Book 5, The Sorcerer Heir: The Heir Chronicles

Great addition to the series! The series is captivating as a whole! The only reason I give the sorcerer heir a 4 star was because it foreshadowed to much and I started unwinding the events before they happened. So there was a lot of I knew it moments and not so much of a lot of plot twisting and a unexpecting climax to the story this time! But, Don't let this book fool you Cinda Williams Chima did a great job infusing new characters into the series, tying up some loose questions I had from previous books, and deepening the plot to push forward in this series as a whole. But, what's next?

The Sorcerer Heir is the fifth and last book currently in The Heir Chronicles series by Cinda Williams Chima. The Wizard's guild ruled the world of magic for hundreds of years but that's all changed. Now the Underguilds (Warriors, Seers, Enchanters, and Sorcerers) are in control and the Wizards don't like it at all.

Emma just wants to be a normal person, play her guitar in the band she's joined, and try and get over the tragedy of her past. But she finds herself at the center of a conflict that will shatter the fragile peace and send the magic world into another war.

Jonah was born with an enchanter's stone, but the massacre at Thorn Hill changed him. He became incredible strong and fast, his senses were enhanced. Everything he needed to become a great assassin including being able to kill anyone just by touching them. But as with all the children of Thorn Hill he's dying. Not as fast as most of the others but he's still dying. His younger brother, Kenzie, is fading fast and Jonah realizes he's not going to live much longer. The more Jonah learns about what actually happened at Thorn Hill the more his world fall apart.

The story is just a bit slow to get started but once it does it will not let you go. I found myself carrying my tablet everywhere hoping for just a few minutes so I could read just a bit more. Reading late at night when I should be sleeping. I'd find myself saying "just one more chapter." Very quickly I was sucked into the lives and problems faced by the characters. I know this is the last book of the series but I'm desperately hoping Cinda keeps writing them. I mean where is The Seer Heir? She did leave the door open for another book and I sure hope she takes it and FAST!

If you're not familiar with the series, add it to your T0-Read list. It's a fantasy series I'm sure you'll enjoy. But be warned, don't start reading it if you have important things to do!

"The Sorcerers Heir" is the final installment in a high fantasy series rich in the paranormal and filled with shocking disclosures. It opens in Trinity Ohio where the tenuous peace between the wizards and the underguilds is strained by an influx of killings. With Madison Moss's twelve year old sister one of the victims at Seph McCauley's party not only do the police begin investigating the crime, interviewing their chief suspects Emma and Jonah but the wizards implement their own task force to find the killer.

At the center of the storm are Emma (Greenwood) Lee and Jonah Kinlock whose pasts are linked and whose attraction brings them nothing but heartache and pain. Haunted by tragedy, lies, and betrayal they must forge a new trust if they're to clear their names and discover the truth behind the deaths.

Fast-paced and intoxicating, the plot takes the reader on a roller -coaster ride especially when the wizard task force suspects the savants, the survivors of the Thorn Hill massacre living at Anchorage and Rowan DeVries will stop at nothing in accusing Jonah Kinlock of the crime even to blackmailing Emma. As events unfold that bring surprises, the intensity and suspense of the story grows especially when the shades, remnants of the savants who died and their leader Lilith Greaves negotiate a truce with Gabriel Mandrake and begin planning a war that would bring death to the wizards and provide a blood magic that could restore life to the dead of Thorn Hill.

Into the new threatening landscape that undermines the peaceful co-existence of the guilds Cinda Williams Chima meshes new characters with old as old fires are stirred and a new battle begins. Alicia (Leesha) Middleton haunted by a betrayal and the sacrifice of Jason Haley is a bossy, unpredictable and arrogant wizard who befriends the talented, determined but sometimes fragile Emma Lee. Jonah Kinlock, the highly attractive charismatic feral warrior is hypersensitive to people's emotions and vulnerable in his guilt. With toxic hands that kill and unable to show love to another, Jonah is willing to do whatever it takes to save his brother Kenzie, a highly intelligent, witty fifteen year old who's dying. Harmon Fitch is the educated and kind Anaweir who's overly protective of Leesha even though he has no magical power. Among these memorable personalities add the aggressive and conniving sorcerer Gabriel Mandrake, the arrogant deceiver Rowan DeVries and the intelligent, mysterious shade Lilith Greaves. All these characters and more add their own brand of power, passion and drama to a fantasy series you can't put down.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sorcerer's Heir and highly recommend the Heir Chronicles series.

