Legacy of Krazatan: Book I: A Hero's Birth by Tylor Kranyak
Synopsis (from back of book): Kai Un'kari is a young
man from a backwater fishing village. All his life he has dreamed of
travelling the world like his late father. In an unfortunate turn of
events, he gets his wish when war breaks out between Horagothien and
Austranvia, forcing him to leave his home. Upon meeting a man named
Lukan, Kai finds out that he is destined to become a great warrior and
the next wielder of the holy sword, Tenjin. He sets out on a journey to
find the Tenjin so he can use it to bring peace to all the warring
nations of Pangaea, and in turn prevent the second coming of Krazatan,
the Chaos Dragon. Will he succeed in his quest to find the holy sword,
or will he fall victim to the vast dangers of the wilds that have
claimed the lives of thousands before him? About the Author: Tylor
Kranyak lives in "Steel City" Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He started
writing at the age of 14 in 2004. Recently he graduated from Humber
College in 3-D animation.
In full disclosure I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
This book is aimed at a young adult/adult audience and is
not suitable for younger readers due to some bad language and scenes of a
somewhat violent nature.
There is quite a lot of world building in this book,
especially near the start. It didn’t matter too much as this is the first book
in the series and is to be expected. Each part of the world building is
interesting and short enough too avoid becoming boring. Most of the time the
way that it is told seemed natural although a few times it felt a little
clunky. Also with the amount world building at the start, it was hard to
retrain some of the information; fortunately the author provides small
reminders later in the book when it becomes relevant.
The story itself is a fairly traditional coming of
age/fantasy novel where the young hero lives in a backwater village dreaming of
a more exciting life, there are hints that he has greater powers. Then one day
a mysterious stranger turns up allowing the young hero’s adventurous life to begin
and he starts to master his special powers. That is not to say the story is
completely unoriginal, there are plenty of new and rarely used ideas, or twists
on traditional ones. For example early on the hero is forced into conscription by
his country’s army, but in a twist on what is normal in a fantasy novel, the
government is actually a nice one instead of an evil dictatorship, the soldiers
are kind and take care of the new conscripts, we are also told that new soldiers
are trained and placed at outposts before they are sent to the frontlines.
The animals in the book are also an original concept. They
are reptiles that resemble dinosaurs, this was interesting and exciting. It was
also well written and presented in a believable manner, they really felt like
the where part of the world’s ecosystem and were real living creatures and not
tacked on or artificial as often happens when dinosaurs are in books or movies.
One downside to this originality was that it would sometimes get confusing with
all the different species and remembering which was which. A glossary would be
beneficial or perhaps a few more reminders when the creatures are in the book
especially early on.
There were quite a number of story threads going on throughout
the story, especially considering that there is only one P.O.V. Fortunately the
author does an excellent job of reminding the reader of what has happened when
an older thread returns to the story, providing enough information without
going overboard. Some of the threads are left open to be completed in the rest
of the series.
There were a few minor inconsistencies or moments that
didn’t seem quite right. For example (minor spoilers ahead, highlight to read.) why was there a
need to remove Kai’s name from the records, his entire squad was believed to be
dead so why not just take on a new identity, also is seemed wrong to change his
birth name in his records to the name he went by anyway, if someone was looking
for him it would still be easy to trace him. It also seemed odd that the
traders would have picked up surplus weapons when there was a war going on. At
one point we are told the hero is the only one in his village that likes snow,
but at another point we are told he played in the snow with his friends.
The characters are written very well. Kai, the main
character whose point of view we follow, has real thoughts and feelings, he is
afraid of dying, he has feelings of regret over those he is forced to kill and
he misses his friends and family. He has an interesting personality; generally
kind and wanting to do the right thing, but he also has a darker side that
sometimes emerges. One nice twist on what normally happens in fantasy novels
was that the lead character doesn’t become suddenly great at fighting or powerful
in magic. When facing veteran opponents he doesn’t fair very well, often he
only wins his battles through luck or quick thinking.
The magic system is also nice, as it takes time and energy
to be able to cast spells, and if a user tries to do to much they can end up severely
injuring or even killing themselves. This brings a nice balance to the world,
preventing those with magic becoming too powerful and prevents you thinking a
mage will always win a fight. It also makes you nervous when the main character
uses magic because he may end up harming himself.
Lukan, Kai’s mentor is an interesting character. He is a
nice balance between being firm with Kai but with a kind and caring side. This
is a slight change from your typical gruff mentor which always seems to be the
case in fantasy novels. I did feel that he left Kai alone too often, especially
considering Kai is supposed to be “the chosen one.”
There were some religious/Christian elements to the story.
It is probably best described as inspiration for the story, and regardless of
your personal beliefs, you will be able to enjoy the book.
The novel details the journey of the hero, which takes him
from one side of the country to the other. About three quarters of the book
covers about a quarter of the journey in terms of the distance traveled. At
that point of the story it almost had a ‘Lord of the Rings’ feel to it, where
you look at the map and follow the story thinking “Wow they have so much
further to go.” Then next eighth of the book covers the reminder of the journey
with the rest of the book detailing what happens once they get there. This made
the last ¾ of the journey feel rushed and I felt like I was missing out on what
happened on that part of the adventure. But I guess it’s better to be left wanting
more than wanting less.
On the whole the pacing is excellent, moving along fast
enough to keep the story interesting, but spending enough time on each part of
the story and having necessary slower moments as well.
The descriptions are excellent as well, there is plenty of
detail to allow the reader to visualise the world, but not so much that the
story begins to drag.
Overall I would rate this as an excellent book, 4 ½ stars.
It is an interesting story that is different enough to make is somewhat original.
The characters are excellent, and the world setting is exciting and original,
especially the animal species that are in it. The many threads are written very
well as are the descriptions. It was just missing that special something that
would have made it a perfect five star book, but still this was an excellent
story, that is well worth reading and I will be on the lookout for the next
book in the series.
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