Title: The Spirits of Shadowfire: The Spirit Within
Author: P.I. Fagoras
Publisher: AuthorhouseUK
ISBN: 9781420867572
Pages: 182
Genre: Fantasy
Reviewed by: Jennifer Weiss
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Long ago a prophecy foretold of children being born who would be able to help protect the world from the evil of darkness. Irises the Sleeping Tiger is charged with guiding the TJ and Jessica and helping them find their calling in this world as they prepare for the inevitable battle. Abrath the Usurper builds his plan to attack the solar system. The children must prepare themselves for the battle to come and use their knowledge to be victorious over their foes. They learn how to apply their lessons into life situations and work as a team to hopefully put an end to Abrath’s plans.
From the beginning of the novel it is evident that The Spirits of Shadowfire is geared towards younger readers. It is simplistic and easy to understand. A wonderful surprise is how much the book relies on mathematics, which could easily spark an interest in the field as children may want to become intelligent and resourceful as the main characters. It touches on a variety of moral lessons woven in with humor and excitement. The actions scenes are done in a way that is exciting and draws the readers farther into the story. It is easy to see how children of all ages could quickly fall in love with this book and become eager to find out what will happen in the next book.
Readers become engrossed into the story as they become captivated and eager to hear stories about Abrath, a wonderful way to introduce the antagonist without him being in the story yet. Readers already have an aversion to him based on Irises experiences with the man. This is the kind of story that when you put it down, you cannot help but think about it and wonder what will happen when you pick it back up. The author does not rely on the over-use of jargon and terminology that is hard to understand, everything is presented in a way that all readers will be able to enjoy regardless of age. A fantastic touch to the story is the protagonists are both male and female. Too often young reader stories focus on one gender being the hero; here we have both working together. Readers see the characters relying on each other’s strengths as well as their weaknesses. While they are strong as individuals they are strongest together and the story seems to build on that idea as well as them using their intelligence.
The Spirits of Shadowfire is a great novel to entice young readers not only into reading, but also science, physics, and mathematics in their own ways. I highly encourage parents and teacher to read this with children and discuss some of the ideas presented within. This book is classified as fantasy, but there are also science fiction elements mixed in with the fantasy elements, making for an amazing read. It is a book everyone would love reading and should be added to any growing bookshelf. I recommend this to anyone looking for a good read.
