Review: Exile

Hello again, folks! The book being reviewed today is “Exile”, by A.J. Calvin, first entry in The Caein Legacy series. An epic fantasy with dragons, family bonds, and political intrigue of the worst sort.

The blurb goes:

“Andrew grew up in the royal palace of Novania, the eldest son of the queen. He went on to achieve fame and glory as a renowned soldier, and was eventually named commander of the king’s army. The kingdom believed he would be named heir to the throne, but he has long known he is ineligible. The king is not his father.

The truth of Andrew’s lineage is only partially known to the king; the identity of his father is a mystery that even Andrew is unaware of. He knows only that his father was a dragon-mage, and the dragons have fled to another world. Andrew is a skin-changer, but the laws of Novania forbid his very existence. If the king were to learn the truth of what he is, he would face execution.

The laws are equally hostile to humans born with the Mark of the Magi and the ability to wield magic. Andrew’s younger half-brother, Alexander, bears the Mark. The pair keep one another’s secrets into adulthood...Until the king dies unexpectedly and Colin ascends the throne.

When Alexander’s Mark is revealed for all to see, Andrew is faced with a choice: To watch his brother be killed, or reveal his true nature in an effort to save him from the headsman’s axe.”

My review:

I started Exile knowing only that it had dragons (I only read the blurb after finishing the book), and it did not disappoint, though it did surprise me: While Andrew’s ability to shift into a dragon is pivotal to the plot, that’s not exactly what the book is about.

The first thing I’d like to say about this book is that I really like how, instead of having a very important main character from the beginning, Exile deals with an important person falling from grace. We get to watch as Andrew’s world slowly falls apart and he pieces it back together, only for his brother Colin to get in the way.

The worldbuilding in this one is pretty good. We have several different races, magic, prophecies, different cultures, dragons, other worlds, and more. And we only explore a fraction of it in book one, which makes the fact that we’ll get another three books pretty exciting.

The main cast, while small, pretty much steals the spotlight. One of the core themes is family, and this quickly becomes apparent in Andrew’s relationship to his brothers. In spite of his hardships he never stops looking after them, sometimes to his own detriment. Likewise, they do their best to keep him afloat when he’s at his worst. The one exception is Colin (also the main antagonist), who proves himself to be a power-hungry piece of garbage. The author really did a good job in getting me to hate that one.

The plot didn’t move how I expected it to, which is a plus. More importantly, it hooked me and made me devour this book, so I can’t help but recommend it to anyone looking for a good epic fantasy. Considering that book two is set to come out in November, I think you’re in for a treat.

Final rating: Five stars.

You can find A.J. Calvin on:

• Her website
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