Magician's Guild

For Sonea the purge was just like any other, that is until she threw a rock that broke through the magicians’ barrier. Now she is hiding from the out of fear that they want to kill her. How could she, a girl from the slums have magical powers? The magician’s Guild want to teach her how to control her power so that she doesn’t cause any destruction to herself or others. Sonea uses the help of the Theives to hide throughout the city, but each time she thinks she is safe, the magicians seem to be able to find her. She must decide if she wants to be apart of the Magician’s Guild or continue to live her life among those she loves in the slums.

I was interested in the story line, but as I began to read the novel, I found the storyline to be lacking in places. It just seemed like a large story of hide and seek. There are several holes in the story that the reader can’t help but catch on too. For example the magicians spend weeks hunting for Sonea only to remember 3-4 weeks into it that they can track her by sensing her magic. If the group can do that, why didn’t they do that in the first place? Sonea is a character I am unsure on to begin with. She relies heavily on other people throughout the novel, and doesn’t do much for herself or really think for herself. She just does what others tell her to do, not really a strong independent character.

The story seems to just drag on and not really go anywhere, seems to be stalling the story to make it longer. The characters don’t seem to develop on their own, and need the assistance of the reader to understand the transformations they are going through. Sonea is supposed to be a girl from the slums, uneducated and unsophisticated, but she speaks as well if not better than the magicians. She comes off as a weak character because she relies so heavily on other people to know who to trust, what to do, what to think. She doesn’t seem to have a mind of her own in the novel, which doesn’t really appeal to me as a reader. She wants people to constantly do things to make life better for others, but she is unwilling to do anything herself to change her situation or that of those she loves.

The author uses a lot of description throughout the novel to the point where it seems the novel is all description. There isn’t a whole lot of dialog, but when there is, it is done well despite the “dwells” speak very refined and don’t have slang terms that one would assume they would in comparison to the Magicians. There are a lot of good things within the novel and things that aren’t so good, but that comes with any novel. It’s all subject to the reader’s preferences. While I may not have been 100% happy with this novel, it is a good start to a series. It sets the stage for what may come later, even if it doesn’t give much backstory to the characters, that just might come later. I will continue to read the series and see where life takes Miss Sonea.

Pros: Great storyline and plot development
Cons: Poor character development, story begins to drag on in places
Bottom Line:  Its a great novel for fantasy lovers of all ages

Rating 3.5 stars out of 5