Jack D. Albrecht, Jr.

This book is perfect for fans of epic fantasy books like Eragon and Harry Potter!

The Wand-Maker’s Debate starts off introducing us to an incredible world of magic, dwarves, dragons, and talking animals (“talking animals” sounds so childish when you say it like that, but it’s actually awesome) in a land called Archana. Everyone is born with magic, but wands are used to channel and enhance that magic. The level of someone’s magical ability is judged through a combination of skill and the quality of their wand.

After a brief intro to this fantasy world, we learn that several nations have gathered together to sign a peace treaty. Unfortunately, an act of terrorism destroys the palace in which the treaty is being signed, while the world leaders are gathered inside. Osric, a leader of the city’s security forces and a wizard, is lucky enough to survive the tragedy, and he makes it his duty to get to the bottom of it. He wants to know who was responsible for the attack, why some mysterious unicorns rushed to his rescue, and why his new wand is acting strangely. So, with his best friend, a wand-maker, and a Maiden of the Unicorn, Osric embarks on a journey to find answers and help keep the peace.

Along the way, we learn about the incredible history of magic, the difference between spoken spells vs. spells using a wand, the story behind the dragons’ role in the world, and much more. There are dark secrets to be uncovered, conspiracies to be torn open, and adventures to embark on.

Anyone who loves a good magic story will love this book! It almost reminded me of a more extensive version of The Deathly Hallows — more specifically, concentrating on The Elder Wand. I mean the stories are really different, but that’s just what I thought of when I was reading it. The story really digs deep into the technical aspects of magic and the different ways you can use it. Osric is clearly a gifted wizard, but has only begun to discover his abilities, and the mysteries behind his powerful new wand and abilities.

But all that being said, the dragons are really what drew me in, and they play a huge role in the story. At first, I didn’t like the dragons. They’re basically used by humans as transportation. They do get paid for their services but they were a little too polite and they just seemed more like taxis than epic, fearsome dragons. But just as soon as it was starting to bug me, we learn that there’s a dark reason behind the dragons’ behaviour! I don’t want to reveal too much, so I’ll just say that they only act like that because they have to. It’s an awesome story that had me hooked in and totally cheering for the dragons.

Sometimes I struggled between liking Osric and disliking him. For one thing, he usually spoke really formally, which was a bit odd to me. But my biggest issue with him was how sure of himself he became. As he unlocked his new abilities he was a little overconfident and not sensitive to other peoples’ lesser abilities. He assumed that since things were easy for him, they should be easy for everybody. What’s funny is that one of the characters, Gus, had very similar thoughts. He and Osric never got along and he constantly viewed Osric as an overeager, disobedient child. And I guess often he was. But Osric was definitely a kind-hearted and ambitious hero. He fought for the right reasons, and at least when he was being overconfident, it was with good intentions. He built up crazy ideas about how he could do x, y, and z, but they were all noble and worthy goals to accomplish.

That’s why it was really interesting to see the different characters struggle with Osric the same way I did. They saw his flaws and analyzed them. Sometimes they saw him being reckless, but sometimes they also insisted that “there is much more to him than his foolhardy antics. He has the potential to be the greatest wizard ever born, and there is much at stake in his learning to use his new abilities.”

The Wand-Maker’s Debate is a refreshing and compelling new fantasy story. It’s not the kind of book that just has magic casually thrown in; instead, this book is about magic. It’s about how magic makes up the world, how it can be harnessed, and the different ways it can be used. It almost takes magic and puts a technical spin on it, which is super interesting and great to read about. This book is full fo so many interesting characters, creatures, and histories. This book will appeal to a wide variety of readers because it includes so many different elements, such as magic, fantasy, politics, conspiracy, war, and freedom.

I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series, which was recently revealed as: The High Wizard’s Hunt!… (mais)

When a peace treaty signing is violently brought to a stop by a fatal explosion, Osric makes it out alive just barely by the saving grace of a unicorn. With the threat of war erupting and their enemies conspiring against them, Osric must set out to uncover the perpetrators.
Along the way, he is accompanied by a delightful group of companions - a prairie dog wand-maker called Gus; his innocent young son Pebble; Bridgett, a young woman who spent years living among unicorns; Kenneth, Osric's right-hand-man; and Machai, a grumpy dwarf.
Osric's intuition gift, charisma and his skill with a sword and wand made him a great character; but my favourite, without a doubt, was Gus. There is something undeniably fun about a prairie dog who can show you up in wand making and wit, despite his kind usually ending on the menu.
In Osric's Wand, the authors have created a truly delightful world inhabited by humanity and creatures as equals. Sure, there's much here we’ve seen before. There are dragons and unicorns; there are swords and sorcery; and there are goodies and baddies. But there is also much here that is original: the prairie dog wand-makers; the hunters' code which requires a hunter to thank the family of his prey for the gift of the meal; and the gifts that each living creature is born with that form the basis for their path through life.
In our world we say that everyone has a talent, if only we can find it – but we don't always believe this. In Archana, it is true.… (mais)