The Order

A female lead in a magic story? Sign me up! Unfortunately, Eryn is a bit obnoxious and a bit of a bitch. While I have no problem with sticking up for yourself, but when nearly every interaction is like that? No thanks. And everyone still seemed to like her. Anyway, Eryn is the only female magician in the country (she is from somewhere else) and she is forced to join the Order. But then people from her homeland come with the plan to take her back. It follows Eryn’s journey through her experience of being found out and her time in the capital. There is also a love story that is a bit ridiculous on both sides, but sort of enjoyable in a way when you hear the ridiculousness from both characters.

This was a very enjoyable read. The author has crafted interesting characters and an intriguing society with magic, intrigue, deception, good and evil. She has done a good job of giving characters hidden depth/dimensions that come out over time. I look forward to future books.

[SPOILERS] The main character, Eryn, was a village healer trying to keep a low profile and help others after her rash actions inadvertently led to the death of her father. Due to an unfortunate accident, the villagers learned she was a foreigner, in a land that had seen no foreigners in centuries, raising concern that she was a spy. They also learned she was a magician, in a land where there had been no female magician in centuries. Eryn is taken to the capitol and turned over to the king and the Order, the society of magicians who defend the kingdom. She is forced to participate in combat training, the focus of the Order, which is abhorrent to her as a healer. Over time she learns more about her abilities, learns new abilities, makes some friends and some enemies, and finds herself becoming more entangled with the Order, especially Lord Enric, the second in command.

It appears this book is intended to be the first in a series and the author has done a good job of introducing characters and situations that foreshadow what is likely to come in the second book, while still leaving plenty of mystery about who Eryn was in her homeland and what made her father decide to flee their homeland and hide in a foreign land.

A warning, this is a very long book and at times a reader might wish the plot moved along a little faster, but stick with the story, it is worth it.

World building of the highest quality with characters that are very easy to empathize with. We are caught up in a young girls voyage of discovery and the joy of finding her place in a world were the everyday use of magic is the norm .This is the world of the man she falls in love with,who has the penultimate power which is a strange twist of fate since her own power would place her third in this magical hierarchy. when this novel ends we are unsatisfied yearning for more of Eryn's story; a great read

Eryn is a healer but is thrust into the world of fighters. She is forced to change, but she will make them all change as well.

I wished at times that Enric would of made Eryn understand how much he loves her. And why does she have to fight so hard against her love for him.

Great book with magic of healing and fighting.

I receive a copy of this book the author via NG in return for an honest review

you know what really gets me? When a book has an amazing prose and a book-trailer to die for and when you read it...it doesn't deliver.

I know that sounds mean, but bear with me and first, before you continue on, watch the book trailer.

Did you watch it? Did you feel excitement course through your veins, vibrate through your soul and add sparkles in your eyes? yes? Good, that was my reaction. So with a lot of joy, anticipation and excitement i jumped into this book, however, rather than be swallowed up in a shimmering pool of awesomeness, i face - planted and smashed into a million pieces. *sighs in dismay*

let's get to the plot.

"The Order of Magicians was dedicated to the defense of the Kingdom..."

When Eryn was 12 years old she was accosted and for protection her father showed her something that would change her life: magic. Not to destroy, but to heal. When calamity strikes and Eryn finds herself alone, she knows that now she has to protect herself and to do that she must never reveal her true hair colour.
The only brunette to exist in a world of fair haired people. One day, an encounter with a branch, the betrayal of those she loves,
Eryn is imprisoned and soon finds herself at the mercy of The Order. However, she will be no mere pawn, even if she's the only female magician in centuries, The Order will find that this prisoner is not compliant, but she thrives in defiance.

Okay...guys, I'm really bummed. I was so excited and to be perfectly honest, I didn't enjoy that at all.

This book is what I call as having mad- potential, it could have been something so much more than it was! It had the potential so sweep me off my feet, it had the potential to claim my heart but all it did was...to bore me. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be harsh, but I promised to be honest.

