Grade level: 9 - adult
Literary Merit: Excellent
Characterization: Excellent
Highly Recommended
Stormcaster is the third book in the Shattered Realms series, which happens a generation after the events in the Seven Realms series. Both series are in contention for my all time favorite fantasy series, and I can’t figure out why they don’t get more buzz. Somehow Chima just gets better and better with each book. For those uninitiated to the greatness of the Seven Realms, I would not recommend jumping in with this book because you will be very confused. I would say start at the very beginning with The Demon King (Seven Realms Book 1), but you could also start with Flamecaster (Shattered Realms Book 1) and be OK.

Stormcaster gives readers the origin story of Evan Strangward, a character who has made appearances in the previous two books. An orphan turned pirate, Evan does not understand where his powers to control the elements come from, but he has figured out how to use them to his advantage. He knows the Empress Celestine would like nothing better than to take control of him and use his abilities to help her conquer the realms. Evan knows he can’t stop her on his own.

The plot of the series is complex and would be hard to summarize without including spoilers for earlier books, so I’m going to focus on the reasons why this series stands out for me as truly great high fantasy.

The world building - The sprawling world of the Seven Realms feels fully fleshed out and lived in.
The characters - There are a lot of characters, and Chima manages to make them all three dimensional people with their own unique personalities, motivations, and back stories.
Political intrigue - Political maneuvering and machinations abound. It’s kind of like Game of Thrones with less sex and violence.
Humor - There is a LOT of drama in this books, but Chima manages to sprinkle in some needed comic relief.
Feminism - The ladies are getting stuff done in these books. The Fells are a queendom ruled by the line of the Grey Wolf Queens. The princess heir is a captain in the army. The main villain - Empress Celestine - is a woman.

I could go on and on. Any teen or adult who enjoys high fantasy should be reading these books. The only problem...I need the next book NOW and I can’t even find a pub date. ( )