Book Review: The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost

Release Date: September 25, 2012
Author: Mark Frost
Publisher: Random House Books
Length: 560 pages

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher!

Will West is careful to live life under the radar. At his parents' insistence, he's made sure to get mediocre grades and to stay in the middle of the pack on his cross-country team. Then Will slips up, accidentally scoring off the charts on a nationwide exam.

Now Will is being courted by an exclusive prep school . . . and is being followed by men driving black sedans. When Will suddenly loses his parents, he must flee to the school. There he begins to explore all that he's capable of--physical and mental feats that should be impossible--and learns that his abilities are connected to a struggle between titanic forces that has lasted for millennia.

Co-creator of the groundbreaking television series Twin Peaks, Mark Frost brings his unique vision to this sophisticated adventure, which combines mystery, heart-pounding action, and the supernatural.

Review:

Characters: Will West has lived by his fathers extensive list of rules all his life, unaware that the things his father has taught him will help him on his journey. Will has always tried to blend in and become invisible wherever his family goes because his parents insist it. When he slips up and is courted by the most prestigious and exclusive school ever he begins to take more control of his life. When he gets to the school he meets people he might actually get to be friends with and learns to stand out rather than blend in.

Romance: Romance is on the back-burner in this book. Even though it's there it's not a large plot point and the romance is rather slow, that is, until it starts and then it seems to speed up a bit. There is also the hints of a possible love triangle, though I may have just been reading it wrong. I like that romance wasn't a large focus of this book because lately I've been reading too much insta-love and it's getting exhasting, so I love the action and adventure that take center stage in this book.

World-Building: "The Center" and all those on it's campus have the coolest technology. I couldn't believe it when I first was reading, I thought it was some sort of alien thing or magical technology, but it's just "the technology of tomorrow, now." The mix of sci-fi and paranormal are also extremely interesting as I have only seen that once before and that was when the two had collided and conflicted with each other, but in this book they work side by side in harmony making for an even more epic book.

Predictability: One of the things that through my "predictor" off was the title. Even though they referenced the Paladins throughout this book I kept seeing it as a fantasy or paranormal and not the hybrid genre it was. Since the genre is more hybrid than a straight shooter it's harder to nail down themes and patterns that would lead me to the truth before the protagonist.

Ending: Holy cliff hanger! So, usually when I read the first book in a series the ending sort of plateaus leaving me as a reader less stressed and hyped to want the next book right away, but this introduces new twists until the last sentence. I cannot wait to see where this series goes and what new mysteries this group of kids can uncover.

Rating:

I absolutely love this book! The writing style of it is similar to my own which is probably what drew me in quickly, but the pacing will keep you reading til the very end.

P.S. This review was supposed to go up in September but due to personal issues I had to postpone it, I have several other books I was supposed to review from NetGalley as well as a physical ARC that I need to review, so those will be coming up occasionally. I was going to put up a review of Incarnate by Jodi Meadows up today to kick off my Asunder giveaway, but it still hasn't come in from the library and I really want to read it again before I review it, but it will definitely be up next Saturday whether it comes in or not. Even if you don't want to enter the Asunder giveaway, please click the "Join this Site" button and follow my blog and follow me on Twitter (@FlyeZachary93) to stay up to date on my reviews of the hottest YA reads!