The Amber Wizard: The Osserian Saga: Book One

I really enjoyed this book, and toward the end was furiously turning pages so I could see how Osseria would be saved by the newly discovered Amber Wizard. The author's skill in imagining the ancient, other-world scenery and communicating it to the reader are unsurpassed. The main characters are compelling, and it is clear that there is much more growth to come in future sequels (I hope!). Highly recommended.

With his father just recently anointed King of Khedesh, Gerin Atreyano becomes the heir to the throne as the Crown Prince. Not long afterward, a stranger arrives claiming that Gerin is THE AMBER WIZARD the first to appear in at least a millennium. Though he has some doubts about the proclamation as the wizard race was assimilated over time by inbreeding with the general populace, Gerin trains to be a royal wizard. However, not everyone is elated over the prince's duality. Some do not want a return to an age of magical supremacy because the flip side of the prophecy of the reappearance of a great wizard is the return of the dreaded Asankaru the Storm King who loathes humans. Still much of the kingdom welcomes a chance to return to an allegedly more golden age. As civil war seems imminent, his most dangerous adversaries enchant him to fulfill their dire predictions of him going down a dark path by using taboo magic; this leads to Gerin doing so and opening an ancient portal that places the land on the brink of pandemic destruction. THE AMBER WIZARD is a terrific character driven fantasy in which the lead protagonist learns that for every action there is consequential reaction. Gerin inadvertently has brought death into the kingdom when his youthful arrogance and conceit led to his dabbling with forbidden magic. People die and more will too if he fails to rectify his mistake; he also knows that attempting to correct his error could make it exponentially worse. Though much of the key support cast is never fully developed (hinting at sequels though this is a stand alone read) and with religious overtones in the backdrop history, fantasy readers will take immense delight with this powerful look at the one person who instead of saving his world has accidentally placed it on the brink of destruction. Harriet Klausner