The character Eryn, I had a love hate relationship with her. At first i liked her, i found her defiance entertaining. However, there is a BIG difference between 'I'm- awesome' defiance and 'You-are-irritating-me' defiance and I have to say, majority of this book, Eryn fitted in the latter.

Man she irked me something fierce! She supposed to be 27 years old but acts like a 15 year old (no offense to 15 year old readers out there!) Eryn threw tantrums and irritated everyone and somehow, most people liked her! What the heck?

Another thing is that it was so ambiguous, Eryn never really gives a definite reason for hating The Order as much as she does, it's just implied and honestly, the whole book, they really aren't that bad. She moaned about their treatment of her, Um, Eryn dear, do you know the meaning of being a prisoner? Can't you see that they've been treating you very kindly?

Also, the romance. Um...ugh...uhhh, weird. I actually liked our main male character, not a lot at first but he grew on me- Lord Enric. However, the whole 60% (and this is a big book mind you) Eryn whines on how much she hates his guts and he's a real son-of-a-sith. But honestly, if a mage that you've never known before looks like they could kill people you DO know, wouldn't you protect these people and try to stop the other? So whoop-ti-doo he stunned you, get over it, he thought you'd hurt others.

Gah! She's such an unlikable character! Also, Enric does end up liking her, and she doesn't exactly reciprocate however...she's more than happy jumping into his bed, knowing he's falling for her but her feelings are fairly platonic. SELFISH MUCH?

Granted, he's very persistent but don't use a man like that! But apparently it's okay because she might like him later on, just break his pride in the mean time woman, that's totally fine! ...not.

*takes a deep breath*

I think we can conclude that this book wasn't for me.

I liked Vern and Enric but not our main gal.

try it, it may appeal more to you but for me, there was too many things that didn't make sense, i reiterate- why does/did she hate the Order so much!?

Well that's that.

The Order is one of the best fantasy books I've read, and I've read quite a few. The world-building shines in its detailed and realistic presentation of an imaginary world that contains characters, dialogue, and situations that allow the reader to enter the world in the fullest sense. In addition, Donaubaur presents perhaps the best account and conception of magic I've ever run across and now ranks (in my personal high epic fantasy universe) with Tolkien, Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, N.K. Jemisin, Emma Bull, and Kate Elliot. (I have another pantheon of YA fantasy, but that is for another time.)

Plot: The book opens with Eryn at fifteen as an apprentice to her father as a healer, but the pair must always hide their magical ability. When Eryn seeks revenge against a young man who tried to take her by force, disregarding her father's teaching, the lesson is a hard one. After her father's death, Eryn continues for twelve years as a healer until a head injury reveals her magic abilities, and she is taken prisoner by the king's forces and brought before the Order of Magicians. Recognizing her extraordinary magical strength, the Order harness Eryn's magical abilities and force her to train as a warrior, which is antithetical to all of her beliefs.

The characters are all well-developed and interesting, with secondary characters playing important roles in Eryn's life and in the development of the narrative. (My favorite is Vern, the adolescent son of her combat trainer. The relationship between young Vern and Eryn is one of the greatest strengths of the novel.)

The pace is perfect, the dialogue is to-the-point and often amusing, and the narrative is so engrossing, I didn't want the book ever to end.

The Order is a long book, which is true of all my favorite epic fantasy, but unlike many of my other favorites, it has no truly evil villain and no war (at least so far--there are more books to come). What it does, instead, is examine human flaws and motivation and how these human attributes and characteristics can cause conflict, misunderstandings, misguided behaviors, and unexpected problems. The novel deals less with the good versus evil concept than is typical in high fantasy, but is deeply concerned with moral issues and choices. And, oh, the tension and suspense that can arise from these situations that derive from personal flaws and behavior, character growth and choices, and the restraints and/or benefits of tradition!

I truly loved this book and can't wait for more. Highly Recommended!

NetGalley/A.C. Donaubaur

Epic Fantasy. Aug. 2, 2015. Print version: 913 pages.

