Title: Rise of the Fire TamerAuthor: Kailin Gow
Publisher: The Edge
Publication: June 14th, 2010After winning a contest for a popular game called Wordwick Games, five teens Gemma, Sparks, Rio, Kat, and Jack, are invited to stay at Wordwick Games inventor Henry Word's mysterious castle and play the newest level of Workwick Games. Little do they know, the castle is the doorway to a wondrous world call Anachronia where words can be used as weapons, power, and commodity. There is unrest in Anachronia, and if the five teens can follow the rules of Wordwick Games and prove to be the best player, one of them will be crowned Ruler of Anachronia.
My Thoughts:
This was a good young adult fantasy story. It was fast paced, action packed, and mysterious. It had trolls, ogres, zombies (I know!!!), and even a dragon. It was an interesting story.
We were introduced to five characters in the beginning and we soon came to learn that Gemma was the main protagonist of this first book. She was rich, smart, kind, pretty, and brave. She was too good to be true but I did like that even though she was a rich, pretty girl she was not shallow. The other characters were briefly described and gave you a sense as to who they were. Since it is a series, perhaps the rest of the characters will be further developed in the other books.
The plot of the story was also good. I enjoyed that these characters started off believing that they were out to test a new level of a popular game but instead they found themselves transported into a different world. I liked how the story kept you wondering whether or not the land of Anachronia existed. Along with the mysteries of the storyline, there were also some aspects of romance. I usually do enjoy romance in books but here it did not seem to fit with the characters. The boys seemed to quickly fall in love with Gemma and would do anything to protect her. Also, their spontanous kisses through me off. Other than the romance, the rest of the plot was good.
I have to give the ending of the book lots of props. It was a big surprise and a great way to leave the readers wanting to read more. It left me saying, "What?!" The ending was great!
In all, this was an enjoyable book. It was adventurous and fast paced. I recommend it for young adults. I give it:
Purchase
Book Trailer
EXCERPT:
Gem recognized the voice instantly as that of Henry Word. After his online announcements, she was hardly going to forget. He must have come into the hallway through a side door. She turned to greet him with the others, expecting to look up into the already half-familiar face, and had to adjust the direction of her gaze when it turned out that Henry Word was sitting down. He was sitting down because he was in a wheelchair.
Gem recognized the voice instantly as that of Henry Word. After his online announcements, she was hardly going to forget. He must have come into the hallway through a side door. She turned to greet him with the others, expecting to look up into the already half-familiar face, and had to adjust the direction of her gaze when it turned out that Henry Word was sitting down. He was sitting down because he was in a wheelchair.
It was quite a high tech wheelchair, obviously custom made and designed around Henry Word, but there was no escaping the fact that it was there. From the waist up, Mr. Word was dressed conservatively, even elegantly, in a suit and silk tie. From the waist down, his legs disappeared beneath a tartan blanket. They didn’t appear again on the other side.
“A small accident from my army days,” Henry word said, and Gem found herself wondering if he’d read her mind in the second it took to decide that the others probably looked just as surprised as she did. Gem realized that, in all the pictures she had seen of Henry Word either online or in magazines, not one had shown more than his head and shoulders.
Henry Word laughed then.
“I can see I’ve caught you all rather by surprise. Still, before I turn into the main topic of conversation, can I take a moment to welcome the five of you?’ his gaze flicked to each of them in turn, and Gem guessed that he was matching names to faces in his mind. “You are all here, of course, because you have turned out to be some of the biggest fans of my little game. Congratulations on that. For the next week, you’ll be staying in what I hope you’ll find to be extremely comfortable surroundings, and you’ll get the benefit of a very special surprise.”
“What surprise?” Rio asked from behind Gem. Henry Word chuckled again.
“Ah, Riordan Roberts, I take it? Well, there is nothing to be suspicious about. In fact, I think that as fans, you will all enjoy this particular surprise. I have simply decided to allow you access to the tenth level of my game while we are here.”
Gem felt her brow furrow.
“But Mr. Word, aren’t there only nine levels?”
“That’s true at the moment,” Henry Word answered. “Anachronia is rather new. You will be among the first to play it. Still, let’s not focus on that too much now, shall we? Chef has excelled himself in the Great Hall, and I’m sure you must all be hungry after your journeys.”
Kailin Gow is the award-winning, international bestselling author of over 80 distinct books.
Kailin Gow is also the President of a media company, a media personality, and has been writing full-time since she was first published. Holding a Masters in communications management and leadership positions in Fortune 500 corporations, she puts her leadership abilities, her experience, and desire to help others into her fiction books. As a result, she has written the forthcoming, Finding the Heroine in You book which is also a national tour. She is a mother and spends whatever spare time she has volunteering at the Red Cross, Battered Women's Shelters, and other organizations.
Currently her Frost Series is in development for a major international MMO Game, and she has over 14,000 and growing Frosters on her facebook fan page.
Links:
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Sounds like a great read.
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