Friday Fiction Fix: "Emissary"

The Short:

Emissary

Legends of the Realm, Book 1

By: Thomas Locke

4/5 Stars

What: A young man discovers he has powers he shouldn’t have. But his powers might be the only thing that can save the kingdom.

Recommended to those who like: Fantasy, Clean, Fast Reads

Not recommended to those who dislike: Magic use

The Long:

I had a little bit of trouble rating this book. On one hand, it had been a while since I had entered a fresh, true fantasy world. (I’ve been reading a lot of dystopian/futuristic/sci-fi-ish stuff lately). I absolutely adore fantasy, so you’d be hard pressed to give me a fantasy story in which I didn’t find something to enjoy. Thus, my fantasy-starved-self had originally given this book a higher rating. However, the more I reflect back on it, the less I think it fits in with the books with those higher ratings.

Anyhow, that’s a long way of saying that I enjoyed this book (and other fantasy lovers probably will, too), but that I did have some issues with it.

With her dying breath, Hyam's mother sends him back to the place he most dreaded as a child. Will the mages that treated him so poorly reveal something important? And when he discovers his newfound powers, how will Hyam use them? Time is running out for the kingdom, and everything depends on his choices. 

For a fantasy book, Emissary was relatively short. This made it perfect as my “commute book” and allowed me to finish it in a couple days. The writing is snappy and sometimes reads more like an action novel than an epic fantasy. Sometimes this worked well; other times, it didn’t.

One of the disadvantages of the book’s length was that I felt I didn’t get to know the characters. Since I plan on picking up the next book, I’m hoping that I can get behind the characters a bit more.

The plot was of a good pace and had a nice, small surprise at the end. The magic battles were well-written and the quest element of the story was less predictable than I had initially expected.

I did enjoy the worldbuilding. It had enough typical fantasy elements to still have the familiar feel of a fantasy novel, but it also had some fresh ideas that livened the story up a bit. If you dislike magic, this would not be a good choice for you. (“Magic” in this book being manipulating energy fields. If you’re fine with Star Wars, you shouldn’t have a big problem with this book.) There are some questions I have about the story world, but I hope that they are answered in future volumes.

The Bottom Line: I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy as a genre and doesn’t mind extensive magic use.