and craft will hold your attention and satisfy your desire to see a world by simply closing your eyes.
Many thanks to Emergent Realms and Jim Wilbourne for an advanced digital copy of The Seventh Cadence.
May 28, 2022
A thrilling start to a new epic fantasy series by an author to watch.
This was a little different in premise to the type of fantasy I normally read - though also comfortably familiar in many ways making it supremely refreshing.
Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, Terry Goodkind and Ben Galley.
This was a little different in premise to the type of fantasy I normally read - though also comfortably familiar in many ways making it supremely refreshing.
Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, Terry Goodkind and Ben Galley.
March 23, 2023
DNF. A fairly promising read, magic-heavy and great world building. However, I didn't particularly enjoy the writing. Not for me.
August 14, 2022
This was a great first book for this author. It’s also a great book for the start of this series. Of course; however, it’s not perfect, but it was still a magnificent and magical read.
There were many things that were great in this book, the dragons were honestly my favorite part. The way they worked in this story was brilliant. They were there with reason and by a reason. They fit well into the plot and it didn’t feel like they were there just because it was a fantasy novel.
The many story paths worked out well. Of course, in my opinion, some of them could have been cut and the story would have flowed better. At the end, I found myself getting annoyed that the perspective I was reading was changed to a minor character’s who really wasn’t doing anything for the plot. The main three characters point of views made sense and worked well, everyone else’s, minus King Jeremiah’s, felt like fluff that I really could have done without. Again; however, this is just my opinion and other people may enjoy these parts of the story.
The world building, and magic system, worked great in my opinion. It was set up well and explained throughout the story. It felt like a real world that is actually lived in. It wasn’t hallowed out and events happened even as the main cast wasn’t present.
A part that annoyed me was the beginning, things were happening and topics weren’t explained. Those topics got explained later, but there were times where I was so confused at what was happening. At first, I had no idea what a seer was in this book. It took tens of pages for me to finally know why Tele was so terrified of one being right in front of her. I also was confused on what a Thief Taker was for so long because it just wasn’t really explained well. Once the story was flowing though, I could understand topics and what was happening in the story much better.
I liked all of three of the main characters point of views. I liked how they all grew and changed. Tele, to me, was shaky at first as it felt like she wanted to be two different people, but she soon fell into one character so it worked out. Each character of the three grew as people and it was earned. They were treated like real people and weren’t flawless who could never fail.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. There were some bits that annoyed me, but I can easy get over those. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy. I can’t wait for the next book.
There were many things that were great in this book, the dragons were honestly my favorite part. The way they worked in this story was brilliant. They were there with reason and by a reason. They fit well into the plot and it didn’t feel like they were there just because it was a fantasy novel.
The many story paths worked out well. Of course, in my opinion, some of them could have been cut and the story would have flowed better. At the end, I found myself getting annoyed that the perspective I was reading was changed to a minor character’s who really wasn’t doing anything for the plot. The main three characters point of views made sense and worked well, everyone else’s, minus King Jeremiah’s, felt like fluff that I really could have done without. Again; however, this is just my opinion and other people may enjoy these parts of the story.
The world building, and magic system, worked great in my opinion. It was set up well and explained throughout the story. It felt like a real world that is actually lived in. It wasn’t hallowed out and events happened even as the main cast wasn’t present.
A part that annoyed me was the beginning, things were happening and topics weren’t explained. Those topics got explained later, but there were times where I was so confused at what was happening. At first, I had no idea what a seer was in this book. It took tens of pages for me to finally know why Tele was so terrified of one being right in front of her. I also was confused on what a Thief Taker was for so long because it just wasn’t really explained well. Once the story was flowing though, I could understand topics and what was happening in the story much better.
I liked all of three of the main characters point of views. I liked how they all grew and changed. Tele, to me, was shaky at first as it felt like she wanted to be two different people, but she soon fell into one character so it worked out. Each character of the three grew as people and it was earned. They were treated like real people and weren’t flawless who could never fail.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. There were some bits that annoyed me, but I can easy get over those. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy. I can’t wait for the next book.
