Heirs to the Seven Realms

zalazny:

Some more Heir Chronicles sketches. A couple of Hastings in pen, Jack and Ellen, and Fitch rocking out.

I always picture Hastings quite similar to how I picture Lord Vetinari from the Discworld books, except a lot more unkempt.

yaleaflet:

In whatever way The Warrior Heir faltered, The Wizard Heir makes up for it.

In The Wizard Heir, book two of the Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima, Seph McCauley is an orphaned wizard who’s spent the greater part of his life jumping from one locale to the other. Wherever he settles, trouble seems to follow. After a disastrous episode in Toronto, Seph is sent to the Havens, a school in a remote region of Maine. Right away, Seph catches the attention of the headmaster, Gregory Leicestor, a wizard with a personal agenda. Meanwhile, a saboteur staged under the name Dragon is snapping at the Wizard Council’s tail in the months leading up to the Interguild Conference…

The Wizard Heir is packed with action. From the first or second chapter, the book jumps right into motion and runs. The novel is strikingly darker than its predecessor, with more violence and a nightmarish quality at the beginning. It’s a great relief when the book reaches its midpoint, and the novel offers a lull where the reader can digest the material and make predictions. Going right from The Warrior Heir to The Wizard Heir, I was pleasantly surprised by the bounds Chima’s writing makes; it’s much more fluid than before. I’m really not sure what to say about the book that I haven’t already said about Chima before: Her characters are spot on and realistic, her world new yet familiar. Good stuff. I’ve mentioned that these books work really well as companions to each other, haven’t I? The returning characters from the first book are important to the plot of The Wizard Heir and fit in swimmingly, without any show of force at all.

I don’t have many big qualms with The Wizard Heir. Like I said in my prereview, I still think The Warrior Heir works best as an introduction to the series. The Wizard Heir does a fine enough job at it, but it really is more natural in the first book. And I’m really glad the romance in this book was never completely concluded; Madison is introduced too late in the book to properly develop that plot-line.

The Wizard Heir is a great sequel/companion to The Warrior Heir, and it surpasses it in almost every way. Chima’s strong suits are at full force: her characters are fab, as always, and the building of her magical world thought-out and deepened. If you liked the first book, check The Wizard Heir out (even if you weren’t big on the first book, check The Wizard Heir out!). I’d recommend it.

liveattheauction:

Please tell me I’m not the only one who ships Jason/Leesha. 

zalazny:

Fitch and Jason from Cinda Williams Chima’s Heir trilogy.

yaleaflet:

I’m currently busying myself with The Wizard Heir, book two in Cinda William Chima’s The Heir Chronicles. I recently purchased the book in hardcover, so this is the first time reading my new copy (I’m keeping the paperback because it’s signed, though). I’m about a hundred pages in, and I’m already really surprised by how different it is from The Warrior Heir; I’d never noticed before.

Some of those thoughts:

• The Wizard Heir works fine as an introduction to the series. You’d definitely want to read this before reading the last book though. But. I think The Warrior Heir does a better job as the introduction though; very natural.
• One of my criticisms for the last book was that sometimes Chima’s writing is a bit rough around the edges; boy, was I surprised by the leap she’d made with The Wizard Heir. Like, major improvement on an already solid base.
• The book is a lot darker and violent than The Warrior Heir. Jack’s small-town upbringings really contrast with Seph’s life. This mood change is almost immediately apparent after the first chapter, where Seph loses control of his powers while at a club in Toronto and the whole building collapses in a fire.
• Seph a very different character from Jack. He’s a lot more independent, and he’s used to getting his way. He’s a real charmer, too. It’s pretty refreshing. (Chima’s great with characters, oh man.)

More thoughts in the review.

flawedtalent:

“He’s not lazy. He’s just highly inefficient.”