Thompson, Paul B. The Brightworking. (Brightstone Saga) Enslow 160p $17.95 978-0-7660-3950-6 2012 ms/jr VG-BN Fantasy
Mikal is
apprenticed to a powerful wizard with strange ambitions. Will Mikal follow his master or stand against him? Mikal is learning the blacksmith’s trade when the Guild of Constant
Working tests all the youngsters in his village and “gleans” him. Following a
harrowing journey from his rural home to the capital city, Mikal becomes
friends with street-wise Lyra, is apprenticed to the powerful (but evil) wizard
Harlano, and is caught up in events that threaten to destroy the kingdom of
Phalia.
The plot moves forward at a rapid clip; the emphasis is on the action, and it ends with a cliffhanger. As the novel was written with reluctant readers in mind, this approach will appeal to that audience. Certainly, reluctant readers will empathize with Mikal, who struggles to learn to read without tutelage in order to learn magic and organize Harlano’s extensive library. The pacing does not allow for any in-depth character development, but many engaging characters are introduced against an intriguing setting. Mikal’s mentor is a magical talking head he calls “Orry“ (which stays close-lipped for all others save Mikal). Harlano ,the “evil” wizard, seems more distracted and caught up in his own agenda than wicked and vindictive in his dealings with Mikal. Lyra might clean up into a love interest in a future installment, but in this story she is a street-savvy urchin focused on her own practical needs, as well as Mikal’s.
Paul Thompson is the author of several Dragonlance novels. Brightworking is the first of the forthcoming fantasy trilogy The Brightstone Saga. I look forward to reading The Fortune Teller (an excerpt is included in the first volume) and seeing how this story unfolds.
Fantasy-Fiction, Wizards-Fiction --Hilary Welliver
The plot moves forward at a rapid clip; the emphasis is on the action, and it ends with a cliffhanger. As the novel was written with reluctant readers in mind, this approach will appeal to that audience. Certainly, reluctant readers will empathize with Mikal, who struggles to learn to read without tutelage in order to learn magic and organize Harlano’s extensive library. The pacing does not allow for any in-depth character development, but many engaging characters are introduced against an intriguing setting. Mikal’s mentor is a magical talking head he calls “Orry“ (which stays close-lipped for all others save Mikal). Harlano ,the “evil” wizard, seems more distracted and caught up in his own agenda than wicked and vindictive in his dealings with Mikal. Lyra might clean up into a love interest in a future installment, but in this story she is a street-savvy urchin focused on her own practical needs, as well as Mikal’s.
Paul Thompson is the author of several Dragonlance novels. Brightworking is the first of the forthcoming fantasy trilogy The Brightstone Saga. I look forward to reading The Fortune Teller (an excerpt is included in the first volume) and seeing how this story unfolds.
Fantasy-Fiction, Wizards-Fiction --Hilary Welliver
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