Originally Reviewed For: Bodice Rippers, Femme Fatales and Fantasy

Several years ago my oldest daughter came home from school with a library book and basically said, "Mom you have to read this book!" That book was Cinda Williams Chima's The Warrior Heir.. I read that book and a love for a certain YA author was born.

The Sorcerer Heir is the fifth and final book in Ms. Williams Heir Series.. A world where gifted individuals born with a "weir" stone inside gives them powers and puts them in one of the guilds. Wizard, Warrior, Sorcerer, Enchanter and Seers. For centuries the Wizards have kept the rest of the guilds in a tiered society where the Wizards ruled them all. That "government" has been felled but the rest of the guilds are still feeling their way in the new government.

Initially there was a three book series but Ms. Williams added the last two just recently. So this 5 book series is really a three book and two book series all tied together. We see characters from the trilogy in this book because they are truly important and to leave them out would be a disservice to the story. But the main focus in on Emma and Jonah and a group of children that survived a horrible explosion at a commune in South America. These children, those that have managed to live, have suffered over the years and are slowly dying their gifts are unique even to the weir world. Some are deadly but most are dangerous only to themselves.

Now to explain this book.. Which is way more difficult than you can possibly imagine. Jonah and his team have been killing "Zombies", the weir from his people that have died. Yet for some reason they can't really die and their souls survive. Floating around the real world where no one can see them but if they inhabit another's body they can "survive". But they want more they want to live.. Jonah and his team don't know any of this, they believe that the inhabited people become truly evil and that they have no sentience. Only they do.

When Jonah discovers this, his entire world begins shattering. Already unsure of being a hired killer, even if it is of the undead, Jonah becomes more than the lead on his team. He becomes a target for just about everyone. And the hope of his people. The problem is Jonah was created to be a killer, literally. His very touch can kill those alive and undead both. Created to kill, Jonah has the soul of a musician and the compassion of a truly generous heart.

Emma was literally created to become a great musician only she wasn't aware of it. Raised outside of the weir community she didn't know anything about them until the death of her grandfather. His death plunges her into a world on unknown. Where no one really accepts her or her "kind" the freaks. But Emma's appearance triggers the beginning of the end. At least of the prejudice that surrounds them. Or not.. LOL.

This is a complicated, unique, creative, book that ends a beautiful series. When it ended after Dragon Heir, I felt that the story was lacking something. That they needed something more. Even though it was well done, even though it was ended, even though the world was going to be a better place it was still a world in flux. But with Sorcerer Heir Ms. Williams closed the door. I felt this book gave us that final ending. That brought the world into focus so to speak. Although being an excellent author, Ms. Chima could easily revisit this series down the road.

This book really can't be read as a stand alone but it can be read as a duology. While the trilogy is important, it can be left out if you wanted to start reading this series. But, I have to ask, why ever would you want to?

This is an excellent YA book, it tells an important story and keeps the attention of the reader.. both the child AND the parent.. or any adult that chooses to read it. Ms. Chima writes in a manner that we forget that the characters are children/teenagers but never crosses a line with inappropriate behavior.

Just an excellent book.

Shauni

Well, Cinda Williams Chima has done it again. The fifth book in the Heir Chronicles, Sorcerer Heir is absolutely fantastic.

Whether you are looking for action, magic, or romance, this book has it all.

Of course, besides an engaging plot and a fascinating magic system (including an interesting take on zombies) Chima's greatest accomplishment in this book are her characters.

