[rune]

My initial Review -

A story which introduces the reader to Calvyn, a teenager from a farming community who through chance meeting and tragedy embarks on a journey with a mysterious old man, Perdimonn.
I felt this first book mostly involved Calvyn growth and choices. The relationship between Calvyn and Perdimonn was enjoyable, I found they interacted well and I felt these scenes were well written.
Magic was used well and meaningfully in the story, this in turn lent belieavability to the world created for this series.
And I found the magical altercations between Perdimonn and Selkor the most exciting.
However, I did feel a little disappointed when Perdimonn and Calvyn split up, as I liked these two characters equally and when they embarked on their own journeys the story focused mostly on Calvyn career as a trainee soldier. Despite not finding fighting and war themes as interesting as magical themes, I did feel the soldier training quite entertaining at times. The author included wit and tension to this plotline which kept me engaged.

Demar is one of the darkest character's in the story, and is briefly introduced at the beginning of the story. However, I always felt detached from this character. I would have liked to see him more fleshed out making him a stronger presence. For me, it would have given his part in the story more credence, as I didnt feel he was a real threat to Calvyn, or Thrandor.