LitPick Review
As the shadows of evil creep from the edges of the forest, something ancient awakens in the land of Mórradún; something powerful. The Fianna Chronicles: Awakening follows the path of four heroes who join together to create the Fianna, an ancient band of warriors. Each carries unique talents as well as challenging burdens. Aisling is the steadfast leader who wields the power of an ancient medallion with amazing tact. Elara is the questioner who evaluates every stranger with cautious care. Calla is the guardian whose fiery magic protects the group with refined precision. And Ronan is the hidden griever who, though haunted by his past, wields his blade with dangerous accuracy. United, they begin a quest to defeat the darkness that threatens to overthrough the world.
Through the hardships and travels that Aisling and the rest of the a group endure, they hear legends of the ancient medallion and spirits of the past connected to it. As the leader, Aisling strives to wield it’s power without letting it control her decisions. As the team learns and grows, they share secrets of their pasts and hear whispers of their futures. They run into many mysterious obstacles and battles, but none as terrifying as the vast darkness of Sable, the deceiver, who enters their minds and strives to tear them apart. Though trust binds them, cracks appear in their bond. Will they be able to face those cracks and defeat the deceiver, or will they fall at his hands?
Opinion:
If you’re looking for a fast-paced page-turner with a lot of exciting battles and magical ancient relics, The Fianna Chronicles: Awakening is an excellent choice. With it’s riddling ancient legends and prophecies, it was a fun read all the way through. The plot has a lot of twists and turns and crazy surprises, some sadder than others. It also exercises a theme of unity and trust, which I truly enjoyed, in addition to the great character development.
Throughout the book, the characters change and mature. We can see this very early on when Aisling comes to terms with her place as the leader and steps up to guide the team, and again later, when Ronan faces a difficult choice between the powers of good and evil. As the story moves on, we see that each of the four main characters are challenged by regrets from their pasts (Like when Aisling mourns her inability to help her grandmother, who had raised and taken care of her). The characters’ development is very evident, especially in the case of Ronan, as is seen later in the book. I personally really valued that.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the way it was narrated; the author not only got in the heads of all four main characters, but also at times described the thoughts of onlookers. He even once described the thoughts of the main villain of the story, which I thought was really cool. The only thing I didn’t care for was that sometimes he seemed to repeat certain phrases or sentences in close conjunction. Overall. this book was a great first installment to a series, with an ending that leaves you waiting for more. I would recommend this book for readers 12 and up who enjoy fantasy stories with fascinating mythological Easter eggs!
