Darren Boeck

GIFTS OF FIRE AND ICE was an excellent epic fantasy adventure. Val and Serg have grown up in a small village at a far corner of the kingdom. The Fire Kingdom has defeated the Ice Kingdom and now ice wielders are outlawed. Val is exceptionally talented as a gifter who can bestow magic upon objects, perhaps the most powerful gifter ever. Serg has been chronically ill his entire life, but comes to the emperor along with his sister where it is discovered he has latent power that can only be released with the death of another gifter. I loved all of the characters in this novel. There was a large cast, but it still felt very readable and I didn’t find myself getting confused as I sometimes do in long epic fantasies with large casts. I liked Princess Nola, Blur and Kelson especially. The world building was nicely done and as the book reaches its climax several characters have big changes in store that will take us into book two in new and interesting ways. Excited to see what happens next! 5/5 stars.… (mais)