THE BATTLEMAGE (Summoner Book 3)

The Battlemage by Taran Matharu
Book 3 of the Summoner series
Read by Dominic Thorburn
Genre: epic fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

 

  About The Battlemage:

One boy's ability to summon demons will change the fate of an empire ... The epic conclusion to the fantasy trilogy described as 'Harry Potter meets Lord of the Rings meets Pokemon'.

After the thrilling cliffhanger at the end of book two, we rejoin Fletcher and his friends in the ether, where they must undertake a mortally dangerous quest, all the while avoiding capture by enemies and facing foes more terrifying than anything they have yet encountered.

But this is nothing compared to what truly lies ahead for Fletcher, as his nemesis, albino orc Khan, is on a mission to destroy Hominum and everything and everyone that Fletcher loves.

Epic battles, dramatic revelations and breathtaking drama await in the third and final book in the New York Times bestselling Summoner series.

Source: Info in the About The Battlemage was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31687423-the-battlemage on 09/05/2017.

 

Ignatious

My Thoughts:

I like the story telling quality of this author, the world building is beautiful and the character development is solid. What I do not like is the author's tendency to have a cliffhanger ending and the good guys don't necessarily win. However, this being the third in a trilogy, we got a nice ending. Hurray!! Having said that, there is another book in this series, I presume to be the first in another trilogy or so, in this world. I like the thought that this book is not the end of it because I came to like this world so I am very happy to see more books coming out for this series and got an ending with this book at the same time! Kudos for this book!

There are a few issues in the story that I find a little too unrealistic, I had to force myself to turn a blind eye on them so as not to mar the beauty of the book... I mean, like, Zacharrias Forsyth and Inquisitor Rook are not stupid, and they could not immediately see that the staff could broadcast them to the entire nation?! So they condemn themselves and confess to boot, within earshot of the staff!! I mean... WTF! That is not just a weak plot, that is ridiculous! And that is the main reason that this book did not get a 5 out of 5. But despite that, this book did give an enjoyable reading time... you just have to be good at "selective inattention" and ignore weakness in the plot like that. Besides, Ignatious took a front and center role in the story! Who could begrudge that!!

  Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 4
Plot = 3
Narration = 5

  Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


  Books In The Summoner Series


 

The Author
	Taran Matharu is a New York Times bestselling author. He was born in London in 1990 and found a passion for reading at a very early age. His love for stories developed into a desire to create his own during early adolescence, beginning his first book at 9 years old. Straight after graduating with a First Class degree in Business Administration, Taran was keen to explore a new avenue and get inside the publishing world, landing an internship in Digital Sales at Penguin Random House, from June to September 2013. Thereafter, while taking time off to travel, Taran began to write ‘Summoner’ in November 2013 at the age of 22, taking part in ‘Nanowrimo 2013’. Thanks to Wattpad.com and updating daily, its popularity dramatically increased, reaching over 3 million reads in less than six months. After being featured by NBC News, Taran decided to launch his professional writing career and has never looked back. His SUMMONER series is published by Hodder Children’s (Hachette) in the UK, Australia and Commonwealth, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan) in the US and Canada, Hachette Jeunesse in France, Heyne in Germany, Planeta in Spain, Crown in Taiwan, Record in Brazil, EKSMO in Russia, Jaguar in Poland, Ecliptic in Bulgaria, Alpress in the Czech Republic, Ithaki in Turkey and Unieboek in the Netherlands.
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FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

 

THE INQUISITION (Summoner Book 2)

The Inquisition by Taran Matharu
Book 2 of the Summoner series
Read by Dominic Thorburn
Genre: epic fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Inquisition:

A year has passed since the Tournament.

Fletcher and Ignatius have been locked away in Pelt’s dungeons, but now they must face a trial at the hands of the Inquisition, a powerful institution controlled by those who would delight in Fletcher’s downfall.

The trial is haunted by ghosts from the past with shocking revelations about Fletcher’s origins, but he has little time to dwell on them; the graduating students of Vocans are to be sent deep into the orc jungles to complete a dangerous mission for the king and his council. If they fail, the orcish armies will rise to power beyond anything the Empire has ever seen.

With loyal friends Othello and Sylva by his side, Fletcher must battle his way to the heart of Orcdom and save Hominum from destruction… or die trying.

Source: Info in the About The Inquisition was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25689056-the-inquisition on 14/02/2017.

