* I read this as it's an #SPFBO entry for 2019 and I am a judge *

This book was a fun one actually, more so than I imagined it would be when I started it. I think the cover of this one made me think it was going to be more horror than fantasy, but actually I would say this falls thoroughly in the realm of high fantasy with lots of magic and a lot of crazy Star-Children roaming the world.

We pick up the story following our main character, Finn. Finn is a miner and a slave, he has overseers who force him to constantly work, and he has no real aspirations as he knows that the mine is his destiny. That is, until a new boy called Goblin joins up, and he becomes Finn's first friend.
This is certainly a coming-of-age story at first, with Finn and Goblin trying to find their way in a world which is much more vast and troubled than either of them knew. When Finn finds a magical bracer which offers him powers he'd never even dreamed of things change even more...

What I like about this is the coming-of-age story. I have a soft spot for stories of young people overcoming hideous lives and escaping into magic, and this book does exactly that. I also have to say that the magical powers of this world are a lot of fun and some are quite unique too.

The book follows the journey of Finn but as we go we do interact with other characters and some higher-up who are forming a resistance to the evil that seems to be creeping across the land in the form of rogue Star-Children. I liked seeing this wider picture, and I do believe I would want to know what happens next so I would quite happily read book #2 which I think is out already.

Definitely if you like the idea of big mecha-magical suits and powers you never dreamed of then this is a book well worth a read. 4*s from me :)

Interesting read. An intriguing idea and setting but some things in my opinion needed a bit more work. Still I'll pick up the second book to see how things develop.

This was a difficult one to rate. I settled on 2.5 stars because of the briliant naration by Ralph Lister. The ending was sadly unsatisfying, the cliffhanger somewhat anticlimactic. I definitely liked the concept of this world, as well as the premiss. I may be picking up the second book, but I probably won't be in a hurry to do so.

Pretty good, a bit slow in the middle but it’s bearable.

Hohmann has created a rich an interesting world that answers the question, "What if there were superheroes in a world of sword and sorcery?" Imagine The Avengers, only in a world of fantasy. The main character, Finn SunRider, (the Peter Parker of this world, if you will) embarks on a quest to become a hero. But he starts out first learning to become a friend. And that is one of my favorite parts about this story; the theme of friendship. Ignore what other reviewers have said about the relationship between Finn and Goblin. The author does a great job of bringing these two misfits together and he does a good job of explaining why these two have such an endearing friendship. I would recommend this book to readers of all ages who enjoy superheroes and fantasy.