J.S. Jaeger

This is the first book in a planned seven book series for middle-grade students. It introduces us to Nate, a young boy who wants to become a wizard. He is teased and bullied by others in his village, but he does not give up. When he finally passes a test, he proves to the Red Wizard that he is a worthy candidate. One of the other wizards agrees to train him and his friend Blinkly, so they head off the the Hall of Magic, and encounter all kinds of dangers along the way. When war breaks out and Nate's village is in danger, he is sent to go and help using whatever magic he has learned along the way. There is a lot packed into this novel which will keep kids on the edge of their seats, but does not always give enough detail or description. Nate is a great character who is loyal, caring, persistent and determined. These skills will come in helpful throughout the book. It has been several years since this book was written, so hopefully the rest of the series will be written a little closer together so the intended audience will be able to read the rest of the series. I recommend this book to kids 10 to 14 who love fantasy and adventure. There are a lot of creatures from mythology mentioned in this book which might also get the readers looking at other material for more information. A good book for a middle grade classroom library or school library.… (mehr)

This was a fun, straight forward tale that was easy to get into. I enjoyed the magic and the simple world building. The characters were a little one-dimensional but also suited the story. Nate is a likable kid on the cusp of manhood who seeks one adventure and gets swept up in something much bigger.

A variety of characters populate this story – it’s not just humans playing major roles. I especially liked Demon, a 2-headed chimera, and the relationship he builds with Blinkly and Nate. I was a little sad to see that the ladies were side-barred for much of the story. There’s Nate’s mom and a disgruntled older lady that have minor roles and we have to get deep into the tale before a woman makes her mark on the plot.

On the surface, it’s a typical good versus evil story. The Red Wizard helps Nate achieve his goal of apprenticing in magic (which is a boost his ego definitely needed as his family thinks of him as a silly daydreamer). I did enjoy the image of Nate’s brother Ted trying to ride a wild pegasus even as Ted has little regard for Nate’s dreams.

OK, so back to the Big Baddie and how the realm is in danger and eventually even Nate’s village is under threat. Even though this is a kid’s tale, I was glad to see that not everyone makes it out unscathed. Nate has the dead to morn, injuries to heal from, and yet more magic to learn. All told, 4/5 stars.

The Narration: R. J. Walker’s narration started off a little bumpy. His character accents skewed and mushed together in the beginning. When Nate was hanging out with Blinkly, he had an almost posh accent (which is what Blinkly has) but when hanging out with his brother Ted, it was much more Midwestern (though Ted sounds like a total hick, which is odd for 2 siblings to have different accents). Anyhoo, about halfway into the book, the accents stabilize and each character remains distinct. Sometimes Walker had a great voice for a female character (like ancient Bela) and sometimes his female voices lacked femininity. Still, he was an energetic narrator who obviously enjoyed what he was doing. There were no technical issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by JS Jaeger. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.… (mehr)