The following article originally appeared in Juniata High School's newspaper The Arrowhead.

“Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the ancient beasts roam the plains and rumors of magic stir within the edges of the map…”

Thus begins a tale of adventure, sorcery, love, and betrayal. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: “It’s romance, ewww. I hate those kinds of books!” Don’t worry, I hate them too. However, I absolutely loved this book. It had an extremely complex plot, one that was absolutely spectacular to read and figure out. Every one of the characters’ stories tied into each other, and by the end of the book, I just had to sit back in awe. The way the author managed to connect all of these characters’ stories and backgrounds was incredible. It was very well thought out, and I applaud Eleanor Herman for it.

There are six main characters, and they all come from different backgrounds. Alexander is the crown prince, and later becomes more commonly known as Alexander the Great. In this story, he faces the threat of a looming war between magic-users and the people that fear them. While also trying to keep his country from falling apart and trying to fulfill his own secret mission, he consults Hephaestion, his best friend and closest thing to a brother. Hephaestion is the prince’s champion in the Blood Tournament, and his goal is to win, no matter the stakes, because he needs the money, desperately. However, he will run into challenges with Jacob, a competitor from a small village outside of the city. Jacob needs to win too, as the money he would win would allow him to finally marry his sweetheart, Katerina. But, unbeknownst to anyone, Katerina has her own purposes for being in the city. She watches the Blood Tournament with disdain as the men battle. Her true focus, however, was only to watch and spy on Queen Olympia, who had killed Katerina’s mother in cold blood in front of her… and who Katerina was planning to kill in return. She runs into trouble, though, as another of the queen’s enemies, Cynine, begins to stir up trouble. Her feeling of revenge is strong as well, and she will do anything to gain the magic that would finally rid her of the queen once and for all. Far across the land, in the kingdom of Persia, the princess Zofia is betrothed to Alexander, much to her dismay. To try to escape the marriage plans, she seeks out the mystical Spirit Eaters, who are said to be able to change fate. However, fate does not like to be tampered with.

As one can tell from the plot described, this book will keep your attention from the moment you open the front cover. It is action-packed and riveting, and it will keep you turning the pages until you are finished. This will be one of the best books you’ll read this year; I guarantee.

By: Sydney Houtz