Review: Exciting Beginning to a Fantasy Adventure Story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 17, 2014
“The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches” is an epic fantasy adventure story that indicates the young adult demographic as its target audience, but I think any audience who enjoys fantasy will like this quite a bit. It weaves together a large cast of characters, including human, elf, and other magical creatures, across a sometimes dangerous, always magical landscape.The novel begins with Adrina, a beautiful princess who wishes to see beyond the walls of her gray castle instead of settle down to the married life, and also quickly introduces the reader to Vilmos—who must suppress his magic, since it’s seen as evil—and Seth, who is telepathically linked to the elf queen and serves as a member of her guard. The story weaves between these three characters and other more minor characters as they each begin their respective journeys, traveling across a broken land and each with their own agenda.As a regular reader of this genre, one of the things I liked best about this first book in the series is that it had plenty of female characters—many stories in the tradition of Tolkien have few female characters, if any, and those are usually cardboard archetypes. However, Adrina is a complex character; she is likeable because she is both strong and adventurous but also flawed in a way that makes her very human. I also liked her relationship with Emel, and his devotion to protecting her. Each of the other heroes—Vilmos and Seth—also have their unique traits that make them memorable and keep the reader excited for when they all come together. I also enjoyed the time the author takes for world-building, with distinct areas and kingdoms, and look forward to those being fleshed out further in future entries in the series. Recommended to readers who enjoy fantasy, especially quest stories with complex characters.