Review: Whoever said infiltrating a Wizard Tower was easy?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2011
Hemlock and the Wizard Towerfollows the exploits of a talented thief, Hemlock, living on a magic-laden world controlled by the all powerful Wizard Guild. Sneaking into the heart of their operation, the Wizard Tower, Hemlock attempts to learn why the magic that normally would help her ailing sister has recently been failing. Blaming the wizards (wizards be damned!), she uses all her extraordinary skills to infiltrate their Tower, something no one has ever been successful in accomplishing. With the aid of her mentor, a renegade wizard, and even a mechanical golem, Hemlock is swept up in the battle to break the Wizard Guild's regulation of everyday magic.I truly enjoyed this story. Character development was good. I liked how Hemlock went from rooftop vigilante to a very believable heroine whom people looked up to. I liked the author's use of italics to portray flashbacks. What I really enjoyed, though, was how everything flowed so smoothly. The inner circles of the Wizard Guild, the different sections of the city, the outlying lands, etc. One critique I had was about the main antagonist, Falignus. There were times when I wasn't sure if he was truly evil, or if he had underlying motives causing him to behave as he did. Fortunately, it didn't distract from the story in the slightest. I was hoping for more history about Merit, but maybe in a sequel?Speaking of sequels, I thought I saw somewhere that the author was working on a second book. I sure hope so! To anyone out there that loves fantasy, this is a fantastic book! Be sure to check it out!