“The Shadow Seer” is the first volume in what looks likely to be a six-book series by Swansea based fantasy writer Fran Jacobs. The book has had a long gestation, but was finally published by Writers Exchange in Summer 2011, and has been worth the wait.

Candale, Prince of Carnia, is a sickly boy, plagued by fits. Far from being a hero, when the reader first meets him he is on his deathbed, and is only saved by the magical intervention of the witch, Mayrila. But she has revived him More...

Prince Canmdale is very ill and near death. All the healers in the castle have been trying to treat him in different ways but nothing has seemed to help and on top of this illness he has also been having some pretty serious seizures. His father Gerian refuses to bring in the only one that can heal him even though his mother and Sorron- King of Carnia his grandfather insists she be called for..

When Mayrila is called to the castle to heal Candale, she informs them that he i More...

The Shadow Seer was an extremely interesting read, but it was a little slow in its movement.

Candale is a prince with a secret; he is having prophecies, hearing voices, and seeing people that aren’t there. The Shadow Seer starts with Candale being gravely ill and close to death. All we hear are snippets of conversation between his relatives, arguments between his father and grandfather about how to best help him.

His grandfather sends for a woman named Mayrila, a conniving, gol More...

The thing is... I loved, loved, loved The Shadow Seer.

Not only the concept is intriguing, but the main character, Candale, was a breath of fresh air. He was not only weak, but also naive – so naive that his little sister knows more about the world than him! It was very enjoyable to read a story about a prince who didn’t ride off a white horse waving his sword... but that was seized by fits if over-exerted and was liable to trip himself if you gave him a sword.

Okay, the trippi More...

I just finished the Shadow Seer, and I think it is a great book! It's a new story, a different main character (there aren't that many who can't fend for themselves at all), and it got me addicted ;)

Being the author's first book it has some flaws in the way characters adress each other, particularly within Candale's family; otherwise it's a consistent, engaging plot, and you quickly get over the flaws ;)

Anxiously waiting for the next one!

I loved the book, otherwise I would not have published it!