Tris also happens to be the mage-heir of a powerful sorceress and must learn to harness his abilities in order to defeat his enemies, which include Jared Drayke and his advisor, the vayash moru sorcerer Foor Arontala. Speaking of which, talk about clichés – you’ve got the protagonist Martris “Tris” Drayke, a Prince of Margolan who is the exact opposite of his cruel half-brother Jared. As far as the actual story, no need for a scorecard here since everything that happens in “ The Summoner” is readily familiar and easy to predict from the many dire situations that the heroes find themselves in to their inevitable triumphs and the obvious budding romances between certain characters. And if you’re thinking that with necromancers, vampires and other horror-influenced elements that “ The Summoner” must be of a darker variety then think again since the tone of the book is very PG-13, with a noted lack of graphic violence, deaths of major characters and a surprisingly uplifting ending despite the perilous circumstances. About the only aspects of the book that you could call distinctive are the presence of vampires and the ability to summon/dispel spirits, but even these ideas are not unique.

Basically, “ The Summoner” is a formulaic, by-the-numbers sword and sorcery adventure that utilizes a number of familiar fantasy tropes, including a coup staged by a wicked prince and his sorcerer advisor, haunted inns/wells/forests, traveling caravans, bandits, oracles, slavers, magical amulets & swords, secret mystical cabals and a quest to prevent an ancient evil from being resurrected in the world. Martin’s debut doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. Martin.Īs a launch title, you would expect “ The Summoner” to be somewhat special, but truthfully Gail Z.

For Solaris Books, which debuted in February 2007, the novel that represented the ‘fantasy’ side of their launch was “ The Summoner” Book One of the Chronicles of the Necromancer by newcomer Gail Z.

The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin