The Novice: Summoner: Book One

Taran Matharu

May 2015 · The Summoner Trilogy Book 1 · Sold by Feiwel & Friends

About this ebook

He can summon demons. But can he win a war?

Fletcher is working as a blacksmith's apprentice when he discovers he has the rare ability to summon demons from another world. Chased from his village for a crime he did not commit, Fletcher must travel with his demon, Ignatius, to an academy for adepts, where the gifted are taught the art of summoning.

Along with nobles and commoners, Fletcher endures grueling lessons that will prepare him to serve as a Battlemage in the Empire's war against the savage Orcs. But sinister forces infect new friendships and rivalries grow. With no one but Ignatius by his side, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of the Empire is in his hands.

Ratings and reviews

Flat and weird interactions interspersed with interesting descriptions and simplistic plots. Racism is shallowly addressed, with a brutally oppressed and beaten character renouncing his beliefs and joining the army responsible for their oppression after a single human and an elf save him - from other humans. Other threads of the story are left by the wayside, as time allegedly passes. Despite a serious look at money in the first dozen chapters, after discussing the yearly stipend they would get as students (often a neat 1000 shillings) money vanishes. The main character kills a handful of men without remorse, but later briefly expresses concern after hurting another student's bug. There's a number of specific things that bothered me about this book, but the general issue boils down to characters having no depth to them, and as a result tension and conflict only appear as stepping stones to move the plot along before immediately resolving only a few sentences later. All in all, it makes for an interesting world, seen through an woefully uninteresting lens.

Almost gave it two stars. Not sure that it even deserves three. I have to say, I'm really surprised that it has such a good rating compared to several fantasy books that are undeniably better. What I thought of The Novice? Here's an honest opinion. Riddled with too many cliches to count, unoriginal, and a mixed Harry Potter, Inheritance, and Pokemon wannabe. It started really good, but the plot wasn't the best and it fell short. The dialogue was bland the whole way through. I realize this review is harsh, but The Novice is simply... okay. Not very creative or engaging, but fine if you just need something to pass time. I gave it a lot of chances, and managed to wade through the blurgh that was the second book, but it only gets worse and more tedious to read after the first one. Here are some cliches that bug the heck out of me: warrior elf princess love interest, overused and stereotyped fantasy races (dwarves, elves, orcs.. etc), treating living creatures like collectible weapons, main character is an orphan taken in by a blacksmith (of course it's a blacksmith), teenage heroes, multiple bully characters with the same cookie-cutter personality who hate him for no apparent reason... The list goes on. Another thing that irritated me more than anything else is that Fletcher doesn't have a distinctive personality (or much of a personality at all, which is a must for me). Neither do many of the other characters- especially minor ones. It might be mildly entertaining for some kids, but its kind of shocking to me that there are so many five star reviews here when it really isn't all that..

I don't get the Harry Pothead comparisons, I'm never going to bother reading 'Potter', but this doesn't start anything like the movies. I say it's a children’s book due to short chapters, lack of violence and sex, and the plot is not overly complicated. I am not in any way deriding it, though. Solid fantasy. It is most definitely a good read, just a bit pricey in my book. Short chapters, few words per page, few pages per chapter. The whole trilogy could probably be read in one four to six hour sitting.

About the author

Taran Matharu wrote his first book when he was nine years old. At twenty-two, he began posting The Novice on Wattpad (the online writing website) and reached over three million reads in less than six months. The Novice is the first of three books in the Summoner series, and Taran Matharu's fiction debut. Taran lives in London.