WARLOCKS BEFORE THEIR TIME . . .
Fourteen-year-old Augum and friends Bridget and Leera dream of becoming warlocks. But with a kingdom in total chaos, it will take courage, sacrifice, and an iron will to make that dream come true.
The Lord of the Legion, a vicious tyrant, has overcome the king in a murderous quest for seven mythic artifacts--and Augum's mentor, the legendary Anna Atticus Stone, possesses one. While Augum struggles with demons from a painful childhood, a betrayal puts him, his friends and his mentor through a harrowing ordeal that threatens to destroy them all . . . and change the course of history.
Arcane, the debut novel in the epic fantasy adventure series The Arinthian Line, follows three friends as they navigate an ancient abandoned castle, endure grueling training, challenge old mysteries, and learn that a bond forged in tragedy might just be the only thing to save them from a ruthless enemy.
Primary style influences: J.K. Rowling, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien
Reader age: Suitable for ages 10 to retiree.
Genres: Fantasy, coming-of-age, sword & sorcery, action & adventure, epic, young adult.
Foundational tropes: Orphan farmboy discovers the power of magic and friendship while mentoring under a cranky old warlock.
Setting: quasi-medieval times.
Explicit language: None.
Is the series complete? Yes.
Audiobooks: The Arinthian Line narrated by Grammy winner Stefan Rudnicki Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1)
READ ↠ PDF, eBook or Kindle ePUB Ê Sever Bronny
It started off a little too close to comfort for me story/protagonist-wise: I thought that it was going to be cookie-cutter in terms of what the plot was, who the main character was, and what the themes were.
Boy was I wrong.
Not only was this a unique story with unique characters, motives, and backgrounds, it was SUPER REFRESHINGLY GOOD in terms of how majestically crafted it was.
This was an amazing kick-off to an incredible series, definitely one of my favorite book series ever.
(other contenders: Mistborn, Harry Potter, Fireblood, KingKiller Chronicles.)
Sever is great and did a good job with this. You owe it to yourself to at least give it a shot! Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1) This book is an exciting adventure with great characters, an intriguing plot, and good storytelling. I can see why it is compared to Harry Potter a bit because it has magic, friendship, and an evil super villain. Refreshing & an easy read, suitable for kids too. Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1) Note following initial review: my 12-year-old son read this after I did and had none of the problems with the construction that I did. He enjoyed it, probably at a four star level.
O, the arcanery! So much potential that almost executed into a promising fantasy series. This book was touted for Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Narnia fans. While this series cannot hold a candle to these classics, the fans may find a pleasurable read here, in terms of plot.
However, I found many stylistic problems with this book that I could not get past. First, the setting lacked the clear development of its own reality that the excellent fantasy novels possess. It is kind of medieval, with castles, robes, swords, and roast chickens, but the dialogue maintained a modern feel (more on that later). It just never took on its own entity as a place with its own way of things. Attempts to clarify unique elements felt forced.
Second, I never really connected with the characters. Their development was stilted and unnatural—facing real tragedies (which lacked emotional punch) one moment, then merrily frolicking through a castle getting arcanery lessons the next. As an afterthought, from time to time, one of the girls would remember the tragic events they have endured and sniffle, then move back on with life. The result was a deep lack of sympathy. Plus, the blatant use of literary names was weird.
Third, the dialogue among the children did not feel natural, especially the attempts at banter. Not only did it contribute to the awkward character development but it created a discordance between the setting and the modern air of joking.
Several plot elements had fairly obvious earmarks from classic fantasy, which is always somehow disappointing.
