Review: The Fifth Sorceress by Robert Newcomb

What would it be like to be destined to be the Chosen One? The character Tristan finds out in the gripping and entertaining Fantasy novel The Fifth Sorceress by Robert Newcomb while carrying the reader along. This is the first of the four book series called The Blood and the Stone. The book is entertaining for readers because of intriguing characters, a plot that grabs the reader and has an interesting magical system.

Characters are the strong points of any book and this one has intriguing ones. Tristan is a reluctant prince about to become king. He is unaware of his destiny spoken of in prophecy. His impetuous nature drives the wizards and his family into frequent worry. This character faces a lot of tragic change in his life that brings about growth in him. The prince is helped by his mentor Wigg, lead wizard of the kingdom. Wigg must guide Tristan through his trials carefully. He is a tough, loving old man stuck with a difficult job to do in handling a head strong personality. They must face the dangerous sorceresses like Succiu who enjoys torturing her slaves and victims.

Next, the book has a plot that grabs the reader and holds on through the end. The story begins with Tristan discovering a cave with mysterious waters. This changes the way Tristan's family and the wizards treat him. Unaware of the threat from the sorceresses defeated three hundred years before in a war, Tristan's worlds changes forever on the night of his coronation. The plot shifts into high gear from there as Tristan must race to save his pregnant sister and the world. Mr. Newcomb keeps the plot gripping with new dangers for the characters to face until the satisfying climax.

Lastly, the author creates an interesting magical system for his book. There are two sides to the magic, the Vigors and the Vagaries. These two sides cannot be mixed because it would destroy the world. Practiced by the women, the Vagaries tend to drive its practitioners insane. Men practice the Vigors, but only a few masters make up the Directorate. To practice magic in this world, a person must have Endowed Blood. There is a mystery behind where the magic originated from along with three books and a magic gem left behind by a mysterious species. The author describes the magic system in a subtle way, leaving further exploration for future books.

Intriguing characters, a gripping plot and interesting magical system makes The Fifth Sorceress by Robert Newcomb an entertaining book for readers. It is a story with a lot of action told by the author in vivid descriptions that will make the book hard to stop reading once started. This is the first book of the exciting projected four book series of The Blood and Stone. For more information on the author, please read my previous interview with him.

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