Seekerby William Nicholson
Publishers Weekly
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Nicholson (the Wind on Fire trilogy) begins his massive tale, the launch title of the Noble Warriors series, with a creation myth of sorts, introducing an abandoned baby that is adopted by a warrior and becomes "one god with the many names: the Wise Father, the Loving Mother, the Lost Child, the Quiet Watcher, the All and Only." In time, a fortress called the Nom is built to shelter the child, his protectors are known as the Noble Warriors or Nomana. As the empire of Radiance decides to wage war against Nom's homeland of Anacrea, three different people are drawn to Nom to join the fight: 16-year-old Seeker, who follows his brother into the ranks; Morning Star, who follows her mother; and the Wildman ("They called him the Wildman because he had been known to kill those who did not delight him, and it did not delight him to be unloved"). The soldiers of Radiance emerge as ruthlessly single-minded: when one of their scientists invents a way to turn blood into an explosive (its trigger: any shallow cut), an eery parallel to today's suicide bombers begins to unfold. As with his previous trilogy, screenwriter Nicholson (Gladiator) shows his skill at constructing a fantasy realm, lacing his narrative with customs and norms that give the land of Anacrea a palpable feel. His Noble Warriors and their moral code are particularly intriguing, and the book concludes with a terrific set-up for volume two. Ages 12-up. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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School Library Journal
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Gr 7 Up–The Noble Warriors (Nomana) are dedicated to protecting the All and Only god who, according to prophecy, will be killed by the Assassin. Once a year, pilgrims are allowed on the island of Anacrea and accepted into the Nomana. Seeker after Truth, 16, has wanted to join the Noble Warriors all of his life even though his father is intent on him being a scholar. When he enters an open door into the monastery, he sees his brother being publicly humiliated and cast out of the Nomana. Soon two pilgrims arrive who will change Seekerâ??s life forever: Morning Star, who can sense a personâ??s colors and interpret what they mean, and The Wildman, a spiker (outlaw) who is looking for power and peace. After all three teenagers are rejected by the Nomana, Seeker formulates a plan to ensure their acceptance. Written in the same style as Christopher Paoliniâ??s Eragon (Knopf, 2003) and Terry Brooksâ??s The Sword of Shannara (Ballantine, 1983), the quest itself will form the characters into the people they were always meant to be. A novel of friendship, loyalty, and accomplishment, Seeker will draw readers into the conflict between believing with the eyes or with the heart.–June H. Keuhn, Corning East High School, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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BookList
: From BookList, , 2006, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission. : Gr. 6-9. If one were to categorize fantasies with respect to religion, Nicholson's first entry in his new Noble Warriors series would side with C. S. Lewis, not Philip Pullman: its 16-year-old hero vows to protect his compassionate, monotheistic religion from destruction, even as his rejection by its exclusive sect of warrior-monks tests his faith. Seeker's quest brings him to the culturally distinct city of Radiance, where evildoers plot to send a suicide bomber into the Noble Warriors' stronghold. Tight plotting and numerous perspectives, including those of a devout shepherd girl, a not-quite-reformed bandit, and Seeker's elder brother (a shamefully defrocked Noble Warrior), lend the novel a cinematic breadth perfectly consistent with Nicholson's background as a Hollywood screenplay writer. Less appealing is the often heavy-handed moralizing, particularly apparent in the portrayal of Radiance's mercenary citizens, who offer human sacrifices to prove their wealth and status. All the same, readers with a strong belief in their own god may welcome a novel that depicts such unswerving devotion in young people, and fans of Nicholson's Wind Singer trilogy will find many of its same attractions reincarnated here.
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