It is a coming of age story and much of the narrative follows Aeden's training to become a Marshall at a military Academy. In the very heart of these stirrings, Aedan encounters that which defies belief, leaving him speechless with terror - and wonder.ĭawn of Wonder is many things that regular readers of the fantasy genre will both recognise and enjoy.

Fearful travellers whisper of an ancient power breathing over Thirna, changing it, waking it. Something is stirring in the land, something more ominous than the rising threat of hostile nations. But this is only the beginning of his discoveries.

The events that follow propel Aedan on a journey that only the foolhardy or desperate would risk, leading him to the gates of the nation's royal academy - a whole world of secrets in itself. But for Aedan, a scruffy young adventurer with veins full of fire and a head full of ideas, this officer is not what he seems. It's epic fantasy, but epic fantasy with a difference as this is more fantasy in the Robin Hobb and Patrick Rothfuss mould, where the 'hero' is not all-perfect and highly skilled at everything they set their mind too, Renshaw's hero Aedan is intelligent and talented, yes, but he is also flawed, emotionally damaged by his childhood and those scars shape his present and future life.īut first, before the review, a synopsis to whet the appetite: When a high-ranking officer gallops into the quiet Mistyvales, he brings a warning that shakes the countryfolk to their roots. Dawn of Wonder is, at 710 pages, a big book and one that is undeniably a labour of love for its author Jonathan Renshaw.

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