The Wizard of Kharathad
*** An advanced reading copie of The Wizard of Kharathad by Matia ben Ephraim was generously provided to me in exchange for an honest review***The author take you in a very appealing journey, with a great main character in a magic world full of beauty, adventures and mystery. It is very well written book, with very likable characters and a rich language that embellish the story even more.
But I have to say, I didn't know that this book was not an standalone novel. The Wizard of Krarathad is the first book in a series and some of the enigmas and mysteries remain unanswered at the end of this first book.
That been said, let's start with my opinion:
This is a book you can read for your own entertainment or, like I did, also to your kids in bed at night, because this is a beautiful tale whose basis is nobleness and kindness and whose hero is a really nice character, with a big heart and integrity, who transports you to a universe where truth and honesty really matters.
I loved the way the author based magic on the belief of God, in some form of another. And I specially loved something Gabriel teaches Dogalas about wizards: 'all men should be noble, virtuous and decent- but as wizards, we above all others must be an example to those few who are not.'
The problem for me with this one (and I emphasize "FOR ME" here) is the long descriptions and the extremely detailed narration. But of course this is, as I said, MY problem, because even though I read a lot, I have to recognize that I am a lazy reader. It happened to me with 'The Pillars of the Earth' and with 'The Lord of the Rings' books with a very high rate, so...
Fortunately, reading is a very subjective thing, and you probably will enjoy every page of this beautiful adventure.
I encourage to any fan of epic fantasy adventures to immerse themselves in this story of magic, elves, gyontar, wharlocks, dragons... In the world Matia Ben Ephraim has ingeniously created.
