Review: Good start to a Fantasy quest series
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 4, 2012
Wizard Rising is a fun coming of age fantasy.  This is the story of 16 year old Zollin, the awkward son of the village carpenter, who learns that he is destined to be a wizard.  Zollin lives in the Five Kingdoms where magic is monopolized by the Wizards of the Torr.  Wizards must either submit to the Torr or die.  It is an action packed quest for Zollin to learn to be a Wizard while he and his companions evade the Torr.  I enjoyed reading this book but was a little confused on whether there will be follow up novels to resolve open conflicts.Hanging ending was typical of a novel which is expected to be a series.  However, it is not completely clear if this novel is intended as a series.  As of today's writing, I could find no information in the book or on Amazon's Product Description or on Author's website on whether this is a series or if so the intended length of series.  If the book is not meant as a series then it would have been best to eliminate last page or so of material which foreshadowed impending conflict and to have also more conclusively concluded conflict with the Wizards of the Torr.  Just prior to publishing this review, I found a comment on another review which appeared to be from Author stating "There will be more about the Five Kingdoms, Zollin's power and the larger back story in the following books. Look for the next book in the series this spring."  I now believe that this is the first book in a series but it would have been helpful to have made this clear on the cover, at the conclusion, on Amazon's product page and the Author's webpage.UPDATE JUNE 2012:  Time has passed and clarity of series length has improved.  Update on Author's website states that series is anticipated to be 5 books but that this is subject to change.  Update also indicates tentative timing for next 3 books as August, December then February, 2013.Magic Awakening (The Five Kingdoms)is the second book in the Five Kingdoms series.Book is well written with few editorial issues.  Plot flowed smoothly. Samples for 2 other novels were at the end and seemed interesting also.Wizard Rising is 4,339 Kindle locations long; excluding excerpts at end for two sample books. Standard length novels seem to run in the 4,500 to 7,000 plus Kindle location range.  Longer books, such as books in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, can range from 15,000 to 20,000 plus Kindle locations.