May 28, 2022
A solid 5 star finish for me on The Seventh Cadence. Throughout most of the book it was at least a 4 star. I never felt like anything was too unbelievable or the pacing slowed to much to bring it down. I honestly felt this would end up being a very enjoyable read landing in that 4-4.5 range. But the last 20% or so just took off for me. The way things started to come together at the end and ultimately the way the very end was told left me anxious to see what happens in the next book.
Getting into a bit more detail. We do have several characters that develop throughout the book. Relationships (good or bad) continue to grow until the very end. As previously mentioned I felt the pacing was spot on. Things to of course ebb and flow through most of the book. But I never felt like anything got to the point where it became a slog or boring. And the last 20% or so of the book got SO exciting to me with the POV's changing much quicker than the rest of the book. It really felt suspenseful, like we were right in the middle of all the action!
The world building was great as well. The world feels expansive already but it also leaves so many possibilities to grow to other parts not yet mentioned. The different cultures and the fighting style (dance) was excellent to learn and see others learning it during the story.
I'm so excited to see where the group in Caldor goes from here and what they continue to learn. Not to mention what trouble Gabriel and the 2nd League get into next!
Getting into a bit more detail. We do have several characters that develop throughout the book. Relationships (good or bad) continue to grow until the very end. As previously mentioned I felt the pacing was spot on. Things to of course ebb and flow through most of the book. But I never felt like anything got to the point where it became a slog or boring. And the last 20% or so of the book got SO exciting to me with the POV's changing much quicker than the rest of the book. It really felt suspenseful, like we were right in the middle of all the action!
The world building was great as well. The world feels expansive already but it also leaves so many possibilities to grow to other parts not yet mentioned. The different cultures and the fighting style (dance) was excellent to learn and see others learning it during the story.
I'm so excited to see where the group in Caldor goes from here and what they continue to learn. Not to mention what trouble Gabriel and the 2nd League get into next!
June 14, 2022
The Seventh Cadence is an epic fantasy adventure about a wizard cult, impending war, and magical water dragons. The Dominion wants to impose their religion on the rest of the world to resurrect their immortal wizard god, thrusting the five realms into war. To stop them, it is up to a magical scientist, a cursed seer, and an orphaned prince who doesn’t want to be King.
The book has a slow start, but I thought the characters were interesting and they deviated from the normal fantasy archetypes. My favorite character was Tele, who is pretty much a badass magical scientist. I appreciate the fact that she does things. Tele and Navid also have great banter and interactions. All in all, it was a solid epic fantasy.
The Seventh Cadence will appeal to those who like epic fantasy and is perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson.
The book has a slow start, but I thought the characters were interesting and they deviated from the normal fantasy archetypes. My favorite character was Tele, who is pretty much a badass magical scientist. I appreciate the fact that she does things. Tele and Navid also have great banter and interactions. All in all, it was a solid epic fantasy.
The Seventh Cadence will appeal to those who like epic fantasy and is perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson.
September 24, 2022
This was a really good fantasy novel debut. I loved the world building, and the magic system was pretty easy to understand. There are a lot of things going on, and many pieces moving on both sides. The Dominion is at war with the Hzorah Tribes. Magic is banned in Hzorah, and the Dominion still believes that their Wizard will return, renewing the true gifts, and return hope. The Hzorah only need to bend the knee and submit... The Hzorah will not submit without a fight. So much to unpack. I am looking forward to the 2nd book very much.
May 27, 2022
A large world with diverse inhabitants that doesn't disappoint.
Jim's keen observations of the human condition make the world of The Seventh Cadence and its inhabitants unique and believable.
I'm looking forward to the next installment. Keep up the good work Mr. Wilbourne!
Jim's keen observations of the human condition make the world of The Seventh Cadence and its inhabitants unique and believable.
I'm looking forward to the next installment. Keep up the good work Mr. Wilbourne!
July 9, 2022
fantastic!
I found myself pulled in right away! Loved the magic system, lovable characters, great world building and tons of suspense and well written action! There are however a few grammar mistakes but the story was amazing and is well worth your time.
I found myself pulled in right away! Loved the magic system, lovable characters, great world building and tons of suspense and well written action! There are however a few grammar mistakes but the story was amazing and is well worth your time.
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