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Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite
Book One of Maggie Kirton’s Sagaman Kessler Series is titled The Boy Will Fight. It is perhaps one of the most sublime fantasy adventures out there. The story has a unique premise, as it hinges on a bond between dragons and mortals. Narrating the story is the main protagonist, Kessler, the son of a mortal father and a Fae mother. Fighting the Leri horde is the only thing he is good at. In the aftermath of a battle where he stands with his sword dripping with the blood of his enemies, he meets Shai, a war child. Ilona, Kessler’s dragon, breaks her bond with Kessler by taking a spear that is meant for him. The dragon-mortal bond stipulates that if one dies, the other will perish from grief within the span of two moons. Before taking her last breath, Ilona tells Kessler that she has a child who will rise before two moons have passed. Aside from bringing the substance of Ilona’s soul back to her father, Kessler will search for Ilona’s child. But a dragon can only bond with one mortal at a time. As Shai has taken the weight of Kessler’s sorrow on Ilona’s death, whoever between them that Ilona’s child will choose to bond with means the other will die from grief.
The Boy Will Fight has a promising young hero, actually, two promising young heroes where one has proven himself formidable in battle while the other will come of age. Maggie Kirton doesn’t just give you sword fights but also provides a strong emotional aspect to the plot. It may seem unfair to develop a supernatural bond that, when broken, can end the lives of both dragon and mortal. But that is part of the beauty of the storyline. Grief and profound loss are rarely the focus of high fantasy adventures, and it similarly puts the emphasis on how a quest transforms the main character into something wiser. Kessler may be a tried and tested warrior, but deep within he is still a boy-child of the Fae. Kirton has made it possible to dramatize an endless battle effectively by showing internal conflicts within her characters. You will feel its heart and soul as you read along. I guarantee it.
