Review: A magical journey
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 8, 2014
This book was an exciting mash up of all my best loved fantasy novels. It had mystery, magic and mayhem; plenty of adventure and enough action to keep me glued to my Kindle.I will admit that it took me a while to get into this book, but once I was fully immersed in the story nothing could draw me away. Maul painted a vivid picture of beautiful landscapes and a magical world that I could easily live in, even with the evil that lurked.In the beginning a was a little distracted by the constant shift between present and past, and even though I understood what Maul was trying to show me with the flashbacks, I felt they could have been eased into the story in a different way. It was only really when Jak and Simon found themselves in Magnanthia that I started to enjoy the story and all the chaos that ensued.I love that this book was dual POV. It gave me the chance to see into the mind of both the hero and the villain. And it was quite unique in the way that it allowed the reader to connect with the villain in a way I've never seen before. Most of the time, the hero is the MC and at some point in the story the villain is introduced. The reader never really gets to see how the villain got to be evil etc. and Maul gave his readers this insight. It gave the villain more heart and actually made me want to reach out to him.I have to say that I enjoyed Jak's story more than Simon's. Perhaps it was because he seemed to have the harder choices, and he was led down a path that meant life as a Warlock, fighting for the wrong side, or death. Or perhaps it was the frightening creatures he had to face; that made my skin crawl. I just felt more for him than I did for Simon.This book was a fantastic start to what is sure to be a thrilling series. I look forward to reading more, and finding out how Jak and Simon will navigate their new lives. Readers of the Harry Potter franchise and similar reads will love this book.