Scan barcode
A review by topdragon
First Truth by Dawn Cook
4.0
Alissa, a young (20ish) woman has set out on a journey to a mythical “Hold” where she is to hone her magical abilities much like her father had done before her. The problem is that she thinks it a fool’s errand due to the ludicrous idea of magic existing at all, much less a mystical "Hold" where prior magicians had learned their skills. Strell, a wandering musician/storyteller from the plains meets her on the journey and together they make their way to where they believe the hold may be. Their journey is fraught with danger and their own prejudices against each other.
I’ve had this 4-book series on my shelf for quite some time and they likely would have languished there for much longer had I not discovered that the author’s name, Dawn Cook, is actually a pen name for the well-regarded [a:Kim Harrison|17054|Kim Harrison|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1435095735p2/17054.jpg], author of the best-selling “Hollows” series. I’m happy I took the plunge because this first book, while following a somewhat typical fantasy plot line, is still a worthy read and sets up the rest of the series in fine fashion. We know going in that these two main characters will grow past their differences and their bickering and a genuine friendship and probably a romance will blossom. But I thought all of that was handled very realistically, and wasn’t rushed along at all. My biggest negative is that while the ending provided a big reveal concerning the very nature of the world in which they live, I had seen it coming through most of the book…but even so, I didn’t feel any kind of major letdown. The world building is appropriately kept to a minimum but I would have preferred the magic system to be a little less nebulous. I’m still not sure how the various aspects of Alissa’s threads and tendrils and rivulets and globes of energy work but then again, at the end of book one, Alissa doesn’t either. Thus…three more books.
The cover of the paperback I read is from back in the early 2000's, when the book was first published. I see that today’s covers are definitely geared more toward the YA market. I suppose that is appropriate for the book I just read but it works as a traditional epic fantasy as well.
I’ve had this 4-book series on my shelf for quite some time and they likely would have languished there for much longer had I not discovered that the author’s name, Dawn Cook, is actually a pen name for the well-regarded [a:Kim Harrison|17054|Kim Harrison|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1435095735p2/17054.jpg], author of the best-selling “Hollows” series. I’m happy I took the plunge because this first book, while following a somewhat typical fantasy plot line, is still a worthy read and sets up the rest of the series in fine fashion. We know going in that these two main characters will grow past their differences and their bickering and a genuine friendship and probably a romance will blossom. But I thought all of that was handled very realistically, and wasn’t rushed along at all. My biggest negative is that while the ending provided a big reveal concerning the very nature of the world in which they live, I had seen it coming through most of the book…but even so, I didn’t feel any kind of major letdown. The world building is appropriately kept to a minimum but I would have preferred the magic system to be a little less nebulous. I’m still not sure how the various aspects of Alissa’s threads and tendrils and rivulets and globes of energy work but then again, at the end of book one, Alissa doesn’t either. Thus…three more books.
The cover of the paperback I read is from back in the early 2000's, when the book was first published. I see that today’s covers are definitely geared more toward the YA market. I suppose that is appropriate for the book I just read but it works as a traditional epic fantasy as well.