All this together added up to the two star rating I gave it, noting, however, that the plot itself is going somewhere and does keep the story going. It’s too bad Bronny didn’t contact the editor-in-chief of Lefthandedwritings; not only would she have made sure all the periods were inside the quotation marks, but she could have strengthened the elements pointed out here. lefthandedwritings@gmail.com, just in case . . . Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1) Only found this book by chance, it just poped up on my facebook. It's f***ing amazing can't put it down Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1) Enjoyed this clever, well written, smartly paced book one of a series I will finish. It is complete with an engaging trio of young friends brought together by immense shared tragedies and their trials and challenges faced. Enter a matronly woman warlock of unequaled power, to direct the three young warlocks in training and it quickly becomes a book I could not put down. Anna Atticus Stone is stern, determined and relentless in seeing the three of them mature and develop into adults. Strong captivating story, complete with unending possibilities, and what a journey! I am a fan, Thank you Sever Bronny. Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1)
I wrote it, so I'm not going to say if it's any good--that's for you to decide. But if you didn't particularly like Narnia, Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings, then Arcane is probably not for you. It's an adventure romp about friendship and survival. There's no cursing or sex or gore or anything. It's not grimdark, nor is it written with flowery prose that will make you swoon. Oh, and there's a happy ending. That kind of thing.
Anyway, let me give you a peek behind the curtain: Gallons and gallons of tea. Countless drafts. Countless more hours staring at the screen bug-eyed. Millions of keystrokes, wrists deteriorating with each one. A thousand questions aimed at my wife, her eyes rolling in exasperation. A binder full of research material. A shelf worth of reference books. One very well-worn delete key. Gazillions of chicken-scratched yellow sticky notes ...
And three years. Or was it four? UPDATE: The entire five-book Arinthian Line series is complete, as is its follow-up, the Fury of a Rising Dragon series, which continues the trio's adventures. And how you have come to love Augum, Bridget and Leera! I have been a full-time author now since 2015 because of these three rapscallions and your devotion to them. Thank you. Oh, and I've also published a book about Anna Atticus Stone, titled Prodigy of Thunder. You can sign up to my newsletter to keep tabs: http://eepurl.com/HIxzX
Questions about the book or series? Don't hesitate to msg me!
Thank you kindly.
Sever Bronny Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1) Finally, a good fantasy book for teens! It's The Hobbit mixed with Harry Potter... but set in Eragon... kinda. It's got great fantasy and adventure elements and is a great read for middle schoolers, high schoolers, hell, even adults!
Augum hasn't had a very exceptional life, as a fourteen year old orphan in the service of an old knight, he hasn't experienced much in the ways of the world. When the Legion comes to town murdering everyone and setting the village on fire, he flees for his life, only to be nearly killed in a massive storm. When he comes to, he is being cared by an old women, a warlock. Not only does magic (arcane) exist, he is to master it and help ward of the forces of evil. Mrs. Stone begins to teach him the ways of the arcane and soon he finds himself struggling to keep up with her teachings and reconcile his dark past. With the help of two new friends, Bridget and Leera, the trio begin the long journey of mastering the art of the arcane and trying to save the world from the iron grip of the Lord of the Legion.
Funny, insightful, and chock full of adventure, this story will resonate with readers. I can't wait for the next installment. I must know what happens!
I received this book for free from the author in return for my honest, unbiased opinion. Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1) 1 Star
I feel bad for this rating, but I did not like this book at all. This rarely happens to me.
It was just so impossibly unimaginative. Like honestly: young orphan boy who is treated poorly from nearly everyone discovers very rare magical abilities after town is attacked by very evil wizard lord. He's most likely the only survivor. Later, he stumbels over some old lady who is, of course, the most badass and believed to be dead wizard ever and takes up his training. There's a lot of training. The magic is also pretty basic... So we still have the mystery of his parents left. Who could that possibly be? *looking at super evil wizard lord - yep, did not see that coming at all*
It's not just that the story is nothing special. The characters made this even more blunt and two-dimensional. Really everyone is an absolute stereotype. We have the power-hungry evil guy, the world-saving main character with a good heart and incredible magical talent, a grumpy old teacher, talking about the necessity to use your powers for good, some honorable knights, and even a spoiled arrogant prince.
Also the dialogues felt awkward to read, but maybe that was just my opsinion because I hated the speakers.
I did not care for anyone or anything that happened, I don't even know why I finished reading, but I will not continue the series. Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1) 2.5 Stars. This is a long, harsh review because most of the other critical reviews don't go into very much depth. Some points are only nitpicks, but nitpicks add up.
I will say that I knew from the outset this book wouldn't fare well with me. I mainly got it because (1) the author is nice, (2) it was $0.99, and (3) the author said that this series allowed him to quit his job, which had me curious about the quality. I enjoy some middle grade fantasy, but from the start I knew that this book would not resonate well with me. Keep that in mind as you read my review.
