Review: Rian of the Elves: Welcome to the Spire

Rian of the Elves: Welcome to the Spire by Erin Hassinger

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This reminded me of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. Sweeping epic with a whole lot going on.
GoodReads Synopsis: What if the person you loved more than anyone found it too hard to share their darkest secret? Samuel Mangus quickly discovers that his dad has had a pretty good reason to keep his hidden. A powerful Elf, Aubrey Mangus chose to leave his homeland long ago, taking nothing along besides his most prized possession—a mortal son.

For fourteen years, Sam’s life couldn’t have been more pleasingly plain. Yet, the last day of school was anything but that. His teacher sends a gift home to his handsome father, while he’s just had a conversation with a talking bird named Justus Sneeble. Worse than that, the Sneeble claims he’s come to warn him of something. Sam hopes he’s imagined the meeting, but once home is greeted by an evil creature called Recene. What happens next is too much to believe.

In Rian of the Elves, Sam meets new friends, each of them a different breed, each born with extraordinary gifts of their own. The Guild they form will be unprecedented and each has the honest intention of helping him succeed. Their Spire is the most magical place he’s ever been. So why is it that no one can tell him what lies beyond the plain, wooden door atop the Anteroom’s stairs? Oddly enough, Sam finds it more mesmerizing than anything else there. In the end, the answer is nearly heartbreaking and Sam must face the ultimate test of bravery and goodness on his own.
I really enjoyed Hassinger’s writing style. She has a lyrical quality to her writing. This is a story with a wonderful mythology…all the creatures and things in this world were quite fantastical. Normally I am not one for this type of epic fantasy world, but really enjoyed the story as well as the characters. I fell in love with all of them and their quirks. My only complaint with the story would be that sometimes there was so much going on I got confused and would have to go back and reread the previous pages to see if I missed something, sometimes I did, but other times I didn’t, which added to my confusion.




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