Flamecaster

Gr 8 Up—Set in the same world as the "Seven Realms" books (Disney-Hyperion), this series opener starts with Adrian sul'Han (Ash) fleeing into exile after the death of his sister on the battlefield and the murder of his father before his eyes. He is determined to kill the person behind it all, the king of Arden—a goal he unwittingly shares with Jenna, a girl from an oppressed mining town who bears a strange birthmark. Jenna's two closest friends were killed in a confrontation with the king, and now she will stop at nothing to take him down. But when Ash must escape the place he has been hiding and the king begins to hunt down a girl with Jenna's birthmark, fate flings the two together and catapults them into greater danger. Readers do not have to be familiar with Chima's other books to jump right into this new series, but those who love the world she built in the "Seven Realms" will enjoy getting to live in it once more. The pacing seems uneven at points, and the final conflict is surprisingly emotionally flat. More nuanced looks at good vs. evil and the ethics of wartime are forgone in favor of two heroes facing off against an evil king, but the world the author creates is as immersive as ever, and the primary characters' initial motivations are satisfied, but the author still opens up further conflicts and mysteries to fuel the next installment.