The main problem with this book is that I kept asking myself the entire time, Alright, when is the plot going to start? Finally at 60% I thought the winds were changing and something interesting was happening, but no. Around 80% something exciting happens (talked about in the spoiler-marked section below), but that exciting thing just happened to have something happen, not to further the plot. The entire book I was unable to describe the characters' motives. We're learning magic! Great, why do I care? Learning magic does not make a story, or at least not in this case.
I didn't like Mrs. Stone. She talked multiple times about how she could only mentor someone who was kind-hearted, and then she treated the kids like crap. Like, b*tch, you even hear yoself? Some people will say that was for the good of their training, but you can work them hard and still be amiable. In the end, I don't care if she's mean to them, I just hate her hypocrisy.
The magic was unoriginal, which is a mark off for me (others may find it enjoyable still).
The prose was fine. It didn't get in the way, but it wasn't particularly inspiring. There were a couple mistakes that made me laugh, like one where it said ancestor instead of descendant (p. 124). The attempt at Early Modern English was a train wreck. I canst. I art. Mine lord. Thou hath. As befits thou needs. Using ye to address a single person. Using mine lady wouldst in one paragraph and mine lady would in another. Literally almost every time this character talked it used incorrect grammar. Did absolutely no one proofread those parts of this book?
An orthographic nitpick: The author's tendency to end speech sections with an em dash and either a question mark or exclamation point like, Found some—! or Mrs. Stone—? What is the dash doing there between the word and the punctuation? It's not like the speaker got cut off, that's just some weird punctuation.
There was one part that outright confused me. About 62% of the way through the book, Augum is trying to learn a new type of magic. This was difficult to him because, It required him to connect to his inner feelings, which was like trying to find a squirrel's stash of nuts. (p. 225) At no other point is this weakness mentioned. On the contrary, he often reflects on his feelings, e.g. his negative feelings of having no friends.
A nitpick: When fixing Sir Canes, it's described that there's blood on the bed (of course), floor (naturally), walls (oh...kay?), and people (what? even the ones who weren't helping?). The procedure was to remove an arrow. Now, I'm no surgeon, but I highly doubt that a single arrow wound would result in blood so far spread.
The author has a burning drive in himself that the story needs a slightly older boy to torment Augum and co. Any time that void opens through the death of the agitator, it's only a matter of pages until it's filled by another brat. Some may find this fulfilling. I did not.
The map is a thing that's constantly returned to. Why the pieces are scattered throughout the castle isn't explained (in this book at least). In my estimation, it was just to serve the plot and not for any real in-story purpose.
Finally at 86%, something starts to happen with the plot. A one-page eavesdropped conversation between Mrs. Stoneheart and Colonel Gallows. The stakes are upped. Real, meaningful conflict is introduced. This conflict is resolved in this book and isn't explored anymore though.
As a redeeming trait, I will say that I genuinely enjoyed the last 10% of the book. Things finally started to happen other than training and being antagonized by arrogant boys.
In conclusion, the characters lacked motives and the story lacked aim. Most of the conflict came from a hypocritical old woman or bratty teenage boys. Even at the end, the only conflict still going is that That doesn't sound promising enough to keep reading the series.
At the end, I still found myself unable to answer that same question that had been burning the whole time: what are the characters' motives? Beside , I can't think of any, and that's just not enough to keep me interested. Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1) An Amazing Adventure!
This is an adventure that starts building right from the very first pages. The author gives a detailed base of the characters which is essential to the adventurous plot and provides the reader all the information they need to care for the main characters. The plot builds as the story moves along making the reader unable to put the book down. After the detailed beginning the book moves along with twists and turns that are very unsuspected. The characters grow stronger and the plot thickens which both keep the reader glued to the pages to find out what happens next. At about half way through the book I found the pace quicken and myself unable to let go. I am by no means experienced with writing reviews and apologize if I don't make sense. All in all I think Mr. Bronny does an excellent job with this first book. I think it deserves 5 stars and I cannot wait to read book 2! I dare say this is an amazing read! Please bring on book 2!!! Arcane (The Arinthian Line #1)
