(3.5 / 5)

In a land where only children of noble birth have the ability to summon demons, Arcturus, an orphan and stable boy, accidentally becomes the first common summoner. He is drawn into a political battle that threatens his life and the lives of those noble-born students he is studying alongside. He'll have to choose between his fellow commoners or his fellow summoners.

On its own, this book was intriguing and exciting with good world-building and some engaging characters. However, as a prequel, it had some issues--namely too much repetition from the original trilogy and too many characters in common.

The first third or so was especially had a lot of similarities to the first book in the series. A commoner unintentionally summons a demon, is whisked away to Vocans, the summoner school, and is snubbed by some, but not all, of the nobles while being far friendlier with the servants and "lower" races than most other humans. Even some of the early explanations of how spells work felt repetitious.

Prince Harold in particular I really liked in this book. And Captain Lovett as a teenager was quite the fun and rambunctious character too. However, while it was kinda neat to see characters in this book that were in the trilogy, or were parents of characters in the trilogy, when all of these characters who we know are alive years later are put into peril, there's no question of whether they will survive or not. Though I will say that, for me, this didn't mean there was no suspense. There was still some danger, but it wasn't as exciting as it could have been.

As for Arcturus himself, who is very similar in personality to Fletcher from the trilogy, when I was reading through the trilogy, I really liked Arcturus. And when I saw there was a prequel about him, I expected there to be a lot more of him in the last half of the trilogy than there ended up being. In the end, perhaps he wasn't the best choice for the subject of a full-length prequel novel. Yes, he was the first common summoner, which was mentioned in the trilogy but made for a decent story on its own. But from what I understand, Matharu had already written a shorter story of his origin, and then later turned that into the full novel. But the story wasn't far enough removed, and the time it took place wasn't long enough before the trilogy, for this to work all that well as a prequel.

I wonder if it might actually work better if this book were to be read before the trilogy. I can't guarantee that there wouldn't be some world-building that was lacking in the prequel, because the reader is expected to know the world already, but I didn't really think that was the case. Whether or not someone who has read the trilogy absolutely needs to read the prequel before calling this series complete, I would say...it's a toss-up. ( )

I love this story line, have since I was a kid. That is because this reminds me of the tale of King Arthur and the sword Excalibur. ( )

This is a full-length novel about Arcturus and is a prequel to the Summoner trilogy. It was ok. What I didn't like was that I had already read Summoner: Origins and that comprises a little over half the novel. ( )

This is a full-length novel about Arcturus and is a prequel to the Summoner trilogy. It was ok. What I didn't like was that I had already read Summoner: Origins and that comprises a little over half the novel. ( )

Literary Merit: Good
Character Merit: Good
Other: Violence and some language makes suitable to middle teens
Recommendation: Grades 7-10

While trying to flee from his cruel master, indentured servant Arcturus, accidently summons a demon from another realm. This sets him on a life altering course he never could envision. Instead of prison, the king takes an interest in Arcturus and sends him to the Vocan Academy, where the children of the high born learn the art of magic, demon summoning, and other arcane arts. As the only commoner there, Arcturus will have many enemies. His only friend is his demon familiar, Sacharissa.

No sooner than he is settling in to his schooling than the school is attacked by rebels. The king has some very unpopular policies and the noble children would make excellent hostages. Arcturus and some of the students manage to escape and head for the boarder of Orc country where they run into some soldiers still loyal to the crown. Can this disparate group stop the invading Orcs and revolutionaries from destroying Hominum Empire before it’s too late?

This was a fun, action-pacted romp. While the fantasy trope is nothing new, the use of demons as familiars was a nice twist. Arcturus as the underdog is also not new, but his character gives the story a touch of panache. You will root for him throughout the story. Sacharissa the demon familiar is also wonderful character, I just loved her. Some of the secondary characters are not as well thought out, especially some of the bad guys; they are more like caricatures. The world building is serviceable. Overall a nice, action laced entry into the Summoner Universe. Due to violence and some language this is best suited for middle teens. For grades 7-10. ( )