Review: Aurian

Aurian by Maggie Furey

Book description by goodreads.

To the city of Nexis, where Magefolk rule uneasily over a race of mortals, a young girl named Aurian comes to learn the magic arts. Her dormant powers are coveted by the corrupt Archmage, who intends to possess her. When she rejects him for a mortal, the enraged Archmage plans his revenge.
Review:

Sounds like any number of fantasy books out there. Aurian had the potential to be another boring A-typical book in the Fantasy genre. Before rereading this book, I had wondered how come this book had stuck in my mind for so long after reading it probably about six years ago. I was fairly young and thought maybe the impression was left from the inexperienced mind of a young reader. However, Furey has created one of the best epic fantasy books I have read. Taking the same old tale and turning it into a refreshing new story.

One of my favorite things about Aurian is all of the subplots that work themselves into the main idea. They all fit together somehow and it’s fun to see each one pull together and shape the story. The twist on fairies is really fun, and the history of the world is unique to see from different cultures. Especially once the reader is given the real facts. Every time you get more information on the world, other races, and cultures , it is like feeding an addiction. Meeting each of the powerful races of the elements is also a great treat, and I want more on the Skyfolk.

Aurian is the main character, but it is told by the points of views of many different characters. I come up with ten right off the top of my head, but there are many more. Furey is so skilled that I never found myself bored as the story went from one character to the next. Even with all the back and forth between characters and plots, I didn't get lost.

The names of the characters are very beautiful, and they are all different enough that I never get the characters mixed up. That has always been one of my pet peeves with fantasy books, all the names are so similar that you never know who you are reading about.

My favorite part of this book isn’t the wonderful plot and story ideas, but it is the emotions. Furey has truly proven with this book. Her skill is making the characters real by thinking, feeling, and interacting with the world they are in. I’m not quite sure if I can properly explain it. Each character from our main heroine to the evil villain, or even just to a temporary character, has such depth and growth. Furey expertly deals with grief, the kinds of love there are, happiness, revenge, evil, and the change people go through as they live. She expertly shows how others can impact and change someone’s life.

The great characterization is coupled by Furey’s rich writing. Every place that is described flows easily into the mind. Every character has a unique voice, and point of view, that never takes away, but adds to Furey’s style. She can easily wrench your heart with sorrow, and then have you chuckling with a humorous line.

Bottom line:

Even after all of these years, Furey’s book still manages to captive me. Aurian’s character depth and emotions are something that no reader should pass up. This book has one of the best love stories I have ever read. There are many plots to follow in this book, which I didn’t find over whelming as some readers might. If you read a lot it shouldn’t be too hard to differentiate and remember them. This is a series where you are not going to want to wait a long time in between reading the next book.

Sexual content:

Furey keeps it pretty clean. There are some sex scenes which are not detailed. A beginning to a rape scene, the author does not go into details.

Rating: 5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession.