Into the Wildbarrens is book one in the Gems of Elsana fantasy series. I honestly wasn’t planning on getting into a fantasy series right now but I couldn’t say no when the author, Christian Sterling, reached out to me. All he had to say was “Look! A map!” and I caved.
Title: Into the Wildbarrens
Author: Christian Sterling
Series: Gems of Elsana #1
First Published: July 17, 2019
Publisher: independently published
Categories: Fantasy
Acquired: from the author
*** Thank you to the author, Christian Sterling, for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Falin is a wizard, one of the ten wizards who act as peacekeepers to their land. However, Falin is only 20 years of age, and with 980 years left to explore the world, he is eager to begin his quest for the Gems of Elsana, four jewels (one for each element of Land, Air, Water and Fire) that Falin will add to his staff that will unleash his full power.
Every wizard must undertake this quest and they are always joined by four Champions – one from each kingdom within the The Crown of Elsana. Falin considers himself lucky when he is joined by a Sage healer (Melquin), an Elven assassin (Nym), a Drakkish warrior (Carthon), and a Madorian prince (Bossador). Before their quest begins, the elder wizards reveal they expect Falin’s quest will take them into the Wildbarrens, a place where “those who journey there are rarely seen again and, and those who are exiled there plead for death.” Given the circumstances—and to the chagrin of Falin’s honorable Champions—the group is accompanied by an unscrupulous pair of outlaws, Redrick of the Freelands and Jimbuah Kah, a Skully, who claim to have traveled through the Wildbarrens.
Into the Wildbarrens is a fun, quest-style fantasy story
I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I started reading Into the Wildbarrens – I guess a Lord of the Rings-style fantasy quest (I’m a big LOTR fan). In a way, this story was very reminiscent of LOTR, but it had it’s own distinct style and was a bit lighter and more humorous than LOTR.
For one thing, Farin is definitely no Gandalf. Farin is a young, inexperienced and insecure wizard – it’s fun to see him try to become a leader to his Champions and there are moments where you can see his ‘wizard-ness’ shine through – he starts to understand his role as a peacekeeper and guardian of Elsana. He also begins to understand how important it is that he find his four gems as quickly as possible – there are dark forces on the move in Elsana and he needs to be ready for them.
The group of Champions are a varied bunch and their personality clashes are fun to watch as they adjust to travelling together. As expected, there is enmity from long-held preconceptions, growing friendships and even a blossoming romance. They all have different strengths and weaknesses and need to learn to work together if they have any hope of surviving.
A great adventure that had me wanting more
The story starts off a bit slow, but mainly because the author spends quite a bit of time laying out the groundwork for the rest of the story. It’s a fantasy, so there are lots of characters, landscapes, legends and background to cover. The world-building is beautiful and (along with the map!) it was great to immerse myself in the world of Elsana. I was never bored though and then, once the action started, the story moved along easily.
There are moments when you really feel that this is a bit like Lord of the Rings – I definitely got shades of Moria when Falin and his Champions needed to sneak through a cave system, past hundreds of enemies, to get to where they’re going! But, Into the Wildbarrens is memorable as a story in its own right.
I definitely grew to like all the characters (some more than others, but they are fun as a group) and, since this is an adventure, as the story progressed and the danger grew, I started to worry about who we might lose from our group of heroes.
I knew going into this story that this would be a series, so I prepared myself for an unfinished adventure. Even so, I was more than a little disappointed when I turned the last page and realized I would have to wait for the next book to see how the story continues. I’m really looking forward to catching up to our heroes in Book 2.
Read Into the Wildbarrens for yourself
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