Gift of the Shaper

For thousands of years, the Breaker of the Dawn has been locked away in the Otherworld. Now, a young blacksmith apprentice finds himself trapped in a war between the noble Athrani and the powerful Khyth, who seek to free the Breaker of the Dawn from his prison in the Otherworld. When the young blacksmith’s father, Olson, gets kidnapped, Thornton and his friend Miera, must leave their small village to search for Olson. Along the way, Thornton and Miera find allies that will aid them on their quest, while having to defy the might of the Khyrh army, as armies on both sides fight over the ultimate prize of the war.

I enjoyed Gift of the Shaper, as I was instantly drawn in by the lore of the world, as the lore was completely different compared to other fantasy books I have read. Instead of having familiar creatures, like elves or dwarves, the author introduced new creatures, such as the Kienari and Chovathi. The lore stayed throughout the whole book and was built upon throughout the whole story, which continued to hold onto my attention. The lore was a unique part of Gift of the Shaper and kept on evolving throughout the book. Besides the lore interesting me, I was intrigued by how the author fleshed out both the heroes and the villains of the book, as it brought a unique aspect, because many other books in the genre tend to glaze over development for one side of the hero/villain aspect, or fail to flesh out both sides; the characters are developed and will make you want to find out what happens to them, if they survive the war, or if they perish in all the fighting.

The Gift of the Shaper was executed wonderfully and it was difficult for me to believe that it was a debut book for the author.