The Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima

I picked the first three in the series up because I really enjoyed Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series. Being October and in the middle of setting a gazillion exam papers (are you getting bored of me mentioning this? I m getting bored of doing it...), I needed something light and fun and not requiring any serious thought. Of course, having worked myself to a stand still, only getting 3 to 4 hours sleep a night for a month, trying to make my deadlines, I had a 'senior' or 'blonde' moment and picked up book 2 instead of book 1. That was not such a good idea, as I am sure you could guess, being a fantasy series. However, besides the fact that I spoilt book 1 completely, at least I was lucky enough to choose a series where the second book follows a new character. But... this has made reviewing the first two books a bit tricky.

The Warrior Heir

In The Warrior Heir, we meet Jack. He thinks he is just an ordinary teenager, but, of course, he is not. What he is though, I will leave you to find out. In this magical world, some people are born with weir stones near their hearts. This makes them either warriors, wizards, sorcerers,enchanters or seers. (The rest of us, I am afraid, are just Muggles - or Anaweir as they are called in this world.) To add to the complexities of this world there is also a long running feud between the white and red roses.

 This was fun to read. The action ran through the pages non-stop. I do have to question the sense of some of the adults in here. I think YA should stop encouraging the myth that as soon as you pass 21 your IQ decreases in leaps and bounds.

I wish I had read this book first (as opposed to book 2 - senior moment). I spoilt myself very badly, which I think took something out the 'Wow' factor, or the 'Hey! I was right!" factor. It makes it hard to comment on the suspense because I already knew the outcome.

This is an interesting world Chima has created. The use of 'class' is definitely a very good reflection on the prejudiced world we live in.

While giving this a 3 star rating, I think I would have given it a 5, had I read this when I was 14.

The Wizard Heir

In this addition to the series, we meet Seph. Seph knows he can do things - especially when he is not intending to. The book starts with him accidentally burning down a night club full of people. Woops! Seph gets sent to a special school, but things are not what they seem. He meets people like him. But... this ain't Hogwarts!

The plot in this is interesting and maintains the suspense throughout. It is targeted at a younger YA audience though, so I am not the intended demographic. To be honest though, this is hitting the spot. It is light and fun and predictable (yes, yes - did anyone not work out that ...).

This was nice to read during hectic moments in life. I also gave it 3 stars, but again, just in case you missed it, I am far too old to be the target audience for this.

The Dragon Heir

Another interesting installment.


This book follows Jason and Madison (who you meet in book 2) as the war continues. What role could someone who is not a powerful wizard play? In fact, what role could an anti-wizard play? Can the kids keep the defences up and running considering the odds they are facing? You would have to read this to find out.


I was impressed with the bold move Chima made in here. I did not expect that. Each book follows different characters; book 1 - Jack, book 2 - Joseph etc. It gives different perspectives and adds to the overall story. But I miss the characters from the earlier books. I feel that they almost become background secondary characters in the other books. Which is a bit disappointing once one has got to know and like the characters. I felt that all the personality they had developed in a prior book is lost as soon as they are no longer the main character of the next book. I could not feel Jack in here, and Seph was a completely foreign being. He was definitely not the boy I had grown to know in book 2. And I have to ask the question that I tend to ask while reading YA. WHERE THE BLAZES ARE THE ADULTS? Seriously, I consider myself to be challenged in the maternal instinct department, but hell, not even I would leave a bunch of kids to do THAT all alone while I went off on a different adventure.

This one has a fairly conclusive ending, so I am going to leave it here for now. While it isn't a bad series for younger readers, I am not dying to know what happens next. Another 3 stars from me.