Finalist: 2014 The Wishing shelf Book Awards, Young Adult Category
A young adult fantasy-romance-drama series full of the kind of zombie-filled action that will keep you turning pages and up late at night. Perfect for middle schoolers, young adults and adults who love magic, magicians, wizards, swords and sorcery. The book is full of drama and comedy, and is the prelude to an intense romantic drama in the following books of the series.
Bel, a graduate from the Academy of Arts and Magic, takes the final vow of celibacy, sacrificing his love for Shireen, in order to be an apprentice. After that traumatic experience, Bel attempts to start his new life as an apprentice under a salty, old, wise-cracking wizard name Nes'egrinon.
Immediately they are thrust into an adventure when a tear in reality rips open allowing the dead to spill out of the underworld. Bel and his master must journey under the shadow of darkness to try to discover how the fabric of reality has been rent, tearing open a gateway to the underworld and allowing the zombie horde to walk among the living. Who did it and why? Was it intentional? Can they defeat them? Can they close the rift? Can a teenager learning the ways of magic and an ancient archmage long past his prime stop the darkness, close the breach and save all reality?
Laced with signature Cardona humor … hard choices to be made… and a few handy life's lessons … at the sharp end of the bloodthirsty undead hordes' teeth, which certainly keeps his motivation and the overall pace of the book at a rollicking clip. …A most worthwhile read.
Marc Secchia, author of The Pygmy Dragon and the Shapeshifter Dragons series
A different take on magic, complete with valuable life lessons, Christian principles, and a good dose of humor! A thoroughly entertaining read sure to please middle graders!
Kirsten Jany, author of Enter to Win
Avert a war. Find love. Discover magic.
Will Bel and Shireen sort out their relationship before it destroys them?
Bel, a wizard’s apprentice, accompanies his master to the capital city to help negotiate a truce between warring kingdoms, but he finds much more than he bargained for. Shireen, Bel’s long lost love, is there and their romance is quickly rekindled. There’s only one problem with that though--magicians are to remain celibate under penalty of excommunication. It is the trade that every wizard must make; to join the royal priesthood and become a magician one must forsake all relationships and sacrifice love to gain knowledge. Are they strong enough to give each other up once again?
The Dragon’s Castle was fantastic. His unique settings and the way he works with the Wizard archetype make him a must read in this genre. 5 Stars!
A.N. Meade—Author of Marked
The Worthy Apprentice (Coming 2016)
After the strange and fascinating events that transpired at Sha'mont, Bel and Shireen are sent to the Worthy Apprentice Trials to investigate and discover how far the avian plot extends. It is really nice to meet up with all their old classmates from the University of Arts and Magic. Until people start dying.
The Worthy Apprentice is a fantasy murder mystery mixed in with a daring heist.
Can Bel and Shireen continue to hide their love in front of the people who know them best? Can they stop the murderer before it's too late? Can they foil the avian plot before they steal the relic?