Review: The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

Hey all, Dani here.

We’ve just started Middle Grade March, and I finished my first MG read yesterday, but I had already planned to do that review on Thursday, so for today we’re all just going to have to settle for a YA book review. Well, technically according to B&N this book fits the age range of 12-17 years, so it’s an upper-Middle Grade/lower-Young Adult novel…so it sort of counts? Either way I read this book last month after owning it for a couple of years, and I’m glad I got around to it finally.

All right, let’s just go ahead and jump into the review.

Book Details

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 432

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

ISBN: 0641925212 (ISBN13: 9780641925214)

Summary

One March day, Jack Swift, a high school student in a small college town, forgets to take the medicine he’s taken daily since he was an infant. There ensues a cascade of events that puts him in mortal danger.

Jack discovers he carries a secret within him that has made him a target of the ruthless wizards of the Red and White Rose. Jack is a Warrior Heir, the last of a dying breed, sought after by the Roses to fight in the tournaments that are used to allocate power among the Wizard Houses. Unknown to him, Jack has lived all his life surrounded by members of the Magical Guilds: wizards, enchanters, soothsayers, and sorcerers. They are determined to save him from the Roses.

With the aid of his aunt, a beautiful enchanter, Jack desperately tries to acquire the skills that might save his life. Jack and his friends, Will and Fitch, unearth a magical sword from a cemetery and fight off the wizards who would take it from them. Jack begins training with the dark and dangerous Leander Hastings, a wizard with a mysterious past.

Meanwhile, Jack is torn between his attraction to Ellen Stephenson, a new student at Trinity High School, and Leesha Middleton, his former girlfriend, who decides she wants him back.

Discovered and besieged by treachery at home, he flees to the Lake District of England. There he is confronted by the greatest challenge of all.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

I have had this book on my shelves for years and I finally picked it up as part of Fantastic February…and then I proceeded to read the whole thing in just a couple of hours. So yeah, this was a really good read, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

There you go, how’s that for my quick review? This is my second Cinda Williams Chima read, after The Demon King, and now I have two different series I need to continue reading by her. She is an Ohio based author, and I enjoy supporting my home-state authors. Plus I own pretty much every single one of her books, so what excuse do I have not to read them?

This one is a bit more urban fantasy, as it is set in our world while also featuring a bit of magic. I love how it weaves together elements of contemporary, fantasy, and historical fiction; it actually makes the story very compelling.

All of the kids seemed pretty interesting to me. I enjoyed Jack and Will and Fitch, as well as Ellen and Leesha. And trainer Leander Hastings was also somebody who I wanted to learn more about. There were a few of the plot elements that I was able to figure out fairly early on, but there were a couple cool surprises as well.

The training in combat and magic was pretty cool, and I’m definitely curious to see what heirs we follow in the next volumes of the series. At least since it’s a slightly older series, I don’t have to wait for any releases and can just binge them all if I so choose.

Where to Get a Copy

You can grab your own copy of this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore through IndieBound.

You can also check with your local library.