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Review of Taran Matharu's Summoner

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As much as I love Amazon, I have been having problems with them for quite awhile. My reviews keep vanishing, particularly for indie books (but not just indie books). And when I have tried to get them reinstated, they insist that I know the author and thus that invalidates my review. I have been trying to get this fixed for awhile, but I've decided that my reviews will now focus primarily on my blog. That doesn't mean I won't keep trying. I know that Amazon reviews, in particular, are gold for the authors.

So to all my author friends, my apologies for the delay. I have posted Amazon reviews for many of you, but of the 80 reviews I wrote for this year alone, the vast majority have vanished. (I suspect it may be because, starting in January, I started putting disclaimers of potential biases relevant to the book

So I'll start trotting these reviews back out now, thank you very much. And we are going to start with a written review of Taran Matharu's Summoner Novice. Now I already reviewed this one on Talk Story to Me, but I promised a written one. Let's prepare to dig a little deeper.

Short Summary of Review

A well crafted fast fantasy epic that is easy to read and perfect for young middle grade and older. High rereadable and great for reading aloud.

Disclosure of Potential Biases

I met Taran Matharu through Wattpad before his novel was accepted for publication, and I consider him one of my writing friends. However, as my friends will tell you, that doesn't mean I love everything they do. Also he sent me an ARC for a fair and unbiased review.

Additional biases: I love fantasy.

Added perspective: the other copy I bought has vanished from my home. My teens and tutees keep borrowing it, and so far they all love it.

World Building

Fantasy is becoming an increasingly difficult genre to write in, at least if you go by what the critics have to say. One of the most common complaints I hear is "oh, heavens, look, another book with witches, werewolves, vampires, sorcerers, elves, dwarves," or whatever else. Allow me to get something off my chest right here and now: that is not going to change. Whining about it and pretending that authors who do use these elements are somehow lazy is misguided. You don't have to like it, but that doesn't mean that the author failed or that there's something wrong with using classic fantasy races.

What matters is how the story is told and whether the reader wants to keep going. So Taran isn't going to get any markdowns from me because this book features orcs, elves, dwarves, and so on. In fact some of the twists and developments work because the reader is familiar with the common stereotypes and tropes associated with these races. It's an easy starting point. Young readers, in particular, or those readers who don't have a lot of time to invest in a lot of new knowledge, have a cheat sheet if you will.

Let's take the dwarves for example. Many of the core elements of the dwarves remain in place. They are short, stout, and fiery tempered. They work with metal, and they are secretive. But the dwarves in Summoner: Novice are quite distinct from dwarves in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings. Taran Matharu has his own reasons for why dwarf women are rarely seen, and the dwarves themselves have a complex culture and even a heavily spiritual focus. The customs and interplay of culture take something quite familiar and gradually alters the reader's perception of it. The dwarves are my favorite culture represented so far, though the series is not yet finished. In future books, I hope to see the elves, orcs, and other races developed more.

Good Guys

Not only is Othello one of my favorite Shakespearen plays, but he is also my favorite character in Summoner: Novice. Othello is brave but calm and steadfast. He also demonstrates the importance of growth and handling conflict in an appropriate manner.