Time for a book review! I recently finished reading Dynamicist by Lee Hunt, the first book of the Dynamicist trilogy. The review will be my own thoughts and feelings on the book. If you are interested in reading other reviews or learning more about the book series then check out Lee Hunt's website.
My plan is to keep this review spoiler free so that all can enjoy this book series.
Overall the book had an interesting feel. While being considered fantasy, it felt more real world, compared to the fantasy seen in Tolkien or Brandon Sanderson. It is an age of new inventions and discovery and is reminiscent of the start of the industrial revolution in our world history. But not all is well and the discord that is shown in the book mirrors issues in our current society making the world setting for the story feel real.
The characters are also very relatable, I myself see a lot of myself in the main character and resonate with him, and the many others in the book feel like real people each with strengths and flaws and development.
The story of the main character follows a common coming of age story, where he is off onto a new chapter of his life along all the growth that comes with that. The idea of learning who you are and what you can do to change the world is a strong theme that is easy to connect with.
I was interested by the traumatic event that occurs mid-book. It is dark and adult in nature, and not something I would have expected to be addressed in a fantasy setting. But Lee uses this event to not only do something drastic and different, but also have the characters bond and grow from the event. I admit I had mixed feelings about including something of this nature in the story, but seeing how the characters and story grew from it was interesting and gave me something to think about and reflect upon in my own life.
The themes of science, invention, and mathematics are strong throughout the story, though one thing I love is that you don't need to be a scientist or mathematician to understand the concepts. You will learn as the main character learns and it's written in a way that makes it understandable. Don't worry, there's no equations or test for you as the reader.
By the end of the story I felt connected to the characters and invested in the world. I wanted to know what would happen next and jumped into Herald, the second book of the series, right away. I recommend this book for anyone who has a love of fantasy and/or science and math. Come journey into a new world where life, death, creation, and invention are all connected. Come change the world for better or perhaps for the worse.
Thanks for reading!
Attentea Danaxam
