Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight by Daniel Fife
This is the revised second edition, edited by Dennis De Rose and republished in 2013. Danny Firoth is a middle school student in the 8th grade, struggling with the common stressors plaguing a boy of his age: bullies, homework and his mother. Sabrina Drake, the new girl, is beautiful but she harbors a fantastic secret….
This is the revised second edition, edited by Dennis De Rose and republished in 2013. Danny Firoth is a middle school student in the 8th grade, struggling with the common stressors plaguing a boy of his age: bullies, homework and his mother. Sabrina Drake, the new girl, is beautiful but she harbors a fantastic secret. “You’re… You’re a dragon!” Danny exclaims at the beginning of their epic journey. “I am a drake,” Sabrina corrects him, after a fierce battle with an ancient Shadow. Danny learns that a simple card game, designed to pit the forces of the Light against those of the Dark, is more than simply a game. Accepted into a school for young Squires, destined to become Knights of the Light and battle the forces of the Dark with magical weapons called Bondeds, Danny and his friends are trained in the techniques of blade work and educated by a colorful assortment of professors. But there is a traitor in the Order of Light, and now Danny and his friends must use their new powers to try and save themselves and each other.
” A good story”
Five Star Review on Amazon By A Customer
Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight follows the eventful life of thirteen-year-old Danny Firoth and his friends as their world is turned upside-down by the sudden realization that creature of myth might not be so mythical after-all. After a slow start the book moves along at a nice clip. An interesting assortment of characters pepper the pages, some of them more sympathetic than others. I was particularly fond of Calador and Chris, but had little attachment to Doug or Matt. The perpetrator of the sinister plot isn’t too hard to guess, but neither is he/she so obvious as to make finishing the book obsolete. There is just enough misdirection to make you doubt yourself. The writing is generally crisp and easy to follow. My only complaint is Fife’s REPEATED use of the same phrases, most notably “for but a moment,” “did as bid,” and “kept his council.” There are a couple other ones that show up too often for the repetition to go unnoticed, but they weren’t as quite as frequent.
Be forewarned though, this is apparently the first in a series. Unless I know before starting that a book is part of a series I’m always a little disappointed to reach the end of it only to discover it isn’t actually the end of the story. The book is already 312 pages long, so I understand why it had to be broken up and though threads are left open for continuation it isn’t too much of a cliffhanger. I’d definitely be interested in seeing where Fife goes with it. I would consider this middle grade or lower young adult, but I enjoyed it all the same.
About the Author
Daniel M. Fife was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 27, 1978. He began writing Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight during his years as a graduate student at Ball State University under the major of Counseling Psychology. What began as a simple hobby quickly turned into something more as he found a passion for writing. While carrying the schedule of a full-time student as well as working a part-time job, he devoted himself to write at least one page a day. After graduating in 2007, he received the opportunity to begin practicing psychology as a counselor at a local private practice the very same year. His devotion to writing did not waiver. Working a full time schedule and maintaining a full complement of clients, he maintained his dedication. A year or so later, he completed the rough draft of Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight and began the editing process, before finally publishing the final draft in 2012.