The Novice

March 23, 2015
In this first installment of the Summoner trilogy (originally posted on Wattpad), a young man discovers he has the ability to summon and control demons. Fletcher, a blacksmith’s apprentice, finds himself in possession of a book that allows him to conjure a rare Salamander demon. Shortly thereafter, he is forced to flee his village, but a lucky chain of events takes him to Vocans Academy, where he is to train as an imperial battlemage. Fletcher is tested to his limits, bullied by the noble students, and subjected to constant scrutiny by the teachers, but he also makes new allies among the less-privileged students, including representatives from the dwarves and elves. Matharu’s fiction debut is a solid offering, albeit one that features an odd mishmash of cultural influences—twin dwarven brothers are named Atilla and Othello, Fletcher’s blacksmith mentor presents him with a khopesh, and law enforcement agents are called Pinkertons. The story itself is strong, but it suffers from uneven pacing and an abrupt ending. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sasha Raskin, Agency Group.

March 1, 2015
A young orphan makes friends (and enemies) at a magic school in this solid series opener.Fifteen-year-old Fletcher assists blacksmith Berdon, haggles with the town guards, and dodges bullies daily. The Hominum Empire is at war with elves in the north and orcs in the south, but Fletcher can do little to help...until he releases a demon bound to an orc scroll and proves himself a summoner. Fleeing a criminal sentence, Fletcher lands in cultural center Corcillum and, after another fortuitous intervention, arrives at Vocans Academy. Previously closed to females, commoners, and members of other species, Vocans now grudgingly accepts all adepts, to Fletcher's delight and the noble students' horror. In between rescuing friends from mobs and entangling himself in the dwarves' rebellion, Fletcher attends class and trains his adorable but deadly Salamander demon. Plot, dialogue, and characters recall other school-set fantasies, but Fletcher is appealing precisely because of his Everyman qualities: he is not the smartest or the strongest, but he is a loyal friend and a fierce fighter against injustice. The detailed setting is a hodgepodge of arrows and ammunition, medieval and industrial, but the few anomalies do not impede the action. Debut author Matharu tackles class inequalities and racism (in the form of speciesism), mixes humor with violence, and plays with fantasy conventions, with varying success. Fantasy readers should enjoy this entertaining, comfortably familiar-feeling adventure featuring an earnest soldier-schoolboy and his demonic sidekick. (Fantasy. 12-18)

March 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Fletcher, 15, an orphan raised by a blacksmith in the Hominum Empire's northern village of Pelt discovers he has the ability to summon demonic creatures in this exciting fantasy trilogy opener. After Fletcher and Ignatius, his ferretlike demon, attack the local bully, Fletcher is forced to flee his village. Through a chance encounter with a mage, Fletcher finds himself attending an academy for battle mages. Trained mages are needed in Hominum's ongoing war with the orcs and in the armed truce against the elves. At the Academy, Fletcher, a commoner, endures scorn from the more skilled second-year students of noble birth, especially a pair of snobbish twin siblings, who are particularly cruel to Sylva, the elf chieftain's daughter, and the dwarf Othello. Dwarves are despised and treated as second-class citizens by many humans in Hominum. Their studies culminate in a year-end tournament that determines their student rankings and the opportunity for a senior military position. Fletcher and his small group of allies also become involved in a plot that threatens all of Hominum. This debut's similarities to J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" books, Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" (Knopf), and J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" (Scholastic) (the novel even has a nasty professor with a prejudice against commoners and other races) are unmistakable, but readers won't mind. Fletcher's a sympathetic character whose impulsive behavior leads him to make understandable mistakes. VERDICT The appealing characters, fast-paced plot, focus on racial politics, and interesting demon varieties (demonology addendum included) make this an enjoyable read.-Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

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