Reviews

The Novice by Taran Matharu

whattamess's review against another edition

2.0

Buddy read with the MacHalo gang

I wouldn't put this in the genre of YA. It firmly belongs to the Middle Age genre.

Very kiddie like and a bit annoying. I'm sure if I was 10 years old and loved Harry Potter and Pokemon I'd probably get a kick out of this book.

It started off good. Then Fletcher gets to the school and his whole personality changed. Bummer. I was enjoying the Fletcher I was introduced to.

The author had some great ideas, it's just that the whole school thing killed the story for me. I think if Fletcher ran off and got training elsewhere this story would have turned into an adventure fantasy. I feel if the grade level storytelling was brought up to YA this would have been a more exciting book.

costly's review

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

whathegodsread's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Crazy sometimes I was like mhh but then yess. I was so mad about the corrupt system. I'm excited for the next

erea's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

freuious's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

aprilberryrust's review against another edition

4.0

My first YA book in a while. I was impressed with how it kept me interested. The writing style was a little hard to follow at times.

sharonsm_28's review against another edition

3.0

This was a good read. I thought it was a good introduction to the series. I thought that the pacing was fast, and it was interesting. The world building was good. However, there are some many characters that it's confusing.

Also, I liked the characters except for Didric. I didn't like him at all. I thought he was a poor excuse of a character because of his behaviour. I really like the little demon, which reminded me of the gargoyle, Xemerius, from Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier.

The ending was a cliffhanger, and I thought that it could have been better. I need to see what the next book has in store. Overall, an okay read.

icemonitor40's review against another edition

4.0

Though simplistic and often predictable, a good read that brought back a cocktail of nostalgia.

The recipe, if I were to guess:
One part Eragon
One Part Harry Potter
Two parts Seventh Tower
Stir, don't shake
Garnish the rim with Ranger's Apprentice

Personally liked seeing a wide range of exotic weapons -including some favorites like the sickle sword- instead of the standard Northwestern European weapons used by most fantasy.

jpmachado's review against another edition

3.0

Muito bom. Um sistema de magia muito interessante. Uma abordagem diferente de magia e do criché da escola de magia. Todos os fans de Harry Potter, pokémon, e ou Yu-Gi-Oh, e mesmo que não gosta de nenhum desse deveria ler este livro. Embora seja meio livro, já que termina na metade da história. Então recomendo que quem for ler pegue os dois primeiros pra ler de uma vez. Porque não quero dar spoiler vou terminar por aqui. mas super recomendo

writings_of_a_reader's review against another edition

4.0

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.

I've been looking forward to reading The Novice for a while and it mostly lived up to my expectations. I loved getting to know Fletcher, Sylva, and Othello. Fletcher ends up being pretty brilliant in this book. I loved the ideas he came up with for the tournament. This is a pretty standard mage school type book with tension between the students of different races (humans, elves, and dwarves) as well as between the upper and lower classes, with some of the nobles being predictably snooty and mean. However, I was pleased that the book didn't always follow the predictable path. There were a few times I thought the story was going to be predictable and it wasn't.

The thing I liked best about this book were the pet demons that the mages had. From cute little mites that could spy on people to powerful griffons and golems, they were all interesting. I also enjoyed reading the guide about them at the end of the book. The ending was a bit frustrating and it left me really wanting to know what happens next, so I'll definitely be reading more.

Review also posted at Writings of a Reader