Writer’s Club Book Review: The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare

Writer’s Club Book Review: The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare

Anthony DeLapi, Staff Writer

During the months of the Summer 2017, I hoped to find a book to read that could help me find other things to do besides using my electronics. It was during this time that my Mother had gone to go see a Writer. Her name was April Leonie Lindevald. My Mother told her of my recent dilemma to find a book, and I had only one interest of genre at the time: Fantasy. And so, Mrs. Lindevald had given my Mother a card. The card was a picture of a Light Gray Castle on a mountain top by the sea on a clear sunny day, and in the skies flew a Red Dragon. The card had only one title: The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare. This book interested me, so I ordered it on Amazon. When the book arrived, I was flabbergasted. The book was 668 pages long, and each page was filled with detailed writing. I knew I couldn’t start reading now because of the Regents, so I waited until the Summer. Me and my Family went on a trip to Acadia, Maine, and while sitting in a chair by a beautiful lake on a clear summer sky by the hotel’s pool, I read the book chapter by chapter. The book was really good. It was something completely new, compared to previous books I’ve read of Fantasy being violent. The story and characters were amazing, and you learn something new about them along the way. The amount of detail in this book is immeasurable, but in a good way. The detail in this book gives you the feeling that you’re actually there during the conflict. I read the book throughout the Summer, and I loved it. I knew this Summer, while also reading some new books, I wanted to read this book once more. To see if it’s still good as I remembered it, and if I learn anything new. I was not disappointed. The book was just the same, and maybe even better when reading it again.

The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare is a Fantasy book written by April Leonie Lindevald. The story is about a young wizard named Tvrdik, who decides to leave the wizard school due to a tragic accident, and to live in isolation in the ancient forest. But his teacher and friend, Master Xaarus, found him and needs his help to save the world in a classic battle of Good vs. Evil. But there is also more to the story. The events that could conspire during this time will not only affect the current time, but the future forever. The world will become gray and dull, people will become miserable, and all magic will become extinct. It is because of these reasons that the reader really wants Tvrdik to act, because he is the last wizard. Xaarus can’t help physically because he’s trapped in another time, but he can help Tvrdik mentally. Tvrdik, knowing what is at stake, leaves the ancient forest, and journeys to the Castle of Eneri Clare. There, he meets the new Regent at the time, Lady Jorelial Rey, and her dragon Tashroth. Tvrdik tells her of the conflict that is to come soon, and they work together to prevent it. But instead of going to war, they must use new and strange methods to win the fight, and to save the future. Tvrdik, with his new friends, battle a ruthless usurper who threatens the land, while also learning new things along the way. There is so much going on in this story, that it’s hard to type it out without spoiling anything. After reading the book two times, I’ve figured out two things that makes this book great. They are Characters, and the Moral of the Story.

