Book Review: The Warrior Heir by Cinda Chima
Title: The Warrior Heir
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
What is says on the back: Before he knew about the Roses, 16 year old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high-schoolers. At least until the day Jack forgets his ‘medicine’. Suddenly he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great - right up until he loses control and almost kills someone. And incident that just proves to be the beginning. Jack is about to learn the startling truth: he is Weirlind; part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. More, Jack discovers that he’s unique: he’s one of the last warriors, and his power has manifested at a time when both houses are hunting for a warrior. And until one of the feuding houses is declared Jack’s official sponsor, they’ll stop at nothing to get Jack to fight for them....
My thoughts:
Harry Potter, I am no. Four, Percy Jackson (and so many more) - the genre/trope of a young man (on rare occasions woman) finding out they have a) powers and b) belong to a secret society is well established, perhaps overdone and definitely popular. Its also not a new idea, even if turn of the century, early century stories focused more on ordinary children discovery new worlds rather than new things about themselves, this genre of fiction has been around for a long time, both in books, tv series and movies. So, how does the Warrior Heir stack up against its competitors, especially the giants like Harry Potter.
The first positive is that the book is not written in first person. This might be a personal peeve, but I am not a fan of first person POV. I find that first person POV limits the depth and detail in some stories as we only get one characters perceptions. Unless the author hops around in the POVs, we are stuck with the main protagonists view point. So, I was pleased that the Warrior Heir was in third person and hopped around in POVs.
Next positive, is the hero himself, Jack. The tendency towards more ‘emo’ and ‘woe is me’ type reactions is a major pitfall for this genre. And while Jack has these moments, the author does not dwell on them, nor belabour the issue. The narrative moves along and live continues. Another positive is the use of flawed characters. I like characters who have blindsides and moments of doubt. And not just the hero, but the supporting characters and ‘mentors’.
The world Chima has created is interesting and links enough into actual history and our current world so as to be believable. An underground society that is not as ‘secret’ as the magical world in Harry Potter, nor as unbelievable as Percy Jackson’s. However, the magical world is the first downside to the book. Its steeped in hierarchy, institutionalised racism, borderline slavery and antiquated laws. I have read enough fanfiction about ‘AU’ worlds where there are second class citizens to feel that this ‘society’ is borderline fanfic. Heck, I’ve written a world like this. It could be great, I do actually like those worlds BUT its also a tough world to write (I know). Blatant racism and superiority complexes are tough pills to swallow these days and while its makes for good villains, you don’t want to nauseate your reader. The downside for the book on this matter was mostly around the lack exploration around what the general populace felt. Its a small thing, and I am keen to see how the following books develop this. On a side note, it is interesting that this genre of books seems to attract the same ideas - of a society with superiority complexes. Mudbloods vs Pure Bloods.
On the whole I really enjoyed the book. It had great pace, excellent writing with good characters. However the villains were... villains. No real depth other than being villains. The heroes were well developed, with good and bad sides. The villains though? No redeeming features. I liked Jack. Its too early to tell if he’s on par with Harry, but I think I like him more than Percy Jackson. Oh, oh, last note. Having typed up the ‘summary’ on the back, I realised its a little misleading. The whole aspect of the ‘choice’ is not really true. It implies Jack can choose which house to serve, that they are going to try win him over. And that’s not the case - Jack has very little choice, its death or death, in the end. Which is why his fight to live is so interesting.
A recommended read, indeed J