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A king with stolen magic.
A rebellious town scorched.
Wessin and Sades are now orphaned, starving and destitute. Befriended by a magical species they start to feel hope. Until Wessin kills one of the king's men, with magic. The same filthy magic that killed their parents and friends.
Now they're on the run, but are they more afraid of the king or their new magic?
A rebellious town scorched.
Wessin and Sades are now orphaned, starving and destitute. Befriended by a magical species they start to feel hope. Until Wessin kills one of the king's men, with magic. The same filthy magic that killed their parents and friends.
Now they're on the run, but are they more afraid of the king or their new magic?
273 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 12, 2022
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Mark Carlson
75 books5 followersMark R. Carlson is Founder, President, CEO, and co-owner of Mental Health Systems (MHS), Minnesota. He is also Vice-President of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy National Certification and Accreditation Association (DBTNCAA) and Adjunct Professor in Psychology at Argosy University, Twin Cities. He served as the Clinical Director of multiple clinics before leaving to found MHS.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 27, 2022
Clean, Funny, and Filled with Action
The author's writing is clean and readable, and he does a good job of developing deep characters while keeping the plot moving. It has solid worldbuilding without overwhelming the reader.
My favorite part is where Wessin is trapped in a dungeon and is making up silly names and backstories for his captors: "...he had given Stomper and Clomper rather interesting backstories, including wives with jumping warts."
I appreciated the way Wessin and his little sister Sades get along. Sibling rivalry is often overdone in stories, and I was glad to see a healthy relationship here.
I think this is suitable for both middle grade and young adult readers would in terms of vocab, tone, and content. If you enjoy Christian Fantasy as much as I do, definitely read this book.
The author's writing is clean and readable, and he does a good job of developing deep characters while keeping the plot moving. It has solid worldbuilding without overwhelming the reader.
My favorite part is where Wessin is trapped in a dungeon and is making up silly names and backstories for his captors: "...he had given Stomper and Clomper rather interesting backstories, including wives with jumping warts."
I appreciated the way Wessin and his little sister Sades get along. Sibling rivalry is often overdone in stories, and I was glad to see a healthy relationship here.
I think this is suitable for both middle grade and young adult readers would in terms of vocab, tone, and content. If you enjoy Christian Fantasy as much as I do, definitely read this book.
August 2, 2022
I loved the visual in my head that I got while reading this! The world and story that the author created.. I loved it! I honestly couldn’t put it down! Me and my 10-almost-11 year old both read it in 2 days, and can’t wait for the next one!
May 21, 2025
Solid world-building. Forests of different colors with flyties (basically fairies) that inhabit them. The people who are supposed to guard the forests with magic get power hungry (big surprise: absolute power corrupts absolutely) and they end up killing the main characters parents and burning down their town. Main characters make it their mission to save the flyties from the bad magic guys, but then start showing magic themselves.
My biggest hiccup is the execution of the story idea. I think for younger readers and for those that don't read a lot, the writing style might be perfect. It's very to the point. However, for me, it left me wanting. For example, if the main character's antics start to draw a crowd's notice, I NEED to know what happens with the crowd. But in this writing style, the crowd would never be mentioned again. Did they lose interest? Did they continue to follow the main character with their eyes? Do they part for him/her? I don't need every detail, but I do need more. The first chapter, I think the author was going for chaotic but to me it just felt messy.
However, this writing does make for very good action sequences. It gives that fast-paced-only-pick-up-whats-needful battle vibes. In fact the last bit of the book with quite a bit of battle and I felt very engaged.
There are vague religious themes I noticed. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I could see similarities but unless you are immersed in the religion, you might not even come to that conclusion.
The last bit of the book was written well enough and had enough interesting story beats that I may even be interested in reading the second. We'll see. Not a bad book at all, just the writing style isn't my cup of tea.
My biggest hiccup is the execution of the story idea. I think for younger readers and for those that don't read a lot, the writing style might be perfect. It's very to the point. However, for me, it left me wanting. For example, if the main character's antics start to draw a crowd's notice, I NEED to know what happens with the crowd. But in this writing style, the crowd would never be mentioned again. Did they lose interest? Did they continue to follow the main character with their eyes? Do they part for him/her? I don't need every detail, but I do need more. The first chapter, I think the author was going for chaotic but to me it just felt messy.
However, this writing does make for very good action sequences. It gives that fast-paced-only-pick-up-whats-needful battle vibes. In fact the last bit of the book with quite a bit of battle and I felt very engaged.
There are vague religious themes I noticed. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I could see similarities but unless you are immersed in the religion, you might not even come to that conclusion.
The last bit of the book was written well enough and had enough interesting story beats that I may even be interested in reading the second. We'll see. Not a bad book at all, just the writing style isn't my cup of tea.
September 21, 2022
Compelling and well written
This well written story draws the reader in immediately. The sad and chaotic beginning is only par for the course of this book. The captivating story reads like a historical book plucked from the lips of an unknown passerby with a twist of fantasy. The plot is full of action, adventure, and heroic moments. I definitely recommend to any reader who wants an in depth story that pulls on your heart strings and your imagination.
This well written story draws the reader in immediately. The sad and chaotic beginning is only par for the course of this book. The captivating story reads like a historical book plucked from the lips of an unknown passerby with a twist of fantasy. The plot is full of action, adventure, and heroic moments. I definitely recommend to any reader who wants an in depth story that pulls on your heart strings and your imagination.
April 14, 2024
This is a visually compelling fantasy—tragedy, love, evil, magic, triumph.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews