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The Wardens #1
The Wardens
A former Warden, Caid finds himself on the outside of the assassin group looking in. With the help of 12-year-old escaped slave Alis, Caid has to find out why the Wardens have abandoned their ways and started killing their own. Along the way, he finds himself in tandem with many strange allies, but as the plans of the Wardens unravel Caid finds that assassinations are the least of the cities worries. What can a former Warden do to stop the calling of a god?
408 pages, Paperback
Published April 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 12, 2019
The Wardens is a fantasy—and a really good one at that—but the societal issues underlying the action are very recognizable in our world. The city of Parian is divided into districts, each one presided over by a “seer” who is elected to the position, but each district has its own personality and reason for being. The one along the waterfront is known for its rowdy bars, another is primarily the home of the slaves, another is home to the city’s two universities—well, you get the idea. One of the conflicts between the districts involves energy. Some support the use of coal, and the district that houses the coal mines has air so bad that the people have to wear ventilators. I still haven’t figured out why the people in the other districts don’t have to since they’re within walking distance of each other, but their air is affected, just not to the extent of needing ventilators—yet. Other districts want clean energy, and that conflict sets up a lot of the action in the story.
Caid, the hero, is a warden. Wardens apparently started out as keepers of the peace with the support of the Nine Wardens, who are gods, but over time, they’ve become assassins. Most of them still believe they are keeping society on the straight and narrow with their work, and they’ve always stayed out of politics—until now. Caid is almost killed by the men leading the wardens, and he teams up with a 12-year-old former slave, Alis, who is an engineering prodigy, after she helps him escape into the safety of the tunnels she and her parents have dug under the city.
I’m not going to say more for fear of spoilers, but the story is a good one with an interesting world for a setting and characters you can really like—especially Alis. I especially liked the way the author didn’t hit the reader with all the details about the world at once. Instead, he approached it as if that world really existed and the reader was familiar with it—just like a book set in the real world would be approached. I liked learning about the world as I traveled through the story.
My only complaint—and it was enough for me to knock off a star—is that it really needs a copyedit. If it got that, it would easily be a 5-star read.
Caid, the hero, is a warden. Wardens apparently started out as keepers of the peace with the support of the Nine Wardens, who are gods, but over time, they’ve become assassins. Most of them still believe they are keeping society on the straight and narrow with their work, and they’ve always stayed out of politics—until now. Caid is almost killed by the men leading the wardens, and he teams up with a 12-year-old former slave, Alis, who is an engineering prodigy, after she helps him escape into the safety of the tunnels she and her parents have dug under the city.
I’m not going to say more for fear of spoilers, but the story is a good one with an interesting world for a setting and characters you can really like—especially Alis. I especially liked the way the author didn’t hit the reader with all the details about the world at once. Instead, he approached it as if that world really existed and the reader was familiar with it—just like a book set in the real world would be approached. I liked learning about the world as I traveled through the story.
My only complaint—and it was enough for me to knock off a star—is that it really needs a copyedit. If it got that, it would easily be a 5-star read.
April 17, 2021
Awesome read !!
I was amazed at the authors beautifully written story line that blew me away with great main characters and the world the author put together was like a breath of fresh air.It's been a long time since I've read anything this great and I can't wait for the next book I highly recommend this author and this series God bless hopefully you will enjoy this book as much as I !!
I was amazed at the authors beautifully written story line that blew me away with great main characters and the world the author put together was like a breath of fresh air.It's been a long time since I've read anything this great and I can't wait for the next book I highly recommend this author and this series God bless hopefully you will enjoy this book as much as I !!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews