mnakka9's review against another edition
4.0
This book has some good moments but it was little longer for my tastes and ends on a cliffhanger. Will read the next for sure to atleast know what happens!
dylanmcg's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
iam_griff's review against another edition
3.0
Was a cute book for an early teenager. Can see the characteristics of Harry Potter, Eragon, & other such new literary heroes. The talk of power levels of both students & demons sounded more like those animated cartoons like Yu-gi-oh, which I didn't care for. I would recommend this to others to read.
burnsdillion's review against another edition
4.0
This book surprised me. Although almost so many parts of the book reminded me so much of Pokemon. I think Matharu took that idea and really turned it into something great. I look forward to the rest of the trilogy!
^^ That was my first Review
I did a second read of this book with some renewed interest in the trilogy and I still feel like it's great. A change of pace from the other beefy fantasy that is out right now and I have come to really like Fletcher (MC).
^^ That was my first Review
I did a second read of this book with some renewed interest in the trilogy and I still feel like it's great. A change of pace from the other beefy fantasy that is out right now and I have come to really like Fletcher (MC).
thereadingwren's review against another edition
3.0
3/5
My 14 yr old niece loves this series so I wanted to love it too, and I think if I was still a young teen I would have absolutely loved it. As an adult, not so much but I can appreciate what it is.
The thing I disliked the most was how overt everything was. The big themes here were oppression, classism, and racism. And how do we know that? Because in every chapter a character will talk about either the oppression they face or the overall oppression in society. Everything had to be spelled out in detail. I understand that this was written for a young audience that probably needs things to be a little more blatant but after a while it got kind of annoying.
I couldn’t help but make a lot of How To Train Your Dragon parallels in this. Scrawny teen works as a blacksmith apprentice, teen constantly bullied by other teens in town especially by the mean and arrogant teen, discovers rare demon/dragon that has no teeth, goes to school to learn about demons/dragons, big arena match to declare graduation from school, and there’s even a cranky weapons master that is missing a hand and foot! I mean, cmon.
Actually if you mesh How To Train Your Dragon, The Hobbit (movies not book), and The Hunger Games you’d get The Novice. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
The thing I liked most wasn’t actually the demons but was the friendships between Fletcher, Othello, Sylva, and Seraph. I loved them becoming friends, studying together, helping each other, and trying to stop the nobles from destroying everything. It was really sweet.
While I did love the demons I wish there’d been more on the relationship between demon and summoner. I’m a sucker for human/creature bonds.
In the end I just didn’t care about the world and I definitely have no desire to read at least two more books in this series; I feel like it’d just be more of the same.
My 14 yr old niece loves this series so I wanted to love it too, and I think if I was still a young teen I would have absolutely loved it. As an adult, not so much but I can appreciate what it is.
The thing I disliked the most was how overt everything was. The big themes here were oppression, classism, and racism. And how do we know that? Because in every chapter a character will talk about either the oppression they face or the overall oppression in society. Everything had to be spelled out in detail. I understand that this was written for a young audience that probably needs things to be a little more blatant but after a while it got kind of annoying.
I couldn’t help but make a lot of How To Train Your Dragon parallels in this. Scrawny teen works as a blacksmith apprentice, teen constantly bullied by other teens in town especially by the mean and arrogant teen, discovers rare demon/dragon that has no teeth, goes to school to learn about demons/dragons, big arena match to declare graduation from school, and there’s even a cranky weapons master that is missing a hand and foot! I mean, cmon.
Actually if you mesh How To Train Your Dragon, The Hobbit (movies not book), and The Hunger Games you’d get The Novice. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
The thing I liked most wasn’t actually the demons but was the friendships between Fletcher, Othello, Sylva, and Seraph. I loved them becoming friends, studying together, helping each other, and trying to stop the nobles from destroying everything. It was really sweet.
While I did love the demons I wish there’d been more on the relationship between demon and summoner. I’m a sucker for human/creature bonds.
In the end I just didn’t care about the world and I definitely have no desire to read at least two more books in this series; I feel like it’d just be more of the same.
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
It had a slow start and rushed ending but I LOVED the setting (magical boarding school) that reminded me of Harry Potter and they had cute demons as pets/magical helpers.
mandyist's review against another edition
4.0
This review first appeared on Addicted to Media.
When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher is gifted with an ancient book containing a magical spell, he summons a demon from another world which should be impossible for someone of his class. His achievement sets in motion a series of events where Fletcher is falsely accused of a crime and must flee the town of his birth and go on the run. When his abilities are subsequently discovered, Fletcher is recruited into Vocans Military Academy, an elite school where battlemages are trained for war on the frontlines against the Orc foe.
Constantly on the lookout for his pursuers, Fletcher must soon learn who his allies are among the fellow battlemages in the academy. With days filled with lessons and free time with visits to the local town Corcillum, the days leading up to the end of term tournament fly by with plenty of sabotage, misdirection and subterfuge. Will Fletcher discover the power within him in time to outwit those that scheme against him?
The Novice is the first book in the Summoner series and the debut novel by London-based writer Taran Matharu. Matharu wrote the book on writing platform Wattpad and amassed 5.5 million reads before the trilogy was sold in auctions around the world. Out this month, the trilogy is set to be translated into 11 languages.
Fans of the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and His Dark Materials series will feel very comfortable in the world of Taran Matharu’s Hominum Empire. Beings such as orcs, dwarves and elves require little description or introduction because we’re already familiar with them and spells and wand work are already an expected part of the school curriculum. It was Lyra’s world of the His Dark Materials universe that The Novice seemed to draw on most significantly. Demons, the permeable veil between worlds and even a form of the Magisterium find a way into the book.
Despite the premises not being entirely original, Matharu does tell a good story which gets ever more exciting as the book progresses. There are themes of prejudice, exploitation and class inequality and the author is certainly not above taking a jab or two at the hypocrisy of the ruling classes. Fletcher’s friendship with Othello is authentic and I enjoyed the chance he takes to prove himself to the dwarves. The book reaches its pinnacle in the end of year tournament which was both riveting and extremely well-written.
I give Summoner: The Novice (Book 1) an excellent four out of five stars and will certainly be reading the next books in the series. To date, Matharu has written two prequels to The Novice: Summoner: Origins (Book 0) and Summoner: Rory (Book 0.5) will be available shortly.
When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher is gifted with an ancient book containing a magical spell, he summons a demon from another world which should be impossible for someone of his class. His achievement sets in motion a series of events where Fletcher is falsely accused of a crime and must flee the town of his birth and go on the run. When his abilities are subsequently discovered, Fletcher is recruited into Vocans Military Academy, an elite school where battlemages are trained for war on the frontlines against the Orc foe.
Constantly on the lookout for his pursuers, Fletcher must soon learn who his allies are among the fellow battlemages in the academy. With days filled with lessons and free time with visits to the local town Corcillum, the days leading up to the end of term tournament fly by with plenty of sabotage, misdirection and subterfuge. Will Fletcher discover the power within him in time to outwit those that scheme against him?
The Novice is the first book in the Summoner series and the debut novel by London-based writer Taran Matharu. Matharu wrote the book on writing platform Wattpad and amassed 5.5 million reads before the trilogy was sold in auctions around the world. Out this month, the trilogy is set to be translated into 11 languages.
Fans of the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and His Dark Materials series will feel very comfortable in the world of Taran Matharu’s Hominum Empire. Beings such as orcs, dwarves and elves require little description or introduction because we’re already familiar with them and spells and wand work are already an expected part of the school curriculum. It was Lyra’s world of the His Dark Materials universe that The Novice seemed to draw on most significantly. Demons, the permeable veil between worlds and even a form of the Magisterium find a way into the book.
Despite the premises not being entirely original, Matharu does tell a good story which gets ever more exciting as the book progresses. There are themes of prejudice, exploitation and class inequality and the author is certainly not above taking a jab or two at the hypocrisy of the ruling classes. Fletcher’s friendship with Othello is authentic and I enjoyed the chance he takes to prove himself to the dwarves. The book reaches its pinnacle in the end of year tournament which was both riveting and extremely well-written.
I give Summoner: The Novice (Book 1) an excellent four out of five stars and will certainly be reading the next books in the series. To date, Matharu has written two prequels to The Novice: Summoner: Origins (Book 0) and Summoner: Rory (Book 0.5) will be available shortly.