Three boys, three talismans, one destiny. In this page-turning trilogy, Cinda Williams Chima explores what it means to be different, what's worth fighting for, and what's worth dying for
THE WARRIOR HEIR
Jack lives an unremarkable life in Trinity, Ohio. Only his daily medicine and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from other teenagers at his high school. Until one day, Jack skips his medicine and finds himself stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. He feels incredible until he nearly kills another player on the soccer field.
Soon, Jack learns the startling truth: he is Weirlind, part of a magical underground society of wizards, warriors, and enchantors. Weir's mighty, feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose determine power through The Game, a modern-day gladiator battle in which warriors from each house fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir. But Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind-he's one of the last warriors-and both houses are scouting for a player.
THE WIZARD HEIR
Sixteen-year-old Seph McCauley has spent the past three years getting kicked out of one exclusive private school after another. Unfortunately it's not his attitude that's the problem. It's the trail of magical accidents-lately, disasters-that follow in his wake. Seph is a wizard, orphaned and untrained--and now that the only person who could protect him has died, his powers are escalating out of control.
At the Havens, a secluded boys' school in Maine, Seph meets headmaster Gregory Leicester, who promises to initiate him into his order of wizards. But Seph soon learns that training comes at a steep cost, and that Leicester plans to use his students' powers to serve his own malicious agenda. This wizard war is one that Seph may not have the strength to survive.
THE DRAGON HEIR
The covenant that was meant to keep the wizard wars at bay has been stolen, and Trinity must prepare for attack. Jason Haley finds himself excluded from the action until he finds the Dragonheart. The opal stone seems to sing to his very soul, but Trinity's guardians seize it after they realize its powers. Madison Moss feels the beating heart of the opal, too. The desire for it surges through her, but Maddie also has a secret. Ever since absorbing the magical blow that was meant to kill Seph, she's been leaking dark powers. Trinity's enemies believe they can use her to get to the Dragonheart and they'll use anyone she cares about to make her steal the stone for them.
Moral compasses spin out of control as a final battle storms through what was once a sanctuary for the gifted. With so much to lose, what will Jason and Maddie be willing to fight for -- and what will they sacrifice?
New York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima comes from a long line of fortune-tellers, musicians and spinners of tales. She began writing romance novels in middle school, which were often confiscated by her teachers.
Her Shattered Realms quartet comprises Flamecaster ( 2016) Shadowcaster (2017) Stormcaster (2018) and Deathcaster (2019.)
Her newest series, Runestone Saga, marries Norse magic and mythology with swordplay (axeplay?) and romance. Children of Ragnarok was released 11.8.22, and the sequel and conclusion, Bane of Asgard, is set for release 10-22-24.It is available for preorder now.
Chima is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron. Chima has been a workshop leader, panelist, and speaker at writing conferences, including the Northern Ohio SCBWI Conference, the Western Reserve Writers’ Conference, and the World Fantasy Convention. She frequently speaks to young writers and readers at schools and libraries nationwide.
Chima lives in North Carolina with her family, and is always working on her next novel.
Author Cinda Williams Chima has crafted a series that I believe is just as compelling and well written as George RR Martin's "Game of Thrones" series. I read this entire book in a 24 hour period and happily stayed up reading into the wee hours of the night. I recommend Cinda's Heir Chronicles series to all fantasy fiction fans from ages 16 to 86. I rate this as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and would give it more if I could
I absolutely loved these three books. My friend suggested I read them when I found I had no other books to read, and I couldn't put them down. I sat up all night reading them and couldn't wait to find out what happened in the end, while at the same time I didn't want the series to end.
The Heir Chronicles are one of my favorite late middle school/early high school series. Now, even though I am in college, I still find pleasure in these books. Chima is an excellent writer with a mind for storytelling!
I fell in love with the warrior heir book. I had to wait for each release of her new books in this series and it was worth it. All three of them were fantastic and I always recommend them to people.
Unbeknownst to "normal" people, magical folk (wizards, enchanters, warriors etc) coexist with us in our world. The most powerful of the magical guilds are the Wizards, and their factions regularly fight against each other for power and treasure; wars that have an effect on the mortal world as well. The others are considered "underguilds", servants of the wizard houses.
The Warrior Heir - In the first book of the series a teenage boy learns that he is a Warrior - a gladiator-like super-human - and is drawn into the battle between Wizard houses, trained to fight in a tournament on behalf of one of the factions. There are some original ideas, but personally I did not enjoy this book as the plot and the characters were dull and boring. 1 star.
The Wizard Heir - Much better than the first book, both in plot and execution. Another boy, Seph, learns that he is a wizard, and he is enrolled in a private high school where an evil headmaster plans to train an army to defeat the other factions and to take over the entire wizarding world. 4 stars.
The Dragon Heir - This is where all good guys make a final stand against the wizard houses aiming for world domination. It has battles, politics, suspense, romance, and a good ending, though for some reason I did not found it satisfying. 3 stars.
Overall an OK trilogy. Recently the author decided to continue the series and wrote a fourth book, but I do not plan reading it.
This series is 5 stars for YA fiction. I used to love it as a kid, so I decided to revisit it as an adult. It held up surprisingly well, but it’s flaws were more noticeable this time. A lot of the plot moves forward due to poor communication or lying. People don’t act logically. The ending was very rushed (as a kid, it felt perfect).
Still, the characters are great. All of them have unique voices, and it’s great seeing them develop over the course of the series. Jason Haley has always been my favorite character, and he’s even cooler this time around. His death still made me emotional.
I’d rank the books as 2, 1, 3. The pacing of 3 was off, and Leander and Linda’s absences are noticed (and handled poorly). 1 felt like a classic adventure, and 2 had the best characters.
This was an easy read, and it was nice to revisit old friends for what may very well be the last time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I read all three books to my kiddos. As I didn't like the new tack-on The Enchanter Heir, I didn't read it. I kept my thoughts about this series to myself and was secretly pleased when they still rated Chima's Seven Realms series (starting with the The Demon King) far and away their favorite.
Still, they enjoyed these a lot and were sorry when we were done.
The first book was okay. I liked, but wasn't sure I would read the others. The 2nd and 3rd were muched improved and I really enjoyed them. The climax of the 3rd wasn't quite what I expected, but it worked. I'm looking forward to reading her Seven Realms series.
THIS SPECATULOR BOOK SET WAS ONE THAT I HAVE ORDERED OFF OF BORDERS.COM JUST SO I COULD GET IT SIGNED BY CINDA CHIMA HERSELF ON APRIL 19,2010 UP AT LORAIN ADMIRAL KING HIGH SCHOOL FOR MY BOOK CLUB. BEST EXPERIENCE EVER
I was so pleased when I began reading this series! I first read the Seven Realms series (ok so just the first 3) and fell in love with Chima's writing style. Super read for teens, and it is an awesome twist of the average wizard/witch kind of story line.