Monday, August 29, 2011

Wayfarer by R.J. Anderson

Linden must be a hero(ine). Her people, the faeries in the oak, are dying. Magic is scarce. Her quest is to save her people lands her with an unusual ally, a human teenager named Timothy. Together they discover not the saving of the faeries but another threat. The faeries outside the oak serve an evil empress and drain humans of their creative gifts. Can Linden and Timothy find help for the oak faeries before the empress seeks to destroy them?

What I thought: I liked Wayfarer, but not as much as Spell Hunter. Set 15 years after the end of Spell Hunter, Wayfarer features Knife's (now known as Peri) daughter Linden as protagonist. Despite all efforts to sustain, strengthen, or save the oak, it and its inhabitants are dying. Charged by both her previous and current queens, Linden is the only hope the faeries have left.

This book introduces some great new ideas--other faeries, male faeries (Hello, Rob!). I like that Anderson doesn't stick to the same story--faery girl and human boy. Linden and Timothy are really just friends. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book, Arrow (It was released in the UK on January 6. Not sure when it will be released in the US or what the US title will be.) Wayfarer, as it takes place so long after the close of Spell Hunter, reads more like a standalone novel than a sequel.

(Harper Teen, 2010)

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