Paul Harrell

I won this book through a Firstreads giveaway at Goodreads.

I read a lot of fantasy and Mr. Drake definitely has talent. He creates an interesting, deep world with a great magic system. I especially liked the characters of Elith and Arderi and I am looking forward to reading more of their adventures.

A couple of things hold this book back from being a standout in the genre. The book falls prey to several things that particularly annoy me about fantasy literature. I dislike when authors feel the need to add words to the language, in this case “nix”, for no good reason and when every other word or name has to have an apostrophe in it. I also thought that several of the key moments in this book, especially the forming of the main group, were a little rushed.

I would recommend this book for fantasy lovers and I look forward to more books from Mr. Drake.

I received a copy of this book through Goodreads's First Reads contest.

It is hard to review this book without first pointing out the obvious debt it owes to The Hunger Games. With that out of the way, I enjoyed most of this book and by the end the pages were flying by. Tris is a likable protagonist even if her characterization is a little shallow. Four was also a very cool character, especially the way he got his name.

I really liked the glimpses of the situation of the wider world outside of Tris's experiences within her faction. Hopefully, future sequels will flesh out this world.

I think this book works best when it sticks with the action. The philosophy and morality of Tris that the author seems to be advocating is a bit incoherent. Unlike the best post-apocalyptic novels, it didn't have much to say about our present society. But it is still a good adventure story.

Fans of The Hunger Games will definitely enjoy this book, and it is a fun, light read.