Book Recommendation – The Cadet of Tildor

I like to consider myself a connoisseur of fantasy novels. I've literally read hundreds of fantasy novels that range from urban settings to medieval and magical worlds. Within each of these sub-genres, there are more books than I could read even if I devoted the rest of my life to trying to accomplish the task, though that doesn't seem like too bad of a way to go.

Invariably, we have to make reading decisions based upon popularity and reviews. Whether we would actually enjoy them or not, those that fall short of our arbitrary “pre-read” standards must fall by the wayside, while others that our friends rave about get the metaphorical nod. This is especially true in Young Adult literature, where I often want to cringe at the popularity of certain series that contain little to no literary merit and weep at the lack of attention a particularly enjoyable work receives.

This brings me to The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell, my fantasy book recommendation for this blog post and a novel that deserves more attention than it is receiving.

The summary: “having already survived six years at the Tildor’s top military academy, Sixteen-year-old Renee De Winter is determined to graduate, training day and night to compete with her male classmates. When the boys overpower her parries, she works harder.  When a bully sabotages her gear, she fights without it.  But when an underground crime group captures her mentor for its illegal gladiatorial games, she must choose between her career and her conscience.  Determined to penetrate the group’s inner circles, Renee will leap from academia to the crime filled streets, pick up a sword, and weigh law against loyalty.” (Taken from Lidell’s website)

The good: we have a strong, yet at times beat up, heroine who picks up a sword in order to defend her country and must make difficult moral choices regarding whether the lawful decision is actually the right decision. Add in a splash of magic, struggling familial relationships, and a little romance, and we have a pretty decent first novel.

The bad: we have some of characters that are not well developed, a few relationships that are assumed more than clarified, a magic system that is not fully explained, and no map of the country in which the characters live. The last two are just pet peeves of mine.

Anyway, it is very rare that YA fantasy literature deals with real world issues, especially when the main character is female. This alone makes this novel well worth the read in the midst of hundreds of other novels that simply are not.

Check it out in the teen section.

Daniel