The Frith Chronicles: ARC I – The Frith Chronicles Collection, Book 1
The main character is a young gravedigger apprentice. His parents are long gone, one was a thief, the other a murderer. More than anything else, he wants to be an arcanist — one bonded to a magical creature.
The main characters are likeable, the villains are annoying but not disastrously so, the magic is fun and magical, the action is fast paced. As I went through it, I thought I saw the arc of the whole series shaping up … but instead, I only saw where the first book was going. That’s all a good set-up for the second book, and then the third book
I was a little unsure with all the reviews complaining about him being whiny, but I don’t understand where that shows. The closest it comes to whining is describing the pain of being a second bonded, with an occasional comment of wanting things to have gone better. It is a well written story with a fantastic premise of a partnership with mythical creatures that was straight out of my wildest dreams. I loved these books start to finish, with the only blemish actually coming from the narrator.
Occasionally throughout the arc, usually towards the beginning of the book, the narrator sounds flat, like they are bored to even be reading it. However, if you disregard that long enough to give the book a chance his tone and inflection improves vastly. Highly recommend this series, with a kudos for the expectation subversion in book three, even if I found myself wishing things different.
