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The Warden #1
The Warden
A Most Anticipated Book of the Year for GoodReads and FanfiAddict
A Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Editors' Pick for Amazon
For fans who have always wanted their Twin Peaks to have some wizards, The Warden is a non-stop action adventure story from author Daniel M. Ford.
There was a plan.
She had the money, the connections, even the brains. It was become one of the only female necromancers, earn as many degrees as possible, get a post in one of the grand cities, then prove she’s capable of greatness. The funny thing about plans is that they are seldom under your control.
Now Aelis de Lenti, a daughter of a noble house and recent graduate of the esteemed Magisters’ Lyceum, finds herself in the far-removed village of Lone Pine. Mending fences, matching wits with goats, and serving people who want nothing to do with her. But, not all is well in Lone Pine, and as the villagers Aelis is reluctantly getting to know start to behave strangely, Aelis begins to suspect that there is far greater need for a Warden of her talents than she previously thought.
Old magics are restless, and an insignificant village on the farthest border of the kingdom might hold secrets far beyond what anyone expected. Aelis might be the only person standing between one of the greatest evils ever known and the rest of the world.
A Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Editors' Pick for Amazon
For fans who have always wanted their Twin Peaks to have some wizards, The Warden is a non-stop action adventure story from author Daniel M. Ford.
There was a plan.
She had the money, the connections, even the brains. It was become one of the only female necromancers, earn as many degrees as possible, get a post in one of the grand cities, then prove she’s capable of greatness. The funny thing about plans is that they are seldom under your control.
Now Aelis de Lenti, a daughter of a noble house and recent graduate of the esteemed Magisters’ Lyceum, finds herself in the far-removed village of Lone Pine. Mending fences, matching wits with goats, and serving people who want nothing to do with her. But, not all is well in Lone Pine, and as the villagers Aelis is reluctantly getting to know start to behave strangely, Aelis begins to suspect that there is far greater need for a Warden of her talents than she previously thought.
Old magics are restless, and an insignificant village on the farthest border of the kingdom might hold secrets far beyond what anyone expected. Aelis might be the only person standing between one of the greatest evils ever known and the rest of the world.
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 2023
550 people are currently reading
17273 people want to read
About the author
Daniel M. Ford
9 books323 followersDaniel M. Ford was born and raised near Baltimore, Maryland. He holds a B.A. in English from Villanova University, an M.A. in Irish Literature from Boston College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, concentrating in Poetry, from George Mason University. As a poet, his work has appeared most recently in Soundings Review, as well as Phoebe, Floorboard Review, The Cossack, and Vending Machine Press. He teaches English at a college prep high school in North East, Maryland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 556 reviews
March 4, 2024
Do Not Read This Book*
I inhaled this book. Not since A Deadly Education have I been so thoroughly engrossed in a story. Though much of it feels very familiar, the gradually increasing stakes with the character growth had me engrossed. The main character, Aeris, is a newly graduated Warden--something like an area deputy and magister--with specialties in the magics of Necromancy, Warding and Enchanting. Though the town was wanting a new warden, they are very apprehensive about a young woman--and a necromancer.
I'll be honest, though; it feels like a lot of Ford's world and magic was cribbed out of a game, say Skyrim, but I'm not going to complain. There's also an occasional modern feel to the dialogue--including a tendency towards the explicative 'fuck'--that reminds me very much of Gideon the Ninth, only done better. There is some nice inclusivity in the story, worked in appropriately, which I appreciated.
And, like A Deadly Education, I'm going to promptly re-read it since I can't read the sequel. Well done, Ford, and I'd probably give you loads of accolades if you hadn't written such a cliffhanger of an ending. Readers don't deserve that in this day in age, they just don't. Knocking down a star for that, because the story pace had a solid build with appropriate climax and resolution with all the plot elements coming beautifully together--but then what felt like the outline and a chapter of the next book were tacked onto the end. Bad form.
*Unless it's after April 2024 and you have access to the sequel.
I inhaled this book. Not since A Deadly Education have I been so thoroughly engrossed in a story. Though much of it feels very familiar, the gradually increasing stakes with the character growth had me engrossed. The main character, Aeris, is a newly graduated Warden--something like an area deputy and magister--with specialties in the magics of Necromancy, Warding and Enchanting. Though the town was wanting a new warden, they are very apprehensive about a young woman--and a necromancer.
I'll be honest, though; it feels like a lot of Ford's world and magic was cribbed out of a game, say Skyrim, but I'm not going to complain. There's also an occasional modern feel to the dialogue--including a tendency towards the explicative 'fuck'--that reminds me very much of Gideon the Ninth, only done better. There is some nice inclusivity in the story, worked in appropriately, which I appreciated.
And, like A Deadly Education, I'm going to promptly re-read it since I can't read the sequel. Well done, Ford, and I'd probably give you loads of accolades if you hadn't written such a cliffhanger of an ending. Readers don't deserve that in this day in age, they just don't. Knocking down a star for that, because the story pace had a solid build with appropriate climax and resolution with all the plot elements coming beautifully together--but then what felt like the outline and a chapter of the next book were tacked onto the end. Bad form.
*Unless it's after April 2024 and you have access to the sequel.
April 23, 2023
THE WARDEN is definitely a book with a ton of potential. I really enjoyed the female necromancer aspect and the world that Daniel M. Ford created is an intriguing one that hints at more to be revealed later on down the road. It's also a story that I easily got lost in for stretches. In the beginning of the book we see main character Aelis a little annoyed at the fact that she didn't get a better assignment as a warden, feeling she'd been given the worst of the worst compared to her fellow Magisters. Lone Pine is not exactly in the center of civilization nor a hotbed of evil activity. And yet we can tell that we are being set up for something that will soon change her perspective on things.
Once the action picks up this was a fairly enjoyable fantasy romp that refreshingly deviates from the usual formulaic fantasty books. Aelis has to deal with a lot of roadblocks, including a populace in this small backwater town that inherently doesn't trust her. Yet they also need her for protection which makes the relationship reluctantly symbiotic in many respects.
For some reason though I just never got fully invested as I feel like I should have, that's where the potential comment I made earlier comes in. I kept waiting for something to get me 100% hooked but that didn't happen and although I did enjoy the book for the most part, it kept me from being able to give this a stellar rating.
I do believe that Daniel M. Ford can pull me back in and I was dazzled a couple of times by his descriptions of magic. So I would certainly continue on with this series as I feel like the characters are also neatly drawn and have a significant depthness to them. So there's a lot to like and the next book will hopefully build on the solid foundation that has been laid down in THE WARDEN.
I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a quick fantasy read that features a strong female protagonist, really cool magic, and some fascinating worldbuilding that transports the reader into a wondrous setting. Overall I liked this book and will anticipate future releases from Daniel M. Ford with keen interest.
Once the action picks up this was a fairly enjoyable fantasy romp that refreshingly deviates from the usual formulaic fantasty books. Aelis has to deal with a lot of roadblocks, including a populace in this small backwater town that inherently doesn't trust her. Yet they also need her for protection which makes the relationship reluctantly symbiotic in many respects.
For some reason though I just never got fully invested as I feel like I should have, that's where the potential comment I made earlier comes in. I kept waiting for something to get me 100% hooked but that didn't happen and although I did enjoy the book for the most part, it kept me from being able to give this a stellar rating.
I do believe that Daniel M. Ford can pull me back in and I was dazzled a couple of times by his descriptions of magic. So I would certainly continue on with this series as I feel like the characters are also neatly drawn and have a significant depthness to them. So there's a lot to like and the next book will hopefully build on the solid foundation that has been laid down in THE WARDEN.
I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a quick fantasy read that features a strong female protagonist, really cool magic, and some fascinating worldbuilding that transports the reader into a wondrous setting. Overall I liked this book and will anticipate future releases from Daniel M. Ford with keen interest.
September 28, 2025
Shouts out to Tor for sending me a free digital ARC of this book before its release. Here's the review.
(2025 addendum: Not salty about it, I just think it's funny that TOR didn't send me anymore ARCs after this review. Whoops lol)
I've been sitting at my desk for a few minutes now, half zoning out/half thinking about what to say about this book. How do you find the words to describe mediocrity?
Like, akin to vegenaise maybe? You want the lightning quick review, there it is, this book is like vegenaise, which is better than regular mayonnaise, but can't even fathom the peaks of honey mustard.
Look, I love the fantasy genre, more than any other genre out there, but can we stop it with the goddamn DND inspired campaign stories already? Do you want to know the *one* (1) above average thing about this book? The main character's inner voice is occasionally excellent.
Aelis (Alice, not A-Ellis like I thought it was, what is the "e" there for?) de Lenti un Tirravel or whatever is the daughter of a count, rich, and over-educated beyond belief. She's sent to a village in the absolute middle of nowhere to be their warden. Her narrative voice here provides for some excellent asides where she wants to act like the arrogant snob she knows she is, but pushes her pride down to remain cordial and professional. I think Aelis has a strong presence as a main character which becomes incredibly disappointing when the rest of the story throws cliché after cliché at you.
Here's the cast; cordial inn-keep and inn-keeps husband, the cook. Little girl from the village who immediately attaches herself to the MC when no else in the village will even speak to her. Village full of people who don't trust the MC because she's a woman, she's in her twenties, and she's a necromancer. The stoic, aloof woodsman who lives outside the village. The whole cache of teacher clichés ranging from "Teacher that supports her with no doubt it her talents" to "Teacher that hates her because she's rich and talented" and the three "Tough teachers who we all know have hearts of gold". Since this is just a DND story you also get the "Band of Adventurers/Mercs" of which two are kind of characters, one remotely resembles something that looks like a character, and the last three might as well not even be there for what they (don't) add to the story.
Tun the Half Orc seemed like he was the MC of the authors other DND campaign. Yeah, he gets some characterization, but mostly he's just "the guide" or "guy who helps keep plot moving forward".
Maurenia the Half Elf is where I start getting really weird dissonance from the story. Aelis mentions multiple times throughout the story that she's been in a thruple with both a man and a woman. Which at first I read as "Oh, she's well versed in relationships, plus with her upbringing and her arrogance, I imagine she's confident in her ability to attract others." Nope. She and Maurenia proceed to have the most by the numbers "two characters very clearly like each other and so all their dialogue is banter".
Do people not fuck or date casually in fantasy books? I have to know, honestly. Why does every story have either this long, drawn out "will they, won't they" melodramatic nonsense, or whatever weird toxic nonsense Kingkiller and the Gentleman Bastards think romance is. It doesn't help that Maurenia is barely even a character, we get her forced inclusion in scenes where she's not needed, and a little bit of backstory but that doesn't make her a character.
The worst gripe I have with this book, other than it sticking to clichés, is that it messes up its own pacing by having the character reminisce about her time in college IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCENE. She'll start thinking about something she learned in warden college that's vaguely connected to what's happening in the scene, whether it's a battle, or a surgery, or a conversation. "That reminds me of when blah blah blah" but then proceed to show the flashback as a full scene!!! That KILLS the pacing and is incredibly jarring to read, chapter after chapter. She did it so much in the last chapter that I couldn't tell if she was talking about the past or the present because of tense issues.
This book is so painfully MID. I guarantee that you will only ever think of this off brand Skyrim quest when you see it on your "20XX Year in Review List" and think "Oh yea, that's right, I read that book. Huh..."
2/5. Necrobane of my existence.
LAST THREE REVIEWS:
The Angel Maker - Alex North
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie
Invincible: Ultimate Collection Vol. 1
(2025 addendum: Not salty about it, I just think it's funny that TOR didn't send me anymore ARCs after this review. Whoops lol)
I've been sitting at my desk for a few minutes now, half zoning out/half thinking about what to say about this book. How do you find the words to describe mediocrity?
