by Shami Stoval

Academy Archanist
Mimic Archanist
Abyssal Archanist
Death Lord Archanist

A young man goes off to a mystical school, where he meets an eclectic group of friends, and encounters an evil overload…  Sound familiar?   One could easily hear a brief description of the Astra Acamedy series by Shami Stoval, and think that this is a road that has already been tread.  However, if one were to dismiss these books because of a surface-level similarity to a very popular movie and film franchise, you’d be missing something both wonderful and different.

The protagonist of the books, Gray Lexly is the son of a chandler (candle maker).  Gray is tormented by dreams that cause him physical harm.   During one of these dreams, he meets the kindly Professor Helmith, who protects him and eventually invites him to attend Astra Academy,  a school for archanists,  their world’s version of a wizard or magic-user.

Gray is an interesting point-of-view character because he does not come across as likable.  He’s constantly exaggerating, stretching the truth, and outright lying – even when there’s no cause to do so.  He is also slightly narcissistic, thinking that everything is his fault or responsibility.    This might be off-putting to some readers, but when I think back on my worldview from my late teens, I realized how well Ms. Stoval captured the inner workings of many a young person at that age.

I instantly fell in love with all the characters, from Gray’s kindly twin brother Sorin, to Gray’s rival and eventual love interest Ashlyn, and most of all Sorin’s eventual sweetheart Nini Wonderlin.  All of the characters are well-written, and most are likable.

As wonderful as all these elements are, the books shine when Ms. Stoval introduces her universe’s cosmology.   Her portrayal of the Abbysal Hells–the place where souls go to be reborn, is fascinating and well done.  Creating an interesting take that has the air of mythology, as if someone were reading from some ancient faith while tying into the plot of the main book, and explaining how magic works in the world.

This series of books is for anyone who enjoys an interesting and different take on magic, young-adult adventure, or YA books.  I recommend these books to anyone ages 12 and up.

The Spaceman gives this 4.5 rocket ships.