Synopsis
A Recommended Reading List Pick for Locus and a Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Editors’ Pick for Amazon
A Reactor Magazine Best of the Year Pick
For fans who have always wanted their Twin Peaks to have some wizards, The Warden is a non-stop action adventure story from author Daniel M. Ford.
There was a plan.
She had the money, the connections, even the brains. It was simple: become one of the only female necromancers, earn as many degrees as possible, get a post in one of the grand cities, then prove she’s capable of greatness. The funny thing about plans is that they are seldom under your control.
Now Aelis de Lenti, a daughter of a noble house and recent graduate of the esteemed Magisters’ Lyceum, finds herself in the far-removed village of Lone Pine. Mending fences, matching wits with goats, and serving people who want nothing to do with her. But, not all is well in Lone Pine, and as the villagers Aelis is reluctantly getting to know start to behave strangely, Aelis begins to suspect that there is far greater need for a Warden of her talents than she previously thought.
Old magics are restless, and an insignificant village on the farthest border of the kingdom might hold secrets far beyond what anyone expected. Aelis might be the only person standing between one of the greatest evils ever known and the rest of the world.
Review
I was apparently approved for this from NetGalley, but then I got so busy that I completely missed it. So, very sorry about that! The narration by Lindsay Dorcus was awesome though, so I’m glad I got to it.
Wardens are like rangers and wizards mixed into one. Our main character, Aelis, is a sword wielding, wand caster, and the new arriving overseer of Lone Pine. She is a necromancer, an anatomist, and pretty good with a sword too. The world pieces Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and even Harry Potter, and I could see people thinking Gideon the Ninth too. With all that in mind, the blend read very unique to me, as well as fully fleshed out.
The inner thoughts of Aelis, somewhat sarcastic and even self-deprecating, mixed with the more deadpan and steadfast personality of her half-orc guide, Tun, read as a great dynamic. I did struggle a bit with the half-elf love interest though. It felt kind of like pushing for a sapphic subthread that didn’t really need to be there. Or at least it wasn’t fleshed out enough for me.
I’d also liken it to some older fantasy series in the sense that it doesn’t deliver on some gigantic climax. That didn’t really work for me in the moment, but I think I’ve just become so engrained in the modern delivery of heavy action before the end. This does not have that, and that’s actually okay. It’s not without action, nor is it boring at all!
Personally a 4/5*. The peppered in flashbacks from school at the Lyceum really added depth to the world and the MC.
I personally really enjoyed the original cover, which I’ll share below. I believe I recall reading somewhere that they just thought it didn’t correctly encapsulate the story. Sure is cool though.
And I really look forward to the sequel that’s supposed to drop this year called Necrobane!
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