Like, akin to vegenaise maybe? You want the lightning quick review, there it is, this book is like vegenaise, which is better than regular mayonnaise, but can't even fathom the peaks of honey mustard.
Look, I love the fantasy genre, more than any other genre out there, but can we stop it with the goddamn DND inspired campaign stories already? Do you want to know the *one* (1) above average thing about this book? The main character's inner voice is occasionally excellent.
Aelis (Alice, not A-Ellis like I thought it was, what is the "e" there for?) de Lenti un Tirravel or whatever is the daughter of a count, rich, and over-educated beyond belief. She's sent to a village in the absolute middle of nowhere to be their warden. Her narrative voice here provides for some excellent asides where she wants to act like the arrogant snob she knows she is, but pushes her pride down to remain cordial and professional. I think Aelis has a strong presence as a main character which becomes incredibly disappointing when the rest of the story throws cliché after cliché at you.
Here's the cast; cordial inn-keep and inn-keeps husband, the cook. Little girl from the village who immediately attaches herself to the MC when no else in the village will even speak to her. Village full of people who don't trust the MC because she's a woman, she's in her twenties, and she's a necromancer. The stoic, aloof woodsman who lives outside the village. The whole cache of teacher clichés ranging from "Teacher that supports her with no doubt it her talents" to "Teacher that hates her because she's rich and talented" and the three "Tough teachers who we all know have hearts of gold". Since this is just a DND story you also get the "Band of Adventurers/Mercs" of which two are kind of characters, one remotely resembles something that looks like a character, and the last three might as well not even be there for what they (don't) add to the story.
Tun the Half Orc seemed like he was the MC of the authors other DND campaign. Yeah, he gets some characterization, but mostly he's just "the guide" or "guy who helps keep plot moving forward".
Maurenia the Half Elf is where I start getting really weird dissonance from the story. Aelis mentions multiple times throughout the story that she's been in a thruple with both a man and a woman. Which at first I read as "Oh, she's well versed in relationships, plus with her upbringing and her arrogance, I imagine she's confident in her ability to attract others." Nope. She and Maurenia proceed to have the most by the numbers "two characters very clearly like each other and so all their dialogue is banter".
Do people not fuck or date casually in fantasy books? I have to know, honestly. Why does every story have either this long, drawn out "will they, won't they" melodramatic nonsense, or whatever weird toxic nonsense Kingkiller and the Gentleman Bastards think romance is. It doesn't help that Maurenia is barely even a character, we get her forced inclusion in scenes where she's not needed, and a little bit of backstory but that doesn't make her a character.
The worst gripe I have with this book, other than it sticking to clichés, is that it messes up its own pacing by having the character reminisce about her time in college IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCENE. She'll start thinking about something she learned in warden college that's vaguely connected to what's happening in the scene, whether it's a battle, or a surgery, or a conversation. "That reminds me of when blah blah blah" but then proceed to show the flashback as a full scene!!! That KILLS the pacing and is incredibly jarring to read, chapter after chapter. She did it so much in the last chapter that I couldn't tell if she was talking about the past or the present because of tense issues.
This book is so painfully MID. I guarantee that you will only ever think of this off brand Skyrim quest when you see it on your "20XX Year in Review List" and think "Oh yea, that's right, I read that book. Huh..."
2/5. Necrobane of my existence.
LAST THREE REVIEWS:
The Angel Maker - Alex North
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie
Invincible: Ultimate Collection Vol. 1
April 13, 2023
4.5 stars rounded up
Okay, this was a blast! I was told to expect Twin Peaks, but with wizards. And yeah, I see that thought this is much less leaning into horror and weirdness. I almost want to call it cozy fantasy. Not to the same degree as something like Legends & Lattes (there's quite a bit more plot, some fighting, and necromancy), but all the same it's pretty cozy. It's character focused, light-hearted fun that takes lots of time for quiet moments between characters or describing a good meal. I could see a lot of people really enjoying this book.
Aelis is city bred, from a wealthy family, trained as a wizard specializing in necromancy (among other things). But because she's a woman, her first formal assignment as a woman is...less than she might have hoped. She ends up in a small, backwater town where most of the townsfolk are too scared to talk to her and they need more help putting up fences than with wizardry. But things are bound to get exciting sooner or later....
And did I mention she's a bisexual necromancer? Who is very into a certain lady half-elf? And not supposed to fall in love?....
Yeah, this was a whole lot of fun. I will say the pacing is a little weird and it ends on a cliffhanger, which feels kind of unnecessary. I wish this had kept things to a complete story arc for book 1 instead of launching us so far into the inciting incident for book 2. A teaser of an epilogue would have been adequate for that. Still, I really enjoyed myself and will pick up the next book. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.
Okay, this was a blast! I was told to expect Twin Peaks, but with wizards. And yeah, I see that thought this is much less leaning into horror and weirdness. I almost want to call it cozy fantasy. Not to the same degree as something like Legends & Lattes (there's quite a bit more plot, some fighting, and necromancy), but all the same it's pretty cozy. It's character focused, light-hearted fun that takes lots of time for quiet moments between characters or describing a good meal. I could see a lot of people really enjoying this book.
Aelis is city bred, from a wealthy family, trained as a wizard specializing in necromancy (among other things). But because she's a woman, her first formal assignment as a woman is...less than she might have hoped. She ends up in a small, backwater town where most of the townsfolk are too scared to talk to her and they need more help putting up fences than with wizardry. But things are bound to get exciting sooner or later....
And did I mention she's a bisexual necromancer? Who is very into a certain lady half-elf? And not supposed to fall in love?....
Yeah, this was a whole lot of fun. I will say the pacing is a little weird and it ends on a cliffhanger, which feels kind of unnecessary. I wish this had kept things to a complete story arc for book 1 instead of launching us so far into the inciting incident for book 2. A teaser of an epilogue would have been adequate for that. Still, I really enjoyed myself and will pick up the next book. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.
January 6, 2025
This was an excellent read. It's kind of like cozy fantasy, but with a touch of "anyone could get brutally murdered at any given moment" that makes the stakes feel higher than similar books. The main character does some growing throughout the book, which is always nice, and the worldbuilding is really well done--always intriguing, but never exhausting.
Not a standalone, as it leaves a lot of threads dangling at the end, but I'll definitely give the second book (Necrobane, the cover of which is astoundingly beautiful) a go one of these days!
Not a standalone, as it leaves a lot of threads dangling at the end, but I'll definitely give the second book (Necrobane, the cover of which is astoundingly beautiful) a go one of these days!
December 9, 2023
💀 DNF at 62%.
This book in a nutshell:
① The main character is an entitled, spoiled, haughty, whiny, snippy, condescending brat who thinks she's the best thing since toasted barnacles (spoiler alert: she isn't). Also, she talks to herself and mutters non-stop, as if she were a 95-year-old spinster who'd been living alone in the woods all her life. But hey, it's not all bad! She's probably the most annoying, unlikeable I've come across this year so yay for her and stuff!
Oh, and by the way, while we're on the subject of dear Aelis here, let me just say how much I love it when male authors write strong female characters as total bitches. Because it is a truth universally acknowledged that all strong women are complete bitches. And vice versa.
② The story is flat as fish and the plot is about as fascinating and fast-paced as watching grass grow: a kid is patched up! Fences are repaired! A bear is chased off! A bar brawl is broken up! Magic gold coins are collected! Wow, talk about high stakes! The author sure doesn't kid around!
③ This is not the necromancer you are looking for. If you want to read a series with real necromancing action, do your little self a favor and pick up one of my boyfriend Jojo Cabal's adventures, not this...thing here.
④ All of the above.
👋 Until next time and stuff.
P.S. Can someone please enlighten me as to why the shrimp Twin Peaks is mentioned in the blurb? Because the person who wrote it was high on premium quality stuff at the time, you say? Oh, right, that makes sense!
[Pre-review nonsense]
Well, this was certainly not fun while it lasted.
➽ Review to come and stuff.
November 25, 2022
i think aelis and i should kiss
January 15, 2023
This just doesn't do a thing for me. I forced myself to read 15%.
The MC is a necromancer. We're told right off the bat that she's extremely intelligent, but, well, you know how that goes. She could rival Einstein in the brains department for all I care. I couldn't stand her. When the book begins she's highly indignant because she has been assigned to the Warden position out in the middle of nowhere, in a little town called Lone Pine to be precise.
Let me explain why I disliked the main character. 1. She displayed a strong sense of entitlement. 2. She has some aristocratic bloodlines, but the way she thought about and/or interacted with the villagers was still condescending, aristocracy aside. 3. She was very, very arrogant. 4. She was kind of stupid for being so smart.
As a female, I just really couldn't relate to this fictional female character. Perhaps it's due to the fact that the author is a male and wrote her as basically a man with you-know-whats. I don't know. But it is what it is, and she was written as obnoxious. Even with all of that said, I might have continued but for the straw that broke the camel's back: her extremely annoying habit of talking to herself in a way that people just don't do.
I'll put it this way. We all talk and mutter to ourselves at least sometimes. But when we do, we don't say full-length paragraph dissertations. We might say things along the lines of, "Where the heck did I put...?" or if doing something stupid we might say "That was smart!" Small comments, unless I'm talking to myself incorrectly 🤔 But certainly nothing close to this girl! She loved to hear herself talk. Here is a random example from the many, many, many examples from which to choose:
“Well,” she sniffed. “Surely a simple oversight. No doubt they’ll correct it in the morning. They had better,” she added. “I’m not about to go down among them and ask for supper now. Besides . . . surely many of them are after their sleep now. Rise with the sun and go to sleep with the moons, aye?”
Who talks to themselves like this? It was such a distraction! I can see if this was done to give the character some endearing eccentricity, but it wasn't. He could have had her thinking rather than speaking aloud; that might have made more sense. But it drove me bonkers. It's very unrealistic. Now that I think about it, this complaint is more about the writing style itself than the character.
Actually, the only likeable characters up to my stopping point were the innkeepers and the goat.
Maybe this would be better marketed as YA. I can't see these things being an issue for a younger audience. As I am in my mid-fifties, they were indeed a negative.
I received this eARC from Netgalley and Tor. I wish that it had worked out more favorably.
The MC is a necromancer. We're told right off the bat that she's extremely intelligent, but, well, you know how that goes. She could rival Einstein in the brains department for all I care. I couldn't stand her. When the book begins she's highly indignant because she has been assigned to the Warden position out in the middle of nowhere, in a little town called Lone Pine to be precise.
Let me explain why I disliked the main character. 1. She displayed a strong sense of entitlement. 2. She has some aristocratic bloodlines, but the way she thought about and/or interacted with the villagers was still condescending, aristocracy aside. 3. She was very, very arrogant. 4. She was kind of stupid for being so smart.
As a female, I just really couldn't relate to this fictional female character. Perhaps it's due to the fact that the author is a male and wrote her as basically a man with you-know-whats. I don't know. But it is what it is, and she was written as obnoxious. Even with all of that said, I might have continued but for the straw that broke the camel's back: her extremely annoying habit of talking to herself in a way that people just don't do.
I'll put it this way. We all talk and mutter to ourselves at least sometimes. But when we do, we don't say full-length paragraph dissertations. We might say things along the lines of, "Where the heck did I put...?" or if doing something stupid we might say "That was smart!" Small comments, unless I'm talking to myself incorrectly 🤔 But certainly nothing close to this girl! She loved to hear herself talk. Here is a random example from the many, many, many examples from which to choose:
“Well,” she sniffed. “Surely a simple oversight. No doubt they’ll correct it in the morning. They had better,” she added. “I’m not about to go down among them and ask for supper now. Besides . . . surely many of them are after their sleep now. Rise with the sun and go to sleep with the moons, aye?”
Who talks to themselves like this? It was such a distraction! I can see if this was done to give the character some endearing eccentricity, but it wasn't. He could have had her thinking rather than speaking aloud; that might have made more sense. But it drove me bonkers. It's very unrealistic. Now that I think about it, this complaint is more about the writing style itself than the character.
Actually, the only likeable characters up to my stopping point were the innkeepers and the goat.
Maybe this would be better marketed as YA. I can't see these things being an issue for a younger audience. As I am in my mid-fifties, they were indeed a negative.
I received this eARC from Netgalley and Tor. I wish that it had worked out more favorably.
May 1, 2023
2.5 stars
I added The Warden to my to-be-read list based on the cover and the keyword necromancy. And yet this book delivers only slivers of those two elements. My disappointment in this book may partially be based on inaccurate expectations, however, the story was incredibly flat and underdeveloped.
My biggest complaint with this book is the painfully underdeveloped magic system. Based on other reviews and quick googling I discovered that most of the magic system in this book is based on Dungeons & Dragons. I am always hesitant to pick up books that I know are based on D&D because, in my personal experience, they tend to get a bit lazy with the world-building and magic systems because of the ties to existing concepts. The Warden offers no explanation for any of the potentially interesting elements of the world or magic system. There are seven classes of magic (you guessed it they're based on D&D) that have no clear distinguishing features. At one point Aelis literally refuses to explain the differences between the classes because it's, in her own words, "too complicated." That line alone almost had me DNFing this book 75% of the way through. Our main character Aelis is seemingly mediocre at her magical specialties. Except for necromancy which doesn't even come into play until the very end. Descriptions of Aelis using magic are reduced to an incredibly bland "two syllables" or a random name for the spell she is using that means nothing to the reader.
Aelis was a fine main character. At times I really appreciated her stubbornness and self-confidence. But she could also be incredibly arrogant and entitled, especially when dealing with the villagers of Lone Pine. I found it off-putting how much she looked down on them and how comfortable she was manipulating them with light compulsions. Though I recognize that the villagers were cold to her, I wish the story had focused more on Aelis earning their trust and their Warden rather than having her run off on a drawn-out quest. None of the side characters were particularly compelling as most of them fell into easy stereotypes. Tun was definitely the most interesting character and I enjoyed his banter with Aelis a lot. The romance was predictable and I don't understand why Ford bothered trying to create a will-they wont-they banter-filled dynamic when it was such an insignificant portion of the story.
The writing was pretty solid and I have hope for future installments of this series (I will not be reading them though so not that much hope). However, there were a few quirks that really drew me out of the story. The writing relies predominantly on "telling" with very little of the descriptive "showing" that I prefer. Aelis also talks to herself out loud as a way to reveal things to the reader which is incredibly strange and unnatural. What really kills the pacing of the story is the amount of flashbacks. It will be the middle of an action scene and Aelis will have a sudden, detailed flashback to her time in college. They make no sense and happen way too often to the point that I started skimming them. This also seems to be the only attempt at exploring the details of the magic system which is just lazy.
I was originally charmed by the surprisingly cozy vibes, but then the book strayed from everything that I was interested in. The "mystery" quest element was dull and wasted the story's potential. I appreciate how all of the elements of the book connected together, though it may have been a bit too neat and easy. The Warden feels like it ends 15% earlier than it actually does. The "mystery" element is wrapped up, there is a conflict with the big bad, and we get a few interesting details to hold our interest for the next book. But then the author decided to start book two at the very end of book one just so that it could end on a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger felt a bit cheap because there was such a natural place to end the story about 40 pages earlier. I had to drag myself through the last bit because I was just ready for the story to be over.
The Warden is a fine fantasy book though not particularly original or interesting. I feel a bit harsh giving it 2.5 stars, however, I never actively enjoyed my time with this book. From very early on I was only reading this to finish it.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the eARC
Links to my TikTok | Instagram
I added The Warden to my to-be-read list based on the cover and the keyword necromancy. And yet this book delivers only slivers of those two elements. My disappointment in this book may partially be based on inaccurate expectations, however, the story was incredibly flat and underdeveloped.
My biggest complaint with this book is the painfully underdeveloped magic system. Based on other reviews and quick googling I discovered that most of the magic system in this book is based on Dungeons & Dragons. I am always hesitant to pick up books that I know are based on D&D because, in my personal experience, they tend to get a bit lazy with the world-building and magic systems because of the ties to existing concepts. The Warden offers no explanation for any of the potentially interesting elements of the world or magic system. There are seven classes of magic (you guessed it they're based on D&D) that have no clear distinguishing features. At one point Aelis literally refuses to explain the differences between the classes because it's, in her own words, "too complicated." That line alone almost had me DNFing this book 75% of the way through. Our main character Aelis is seemingly mediocre at her magical specialties. Except for necromancy which doesn't even come into play until the very end. Descriptions of Aelis using magic are reduced to an incredibly bland "two syllables" or a random name for the spell she is using that means nothing to the reader.
Aelis was a fine main character. At times I really appreciated her stubbornness and self-confidence. But she could also be incredibly arrogant and entitled, especially when dealing with the villagers of Lone Pine. I found it off-putting how much she looked down on them and how comfortable she was manipulating them with light compulsions. Though I recognize that the villagers were cold to her, I wish the story had focused more on Aelis earning their trust and their Warden rather than having her run off on a drawn-out quest. None of the side characters were particularly compelling as most of them fell into easy stereotypes. Tun was definitely the most interesting character and I enjoyed his banter with Aelis a lot. The romance was predictable and I don't understand why Ford bothered trying to create a will-they wont-they banter-filled dynamic when it was such an insignificant portion of the story.
The writing was pretty solid and I have hope for future installments of this series (I will not be reading them though so not that much hope). However, there were a few quirks that really drew me out of the story. The writing relies predominantly on "telling" with very little of the descriptive "showing" that I prefer. Aelis also talks to herself out loud as a way to reveal things to the reader which is incredibly strange and unnatural. What really kills the pacing of the story is the amount of flashbacks. It will be the middle of an action scene and Aelis will have a sudden, detailed flashback to her time in college. They make no sense and happen way too often to the point that I started skimming them. This also seems to be the only attempt at exploring the details of the magic system which is just lazy.
I was originally charmed by the surprisingly cozy vibes, but then the book strayed from everything that I was interested in. The "mystery" quest element was dull and wasted the story's potential. I appreciate how all of the elements of the book connected together, though it may have been a bit too neat and easy. The Warden feels like it ends 15% earlier than it actually does. The "mystery" element is wrapped up, there is a conflict with the big bad, and we get a few interesting details to hold our interest for the next book. But then the author decided to start book two at the very end of book one just so that it could end on a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger felt a bit cheap because there was such a natural place to end the story about 40 pages earlier. I had to drag myself through the last bit because I was just ready for the story to be over.
The Warden is a fine fantasy book though not particularly original or interesting. I feel a bit harsh giving it 2.5 stars, however, I never actively enjoyed my time with this book. From very early on I was only reading this to finish it.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the eARC
Links to my TikTok | Instagram
Read
December 24, 2023That was super fun. Devoured it practically in one sitting, and I’m ready for the next one NOW.
May 4, 2023
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2023/05/04/...
Everyone needs a necromancer—even a sleepy off-the-map village like Lone Pine. But for newly minted necromancer Aelis de Lenti, the prospect of being assigned to the remote stretches of the kingdom are far from her idea of glory. Having graduated at the top of her class at the Magisters’ Lyceum, the young noblewoman had expected a position befitting her wealth and social status in one of the glittering cities, not some insignificant backwater town where nothing ever happens.
But that’s the way with life: nothing ever quite works out as planned, but you’ll also never know how much you’re capable of until your limits are tested. No sooner had Aelis accepted her fate as Warden of Lone Pine than strange things start happening in town. As it turns out, keeping the peace here will require a lot more than breaking up tavern brawls and finding lost sheep. There’s sinister magic involved, putting the townsfolk in danger as its effects start to take hold. With renewed purpose, Aelis realizes just how much Lone Pine has come to mean to her, and now she must use everything she’s learned to rescue it in its hour of need.
For fans of Dungeons & Dragons and old-school quest narratives, The Warden by Daniel M. Ford is one to put on your reading list. Much of this world where you can find humans living alongside orcs, elves, and dwarves is a nod to D&D, especially its magic systems and concepts. Even the plot plays out like an RPG campaign, which the author clearly had fun writing. That said, the resulting story will feel a bit disjointed in places, composed of a few major “questlines” punctuated by the occasional side quest. Admittedly, sometimes it was great and sometimes it wasn’t. And a book like this might work for you, or it might not. Still, I have to say, heading into this novel with the awareness that it was inspired by D&D, it helped me a lot to know what to expect.
So, real talk, you’re not going to get the most original world-building. However, the good news is that the story and the characters make up for this and other minor shortcomings. At its heart, The Warden is about a rich city girl who finds herself out of her element. An intelligent and hardworking overachiever, Aelis knows she’s destined for greatness, so when she is sent to Lone Pine, a post that she feels is way too much beneath her, our protagonist is understandably a little grumpy. Not that Lone Pine is all that pleased about her presence either. Living on the edges of the kingdom, the villagers are distrustful of anything they don’t understand, and magic is a source of fear and superstition for them. It also doesn’t help that Aelis is very good at what she does and isn’t shy about admitting it, a confidence that can look a lot like arrogance, which tends to turn people off.
Needless to say though, Aelis is eventually humbled by the good and honest people of Lone Pine, and starts to win a few of them over herself. Just this journey alone made the book worth it. In this community of mostly farmers, there were many standout side characters that filled out and livened up the cast, from the curious young Pippen to the beautiful half-elf Maurenia who captures Aelis’ heart. Of course, as our protagonist grew more at home, another side of her personality also began to emerge—a more caring, humorous, and sympathetic side—proving that there is more depth to her snobbish and self-absorbed persona than previously observed. Under that unflappable exterior she shows to the world, she’s actually just as scared and insecure as anyone.
Later on, a greater mystery is also hinted at which involves Aelis’ presence in Lone Pine. In the back of my mind, it had always bothered me why the Lyceum had decided to squander her talents by sending her to the frontier. Surely it had to be more than just character building? In the final third of the book, a major “quest” reveals the answer, and I am curious to see how everything will come together. With the way it ends, a second book is certainly incoming, and I’m definitely checking it out when it arrives.
Everyone needs a necromancer—even a sleepy off-the-map village like Lone Pine. But for newly minted necromancer Aelis de Lenti, the prospect of being assigned to the remote stretches of the kingdom are far from her idea of glory. Having graduated at the top of her class at the Magisters’ Lyceum, the young noblewoman had expected a position befitting her wealth and social status in one of the glittering cities, not some insignificant backwater town where nothing ever happens.
But that’s the way with life: nothing ever quite works out as planned, but you’ll also never know how much you’re capable of until your limits are tested. No sooner had Aelis accepted her fate as Warden of Lone Pine than strange things start happening in town. As it turns out, keeping the peace here will require a lot more than breaking up tavern brawls and finding lost sheep. There’s sinister magic involved, putting the townsfolk in danger as its effects start to take hold. With renewed purpose, Aelis realizes just how much Lone Pine has come to mean to her, and now she must use everything she’s learned to rescue it in its hour of need.
For fans of Dungeons & Dragons and old-school quest narratives, The Warden by Daniel M. Ford is one to put on your reading list. Much of this world where you can find humans living alongside orcs, elves, and dwarves is a nod to D&D, especially its magic systems and concepts. Even the plot plays out like an RPG campaign, which the author clearly had fun writing. That said, the resulting story will feel a bit disjointed in places, composed of a few major “questlines” punctuated by the occasional side quest. Admittedly, sometimes it was great and sometimes it wasn’t. And a book like this might work for you, or it might not. Still, I have to say, heading into this novel with the awareness that it was inspired by D&D, it helped me a lot to know what to expect.
So, real talk, you’re not going to get the most original world-building. However, the good news is that the story and the characters make up for this and other minor shortcomings. At its heart, The Warden is about a rich city girl who finds herself out of her element. An intelligent and hardworking overachiever, Aelis knows she’s destined for greatness, so when she is sent to Lone Pine, a post that she feels is way too much beneath her, our protagonist is understandably a little grumpy. Not that Lone Pine is all that pleased about her presence either. Living on the edges of the kingdom, the villagers are distrustful of anything they don’t understand, and magic is a source of fear and superstition for them. It also doesn’t help that Aelis is very good at what she does and isn’t shy about admitting it, a confidence that can look a lot like arrogance, which tends to turn people off.
Needless to say though, Aelis is eventually humbled by the good and honest people of Lone Pine, and starts to win a few of them over herself. Just this journey alone made the book worth it. In this community of mostly farmers, there were many standout side characters that filled out and livened up the cast, from the curious young Pippen to the beautiful half-elf Maurenia who captures Aelis’ heart. Of course, as our protagonist grew more at home, another side of her personality also began to emerge—a more caring, humorous, and sympathetic side—proving that there is more depth to her snobbish and self-absorbed persona than previously observed. Under that unflappable exterior she shows to the world, she’s actually just as scared and insecure as anyone.
Later on, a greater mystery is also hinted at which involves Aelis’ presence in Lone Pine. In the back of my mind, it had always bothered me why the Lyceum had decided to squander her talents by sending her to the frontier. Surely it had to be more than just character building? In the final third of the book, a major “quest” reveals the answer, and I am curious to see how everything will come together. With the way it ends, a second book is certainly incoming, and I’m definitely checking it out when it arrives.
May 7, 2023
On my blog.
Rep: bi mc, sapphic li, gay characters, characters with PTSD
Galley provided by publisher
The Warden is a solid fantasy novel, one that builds slowly towards its conclusion, feeding you clues piece by piece. For most of the book I wavered between a 3 or 4 star rating, but eventually settled on the latter. While it mostly seemed a set up for a longer story (no bad thing), it did it in a way that was compelling, with characters you wanted to know more about.
The story follows Aelis, the daughter of a noble house and top necromancer (and otherwise magical person) in her class, who ends up with an assignment in the arse end of nowhere, thanks to a vindictive teacher. Here, she’s forced to reckon with superstitious villagers, a rundown tower to live in, and strange artefacts that twist people’s minds.
This is a book that’s reasonably light on the worldbuilding front. At times, it feels a bit generic: a small village, some magic, some necromancy, nobles and a magic school. Nothing really stands out as new from that. However, there’s something about it all that makes it feel just that bit different. It has a certain vibe to it, I’m not sure how best to explain it, pieced together, perhaps, a bit like a Dungeons & Dragons game (or other such RP game). You have necromancers and other wizards, elves, half-elves and orcs. All the staples.
I think this is what elevated it for me, up until the final act when things got real in terms of plot. The characters felt like they’d all of them individually been developed with such care. The author had a clear idea of what they were like, even down to the most minor of them. They were what compelled me to keep reading (particularly when it seemed like not a whole lot was happening). They carried the story, especially Aelis, with her somewhat endearing habit of talking to herself — I could just imagine her walking about the village, muttering to herself under her breath. And you wonder why the villagers keep giving you strange looks, Aelis!
So, as much as this book felt very much like setting up a series at times (a little slow, a little focused on setting the scene), it did its job well. It’s a book I’ll be eagerly anticipating the sequels of.
Rep: bi mc, sapphic li, gay characters, characters with PTSD
Galley provided by publisher
The Warden is a solid fantasy novel, one that builds slowly towards its conclusion, feeding you clues piece by piece. For most of the book I wavered between a 3 or 4 star rating, but eventually settled on the latter. While it mostly seemed a set up for a longer story (no bad thing), it did it in a way that was compelling, with characters you wanted to know more about.
The story follows Aelis, the daughter of a noble house and top necromancer (and otherwise magical person) in her class, who ends up with an assignment in the arse end of nowhere, thanks to a vindictive teacher. Here, she’s forced to reckon with superstitious villagers, a rundown tower to live in, and strange artefacts that twist people’s minds.
This is a book that’s reasonably light on the worldbuilding front. At times, it feels a bit generic: a small village, some magic, some necromancy, nobles and a magic school. Nothing really stands out as new from that. However, there’s something about it all that makes it feel just that bit different. It has a certain vibe to it, I’m not sure how best to explain it, pieced together, perhaps, a bit like a Dungeons & Dragons game (or other such RP game). You have necromancers and other wizards, elves, half-elves and orcs. All the staples.
I think this is what elevated it for me, up until the final act when things got real in terms of plot. The characters felt like they’d all of them individually been developed with such care. The author had a clear idea of what they were like, even down to the most minor of them. They were what compelled me to keep reading (particularly when it seemed like not a whole lot was happening). They carried the story, especially Aelis, with her somewhat endearing habit of talking to herself — I could just imagine her walking about the village, muttering to herself under her breath. And you wonder why the villagers keep giving you strange looks, Aelis!
So, as much as this book felt very much like setting up a series at times (a little slow, a little focused on setting the scene), it did its job well. It’s a book I’ll be eagerly anticipating the sequels of.
December 30, 2023
Where to start? This is one of those “novels” whose RPG campaign – D&D campaign – origins are so apparent that it’s not so much a novel as a shambling skeleton put together from the bones of a bunch of sessions. I don’t even play D&D and I could practically see the dice rolls that had been reanimated into the fight scenes. “If we wait to attack, the enemy will have advantages in force and stealth—should we try negotiation?” one character actually says to another. I don’t know—does your character have any ranks in Negotiation?
Everything else is about as distinctively drawn. Somewhere, there are cities with glittering parties and bustling merchants selling delicacies imported from all over the world. Adventurers go treasure-hunting in “the wilderness”. Wine comes in skins. People wear jerkins. Elves are willowy and beautiful. Dwarves are tricky dealers and all come from banking families—
—wait what? Are we really sailing this close to the wind of this particularly uncomfortable alignment of stereotypes in the year 2023?
Yes, yes we are. Also, theauthor insert half-orc were-bear ranger (whose powers, quiet dignity, learnedness, and delicacy of movements continually surprise the protagonist) wears a “fringed, hooded leather jerkin” because of course he does. There’s also a village of NPCs who mill around aimlessly doing “idk whatever it is that peasants do” when the protagonist doesn’t need them. At one point, she walks into the village inn, and the innkeeper and his husband are described as standing in front of the bar together—inert and waiting for a PC to come talk to them.
But maybe it’s not fair to complain about what is basically a feature of the book. But the RPG ethos controls the protagonist as well. Our main character is Aelis de something something something, a newly minted necromancer with a triple major from the most prestigious magical university in the land. We know this, because she reminds everyone of it all the time. Aelis, you see, is the cosmopolitan daughter of an important nobleman and a brilliant scholar who was top of her class in everything and is very unhappy to be posted as resident wizars-cum-surgeon-cum-sheriff to Bumfuck, Fantasyland (B’mfu’k, if you will). This is supposed to be relatable to any medical student who has gotten a Residency they didn’t they didn’t like or a new PhD with a shitty postdoc in a red state or someone who went to teach English in Japan after college and was hoping to hang out in Tokyo but instead got assigned to a small rural town.
Unfortunately, Aelis can only be described as a posh twit and asshole to everyone around her. She only speaks in commands, condescending lectures about how superior her expertise is, and threats, and gets furious when anyone contradicts her. This is not exactly unrealistic as a portrayal of an ultra-privileged graduate of an ultra-elite educational institution who is convinced that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, have all the answers, and ought to be the center of the universe. It’s just that often the arc of such characters involves their acquiring some perspective and maturity. Sometimes they realize that they still have a thing or two to learn, even in the specialized field of their degree, because a qualification does not equal mastery and depth of the sum of all relevant knowledge in application, or dven that a degree from a fancy institution is not the be all and end all of knowledge and experience that deserves consideration. Don’t worry! Aelis will not realize any of these things or even realize that she maybe should be starting to realize them.
The root of this problem is the aforementioned RPGness of the narrative. In an RPG, every interaction is transactional and, insofar as the player is playing “against” the GM or the gameworld, adversarial. You don’t go to the inn to hang out, but to gather information. You don’t approach NPCs to check in with them on the health of their aged mother but because you need something from them. An NPC only approaches you if there is something you need to get from them or they are going to send you on a side-quest. If you engage in desultory chatter with the barkeep, or greet peasant woman #3 cordially or agree to help the child find his puppy, it’s because you calculate that this might give you a boost when you roll to see what information you can get from them or amass “reputation points” that will help you in a future “interaction.” Aelis approaches the “NPCs” among whom she lives as if she’s playing a particuliarly irritating rpg level for fiftieth time: in a constant state of irritation that she has to go through tedious interactions in order to advance her interests.
I’m sure it is annoying when you are playing a video game and Village Elder #3 stops you outside the inn and asks if you can help him by explaining a government promissary note he’s received from the post-rider, and you’ve already done that sidequest, but outside of an RPG, if you are one of the few literate people in the village and your job is literally to be a public servant, and this is the first time anyone has asked you to do this for them because this is the first time the mail has arrived since you got here, reacting to the request by thinking “I wish I could tell him that if he stops me in the street again I’ll stab him in the stomach with my necromancy blade” seems, uh, a tad aggro, as they say, even if our protagonist is polite enough to accede to the request.
I think you can see why it was tiring to spend 300 pages with this asshole—and that’s not even getting into Aelis’s annoying habit of flashing back to a university lecture to deliver potted exposition that will explain why she can perfectly execute whatever magical maneuver she is about to try, or the utter laziness of the writing that frequently uses cliches of thought and narrative that don’t make sense just because they’re there…
Everything else is about as distinctively drawn. Somewhere, there are cities with glittering parties and bustling merchants selling delicacies imported from all over the world. Adventurers go treasure-hunting in “the wilderness”. Wine comes in skins. People wear jerkins. Elves are willowy and beautiful. Dwarves are tricky dealers and all come from banking families—
—wait what? Are we really sailing this close to the wind of this particularly uncomfortable alignment of stereotypes in the year 2023?
Yes, yes we are. Also, the
But maybe it’s not fair to complain about what is basically a feature of the book. But the RPG ethos controls the protagonist as well. Our main character is Aelis de something something something, a newly minted necromancer with a triple major from the most prestigious magical university in the land. We know this, because she reminds everyone of it all the time. Aelis, you see, is the cosmopolitan daughter of an important nobleman and a brilliant scholar who was top of her class in everything and is very unhappy to be posted as resident wizars-cum-surgeon-cum-sheriff to Bumfuck, Fantasyland (B’mfu’k, if you will). This is supposed to be relatable to any medical student who has gotten a Residency they didn’t they didn’t like or a new PhD with a shitty postdoc in a red state or someone who went to teach English in Japan after college and was hoping to hang out in Tokyo but instead got assigned to a small rural town.
