To Be Chosen

The Maestro Chronicles #3

by John A. Buttrick

Daniel learns what it means to be the Creator’s Chosen Vessel. Queen Cleona has a deadly disease for which there is no cure, Serin Gell has escaped, and spies infest the royal court. The Serpent Guild is reorganizing with two Accomplisheds vying for the coveted position of Maestro and the Ducaunan mountaineer gets caught up in the machinations of one while his friends get tangled up with the other. For a thousand years the Trumpet of Tarin Conn has been hidden away by the Ducaunan Royal family, now Duke Cantor of house Ducalin sends word that his estate is under assault by members of the Serpent Guild and the trumpet is in danger of once again falling in the hands of the enemy Aakacarns. As a newly dubbed Royal Knight of Ducaun, Daniel must go from the sasquatch infected swamps of Append to the northern kingdom of Pentrosa in pursuit of the trumpet. His friends, Sherree and Jerremy, face horror and death if Daniel makes the wrong choice, but the right choice could mean war between Ducaun and Pentrosa. To succeed, Daniel must accept that he is the Creator’s Champion, recover the Trumpet of Tarin, compose a healing Melody, all why trying to keep secret his ability to cast spells has not been hampered by the Silencing laid upon him by the Grand Maestro.

Genres: Fantasy

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Author John A. Buttrick was born in South Florida and is currently preaching at the Flagler Grove Church of Christ in Miami.

Discover his literary prowess as he unleashes impressive and remarkable insights in his two books, To Cast The First Spell and Fighting Temptation.

Reviews

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author expanded the plot and magic shyster further. What began in book 1 as a story told almost entirely from Daniel's perspective grew in this book to multiple lead characters with adventures without Daniel.

But the plot growth seemed to come at the cost of rich and endearing characters. Motivations were simplified to the point of cliche ("I'm evil because I believe in the power of the evil magician as a god!" and "I'm supposed to ask him to marry me, according to my culture--how dare he ask me--even though I love him I'll reject him out of pride").

And the dialogue was the worst it's been. Plus, there are many typos (ruff instead of rough, eminent instead of imminent, etc). And the author switches from present tense to past tense all the time--a couple of times in the same sentence.

So I like the expanded world and magic, but am disappointed in the loss of the characters that carried me through the simple plots of the early days.

[Deborah Price (McKitrick) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book which is 3rd in the series. I love the way the magic is performed in this series, from the composing of melodies and summoning of potential from the life force. Daniel is quite simply a perfect hero. And he does it all with the best of manners. Despite the many editing errors, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy!

[John Ford]

Love the Series

I can never get enough of this books, Another great entry in the series. Can’t wait to read the next one.