THE NOVICE (SUMMONER, BOOK 1) REVIEW

AUTHOR : Taran Matharu

PUBLISHER : Hodder Children's Books

PUBLISHED : 2015

PAPERBACK : 416 Pages

SUMMARY : ONLY HIS POWER TO SUMMON DEMONS CAN SAVE THE EMPIRE.

Fletcher is just an orphan training as a blacksmith’s apprentice when he discovers he has the rare ability to summon demons from another world.

Now one of the gifted few, Fletcher will be taught the lost art of summoning at the Vocans Academy.

Fletcher must endure deadly lessons to gain control of his gift and prepare for the end of year Tournament that will determine his fate in the Empire’s war against the orcs.

But sinister forces infect new friendships and rivalries grow. With no one but his demon Ignatius by his side, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of the Empire is in his hands…

MY THOUGHTS :

NON-SPOILER :

They say to not judge a book by its cover but I gotta confess that's what lured me to this book in the first place, the cover art is so damn good to not take into consideration. First of all, nothing on the cover is a wasted effort, everything relates factually to the book, it's not just a creative depiction of the character by the illustrator. Esthetically it's already a five-star.

Now about the content of the book. This book had me captivated since the very first chapter. The talk of demons and wars had already piqued my interest. There's a slight twist on the nature of the demonic elements and how they interact with the human world which is a major part of the plot. The character's journey to becoming an unlikely hero and making lifelong friendships along the way was to me was the most pleasing aspect of the story. The story is something familiar and yet something entirely new in its execution.

I did a Naruto ninja run through this book, I think it was some kind of record for me. So yeah, it is that good. So if you haven't picked it up already I recommend you do so immediately.

SPOILER :

This is the debut Novel of the Author Taran Matharu and he did a great job creating a fascinating yet dangerous world full of magical and fantastical creatures and people, creating an entirely new storyline with contents so familiar.

The xenophobic nature of this fantasy world makes it more realistic and relatable on so many levels. Extreme racism and classism is the sad reality of things in the land of Hominum. So watching the characters overcome those racial prejudices and coming together of humans, dwarves, and elves challenging the racism and classism of their society to form solid lifelong friendships was the best aspect of the story for me.

The demons in the story are reminiscent of Pokémon but not exactly, there's a lot of killing, dying and face-melting happening to just compare the demon's to pokemon and leave it at that, it's more like Pokemon gone Darkside, although the story is fairly light-hearted at times. It also gave me the 'How to Train Your Dragon' vibes. Though Ignatius, Fletcher's Demon Salamander is a cute and lovable creature, it's not on par with Pickachu and Toothless, interacting with his human companion wise.

In terms of uniqueness, you won't find anything just out there. Men, Elves, and Dwarves all distrustful of each other yet united to face a common threat in the form of Orcs. Unification of the races is quite an issue even in the face of imminent threat in the account of the racism and classism that permeates the society of Hominum and divides the people. So the world is reminiscent of many other works of fantasy.

Assigning Mana levels to Demons and humans is something a gamer can relate to. Although it limits the potential of the characters it doesn't stifle the excitement and flow of the story. The world is a combination of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter or The Magisterium or any other series that involves kids going to magic school, which was fine with me as I like the books where I get to learn with the characters about magic and everything associated with it.

This whole book leads towards an awesome tournament showdown which is something to behold with demons going head to head with each other which is reminiscent of Pokémon battles with a little more than just a badge at stake, and that's where you'll find out why I said there's nothing wasted on the books cover art.

Overall, it's a story full of cute and dangerous demons, and awesome battles that had me screaming 'Ignatius use Fire Breath! '. So yeah, I had a great time reading it and you will too if you decide to pick it up.

CHARACTERS :

I sometimes fan cast the book characters in my mind. So here are some of my suggestions

1. FLETCHER

Timothee Chalamet.