Unfortunately, Aelis can only be described as a posh twit and asshole to everyone around her. She only speaks in commands, condescending lectures about how superior her expertise is, and threats, and gets furious when anyone contradicts her. This is not exactly unrealistic as a portrayal of an ultra-privileged graduate of an ultra-elite educational institution who is convinced that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, have all the answers, and ought to be the center of the universe. It’s just that often the arc of such characters involves their acquiring some perspective and maturity. Sometimes they realize that they still have a thing or two to learn, even in the specialized field of their degree, because a qualification does not equal mastery and depth of the sum of all relevant knowledge in application, or dven that a degree from a fancy institution is not the be all and end all of knowledge and experience that deserves consideration. Don’t worry! Aelis will not realize any of these things or even realize that she maybe should be starting to realize them.
The root of this problem is the aforementioned RPGness of the narrative. In an RPG, every interaction is transactional and, insofar as the player is playing “against” the GM or the gameworld, adversarial. You don’t go to the inn to hang out, but to gather information. You don’t approach NPCs to check in with them on the health of their aged mother but because you need something from them. An NPC only approaches you if there is something you need to get from them or they are going to send you on a side-quest. If you engage in desultory chatter with the barkeep, or greet peasant woman #3 cordially or agree to help the child find his puppy, it’s because you calculate that this might give you a boost when you roll to see what information you can get from them or amass “reputation points” that will help you in a future “interaction.” Aelis approaches the “NPCs” among whom she lives as if she’s playing a particuliarly irritating rpg level for fiftieth time: in a constant state of irritation that she has to go through tedious interactions in order to advance her interests.
I’m sure it is annoying when you are playing a video game and Village Elder #3 stops you outside the inn and asks if you can help him by explaining a government promissary note he’s received from the post-rider, and you’ve already done that sidequest, but outside of an RPG, if you are one of the few literate people in the village and your job is literally to be a public servant, and this is the first time anyone has asked you to do this for them because this is the first time the mail has arrived since you got here, reacting to the request by thinking “I wish I could tell him that if he stops me in the street again I’ll stab him in the stomach with my necromancy blade” seems, uh, a tad aggro, as they say, even if our protagonist is polite enough to accede to the request.
I think you can see why it was tiring to spend 300 pages with this asshole—and that’s not even getting into Aelis’s annoying habit of flashing back to a university lecture to deliver potted exposition that will explain why she can perfectly execute whatever magical maneuver she is about to try, or the utter laziness of the writing that frequently uses cliches of thought and narrative that don’t make sense just because they’re there…
April 18, 2023
Ahoy there me mateys! I really enjoyed the start to a new series. Aelis is a graduate of the Magisters’ Lyceum and a female necromancer, among other talents. Assigned to a backwater town hundreds of miles from anywhere, she misses city life and the pleasures her wealth afforded her. Lone Pine only seems to have cold weather, goats, and peasants that need her talents but are scared of her. Aelis expects the posting to be boring and is planning to serve her time and get back to the real world. Instead she finds unexpected trouble.
A lot of the enjoyment of the book will come down to if the reader likes Aelis. I happened to love her. She is snarky and grumpy and extremely self-indulgent at times. She is also principled and stubborn and fun to root for. There are not many fleshed out characters in this. The tracker, Tun, is one of the few nuanced people in the book. I loved him too.
The pacing of the book is a bit slow and takes about half the book to get to the conflict. The world building is light and practically non-existent. I did like the slice-of-life insight into Aelis' life and thoughts. The magic system is very interesting and is slowly revealed in the form of Aelis' reminiscing about her studies. There is not a lot of explanation for the magic overall though.
The novel has an old school feel to it and I really disliked having to put the book down. I am look forward to the next book after the abrupt cliff hanger ending. I need to know what happens to Aelis next. Arrrr!
A lot of the enjoyment of the book will come down to if the reader likes Aelis. I happened to love her. She is snarky and grumpy and extremely self-indulgent at times. She is also principled and stubborn and fun to root for. There are not many fleshed out characters in this. The tracker, Tun, is one of the few nuanced people in the book. I loved him too.
The pacing of the book is a bit slow and takes about half the book to get to the conflict. The world building is light and practically non-existent. I did like the slice-of-life insight into Aelis' life and thoughts. The magic system is very interesting and is slowly revealed in the form of Aelis' reminiscing about her studies. There is not a lot of explanation for the magic overall though.
The novel has an old school feel to it and I really disliked having to put the book down. I am look forward to the next book after the abrupt cliff hanger ending. I need to know what happens to Aelis next. Arrrr!
March 1, 2024
Stars: 2.5 out of 5.
When I read the blurb of this book, this sounded like it should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the execution was decidedly underwhelming. And the opinions of my Goodreads friends are split on this one. One absolutely loved, and another one DNFed it. I'm tending to agree with my second friend on this one, though I managed to finish the book, and I now think that I shouldn't have bothered.
I have several issues with this book, so let's talk about the biggest two.
First of all, this book feels rudderless. This less of a cohesive story than a series of events that happen to Aelis. A bear attacks the sheep, some mercenaries bring cursed gold, then a villager seemingly goes crazy and attacks his brother, then all of a sudden we get a detour to kill a Demon tree... You get the picture. Aelis isn't the driving force behind this story. It feels like she is just a leaf being dragged along the current of things that happen around her. She is reacting to external forces all the time.
And this isn't a bad thing, if done well. In fact, there are book that managed to create a compelling story around a protagonist who had no agency of his/her own. Unfortunately, this is not that book.
The problem is that Aelis has no stakes in the events that happen around her. She has no goals to reach and, honestly, nothing to loose. So there is really no sense of urgency in the unfolding story. Which also means that the story meanders without a clear goal, just like Aelis and Tun in the wilderness. I grew bored following them, to tell you the truth, because I didn't particularly care if she caught up with the crazy brother. And even when the stakes seemed to finally get bigger (like the discovery of a rogue enchanter a few days away from the village), I was already too disengaged with the story to care.
And that stems from the second issue I have with this book - the character of Aelis herself. To put it bluntly she is a pretentious and extremely unlikeable. She is extremely condescending to EVERYONE around her, just because she went to the Lyceum of magic, and they are "simple peasants". Yes, because her having purely academic knowledge and no field experience in pretty much anything is so much better than the experiences of people who have been through a war, or who learned to survive in a harsh environment since their birth.
I would have been better able to stomach this if she learned and evolved throughout the book, made mistakes, got her nose bloodied, and came out humbler and wiser on the other side. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. In fact, there is no character growth for Aelis whatsoever. She is just as unlikeable at the end of the book as she is at the beginning of it.
So I finished this story, but I have no desire to continue with this series, because I really don't care about Aelis di Lenti and her overinflated ego.
PS: I received and advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I read the blurb of this book, this sounded like it should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the execution was decidedly underwhelming. And the opinions of my Goodreads friends are split on this one. One absolutely loved, and another one DNFed it. I'm tending to agree with my second friend on this one, though I managed to finish the book, and I now think that I shouldn't have bothered.
I have several issues with this book, so let's talk about the biggest two.
First of all, this book feels rudderless. This less of a cohesive story than a series of events that happen to Aelis. A bear attacks the sheep, some mercenaries bring cursed gold, then a villager seemingly goes crazy and attacks his brother, then all of a sudden we get a detour to kill a Demon tree... You get the picture. Aelis isn't the driving force behind this story. It feels like she is just a leaf being dragged along the current of things that happen around her. She is reacting to external forces all the time.
And this isn't a bad thing, if done well. In fact, there are book that managed to create a compelling story around a protagonist who had no agency of his/her own. Unfortunately, this is not that book.
The problem is that Aelis has no stakes in the events that happen around her. She has no goals to reach and, honestly, nothing to loose. So there is really no sense of urgency in the unfolding story. Which also means that the story meanders without a clear goal, just like Aelis and Tun in the wilderness. I grew bored following them, to tell you the truth, because I didn't particularly care if she caught up with the crazy brother. And even when the stakes seemed to finally get bigger (like the discovery of a rogue enchanter a few days away from the village), I was already too disengaged with the story to care.
And that stems from the second issue I have with this book - the character of Aelis herself. To put it bluntly she is a pretentious and extremely unlikeable. She is extremely condescending to EVERYONE around her, just because she went to the Lyceum of magic, and they are "simple peasants". Yes, because her having purely academic knowledge and no field experience in pretty much anything is so much better than the experiences of people who have been through a war, or who learned to survive in a harsh environment since their birth.
I would have been better able to stomach this if she learned and evolved throughout the book, made mistakes, got her nose bloodied, and came out humbler and wiser on the other side. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. In fact, there is no character growth for Aelis whatsoever. She is just as unlikeable at the end of the book as she is at the beginning of it.
So I finished this story, but I have no desire to continue with this series, because I really don't care about Aelis di Lenti and her overinflated ego.
PS: I received and advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 16, 2023
Do you like:
--Small villages in the back of beyond where strange things wander in out of the woods (or are discovered by those wandering into them)?
--A heroine who is in fact the smartest person in the room and has confidence in that fact and also in the weapons she carries and knows how to use?
--A fascinating and complex magic system where 'necromancy' means more than just 'dead things'?
--A truly adorable "oh no, I met her eyes, I'm staring, have to be cool" nascent romance?
--Sarcasm, so much sarcasm, it should be one of the schools of magic, really.
--The Worst Goat?
I enjoyed this book immensely, and Aelis is a joy and a pleasure to read about, whose only doubt is not whether she can do a thing, but will she have time for a restorative glass of wine after triumphantly doing the thing.
--Small villages in the back of beyond where strange things wander in out of the woods (or are discovered by those wandering into them)?
--A heroine who is in fact the smartest person in the room and has confidence in that fact and also in the weapons she carries and knows how to use?
--A fascinating and complex magic system where 'necromancy' means more than just 'dead things'?
--A truly adorable "oh no, I met her eyes, I'm staring, have to be cool" nascent romance?
--Sarcasm, so much sarcasm, it should be one of the schools of magic, really.
--The Worst Goat?
I enjoyed this book immensely, and Aelis is a joy and a pleasure to read about, whose only doubt is not whether she can do a thing, but will she have time for a restorative glass of wine after triumphantly doing the thing.
April 16, 2023
*Thank you so much to Tor Books for the digital ARC they provided me of this book for an honest review*
First half of the book: 3 Stars
Second half of the book: 4 Stars
I very rarely split my stars in half for books, but to be honest, with this one, there were times I almost felt like I was reading two different stories.
In the first half of the book you are introduced to Aelis, a trained Warden, who has been assigned to protect and oversee a very backcountry village called Lone Pine. This is very far removed from the lifestyle she is used to as she is the daughter of a Count, which is a fact that is mentioned only a few times in the book, but we get the feeling she is used to the finer things in life, she definitely is not poor, and she is used to city life. So, in the first half of the book, Aelis spends her time trying to get acclimated to her new lifestyle and trying to win over the village people to the extent that they will at least trust her even if they don’t necessarily want her there. I liked this first half but didn’t love it. I did enjoy that interspersed between reading about Aelis trying to get the village people to accept her that we got to hear a little bit about her time at her magic school, Magisters’ Lyceum, and how some of the magic worked and the different fields of magic she studied. I kind of wish we had seen more of this in the story. Ultimately for me, the first half meandered a bit. But, I did find it entertaining enough to keep going. I especially loved the interactions she had with a certain goat. Part of it was laugh-out-loud funny. And I enjoyed the introduction to the love interest. I am interested to see where that goes in further books. But I just felt like maybe the pacing was a bit off in the first half. As if maybe some of it could have been cut down or maybe different parts of the story could have been expounded upon more
In the second half of the book, and literally, this is no joke because this was right at the 50% mark, the story really starts to pick up and becomes more of an action-adventure story. In the first half, you see that some of the townspeople have begun to act suspiciously and of course, part of Aelis’s job is to figure out the cause and find a solution. I won’t spoil anything but figuring out at least part of the solution and having to go after an individual for a connected event sends her and a companion on a mini-quest, which was quite fast-paced and fun. Once she returns to the village after a short amount of time she has to embark on another challenge of sorts. And believe me when I say the second half of the story definitely picks up speed so much so that I thought maybe the ending was a little rushed (a far cry from the first half of the book) and I wouldn’t say I didn’t like the ending although it was a bit abrupt but definitely made me want to read the second book.