5 Stars ★★★★★

The only female magician in an all male magical kingdom Eryn tries to keep her magic a secret like her father tells her too but through some unlucky happenings she winds up under the Kings and Magical Order with each their own ideas of what to do with her. This book keeps you on your toes wondering what will be next, a throughly enjoyable read.

General Comments

This book was great I love longer books because that gives me more time to enjoy them since I read pretty fast. I liked our main characters boldness, she stood up for herself even to her superiors which sometimes wasn't the smartest thing to do, but she did it regardless. At times I got annoyed with how they treated her by lying and manipulating situations but it wasn't enough to put me off from the story. I would recommend this book when I put it down I was looking forward to picking it up to read more. The ending wasn't the greatest but at the same time the way it ended and how long the story is to me, makes it seem like they're will be more books and it's a continuous story, it sort of has the feel of Diane Gabaldon's books of how they end and can get picked back up again into the same story but newer settings. I think I'm just more annoyed I can't instantly pick up the next book and continue since this one is new to come out and I am just impatient. Some things I wished were addressed but never were like Eryn speaking about her father with Enric I thought that would be a nice bonding experience that didn't happen but maybe it will in the next book.

Characters

I think they characters developed very nicely with the length of the story, the friendships happened very naturally as well as the romance it wasn't rushed into an insta love connection which is refreshing now a days when we find characters falling in love after just meeting. I liked the main character Eryn she stood for what she believed in but was willing to bend to learn other things. I think the way the other characters in the book treat her at times is appalling but it goes with the story and who those characters are and how they behave, but it went with the story so it worked.

World building

I think the world building was interesting it evolved at a slower pace with the story. At one point we see that mostly everyone in the kingdom is fair and blonde or of light hair colour and is later explained why, and I had been wondering about it so I was glad it was explained.

Overall I would say read this book, I want more and will definitely have the next one on my to read list!

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Order by A.C. Donaubauer
 
Genre:  Sci-fi and Fantasy, I really wasn’t sure I’d like this book – it sounded good but would I find it’s one of those full of battles and gore that I hate? Well, it isn’t, and I loved it. At over 900 pages its a solid read, but it’s all relevant. Nothing that feels added to pad out the content, and slowly the story starts to build up and grow.the pacing is perfect, and I really felt I knew the characters as the book continued. I loved the way Eryn’s abilities grew slowly, no sudden mystical, magical powers but magic that she either works out herself, learns from others, or where she watches and experiments building upon what’s already known. I hate those reads where people just suddenly gain – out of the blue – a slew of powerful abilities, it just feels like the reader is being cheated, but here everything develops at a believable rate, thoroughly explained and its easy to see how Eryn reaches the conclusions and developments that she does. I love that’s she’s a strong and moral character, it would be easy for her to just give way to The Order but she stand firm in her beliefs, even at personal cost. I loved Vern too – he’s a great addition and provides someone for her to have fun with, relax, and I’m sure he’ll be a strong focus in further books. Then there’s his father, Orrin, and he’s another strong person, but always fair, and he’s a huge support to Eryn after their initial skirmishes. Enric, second in command, and only a few years older than Eryn. He’s attracted to her and the more they are together the stronger that grows for him, but he’s hampered by their first meetings where he had to use force to subdue her and now she hates him, really resents him and what he stands for. Its going to take lot to change that but he’s a planner, a patient man. The whole story flows really well, is full of interesting characters and plots and was one that despite my reservations I really enjoyed. Would I read it again? Well, not for a long while but I certainly want to read more from the series,and will be looking for further books. The length, over 900 pages, is fantastic and for quick readers like myself that's perfect, lets us get lost in another world for hours. When some authors are turning out “books” from as little as 50 pages its a real treat to get one of this length, and so fairly priced. I’ve just seen one thats less than 100 pages for almost the same cost. 100 or 900....I know which I'd go for ;- )
Stars:Five, a fabulous, engrossing read and I’ll look forward to more. ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers.