Dawn of the Reaper
Title: Dawn of the Reaper
Author: Paul F. McGowan
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: Four Stars!
Following centuries of exile, a dragon
named Firestorm has set the final wheels in motion to exact his revenge against
the kingdom that vanquished his kind. The only problem he faces is one meddling
human, who’s discovered his secret plot and plans to expose the dragon to the
king. Naturally, Firestorm will not allow that to happen, so he murders the man
and incorrectly assumes that he also rids himself of the meddling man’s wife
and son.
Unbeknownst to the dragon, of
course, Rowan survives the attack and before she passes away, his mother begs an
accidental passerby to protect her son and his secrets. Archibald Scott, a local
shopkeeper and notorious sorcerer, vows to safeguard Rowan’s identity and then raises
him as a sorcerer’s apprentice. As Rowan enters adolescence, he excels at wizardry
and can often be found causing mischief around town with his friend Sydney.
When the week of the Grand Fair of
the Realms arrives, Archibald offers to take Rowan and Sydney with him to the
neighboring town of Deep Harbor. The pair is thrilled by the news, and then in
typical teen-form, manage to get themselves into a bit of a jam when Rowan enters
an annual wizards’ apprentice tournament — a magical competition that exposes
his presence to Firestorm. Determined to keep his secret safe and finish what
he started years before, the dragon seeks out Rowan and his friends, which thrusts
the young wizard into a perilous quest to find a legendary weapon that will
kill the beast and rid the kingdom of his menacing presence once and for all.
The Dawn of the Reaper is a beautifully descriptive coming-of-age story
about friendship, loyalty, and honor. The paternal relationship between
Archibald and Rowan is heartwarming and the fabulous misadventures of Rowan and
Sydney are genuine and really encompass that awesome place right between love
and friendship. With that being said though, I do want to emphasize that this
book was not at all what I expected. The description makes it seem as though it’s
your typical adult mythical fantasy; however, as the story unfolds, it often feels
as though it falters between a middle grade coming-of-age story, which I was
totally digging, and a new adult quest story, which was very Hobbit-esque. To me, the transition
between the two was a bit jarring, but in the end, I was still anxious to see
Rowan and his companions succeed in their mission and I really enjoyed the book.
