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A Review of "The Jack of Souls"



Introduction

Wow, wow, wow. I am absolutely shocked. Readers, I can't tell you how much I loved this book! Usually, I'm not so much a fan of the fantasy genre unless it's urban fantasy or magical realism, but I'll be darned if The Jack of Souls by author Stephen C. Merlino didn't blow me away!

My Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis: "Harric is an outcast rogue that must break a curse put on his fate, or die on his nineteenth birthday. As the day approaches, nightmares from the spirit world stalk him and tear at his sanity; sorcery eats at his soul.

To survive, he'll need more than his usual tricks. He'll need help--and a lot of it--but on the kingdom's lawless frontier, his only allies are other outcasts. One of these outcasts is Caris, a mysterious, horse-whispering runaway, intent upon becoming the Queen's first female knight. The other is Sir Willard--ex-immortal, ex-champion, now addicted to pain-killing herbs and banished from the court.

With their help, Harric might keep his curse at bay. But for how long?

And both companions bring perils and secrets of their own: Caris bears the scars of a troubled past that still hunts her; Willard is at war with the Old Ones, an order of insane immortal knights who once enslaved the kingdom. The Old Ones have returned to murder Willard and seize the throne from his queen. Willard is both on the run from them, and on one final, desperate quest to save her. 

Together, Harric and his companions must overcome fanatical armies, murderous sorcerers, and powerful supernatural foes.

Alone, Harric must face the temptation of a forbidden magic that could break his curse, but cost him the only woman he's ever loved." (via Goodreads)


Thoughts and Comments

Pros

  • The world building in this novel is excellent. Mr. Merlino obviously cares very much about the attention to detail in his creation.
  • The language that is used in dialogue is beautiful and fits perfectly with the time and setting of the novel. Some accents from characters of a different region are easy to discern from the others' accents without being too choppy to read through.
  • The magic system is understandable and very well thought-out. The spirit world is imaginative and unnerving all at the same time. Additionally, there are little magic trinkets and plants mentioned throughout the novel that utterly charmed me! (Get it?)
  • There are strong ties with the magic to blood and power, which gives the reader an idea of the importance of the family the characters are born into and the abilities that some are given to through birth.
  • The writing was excellent; I didn't notice any grammatical mistakes or any broken sentences that made my nose crinkle.
  • The main character, Harric, I found to be very likable indeed! He is a noble boy with a good head on his shoulders and a strong moral compass; however, he is also not afraid to be selfish in his own desires.
  • I've noticed that sometimes in fantasy the enemy is this all-powerful being without a chance in the world at being beat. However, that isn't the case in this novel. Although immortal, the enemies can become immortal, as shown by Sir Willard, and although very frightening indeed, they aren't overpowered, which is refreshing for the fantasy genre.
  • Pleasant little fragments of lore are placed at the top of the page before every chapter that gives the reader an idea of just how old the world actually is, as well as fills the reader in on some backstory that might be subtly important to the main quest.


Conclusion

This novel is the first in the Unseen Moon series, and you'd better believe that I'm spending the $3.99 on Kindle to buy the second book! Ultimately, if you're a fan of the fantasy genre, or of coming-of-age stories, you HAVE to give The Jack of Souls a try! I'd bet my hat that you won't be disappointed!


Amazon Link: See here
Goodreads Link: See here
Riffle Link: See here

 This fulfills my "Coming-of-Age Fantasy" subgenre of the Fantasy genre!


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