The Summoner recounts a "hero's journey" a la Joseph Campbell.Here is the formulaic plot line: Prince Martris Drayke is the only survivor of his brother Jared's coup. When Jared has the rest of the royal family murdered, a wounded Tris manages to escape with the help of his friends. Always able to communicate with the palace ghosts, the trauma of his family's murders releases additional powers that Tris has been unaware of possessing.
And then:
He must find a way to control his powers and use them to defeat Jared and put an end to the senseless brutality that Jared and his own mage have forced on the kingdom.
His friends are helpful.
He meets new friends who join his cause.
There is a beautiful warrior princess.
He finds tutors to help him understand his magical powers.While there is no real depth to the novel or the characters, it is a quick and easy read. I don't regret having read it by any means, but neither am I inclined to seek out other books in the series.
Once Upon a Time Challenge VI
Fiction. Fantasy. 2009. Print version - 644 pages. I read an e book on my Kindle.
Definitely sounds like he studied up on his Joseph Campbell. Oh, well. Those books can be fun, even if you can practically see the plot threads.
ReplyDeleteNancy - :) Actually, so much of fantasy is the hero's journey, and I've certainly loved my share of them. This is an easy read, not bad, but not great.
ReplyDeletehm, I don't remember being disgruntled with the book I read, but it has been a while. I want to say that she gets better.
ReplyDeleteKailana - You are right--the books may, indeed, get better. Not that this one was bad, but it just didn't quite satisfy my hopes. This WAS a debut novel for Martin.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, that doesn't sound too good but at least you don't regret reading it! Don't think I'll go for that one though so thanks for the honest review - at the end of the day I don't really need to add on any more books to my tbr! Especially if they're only so so!
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Lynn :D
Lynn - I can't say that it didn't entertain me while I was reading, just that it lacked something to take it beyond the plot formula. Since it was her first novel, this may very well have changed in the succeeding novels, but like you say, there are so many books on the tbr list!
ReplyDeleteOy. Doesn't strike my fancy much either! Might need to skip past this one, at least for me.
ReplyDeleteNatalie - It just wasn't entertaining enough to make me care to read the next in the series. However, the next one could be a great deal better. :P
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