The Characters in this book are so detailed, and have so much personality, that they could be actual people. It’s interesting to see how they would react during the current situation, and how they all learn something new during this conflict. The main character Tvrdik, has a very interesting personality. He’s shy and serious, but he’s also nice and will take action when needed to. He’ll even make a joke occasionally. After experiencing the tragic incident at the school, Tvrdik felt extremely guilty. Tvrdik thought he could’ve helped before the accident happened and thinks because of him his classmates are dead, even though it wasn’t his fault.  This guilt would lead to him isolating himself from humanity. Tvrdik’s story is very sad, because it shows how a person’s guilt can make someone shut him or her out from the world. Throughout the story, Tvrdik learns to let go of his guilt and move forward in life with his new companions. The transition of this character, who fights through the bitterest of times during the story, makes him a great person and hero to the people of Eneri Clare. The other main character, Lady Jorelial Rey, is a bit different from Tvrdik, but they have a lot in common. Rey also experienced some tragic incidents in her life and decided to isolate herself only with her family and her Dragon Tashroth. Rey can be serious but also funny at times. She also gets stressed a lot in the beginning, but the reason why is understandable. The Rey Family are the main advisors for The Royal Family in Eneri Clare, but due to another tragic accident, Jorelial Rey oversees an entire kingdom because the heir is too young, while new threats are arising, and whole new war is coming that could change history forever, and there are actions at that moment they could use to save the entire future. The whole conflict that is coming, while already dealing with her busy job, shows us that Jorelial Rey has a lot of things to do, and it’s understandable for a person to get stressed once in a while. But Tvrdik and Lady Jorelial Rey work together, and they unite the people of Eneri Clare to adapt to new fighting styles that could save everyone. There are also many other characters in this book, but since there’re a lot, I’ll name a few key ones. Tashroth the Dragon is like a mentor to Jorelial Rey as Master Xaarus is a mentor to Tvrdik. Tashroth wishes to protect Rey, but also wants to help her and Tvrdik win the battle. He is also very wise and understands the hearts of people with his own gaze of his eyes. Another character who plays an important role in the story is Jorelial’s sister, Delphine. She helps Tvrdik come out his shell after isolating himself from society for such a long time. She also has a relationship with Mark, a musical bard, and they get married in the story. One last character who I felt could have a little more backstory is the main antagonist Lord Drogue. Lord Drogue, after being denied power from the Royal Court, and has an ambition for power, desires to bring a bloody war to take the throne of Eneri Clare. My one problem with his character is that he doesn’t have much personality. Seeing how all the other characters are very interesting and unique, it’s disappointing to see the main villain being very typical. He’s cruel, psychotic, and over-confident, but I feel we could learn so much more about him. Why he acts like this? What drove him to act like this? How does he act around other people without killing them? There is only a brief backstory with him having family issues, and learning of a dark truth about the kingdom, but it doesn’t really support the reasons why he does all the bad things he does. Maybe his character was to symbolize the violent side of war, which would be fine compared to this story, but in my opinion, seeing how all of the other characters have so much personality, I hoped to see a bit more personality with the main villain of the story. An example of a good tragic villain could be Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos seeks to destroy half a humanity, and while it seems very wrong and evil, he has personal experience to support his belief and has a driven goal that what he’s doing is the right thing. They show us the viewer actual examples of Thanos’s experiences, and you can see why he would do all of this. They also show Thanos being merciful to some people, and even caring about some people. This makes Thanos more than just a cruel villain, but a tragic villain blinded by his own traumatizing experience, seeking to bring his version of peace to the universe. Lord Drogue has none of this, and maybe his character was to show how cruel the villain could be, but without a good reason, violence is just violence, and that could get disappointing at times, seeing how many villains act like this. Besides from that, the characters in the story are very interesting, and they all have unique personalities.

Now one problem that a person could find in this book, is that it can be too long and too much information is being given. The amount of detail in this book nearly explains every single thing a character is doing, and while I enjoyed it because it amerces you in the world, I could understand why another person could get tired of it. The amount of stuff the characters are doing on the side, could make a reader wonder if they actually care about this life-changing war that is coming.  I believe this extra stuff the characters do, is to help explain the characters more, and to help them develop more as a person or magical beast in order to face the upcoming battle.

The other reason that makes the book really good is the Moral of the Story, and I believe it’s a really good moral. A quote on the back of the book helps explain this moral. “This is a story about finding a new way to fight for what is precious, an adventure filled with second chances, surprise twists, and, above all, the power of hope, fellowship, and love, to move mountains”- April L. Lindevald. The main idea of the story is finding peaceful solutions to a conflict to avoid violence. This really interests me, because out of all the books and movies that support a violent approach in winning a war, this one takes it at a different route, and a very interesting one also. Now when I say peaceful solutions, I don’t mean pacificism or accommodation to the usurper. It means finding alternate ways of fighting without killing anyone. Now this brings up a lot of questions. How can no one die in a war that is still being fought? In the story, with intellect, preparations, working together, showing effort, and a sprinkling of magic, the main characters can fight back peacefully. The moral can show us that taking the violent approach to fix a situation isn’t always the answer and finding a new alternative solution to fix the situation without violence, can be a benefit to all. Just like with Lord Drogue, violence is just violence, and fighting it with more violence, will just lead to more violence. But using this new alternative way of fighting for what is right, the main characters have a chance against the usurper. The moral of the story is very good and has a lot of meanings to it.

In conclusion, The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare is an amazing book. It has an intriguing story, fun and interesting characters, and a moral that could be embraced in many ways. The reader learns a way of fighting without violence, and still being able to stand up for themselves, while also bringing peace to all. Sure, the story might be too long for some, but a good story will always be a classic. I would highly recommend getting this book. It’s available for purchase on Amazon for only $20 in a Paperback Form. The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare is a Classic, due to its story, characters, and a moral that shows us how to bring peace to all.