TL;DR Review: Familiar-feeling classic high fantasy with some wonderfully surprising twists.
Synopsis:
Armies will clash and gods will die…
For thousands of years, the Breaker of the Dawn has been locked away in the ethereal plane of the Otherworld. Now, a young blacksmith’s apprentice finds himself trapped in a war between the noble Athrani, a subset of humanity gifted with the ability to transmute matter, and the malevolent and powerful Khyth, who seek to free the ancient god from his prison.
Gift of the Shaper chronicles the epic struggle between the existing forces of good and evil, with both sides vying for control of the key that unlocks the Otherworld. The very powers of creation and destruction hang in the balance, and only a heroic effort can possibly stop the Khyth from unleashing ruin upon their world.
Full Review:
Gift of the Shaper is the ideal book for fans of classic fantasy—Eragon, Wheel of Time, Shannara, and Sword of Truth fans will instantly pick up what it’s putting down and be drawn into a story that feels familiar from the first page.
We begin by following Thornton, son of a blacksmith, trained in his father’s forge, who finds himself drawn into an unexpected adventure when he and his obvious romantic interest, Miera, are attacked late at night after a trip to the market. Their flight sends them into the ever-familiar “dark woods”, where they come across mythological creatures who save them from danger and point them in the direction of adventure.
But when Thornton returns home briefly to bid his father farewell, he finds his father gone—attacked and dragged away by enemies unknown. They set off with the help of these beings of myth, the Kienari, to track down their father.
That’s when the story really begins to expand. We get to see through the eyes of Orson, Thornton’s father, and a “half-eye” (mixed blood) prisoner who shares a cell with him. We’re introduced to the dark Khyth (mage?) D’kane and see the hideous blood magic rituals he is using to gather power.
And it just keeps getting bigger from there!
The book takes us on an adventure that covers the breadth and depth of the world—into the hidden Khyth stronghold in the mountains, a grand city where the magically gifted live among humans, into the depths of a mystical forest, and even into the Otherworld!
It has all the hallmarks of a classic high fantasy adventure story, with Thornton and Miera at its heart, but with other characters used to offer insight from both the “good” and “bad” perspectives.
The magic of the world—Breaking and Shaping—is fascinating and unique, and it’s amazing to see it in action, for better and worse. But as we come to see over the course of the book, there’s so much more than there seems at the beginning. By the end, the world will never be the same again—and the same for some of our characters.
The book isn’t afraid to go dark when necessary, but it sticks to the more surface-level violence and treachery common to high fantasy. There is death, loss, suffering, and grief, but there are also moments of wonder and beauty, of love and friendship, even reconciliation and new beginnings.
Best of all, it sets up some things to be expected and known as fact, only to flip them around on their head for some excellent revelations and twists.
An easy read, a familiar feel, and an adventure that will keep you turning those pages to find out what comes next!
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