The Enchanter Heir (Heir Chronicles, The) (The Heir Chronicles, 4)
Hardcover – October 22, 2013
Description
From School Library Journal Gr 7 Up—The fourth installment to Chima's "Heir Chronicles" centers around two teens, Jonah Kinlock and Emma Greenwood. Ten years earlier, a massacre killed off all adults, leaving just child survivors known as savants, who are mutants endowed with skills that, once brought under control, can be used in ways to contribute to the survival of the community. Many of the them, however, require heavy medication and rarely live to adulthood. Those that die turn into shades, zombielike creatures that retain the memories of their past life and inhabit dead bodies. Jonah is a talented musician, enchanter, and trained assassin. His skin is poisonous and he can kill from a simple touch; his job is to rid the world of shades. Emma is also a talented musician, but unlike Jonah, she is not aware of her special abilities. The teens are star-crossed lovers with overwhelming obstacles blocking their paths. As Emma's world slowly converges with Jonah's, both of their lives spin into a chaotic downward spiral. Scattered with musical references throughout, the book also tackles serious themes of disability and discrimination. The cliff-hanger ending will leave readers restless for more. For those in need of a quick refresher, the author provides a series guide on her website.—Sabrina Carnesi, Crittenden Middle School, Newport News, VA From Booklist Someone is killing wizards and framing Nightshade, the secret organization whose job it is to track down undead souls and dispatch them. Jonah, a 17-year-old assassin for Nightshade, is also on the trail of wizard killers, but for a different reason: he wants to know who was behind the Thorn Hill disaster, where thousands of adult sorcerers and nearly as many children died. Meanwhile, teen musical genius Emma, in search of her sorcerer father, lands directly in Jonah’s path. He is smitten, but can he save her from those who think she knows the secret to Thorn Hill? There is plenty of background information in the interstices of this multifaceted narrative, but readers new to the Heir Chronicles series may occasionally have difficulty connecting all the dots. Intriguing plot and subplot teasers abound, and the book ends in a cliff-hanger that will have readers roaring for the next entry. Chima continues to excel at building tension and populating her well-told tales with new and returning characters we want to know better. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: It’s a big series with a big following. Author tour, book trailer, and more promise to keep the swords a-swinging. Grades 8-11. --Cindy Welch "A smoldering story soaked in tears, sweat and blood, constantly threatening to blaze into an inferno. Spellbinding."― Kirkus Reviews "The fourth installment to Chima’s “Heir Chronicles”....Scattered with musical references throughout, the book also tackles serious themes of disability and discrimination. The cliff-hanger ending will leave readers restless for more."― School Library Journal "Teens will be more than relieved when they can finally put their hands on this next, long-awaited entry in the Heir Chronicles series....The fighting and weaponry will have strong appeal for boys, while the musical references will appeal to any teen interested in crafting their own music, lyrics, or poetry. The surprise ending, with plenty of loose threads left hanging, will intrigue and frustrate fans who now must begin to wait all over again."― VOYA "Intriguing plot and subplot teasers abound, and the book ends in a cliffhanger that will have readers roaring for the next entry. Chima continues to excel at building tension and populating her well-told tales with new and returning characters we want to know better."― Booklist New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima grew up with talking animals and kick-butt Barbies. She began writing poetry and stories in third grade and novels in junior high school. These days she writes fantasy fiction for teens of all ages. Her Heir Chronicles contemporary fantasy series includes The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir, The Dragon Heir, The Enchanter Heir , and The Sorcerer Heir . Her high fantasy Seven Realms series launched with The Demon King , followed by The Exiled Queen, The Gray Wolf Throne , and The Crimson Crown ; she is also the author of the Shattered Realms series, including Flamecaster, Shadowcaster, Stormcaster , and Deathcaster , among other works. She lives in Ohio with her family, and invites you to visit her online at cindachima.com. Read more
Features & Highlights
- They called it the Thorn Hill Massacre—the brutal attack on a once-thriving Weir community. Though Jonah Kinlock lived through it, he did not emerge unscathed: like the other survivors Jonah possesses unique magical gifts that set him apart from members of the mainline guilds. At seventeen, Jonah has become the deadliest assassin in Nightshade, a network that hunts the undead. Emma Claire Greenwood grew up worlds away, raised by a grandfather who taught her music rather than magic. An unschooled wild child, she runs the streets until the night she finds her grandfather dying, gripping a note warning Emma that she might be in danger. The clue he leaves behind leads Emma into Jonah’s life—and a shared legacy of secrets and lingering questions. Was Thorn Hill really a peaceful commune? Or was it, as the Wizard Guild claims, a hotbed of underguild terrorists? The Wizards’ suspicions grow when members of the mainline guilds start turning up dead. They blame Nightshade, bringing tensions between the groups to a head.Racing against time, Jonah and Emma work to uncover the truth about Thorn Hill, amid increasing concern that whoever planned the Thorn Hill Massacre might strike again.
