Dawn of Wonder: The Wakening, Book 1

Fearful travelers whisper of an ancient power breathing over Thirna, changing it, waking it. But this is only the beginning of his discoveries. The events that follow propel Aedan on a journey that only the foolhardy or desperate would risk, leading him to the gates of the nation's royal academy - a whole world of secrets in itself. But for Aedan, a scruffy young adventurer with veins full of fire and a head full of ideas, this officer is not what he seems. When a high-ranking officer gallops into the quiet Mistyvales, he brings a warning that shakes the countryfolk to their roots. Something is stirring in the land, something more ominous than the rising threat of hostile nations. In the very heart of these stirrings, Aedan encounters that which defies belief, leaving him speechless with terror - and wonder.

The most daring, inventive, engrossing and wonderful fantasy novel it has ever been my pleasure to read For those of you not interested in reading a novel before you read a novel, I suggest you skip to the last paragraph for the Cliffs Notes version of my review. For those of you who wish to know how it's possible that one book can forever change the lens through which you view the genre of fantasy and the metric and standard through which you measure it, read on.Seldom do I ever feel compelled to write a review. In fact, this is (I believe) my first review on Goodreads. But every so often in life, you have the fortune to come across a work so artfully, skillfully and carefully crafted that it can only have been created by s. AMAZING (Because caps makes it true) Amazon Customer This book is amazing. In order to get the most from this review, you need a base of what kinds of books I enjoy. I love Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive is my favorite series currently), The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, and The Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch to name a few.Now on to why you are here. This book has many elements that I have been looking for. Too many fantasy authors attribute an all powerful character to an interesting one. Within 50 pages, the author has the character besting 5 other trained individuals and by the end of the series, they might as well be facing the army by themselv. Not too bad Agent Mayhem While I can understand the comparisons to The Name Of The Wind, this book is not quite in the same league. It opens very well with its strongest act, but the plot bogs down quite a bit from there. It could have easily been 20% shorter without losing much in the way of story or character development. I found the characters to be likable enough despite being relatively one-dimensional. The plot was fun and meandering, if somewhat predictable, and the prose was serviceable if not beautiful; this one won't win any awards for originality or style. All of that said, I certainly didn't hate it and in the end will probably pick up