This seemed like the type of book I would love, but I just didn't. It wasn't bad enough to put down, but it wasn't good enough to continue reading the series. The idea was great, but the execution less-than. Disappointing. ( )

This book is a must have in anyone who enjoys action adventure books. I am not done this book yet, but I am at the "action" part and it is awesome! ( )

This book did seem confusing at first. The prolouge made me wonder, but then it got better and better!

The characters are great. They are so realistic and I can picture them pretty easily. I love Jack and Ellen's relationship. Leander will always be my favorite, though. ( )

As a baby, Jack was sickly and was going to die until his Aunt Linda intervened and brought in a surgeon to save his life. Turns out that Jack was a wizard born without a Weirstone, the source of power. The surgeon places a warrior stone in Jack's chest rather than a wizard stone. Later in the story it is revealed that warriors are rare and needed to fight in the wizards' tournaments. Unbeknowst to him, Aunt Linda has been hidding Jack from the wizards until he mistakingly forgets to take the medication that has been controling and masking his power. Suddenly, Jack is thrown into the rigors of training to fight another warrior in the wizard tournament.

A fun, action packed adventure filled with wizardly politics and intrigue. There's even a little romance thrown in. ( )

It took me a while to get used to it. The prologue was a bit confusing as I was trying to figure out what time period this is taking place, or if it's taking place in some strange unknown imaginary land. The beginning chapters was the same way. It was just hard to get used to having fantasy in a present day setting. Perhaps it was the writing style. I'm not sure.

The plot was quick to start and character development was pretty good. I think a good job was done making sure all characters were explained and accounted for although I'm not sure if the next "companion book" (The Wizard Heir) has anything to do with these characters. It looks like it doesn't. Nevertheless the majority of the loose ends were tied and complete.

Character wise, it was an accurate picture of simple teenagers going to a high school. Jack goes through all the stages of what an average boy goes through during that time in his life. I think the aim was to make it a fantasy novel, but with realistic characters and accurate development throughout the plot, you see both Ellen and Jack grow up drastically towards the end of the novel, but then again they had no choice considering what they've gone through.

The only drawback was it was a little predictable in some parts of the story. I had myself guessing correctly on who was doing what and such. No matter, the story was still an enjoyable read even though it was hard to get used to in the beginning. ( )