Image Source: chepren

My Thoughts:

I like the story telling quality of this author, the world building is beautiful and the character development is solid. What I do not like is the author's tendency to have a cliffhanger ending and the good guys don't necessarily win. What a bummer!

Annnd... I have a new favourite... Athena! Apparently she's a Gryphowl.

The down side of reading the second part of the story after a year of reading the first part, is that I have forgotten most of the characters and/or the plot. I struggled to recall who is who for the first two-thirds of the book to keep up with the story. Consequently the flow was not very fast at all.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 1
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 2.5
Plot = 4
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Summoner Series

The Author
	Taran Matharu is a New York Times bestselling author. He was born in London in 1990 and found a passion for reading at a very early age. His love for stories developed into a desire to create his own during early adolescence, beginning his first book at 9 years old. Straight after graduating with a First Class degree in Business Administration, Taran was keen to explore a new avenue and get inside the publishing world, landing an internship in Digital Sales at Penguin Random House, from June to September 2013. Thereafter, while taking time off to travel, Taran began to write ‘Summoner’ in November 2013 at the age of 22, taking part in ‘Nanowrimo 2013’. Thanks to Wattpad.com and updating daily, its popularity dramatically increased, reaching over 3 million reads in less than six months. After being featured by NBC News, Taran decided to launch his professional writing career and has never looked back. His SUMMONER series is published by Hodder Children’s (Hachette) in the UK, Australia and Commonwealth, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan) in the US and Canada, Hachette Jeunesse in France, Heyne in Germany, Planeta in Spain, Crown in Taiwan, Record in Brazil, EKSMO in Russia, Jaguar in Poland, Ecliptic in Bulgaria, Alpress in the Czech Republic, Ithaki in Turkey and Unieboek in the Netherlands.
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FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE NOVICE (SUMMONER Book 1)

The Novice by Taran Matharu
Book 1 of the Summoner series
Read by Dominic Thorburn
Genre: epic fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Novice:

When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.

As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.

Source: Info in the About The Novice was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22297138-the-novice on 13/02/2017.

My Thoughts:

This book is a very slow start for me. I wanted to read this book because I like the premise. I also like the cover art, it entices me to read, however, once I start reading it I find myself needing breaks from it so I put it down and then pick it up again on a later date. Another contributing factor for this book being a slow start is reading about the bully. I just get so angry that I just have to have a break from it. If I was Fletcher, I would have shot Didric a long time ago... several times... However, once it got going it went relatively quick for me.

This is the first Dominic Thorburn book I've ever listened to and I like the way he reads. I specially like his interpretation of the Orc incantation! However, I don't know why he would give the Dwarves a Scottish accent though...

Ignatius quickly became my favouritest sidekick right from the start. He is the red Salamander with the arrowhead-tipped tail!

I like the story telling quality of this book. Although the genre is very congested with "coming of age" epic fantasies which is what this book is, the author still managed to stand out from the crowd. Kudos to Taran Matharu!

But here is the kicker, it ended with a huge cliffhanger which did not endear this series to me at all!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 2
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 3
Plot = 4
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Summoner Series

The Author
	Taran Matharu is a New York Times bestselling author. He was born in London in 1990 and found a passion for reading at a very early age. His love for stories developed into a desire to create his own during early adolescence, beginning his first book at 9 years old. Straight after graduating with a First Class degree in Business Administration, Taran was keen to explore a new avenue and get inside the publishing world, landing an internship in Digital Sales at Penguin Random House, from June to September 2013. Thereafter, while taking time off to travel, Taran began to write ‘Summoner’ in November 2013 at the age of 22, taking part in ‘Nanowrimo 2013’. Thanks to Wattpad.com and updating daily, its popularity dramatically increased, reaching over 3 million reads in less than six months. After being featured by NBC News, Taran decided to launch his professional writing career and has never looked back. His SUMMONER series is published by Hodder Children’s (Hachette) in the UK, Australia and Commonwealth, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan) in the US and Canada, Hachette Jeunesse in France, Heyne in Germany, Planeta in Spain, Crown in Taiwan, Record in Brazil, EKSMO in Russia, Jaguar in Poland, Ecliptic in Bulgaria, Alpress in the Czech Republic, Ithaki in Turkey and Unieboek in the Netherlands.
facebook book page | facebook author page | twitter | goodreads | amazon | google+ | pinterest | instagram

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.