Of her characters, Chima has done an amazing job showing the change that time and experience can make in a person. Not wanting to give anything away, characters who originally appeared evil, selfish and unredeemable in previous books in the series are not remorseful and likable. Of course, the remarkable thing about this is not the change itself, but instead the completely plausible way in which the transformation occurs. Chima has eased this character evolution along slowly, over the course of multiple books, flushing out the character's personality and character motivations to the point that readers while they still will not approve of the character's actions in the beginning of the series, will thoroughly enjoy their presence now.

Of course, speaking of character motivations, (which is something else that Chima has done a fantastic job on in this book) creating believable back stories for the terrible and hurtful decisions that the "villains" did over time. Whether it be the reason for the poisoning, murder, or even plans of genocide, all when looked at through the eyes of the character who did it have glimpses of rational and relatable behavior.

All in all this, like Cinda Williams Chima's other books, is a masterpiece in characterization. Fans of the previous books in the series will greatly enjoy seeing old faces and new characters are given a chance to be flushed out, offering readers a chance to be swept away in their stories. Between the magic, action, and characters, there is very little not to like about The Sorcerer Heir. Overall, a must buy series and book.

ot having read the first three books of a series, I started off by assuming I'd be missing a lot of back-story. But that's OK! The first thirty pages have lots of info-dumping and characters explaining their past relationships and how past events shaped their lives. Lots and lots of back-story. Even as a new reader, it got kind of tedious.

The previous book ended with on a cliffhanger, with musician and guitar-builder Emma and her her musician and assassin boyfriend Jonah playing in the band at a party. On the band's break, Emma breaks up with Jonah because he killed her dad - yeah, that's a good reason to dump a guy, except that maybe he didn't do it. Then Jonah takes a dart to the neck, everything goes woozy, and more bodies turn up. So, did he or didn't he?

"Sorcerer" opens with Leesha getting ready to go to the party where Emma and Jonah were playing. She's seen a wizard war, lost her boyfriend to the war, seen a friend become the Dragon and hate it, and now what? Two years after the wizard war, there's going to be another war? Leesha is going to do something about that.

The story moves between several viewpoints. We meet the heroes of the previous book, who declaim their past and continue their plot-arcs. I mentioned in my review of Enchanters Heir, the last book, that there doesn't seem to be any info-dumping, while other reviewer said it was as if Enchanters Heir had very little connection to the previous books. 'Sorcerer' makes up for that on both counts.

The wizards are still furious at the rebel forces, even though poisoned wells killed off most of the rebels and left only about a thousand people, all under the age of 10, all with various weirdness as a result of the poison. Now we learn that the weirdness goes in so many directions for a reason, that the rebels really did want to kill hte wizards - or at least push them off their pedestel - and the poisoning was because zzzzzz, wow, that was completely unexpected. Last book carefully built up some expectations about the poisoning, both as "X did it" and "X couldn't have done it". Either way, the focus for poison was on X. Now we learn that X was more complex than that, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . Well, that was totally believable!

The wizards are still furious at the rebel forces, but some factions say, give the kids a break, it wasn't there idea and they were poisoned, we should let them back into whatever guild they belong to. The factions argue about how to go about reconciling, and some surprising people end up on the 'lets get together' faction. Then we find out that there are secret factions, working behind the scenes. Totally believable: people are people, even when they have magic.

Bechdel test: pass

Great book. The series is actually a trilogy, so 1-2-3 go together and 4-5 present a separate story, something that you should know if you are not going in perfect order.

Additional Note: My copy was pretty beat up when I got it even though I ordered it sold by the store as new.

I was super excited getting this book. I love Chima's novels, and how it nicely incorporates a bit of everything. However, I couldn't get past Chapter 8. The murder plot was super boring. Seventeen bucks down the drain. This leads me to ask the question, "Am I reading the right book?"

Love this series, seriously hope this isn't the end. Seems like there's a lot of thins left undone if so, like we went off on a tangent and forgot the main story. But I highly doubt it's the end, just the end of this story arc thing. Just read the series, you'll know what I'm talking about. Anyway, good series.

I was super excited getting this book. I love Chima's novels, and how it nicely incorporates a bit of everything. However, I couldn't get past Chapter 8. The murder plot was super boring. Seventeen bucks down the drain. This leads me to ask the question, "Am I reading the right book?"