The Wizard Lord (The Annals of the Chosen, Book 1)

The Wizard Lord (The Annals of the Chosen, Book 1) Review

The Wizard Lord (2006) is the first fantasy novel in the Annals of the Chosen series. The Wizard Lord rules all of Barokan, although he has limitations on his authority. He can kill rogue wizards and any criminal who flees into the wilderness, but not innocent people. If he exceeds his limits and becomes a Dark Lord, the Chosen will gather to kill him.

In this novel, Breaker is a young man in the village of Mad Oak. As the villagers are celebrating the completion of the barley harvest, two wizards and the Swordsman -- one of the Chosen -- come into town looking for a new Swordsman. Breaker is the only one to volunteer for the position.

Breaker gets a good scolding from his mother. She sees the affair as him agreeing to become a killer. Breaker can't convince her that the position is purely ceremonial. After all, there hasn't been a Dark Lord for over one hundred years.

Breaker won't become the Swordsman unless he has learned how to use a sword and then defeats the Old Swordsman in a duel to first blood. For the next few months, he practices with the Old Swordsman and is unable to even touch him while practicing.

The Old Swordsman, however, is able to touch him almost anywhere on his body, but Breaker is beginning to hold him at bay for longer intervals. His friends see what the Old Swordsman can do to him and think that he is an easy mark. After several efforts to fence with him and receiving sound defeats, they start calling him the New Swordsman.

In this story, the day finally comes for the ritual duel. Naturally, the Old Swordsman is not allowed to use his magic in this duel, but decades of practice still give him a substantial edge. Although the Old Swordsman agrees to leave an opening for Breaker, the opening moves by the Old Swordsman are powerful and quick.

The Wizard Lord can see and talk through the lower animals. He uses a rabbit to watch the duel. Breaker has never heard a talking rabbit before, but is told that this is one of the many powers bestowed on the Wizard Lord.

Breaker begins to wonder if the Old Swordsman has changed his mind. Then the rabbit makes a comment and the Old Swordsman is momentarily distracted. Breaker lunges and gets a hit on his opponent's shoulder. He has won and undergoes the rituals that make him the greatest swordsman of the land.

Before the Old Swordsman leaves Mad Oak, he confides to Breaker that he is worried about the Wizard Lord. Unlike prior Wizard Lords, the current Lord has constructed his home away from any village. He has more temper than the previous two Lords and seems less predictable and less rational. But the Old Swordsman only has suspicions without any proof.

Breaker decides that he will visit the Wizard Lord after the spring planting. Besides, he needs -- and wants -- to go out into the wider world and learn more about the land. After all, he has never before been away from Mad Oak.

The story tells of the trek of Breaker out into the greater world of Barokan. He learns much about the strange customs and unusual ways of other villages. He also learns that the Seer -- another Chosen -- has passed through villages ahead of him and he decides to visit her prior to traveling to the Wizard Lord.

Months later, he is thinking about returning home when a guide arrives to lead him to the Seer. He also will meet the Scholar -- another Chosen -- in the town of Tumbled Sheep. There he receives news that seem to confirm the Old Swordsman's suspicions.

Breaker is new to the Chosen and he questions almost everything. He wonders if the Seer and Scholar are impostors or have lied to him. As he eventually meets the other Chosen, he questions their identities and actions. He must have been noted for his incessant questioning even as a child.

This tale is very different from other novels by the author, but the characters have similar aspects. Overall, this novel is very readable. Still, it is difficult to foresee how the sequels will continue this tale. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Watt-Evans fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magical powers, daring quests and tangled relationships.

-Arthur W. Jordin

The Wizard Lord (The Annals of the Chosen, Book 1) Feature

• ISBN13: 9780765349019
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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The Wizard Lord (The Annals of the Chosen, Book 1) Overview

The Wizard Lord’s duty is to keep the world in its delicate balance. He must govern lightly to protect his domain from power-hungry interlopers, such as certain wizards who previously fought to rule the world…But if the Wizard Lord himself strays from the way of the just, then it is up to the Chosen to intercede.

The Chosen ones are the Leader, the Seer, the Swordsman, the Beauty, the Thief, the Scholar, the Archer, and the Speaker. Each are magically-infused mortal individuals who, for the term of their service, have only one function--to be available to remove an errant Wizard Lord, whether by persuasion or by stronger means.

Breaker, a young man of ambition, has taken the mantle of Swordsman from its former bearer who wished to retire. Never did he realize that he would be called to duty so quickly, or that the balance of power in his world would be so precarious.

He had a duty to perform.  A world to save.

So why does he still have doubts…not just about himself, but about the entire balance of power?

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