Synopsis – Two schools: One of magic and science, the other focused on military excellence.
A dangerous undercurrent flows within both…dark and deadly.
Everson is brilliant, ingenious, and yet, he feels broken. Cursed with a disability, he dreams of nothing more than being useful. Quinn is bold, defiant, and will do anything to protect her brother.
When Everson is accepted to an academy of magic and engineering, Quinn enters a school of combat in order to join him in Fallbrandt. However, things within the fabled institutions are not what they seem. Beneath a mantra of good intentions and the objective of a better future, spies and conspiracies lurk.
Quinn finds herself embroiled in a struggle she doesn’t understand, one with dire consequences as her training shifts from difficult to deadly. Her relentless determination and will to survive might be enough, if she only knew whom she could trust.
Within the other school, Everson learns about a dangerous power known as Chaos. Unable to wield this magic, he is instead intent on melding Chaos with science, dreaming up inventions that would shape the future. Perceptive, imaginative, and curious, his endeavors lead him to a revelation that could change the world…and then, he discovers the truth.
A Wardens Purpose is the sequel to The Runes of Issalia trilogy and it is set a number of years in the future after the end of that trilogy. When I found out Jeffrey was delving deeper into the world he first created in The Runes of Issalia trilogy by creating a sequel trilogy I was very intrigued to see what he was going to do due to how much I enjoyed the first trilogy.
When I first started reading A Wardens Purpose I wasn’t immediately enthralled by the story due to a slower pace and it took me a little longer to get used to the characters. However once I reached approximately 20-30% of the book this quickly changed as not only does the pace quicken but the truly interesting story points and aspects of the book start to reveal themselves.
One aspect of the book I thought was very interesting was that instead of going with main character like Brock in the original trilogy that was naturally very gifted here we are given the main character Everson who is struggling with who he is and discovering what his talents are and we get to see him develop those as the book progresses. Unfortunately Everson is disabled and this only makes things all the more difficult for him so when start to see him struggle you are emotionally drawn to the strife he is facing.
In The Runes of Issalia trilogy Brock was predominantly a fighter who specialized slightly in other areas but this time round we are presented with a main character who is more specialized in engineering and reading about this was a breath of fresh air. Too often in books we are not given knowledge of other character hierarchies other than the fighter, mage, ranger or druid so getting this perspective was very interesting to read about. The only slight gripe I have about this is that I would have liked the book to delve into the engineers lifestyle and work a bit more however the character as a whole was still very well done.
I know so far I have only mentioned the main character Everson but this book also has an additional POV who is his sister Quinn. This allows the book to open up the world even further as the world now has two schools one for those talented in magic wards and those in the various warrior specialties so it was very interesting to read about the different experiences our characters have in them.
One aspect of this book I thoroughly enjoyed reading was the multiple mysteries that followed our main characters and how Jeffrey slowly drew these out as the book progressed, they were certainly a times that I was surprised by twists in the plot.
I think Jeffrey has created a very interesting story perspective for this new trilogy and I certainly have a few favorite elements in A Wardens Purpose (e.g. the engineering competition) so I am definitely looking forward to see how he progresses it and what happens next. As it stands right now I still prefer The Runes of Issalia trilogy but I have no doubt that this could certainly change.
Overall I really enjoyed reading A Wardens Purpose and I am looking forward to reading the sequel. If you haven’t yet read The Runes of Issalia then I highly recommend you do as it is a very good trilogy that is well paced and quick to read.
The Literary Raven Book Reviews 