Review: A well written, lush, lyrical tale
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 22, 2012
I don't read many fantasy novels, but I am so pleased to have discovered this one. I have read Terry Goodkind's famous Legend of the Seeker Series, so I thought I would try this book as it has some similar elements. From the first few pages of the story I was instantly drawn in, feeling empathy for a father whose newborn son is struggling to survive and will most likely die in the next days. Enter a mysterious wizard coming to visit the grieving father, who is actually a knight hiding out in the remote regions of the kingdom, and you have the beginnings of an engaging epic adventure.The infant son survives and grows up believing his father is merely a farmer. As a young man, Declan longs to escape the tedium of his life in remote village. He longs for great things, adventure, romance, and the glory of battle. He wants to be  a knight. He travels to the capitol city to take part in a tournament as an archer. The winner of the tournament will be given the opportunity to train as a knight and be in service to the king. Declan meets the Princess Aria at the tournament, a young lady who longs to be free of her sheltered existence and to right the wrongs inflicted by her grandfather, the king. She is a strong, determined character. Together, Declan and Princess Aria set in motion events that will topple the kingdom and change the lives of everyone involved. This book has it all, action, adventure, romance, magic and mystery, ancient prophecies, even a dragon makes an appearance.That said, I was still constantly surprised by the plot twists, as each time I expected the predictable to happen in this story--it didn't, Alvarez turned the plot on it's ear time and time again, keeping me turning the pages to see what would happen next. I enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it.The writer is talented, and his use of language is absolutely luscious and beautiful. Alvarez has a very lyrical, poetic style of prose and his descriptions are vivid, almost painterly in their vibrant, fresh strokes. This book will appeal to a broad audience as both a young adult novel and an adult novel with plenty of adventure, romance and mysticism set in a medieval fantasy world. I hope there will be more books by this author.