If you could change one thing about the book?

[Nelson Lyric]

Well, I would increase the number of female characters and shine more light on Beth ruther than having Galen has the most important protagonist alone.

[Lucille27]

I think I would like to change the rhythm and some scenes. I would develop more on the magic and how it works, because this is a first book and we should have a clearer view on the rules it has. Also, I thought the ending was a bit convolluted, so maybe make it longer and reduce other parts that seemed as trivial scenes and weren't so connected.

[luchi123]

I would put more restrictions for the use of magic. This would give everyone a fairground for fighting their enemies. People like Lord Eldus wouldn't have been killed easily if not for magic.

[Nedbrian]

I would add more female characters to the story to spice up the tense atmosphere the book exuded.

[Kolisa]

I would have loved changed Galen's character a little bit. He is too perfect, which is a part of the problem. Too calm and contained about everything. Save for the excitement and gratitude he showed when he first arrived, you wouldn't know how much of a safe haven Voulhire was to him.

[Ebby Brown]

I would have changed the main character of the book to Meldorath since he's been mentioned as a hero in most situation where Voulhire is being attacked. Just like movies, I believe main characters should show a heroic trait.

[Hazel Arnaiz]

By far, my least favorite aspect of the book was the discontinuity with time period references. An unnatural blend of details led to inconsistencies with the implied era. For instance, archaic names, medieval lands, lords, ships, castles, candlelight, blacksmiths, silver and gold coins, knights, princes, armor, and kingdoms would suggest a medieval sort of setting (at least to me). Then modern-day slang terms and mentions of things like gymnastics, “daddy issues,” football, hockey rinks, and “tight workout clothes” appear, and I was left beyond perplexed. I would have preferred that all of the MODERN terminology be removed.

I agree with the inconsistency between the implied era and the choice of words. If I may add to your list is jabberjaw. This term came from an animated series aired in 1976.

[Kathy2]

I think I would rather not have Galen as the main character of the book, because there are other equal characters of the book like Meldorath and Eldus.

[Valkyrie9]

I think I would have made the biomage less puerile. It didn't match the style of the rest of the book. Other than that, Tysz has done an extraordinarily good job creating his world and characters.

[psmith5659]

If I could change only one thing about this book, I would add some more moments of would and character building, where the story is put on hold and we just look at the people who are taking this journey. It would have been nice to get to know the characters a little better, and really understand who they are like they are friends standing next to us.

[Sharon Myles]

I would change the way in which Lord Eldus died, I didn't expect him to die in the invasion. That was sad in my part because he had done so much for the town.

[Victoria Baadom]

Alabaster the biomage would be the character that I will focus on. His appearance got me wondering who he was and although I know that he is a friend of Meldorath, but what was he trying to achieve by getting himself thrown into jail?
I wish that the author had written more about that.

[Bibliogn0st]

I think I would have added some important female characters in the book. There are literally none!

[Valkyrie9]

I think the book could have done with a lot more character development. I know that this is only the first book, but it felt like the characters were rather one-dimensional? Galen doesn't even seem to be too affected by his experiences living in a war-torn country, and we didn't get to see more of Rowan's other traits besides him being 'mischievous' and 'playful'. I think if we had gotten better character development it'd be easier to root for them in the coming books too.

I felt the characters were quite well-developed for the short space of time the author introduced them to us. This was a relatively short book and was only meant as a quick introduction to the many characters that will carry the series forward. I look forward to seeing how the author continues to develop each one going forward.

[Valkyrie9]

If it were up to me, Lord Eldus would survive... I understand that his death was a necessary evil so to say - for more drama, but he is still among my most beloved characters of the series.

Me too! He was my favourite character, and the author spent such a large portion of the book showing events from his perspective that I was so sure he would continue at least to the next book. He was a strong character that could have been valuable later on.