Overall, even though the book took me a bit to get into I did end up having fun with it, and I was entertained enough by the second half of the book to want to continue the series. There are some really good characters in the book that I definitely want to know more about. I think my liking the book, but not necessarily loving it comes from it feeling a bit disjointed to me. That word might not be fair, to be honest. I feel like the author knows the endgame and I do not think anything he wrote was not part of the overarching goal. At least in my opinion. This is all speculation on my part though, so we will not know until the next book comes out and we will have a better idea of the grand plan. I just know that I am glad I gave this book a shot and am looking forward to the next book.
First half of the book: 3 Stars
Second half of the book: 4 Stars
I very rarely split my stars in half for books, but to be honest, with this one, there were times I almost felt like I was reading two different stories.
In the first half of the book you are introduced to Aelis, a trained Warden, who has been assigned to protect and oversee a very backcountry village called Lone Pine. This is very far removed from the lifestyle she is used to as she is the daughter of a Count, which is a fact that is mentioned only a few times in the book, but we get the feeling she is used to the finer things in life, she definitely is not poor, and she is used to city life. So, in the first half of the book, Aelis spends her time trying to get acclimated to her new lifestyle and trying to win over the village people to the extent that they will at least trust her even if they don’t necessarily want her there. I liked this first half but didn’t love it. I did enjoy that interspersed between reading about Aelis trying to get the village people to accept her that we got to hear a little bit about her time at her magic school, Magisters’ Lyceum, and how some of the magic worked and the different fields of magic she studied. I kind of wish we had seen more of this in the story. Ultimately for me, the first half meandered a bit. But, I did find it entertaining enough to keep going. I especially loved the interactions she had with a certain goat. Part of it was laugh-out-loud funny. And I enjoyed the introduction to the love interest. I am interested to see where that goes in further books. But I just felt like maybe the pacing was a bit off in the first half. As if maybe some of it could have been cut down or maybe different parts of the story could have been expounded upon more
In the second half of the book, and literally, this is no joke because this was right at the 50% mark, the story really starts to pick up and becomes more of an action-adventure story. In the first half, you see that some of the townspeople have begun to act suspiciously and of course, part of Aelis’s job is to figure out the cause and find a solution. I won’t spoil anything but figuring out at least part of the solution and having to go after an individual for a connected event sends her and a companion on a mini-quest, which was quite fast-paced and fun. Once she returns to the village after a short amount of time she has to embark on another challenge of sorts. And believe me when I say the second half of the story definitely picks up speed so much so that I thought maybe the ending was a little rushed (a far cry from the first half of the book) and I wouldn’t say I didn’t like the ending although it was a bit abrupt but definitely made me want to read the second book.
Overall, even though the book took me a bit to get into I did end up having fun with it, and I was entertained enough by the second half of the book to want to continue the series. There are some really good characters in the book that I definitely want to know more about. I think my liking the book, but not necessarily loving it comes from it feeling a bit disjointed to me. That word might not be fair, to be honest. I feel like the author knows the endgame and I do not think anything he wrote was not part of the overarching goal. At least in my opinion. This is all speculation on my part though, so we will not know until the next book comes out and we will have a better idea of the grand plan. I just know that I am glad I gave this book a shot and am looking forward to the next book.
December 13, 2024
i spaced out during the second half of this because i was so uninterested. maybe when im not in a reading slump i'll try again 😭
ps stop making the mc talk to herself in full on paragraphs multiple times a page it is so disorienting because people DONT DO THAT.
ps stop making the mc talk to herself in full on paragraphs multiple times a page it is so disorienting because people DONT DO THAT.
Read
September 30, 2025WOW. Okay this book was so so interesting. Ford is SO skilled at his descriptors, it painted such a clear image in my head. I think it was on the first ten pages, when there was a description about the tower Aelis would inhabit, that really stole my breath away. It was so clear and honestly so well done. And it continued for our heroine, each new thing she encountered I was so excited to SEE it. It was painted with words and I was there, beside Aelis, witnessing it.
And Aelis... oh Aelis, my self-talking, learning to adapt, ruthless bad ass necromancer beloved. Bi sexual (maybe poly???) and crushing HARD on a very charming elven archer. I think she's made it to my list of top ten favorite character, her internal/external dialogue was so interesting and let us get to know her in a way I hadn't really seen before. Everyone loves an underdog and Aelis may not have been born one, but she became one and kept her head high through it all. GOD. Love her.
The pacing was a little odd, I thought it would be cozy for most of the book, getting to know the village, but that part was short lived. Seeing a look at the world surrounding the village Aelis is in really got me excited for the rest of the series that will follow. There's a rich world here I honestly can't wait to explore.
AND THE ENDING. OH GOD. Stress... and I still have -checks calendar- 8 months until the next one........
And Aelis... oh Aelis, my self-talking, learning to adapt, ruthless bad ass necromancer beloved. Bi sexual (maybe poly???) and crushing HARD on a very charming elven archer. I think she's made it to my list of top ten favorite character, her internal/external dialogue was so interesting and let us get to know her in a way I hadn't really seen before. Everyone loves an underdog and Aelis may not have been born one, but she became one and kept her head high through it all. GOD. Love her.
The pacing was a little odd, I thought it would be cozy for most of the book, getting to know the village, but that part was short lived. Seeing a look at the world surrounding the village Aelis is in really got me excited for the rest of the series that will follow. There's a rich world here I honestly can't wait to explore.
AND THE ENDING. OH GOD. Stress... and I still have -checks calendar- 8 months until the next one........
June 9, 2023
The Warden had the potential to be a really great book; however, the main character was unlikeable, the setting was poorly explained, and the delivery was more tell than show (which is always a bummer). Aelis talks to herself a lot, and the author uses this to explain various aspects of the book. I want to see what's happening and feel it unfold. I don't want a play-by-play from the main character. Additionally, what she's saying - the terms and phrases she uses - are only vaguely explained.
Why are there so many moons? How do they work? Are we ever going to find out why Aelis has an affinity for one of them? I also wasn't a big fan of how the flashbacks were presented. They felt too planned and intentional. I understand they were supposed to be a way to inform readers of past events, but they seemed to always justify or explain whatever Aelis was currently doing. Why did she and her professor have so much animosity between them? The author barely touches on seemingly crucial details.
I also wanted more from the secondary characters - Tun specifically. I honestly thought he was going to follow her at the end (incognito of course), but even that was a disappointment. The author tried to build up this friendship but then missed an opportunity for it to flourish. The same can be said of Maurenia. Their relationship had so much potential, but the execution left a lot to be desired.
I've said it before and I'll say it again . . . unlikeable main characters make it hard to enjoy a book. Aelis was rude, condescending, wanted to wave her title and elitism around, and had very little regard for the people she was supposed to be protecting. Rus and Martin went out of their way to make sure she had what she needed (whether that was food, basic necessities, or even just information), yet she rarely thanked them or even smiled in their direction. I hated how "stoic" the author tried to make her, because she ended up being someone I didn't want to read about.
It was also very frustrating when things simply "worked out" for Aelis. None of her plans failed. She didn't have any setbacks. She didn't listen when people offered her advice.
Small spoilers: I wish this book had been about a female necromancer with a half-orc best friend and half-elf love interest. I wish they had traveled and adventured together, their bonds growing stronger the longer they were together. I wish Aelis had struggled and failed. I wish she had learned from failing and grown as a character. I wish we had seen her use more of her necromancy and had less of her explaining what everything was. I wish Pips had been included in their adventures and played a larger role. I wish the setting and the world had been described more thoroughly and less verbally.
Like I said, this book had the potential be something amazing. Unfortunately, it fell flat and left me feeling a little disappointed and a lot annoyed. (★★★☆☆)
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
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Why are there so many moons? How do they work? Are we ever going to find out why Aelis has an affinity for one of them? I also wasn't a big fan of how the flashbacks were presented. They felt too planned and intentional. I understand they were supposed to be a way to inform readers of past events, but they seemed to always justify or explain whatever Aelis was currently doing. Why did she and her professor have so much animosity between them? The author barely touches on seemingly crucial details.
I also wanted more from the secondary characters - Tun specifically. I honestly thought he was going to follow her at the end (incognito of course), but even that was a disappointment. The author tried to build up this friendship but then missed an opportunity for it to flourish. The same can be said of Maurenia. Their relationship had so much potential, but the execution left a lot to be desired.
I've said it before and I'll say it again . . . unlikeable main characters make it hard to enjoy a book. Aelis was rude, condescending, wanted to wave her title and elitism around, and had very little regard for the people she was supposed to be protecting. Rus and Martin went out of their way to make sure she had what she needed (whether that was food, basic necessities, or even just information), yet she rarely thanked them or even smiled in their direction. I hated how "stoic" the author tried to make her, because she ended up being someone I didn't want to read about.
It was also very frustrating when things simply "worked out" for Aelis. None of her plans failed. She didn't have any setbacks. She didn't listen when people offered her advice.
Small spoilers: I wish this book had been about a female necromancer with a half-orc best friend and half-elf love interest. I wish they had traveled and adventured together, their bonds growing stronger the longer they were together. I wish Aelis had struggled and failed. I wish she had learned from failing and grown as a character. I wish we had seen her use more of her necromancy and had less of her explaining what everything was. I wish Pips had been included in their adventures and played a larger role. I wish the setting and the world had been described more thoroughly and less verbally.
Like I said, this book had the potential be something amazing. Unfortunately, it fell flat and left me feeling a little disappointed and a lot annoyed. (★★★☆☆)
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
Blog | Instagram | Amazon
June 16, 2024
3 stars. A meh kinda book. Troupe, basic plot, and not much to be overly attracted to. It's not horrible, but not great either. The decent cliffhanger will probably make me check out the next one
May 17, 2023
I present to you the most disappointing book I have read in recent memory. People, I took notes about all it’s failings.
Admittedly, what drew me to this was the gorgeous cover. Then I saw it was supposed to be Twin Peaks with wizards and I was sold, but I didn't feel that vibe at all.
I should have DNFed this right away. On page 9, the author uses the same phrase "none the worse for wear" twice with different characters (one internally and one in dialogue) within two paragraphs of each other. I should have known then that I wouldn't jive with this book.
I didn't stop reading when I should have and now I have many a complaint. Isn't it funny that you can go on and on about something you dislike?
THIS BOOK WAS BLAND. The world, characters, and magic system could potentially have potential, but nothing was fleshed out enough to make the reader care. There was no rise, fall, or climax of the book - everything was on one long plateau that would never end. A series of short stories that goes nowhere.
The author throws in random reveals that carry no weight because the possibility of the reveal had never come up before. For example, all of a sudden Tun - the half human half orc - turns into a werebear when were creatures were never mentioned being part of this world before. Another example is the big baddie (who gets maybe 3 paragraphs of page time) performs a sundering years prior and GASP! this is a horrible and terrible thing the baddie has done. Does the reader know what this is? NOPE. Was this ever talked about before its reveal about 95% into the book? NOPE. His reveals carried no tension and seemed to be thrown in last minute to move plot along.
Aelis is SO sexualized. She is the perfect example of a male author writing a female character circa the 1990s. *rolls eyes* She is so sexualized and yet, there is no chemistry between her and Maurenia - it is insta lust and not in a good way.
Let's talk about that beautiful cover: the scene depicted on it lasted maybe half a page. HALF A PAGE. The cover also alludes to a much darker fantasy than what was actually written. Since nothing of note or excitement truly happens, I would say this is more of a cozy fantasy? But then I feel that makes cozy fantasies sound bad?
The aspect of this book that perhaps bothered me the most was how obsessed Aelis is with her past teachers. I have never ever quoted a beloved teacher's words and Aelis does this maybe every 4 pages. She is so fixated on her school, is such a brat about it, that I couldn't take it anymore and started skipping over all of those sections. It is also hysterical to me that the author is a teacher himself - I guess he thinks very highly of his lesson plans and ability to 'impart wisdom' on his students.
Then I got to the last 50 pages and only read dialogue - which was very easy because Aelis talks out loud to herself in the most unrealistically way.
Honestly, read this if you want - I would never tell someone to not read a book and clearly there are many reviewers who liked it, but my god I couldn't stand it.
Admittedly, what drew me to this was the gorgeous cover. Then I saw it was supposed to be Twin Peaks with wizards and I was sold, but I didn't feel that vibe at all.
I should have DNFed this right away. On page 9, the author uses the same phrase "none the worse for wear" twice with different characters (one internally and one in dialogue) within two paragraphs of each other. I should have known then that I wouldn't jive with this book.
I didn't stop reading when I should have and now I have many a complaint. Isn't it funny that you can go on and on about something you dislike?
THIS BOOK WAS BLAND. The world, characters, and magic system could potentially have potential, but nothing was fleshed out enough to make the reader care. There was no rise, fall, or climax of the book - everything was on one long plateau that would never end. A series of short stories that goes nowhere.
The author throws in random reveals that carry no weight because the possibility of the reveal had never come up before. For example, all of a sudden Tun - the half human half orc - turns into a werebear when were creatures were never mentioned being part of this world before. Another example is the big baddie (who gets maybe 3 paragraphs of page time) performs a sundering years prior and GASP! this is a horrible and terrible thing the baddie has done. Does the reader know what this is? NOPE. Was this ever talked about before its reveal about 95% into the book? NOPE. His reveals carried no tension and seemed to be thrown in last minute to move plot along.
Aelis is SO sexualized. She is the perfect example of a male author writing a female character circa the 1990s. *rolls eyes* She is so sexualized and yet, there is no chemistry between her and Maurenia - it is insta lust and not in a good way.
Let's talk about that beautiful cover: the scene depicted on it lasted maybe half a page. HALF A PAGE. The cover also alludes to a much darker fantasy than what was actually written. Since nothing of note or excitement truly happens, I would say this is more of a cozy fantasy? But then I feel that makes cozy fantasies sound bad?
The aspect of this book that perhaps bothered me the most was how obsessed Aelis is with her past teachers. I have never ever quoted a beloved teacher's words and Aelis does this maybe every 4 pages. She is so fixated on her school, is such a brat about it, that I couldn't take it anymore and started skipping over all of those sections. It is also hysterical to me that the author is a teacher himself - I guess he thinks very highly of his lesson plans and ability to 'impart wisdom' on his students.
Then I got to the last 50 pages and only read dialogue - which was very easy because Aelis talks out loud to herself in the most unrealistically way.
Honestly, read this if you want - I would never tell someone to not read a book and clearly there are many reviewers who liked it, but my god I couldn't stand it.
April 23, 2024
The Warden by Daniel M. Ford. I was apparently approved for this from NetGalley, but then I got so busy that I completely missed it. So, very sorry about that! The narration by Lindsay Dorcus was awesome.
Wardens are like rangers and wizards mixed into one. Our main character, Aelis, is a sword wielding, wand caster, and the new arriving overseer of Lone Pine. She is a necromancer, an anatomist, and pretty good with a sword too. The world pieces Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and even Harry Potter, and I could see people thinking Gideon the Ninth too. With all that in mind, the blend read very unique to me, as well as fully fleshed out.
The inner thoughts of Aelis, somewhat sarcastic and even self-deprecating, mixed with the more deadpan and steadfast personality of her half-orc guide, Tun, read as a great dynamic. I did struggle a bit with the half-elf love interest though. It felt kind of like pushing for a sapphic subthread that didn’t really need to be there. Or at least it wasn’t fleshed out enough for me.
I’d also liken it to some older fantasy series in the sense that it doesn’t deliver on some gigantic climax. That didn’t really work for me in the moment, but I think I’ve just become so engrained in the modern delivery of heavy action before the end. This does not have that, and that’s actually okay. It’s not without action, nor is it boring at all!
Personally a 4/5*. The peppered in flashbacks from school at the Lyceum really added depth to the world and the MC.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-wa...
Wardens are like rangers and wizards mixed into one. Our main character, Aelis, is a sword wielding, wand caster, and the new arriving overseer of Lone Pine. She is a necromancer, an anatomist, and pretty good with a sword too. The world pieces Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and even Harry Potter, and I could see people thinking Gideon the Ninth too. With all that in mind, the blend read very unique to me, as well as fully fleshed out.
The inner thoughts of Aelis, somewhat sarcastic and even self-deprecating, mixed with the more deadpan and steadfast personality of her half-orc guide, Tun, read as a great dynamic. I did struggle a bit with the half-elf love interest though. It felt kind of like pushing for a sapphic subthread that didn’t really need to be there. Or at least it wasn’t fleshed out enough for me.
I’d also liken it to some older fantasy series in the sense that it doesn’t deliver on some gigantic climax. That didn’t really work for me in the moment, but I think I’ve just become so engrained in the modern delivery of heavy action before the end. This does not have that, and that’s actually okay. It’s not without action, nor is it boring at all!
Personally a 4/5*. The peppered in flashbacks from school at the Lyceum really added depth to the world and the MC.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-wa...
June 24, 2024
3.5 ☆
Aelis comes from a noble family in the city, so when she’s sent to a small town as her first outpost after graduating she isn’t the most enthusiastic. Aelis is also a wizard who specializes in necromancy and she’s expecting to put her magic to use as the new warden. but the inhabitants of Lone Pines would rather have her help mend fences and other minimal tasks.. to her utter annoyance. this book isn’t marketed as a cozy fantasy but that’s definitely the vibe that it gives, there’s still plenty of action and creatures though. Aelis is a fun character to explore this world through and i’m 100% here for the casual bisexual rep and since this left on a cliffhanger im curious to see what’ll happen next.
Aelis comes from a noble family in the city, so when she’s sent to a small town as her first outpost after graduating she isn’t the most enthusiastic. Aelis is also a wizard who specializes in necromancy and she’s expecting to put her magic to use as the new warden. but the inhabitants of Lone Pines would rather have her help mend fences and other minimal tasks.. to her utter annoyance. this book isn’t marketed as a cozy fantasy but that’s definitely the vibe that it gives, there’s still plenty of action and creatures though. Aelis is a fun character to explore this world through and i’m 100% here for the casual bisexual rep and since this left on a cliffhanger im curious to see what’ll happen next.
March 8, 2023
This book sure had some weird pacing, and things just magically (pun intended) seemed to fix themself without much of a hassle for the main character. Every time it just... worked out.
I was really hyped for this book, but it fell kinda short.
The main character were so and so, tried to be sarcastically funny but just seemed whiny.
I liked the setting and some of the townspeople (Rus and Martin in my heart forever), but all the rest was just ok.
I was really hyped for this book, but it fell kinda short.
The main character were so and so, tried to be sarcastically funny but just seemed whiny.
I liked the setting and some of the townspeople (Rus and Martin in my heart forever), but all the rest was just ok.
February 8, 2024
The Warden
by Daniel M. Ford
The Warden #1
Fantasy
Scribd (Everand) Audio
16+
Aelis de Lenti is the daughter of a noble house, but to prove she is more than just one of the youngest children who will rely on the money her family makes, she enrolls in the Magisters' Lyceum to earn as many degrees as she can, and to become one of the only female necromancers.
Graduated, her plans of being posted in one of the cities are dashed, she is instead sent out to a village called Lone Pine, located on the farthest border of the kingdom. But even though the village requested a Warden, they avoid her out of fear of her magic.
Trying to prove she isn't evil, she begins to help out with fence mending and other jobs to help the villagers, but when from the border a group of scavengers stop in the village, Aelis finds that the little village might be the key to stop what has been sleeping since the goblin war ended before it wakes.
Even though this story was a simple read, I liked it! It kept at a mostly steady pace, and the 'side tracks' added more depth to the plot. Aelis' determination to prove herself as worthy and more than what money makes her family, is front and center, and with her 'entitled' reaction when she found she was being sent out into the wilderness instead of a city made her character become real, but I think her struggles with her upbringing and where she ended up should've been a little more active.
Most of the other characters who played a major role in the story were also well thought out, though there were a few who I believe needed just a little more descriptions to give them a little more life.
One irritating thing was how in the middle of something, the MC would have a flashback to when she was in school, learning about something related to what was going on in the village. While I can see how it helped with the story, there were a few times it happened at the wrong time and it interrupted the flow of the story, making me stop what I was doing because I thought the audio glitched.
Hopefully, the intriguing magic system and world will have more descriptions and backstories in the next book, which I will be looking for.
Not a lot of violence or graphic details, so it's suitable for readers 16 and older.
4 Stars
by Daniel M. Ford
The Warden #1
Fantasy
Scribd (Everand) Audio
16+
Aelis de Lenti is the daughter of a noble house, but to prove she is more than just one of the youngest children who will rely on the money her family makes, she enrolls in the Magisters' Lyceum to earn as many degrees as she can, and to become one of the only female necromancers.
Graduated, her plans of being posted in one of the cities are dashed, she is instead sent out to a village called Lone Pine, located on the farthest border of the kingdom. But even though the village requested a Warden, they avoid her out of fear of her magic.
Trying to prove she isn't evil, she begins to help out with fence mending and other jobs to help the villagers, but when from the border a group of scavengers stop in the village, Aelis finds that the little village might be the key to stop what has been sleeping since the goblin war ended before it wakes.
Even though this story was a simple read, I liked it! It kept at a mostly steady pace, and the 'side tracks' added more depth to the plot. Aelis' determination to prove herself as worthy and more than what money makes her family, is front and center, and with her 'entitled' reaction when she found she was being sent out into the wilderness instead of a city made her character become real, but I think her struggles with her upbringing and where she ended up should've been a little more active.
Most of the other characters who played a major role in the story were also well thought out, though there were a few who I believe needed just a little more descriptions to give them a little more life.
One irritating thing was how in the middle of something, the MC would have a flashback to when she was in school, learning about something related to what was going on in the village. While I can see how it helped with the story, there were a few times it happened at the wrong time and it interrupted the flow of the story, making me stop what I was doing because I thought the audio glitched.
Hopefully, the intriguing magic system and world will have more descriptions and backstories in the next book, which I will be looking for.
Not a lot of violence or graphic details, so it's suitable for readers 16 and older.
4 Stars
April 17, 2023
Disclaimer: ARC provided by the Negalley in exchange for honest and fair review
"Lone Pine is a small town, where the bears are wise and the brew is strong. But this sleepy little town is also home to a secret: a hidden world of magic and mystery.”
Aelis is a middle child who comes from a very wealthy family who realized she was so far off from ever taking the throne that she decided to pursue academics in the form of Wizardry. As a bit of an overachiever as a result she became proficient in 3 different studies (something she likes to remind those around her of frequently) but the most important being necromancy.
After completing her studies she is assigned her first job as Warden of the small town of Lone Pine. Aelis immediately feels like she has been shafted and believes if she wasn’t a woman she wouldn’t have been sent to a town of such little significance, while she might be right about getting the assignment she did because of her gender she is all sorts of wrong about the significance of Lone Pine. I think the towns folk picked up on her hesitancy to be there and you mix that with their distrust of magic, especially necromancy and well you're bound to have a bit of a less than stellar first impression of each other.
Honestly there is so much to love in this book, I feel like it's a bit of modern fantasy, mixed with cozy fantasy with a dash of an old western thrown in. Daniel M. Ford’s worldbuilding is excellent, I’m not always a visual reader but I honestly felt like I could see the town of Lone Pine and at least in my imagination it felt like a bit of a modern western setting. I found his descriptions of food, drink and locations to be extremely vivid and really captivated me.
When it comes to character development Daniel is no slouch as I really enjoyed the detail we got of each of the significant characters in the story. While we didn’t get a full back story on each one, in my opinion we got more than enough over all to really connect with them. From friendships, to sassy stand offs / headbutting, to unexpected romance there is truly something for everyone.
My only gripe with the book was the ending, while I’m all for a good cliffhanger the way this one ended felt a tad rushed. In speaking with the author this series will at least be a trilogy with the possibility of expanding beyond that so my critique would be to work on sticking the landing for the books going forward as this one was a tad wobbly.
All in all this was a fun fast paced read and I’m extremely grateful for Athena @TPG reaching out and asking if I would be interested in reading this book as I might not have discovered it otherwise. Athena if you read this please consider adding me to your list of ARC readers for the sequel as I’m excited to see where the story goes from here.
"Lone Pine is a small town, where the bears are wise and the brew is strong. But this sleepy little town is also home to a secret: a hidden world of magic and mystery.”
Aelis is a middle child who comes from a very wealthy family who realized she was so far off from ever taking the throne that she decided to pursue academics in the form of Wizardry. As a bit of an overachiever as a result she became proficient in 3 different studies (something she likes to remind those around her of frequently) but the most important being necromancy.
After completing her studies she is assigned her first job as Warden of the small town of Lone Pine. Aelis immediately feels like she has been shafted and believes if she wasn’t a woman she wouldn’t have been sent to a town of such little significance, while she might be right about getting the assignment she did because of her gender she is all sorts of wrong about the significance of Lone Pine. I think the towns folk picked up on her hesitancy to be there and you mix that with their distrust of magic, especially necromancy and well you're bound to have a bit of a less than stellar first impression of each other.
Honestly there is so much to love in this book, I feel like it's a bit of modern fantasy, mixed with cozy fantasy with a dash of an old western thrown in. Daniel M. Ford’s worldbuilding is excellent, I’m not always a visual reader but I honestly felt like I could see the town of Lone Pine and at least in my imagination it felt like a bit of a modern western setting. I found his descriptions of food, drink and locations to be extremely vivid and really captivated me.
When it comes to character development Daniel is no slouch as I really enjoyed the detail we got of each of the significant characters in the story. While we didn’t get a full back story on each one, in my opinion we got more than enough over all to really connect with them. From friendships, to sassy stand offs / headbutting, to unexpected romance there is truly something for everyone.
My only gripe with the book was the ending, while I’m all for a good cliffhanger the way this one ended felt a tad rushed. In speaking with the author this series will at least be a trilogy with the possibility of expanding beyond that so my critique would be to work on sticking the landing for the books going forward as this one was a tad wobbly.
All in all this was a fun fast paced read and I’m extremely grateful for Athena @TPG reaching out and asking if I would be interested in reading this book as I might not have discovered it otherwise. Athena if you read this please consider adding me to your list of ARC readers for the sequel as I’m excited to see where the story goes from here.
April 23, 2024
A really great surprise, I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did! This isn't marketed as cozy or featuring found family vibes, but that's what I got from it, so if that's your cup of tea I think you'll love this book.
Aelis is surprisingly likeable, despite her noble background and inflated self image. If you like clever and capable women who love necromancy, wine, and kissing girls, this is the protagonist for you! I think fans of the Locked Tomb series will enjoy this one, though the atmosphere is different. She slowly grows throughout the story and kind of loses her standoffish, "I'm better than this" attitude and becomes quite likeable imo.
Aelis is also supported by a great cast of characters such as Maurenia the half-elf, Tun the half-orc, and Rus the innkeep. There's loads more that I enjoyed but I'll let you read to discover them.
I enjoyed Ford's writing style and especially his action scenes, not too drawn out but not so devoid of detail I couldn't picture what was happening well.
This is a nitpick, but I was off put in the beginning just how often Aelis spoke to herself out loud rather than just talking in her head, but this tapers off as the story progresses. Another nitpick is the romance. I'm not a big romance guy so feel free to ignore my unqualified opinion, but it just kinda happens, which is whatever to me, I don't mind. Sometimes all you need to date someone is to think they're pretty and if so, more power to you! I do enjoy the two together, I just wasn't convinced they'd hook up so quickly and would've liked more buildup. However, Necrobane is releasing in a matter of days and will pick up right where we left off and I see there's a third book in the works so plenty of time to flesh this relationship out!
Overall one of my favorite reads of the year so far and I'm super excited to get my hands on Necrobane in a few days time! Hats off to you Mr. Ford, you've got a new reader!
BTW, I think the cover art for these books is gorgeous and will be buying physical copies later for SURE!
Aelis is surprisingly likeable, despite her noble background and inflated self image. If you like clever and capable women who love necromancy, wine, and kissing girls, this is the protagonist for you! I think fans of the Locked Tomb series will enjoy this one, though the atmosphere is different. She slowly grows throughout the story and kind of loses her standoffish, "I'm better than this" attitude and becomes quite likeable imo.
Aelis is also supported by a great cast of characters such as Maurenia the half-elf, Tun the half-orc, and Rus the innkeep. There's loads more that I enjoyed but I'll let you read to discover them.
I enjoyed Ford's writing style and especially his action scenes, not too drawn out but not so devoid of detail I couldn't picture what was happening well.
This is a nitpick, but I was off put in the beginning just how often Aelis spoke to herself out loud rather than just talking in her head, but this tapers off as the story progresses. Another nitpick is the romance. I'm not a big romance guy so feel free to ignore my unqualified opinion, but it just kinda happens, which is whatever to me, I don't mind. Sometimes all you need to date someone is to think they're pretty and if so, more power to you! I do enjoy the two together, I just wasn't convinced they'd hook up so quickly and would've liked more buildup. However, Necrobane is releasing in a matter of days and will pick up right where we left off and I see there's a third book in the works so plenty of time to flesh this relationship out!
Overall one of my favorite reads of the year so far and I'm super excited to get my hands on Necrobane in a few days time! Hats off to you Mr. Ford, you've got a new reader!
BTW, I think the cover art for these books is gorgeous and will be buying physical copies later for SURE!
January 28, 2023
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor for providing me with my very first eARC!
Going into this book I was incredibly excited as it was high on my list of anticipated reads for this year. Unfortunately, it fell mostly flat for me. I found it incredibly hard to push through the book and was debating whether I should simply dnf it multiple times as I didn't want to spend time with a book that could not hold my attention.
Aelis being a female necromancer had so much potential for an interesting story and the whole plot seemed very intriguing right off the bat! However, I couldn't really relate to her as a character, let alone grow fond of her. I found her to be quite arrogant and irritating at times and her sense of entitlement (which she did let go off for a bit towards the end) made it not easy for me to like her.
One of my biggest gripes with the book and Aelis as a character was Aelis' inner monologues. But most of the time you can't even describe them as inner monologues because she is actually talking to herself. Out loud. I don't mind some mumbling here and there but Aelis voicing her inner thoughts out loud just hit all the wrong spots for me. At some point, I thought it finally got a bit better - only to be proven wrong again. It might just be a pet peeve of mine but even I, as an introvert, don't talk to myself like that.
What the book tried to do with what I think of as a try-hard The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim-esque quest thing, unfortunately, failed to do its job. Other reviews I read also describe it as a poorly written DnD campaign with a DM and players completely new to the game - and I think that hits the nail on the head. The ideas seemed great but the execution felt lackluster and just, as I just mentioned, it came off as a bit try-hard. The romance had potential but was drawn out in good old YA fashion with lots of "should've, could've, would've" and ultimately did nothing for me. Additionally, the typical trope of "oh, so they like each other? Well, then they should banter all the time!!!" didn't help much either.
Overall, I felt indifferent to mostly everything - the story, the characters, the world, and the magic. None of it really merited my attention in the way I was hoping for.
The Warden is by no means bad, it's just wasted potential for me. I do want to say though that I can see a younger audience definitely enjoying the story for what it is!
Going into this book I was incredibly excited as it was high on my list of anticipated reads for this year. Unfortunately, it fell mostly flat for me. I found it incredibly hard to push through the book and was debating whether I should simply dnf it multiple times as I didn't want to spend time with a book that could not hold my attention.
Aelis being a female necromancer had so much potential for an interesting story and the whole plot seemed very intriguing right off the bat! However, I couldn't really relate to her as a character, let alone grow fond of her. I found her to be quite arrogant and irritating at times and her sense of entitlement (which she did let go off for a bit towards the end) made it not easy for me to like her.
One of my biggest gripes with the book and Aelis as a character was Aelis' inner monologues. But most of the time you can't even describe them as inner monologues because she is actually talking to herself. Out loud. I don't mind some mumbling here and there but Aelis voicing her inner thoughts out loud just hit all the wrong spots for me. At some point, I thought it finally got a bit better - only to be proven wrong again. It might just be a pet peeve of mine but even I, as an introvert, don't talk to myself like that.
What the book tried to do with what I think of as a try-hard The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim-esque quest thing, unfortunately, failed to do its job. Other reviews I read also describe it as a poorly written DnD campaign with a DM and players completely new to the game - and I think that hits the nail on the head. The ideas seemed great but the execution felt lackluster and just, as I just mentioned, it came off as a bit try-hard. The romance had potential but was drawn out in good old YA fashion with lots of "should've, could've, would've" and ultimately did nothing for me. Additionally, the typical trope of "oh, so they like each other? Well, then they should banter all the time!!!" didn't help much either.
Overall, I felt indifferent to mostly everything - the story, the characters, the world, and the magic. None of it really merited my attention in the way I was hoping for.
The Warden is by no means bad, it's just wasted potential for me. I do want to say though that I can see a younger audience definitely enjoying the story for what it is!
December 6, 2022
My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.
This was a pretty good opening book in a new fantasy series. Interesting magic systems, multiple races (human, orc, elves and more), and a general acceptance of non-cis relationships made for good world-building and a decent read. The writing was a tiny bit choppy in places, but that won't stop me from seeking out further books in this series as they come out. Be forewarned that this book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so hopefully the author can get the next book picked up and published.
This was a pretty good opening book in a new fantasy series. Interesting magic systems, multiple races (human, orc, elves and more), and a general acceptance of non-cis relationships made for good world-building and a decent read. The writing was a tiny bit choppy in places, but that won't stop me from seeking out further books in this series as they come out. Be forewarned that this book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so hopefully the author can get the next book picked up and published.
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