Blog Tour Review: Rise of the Fire Tamer by Kailin Gow

Rise of the Fire Tamer by Kailin Gow.
Ebook, 234 pages.
Published June 14, 2010.
Published by The Edge.
Source: Received from the author for the tour.

Goodreads Summary:
After winning a contest for a popular game called Wordwick Games, five teens - Gemma, Sparks, Rio, Kat, and Jack, are invited to stay at Wordwick Games inventor Henry Word's mysterious castle and play the newest level of Workwick Games. Little do they know, the castle is the doorway to a wondrous world call Anachronia where words can be used as weapons, power, and commodity.There is unrest in Anachronia, and if the five teens can follow the rules of Wordwick Games and prove to be the best player, one of them will be crowned Ruler of Anachronia.


My Review:
With a summary like that, I couldn't not sign up for this blog tour! I think every book lover understands that words really do hold power, so when this book promised words used as actual weapons I was instantly intrigued. It definitely sounded promising and for the most part, I felt it lived up to that.

The plot started out slowly, although I did like the prologue and its intro to all the characters. Once the teens finally entered Anachronia though, I felt drawn in to the story and thought the pacing was well done. The story was quite original and I really did end up enjoying how the words had very literal uses and powers in the game world. I also really appreciated the way it was written. Because it was so word-based, the language was intelligent. It occasionally felt like a little much for a group of teens, but at the same time, they were chosen because of their excellence at the game, so it does make sense.

For the most part I enjoyed the characters. I was worried at first that I wasn't going to remember them all, but Kailin's characterization and use of well-known stereotypes helped me keep them all straight. It was interesting because some characters, especially the boys, really fell into the stereotypes. Jack is the shy, quiet, smart guy; Sparks the confident jock who likes the cheerleader; and Rio is the bad boy. Even Kat was fairly stereotypical in that she is the girl who goes goth as a rebellion against her parents and is the one to walk away from the group. For this reason, I liked Gem most of all the characters. She is the one who really broke stereotype because she is a pretty cheerleader but is actually kind, very clever, and great with words (which is clearly a bonus when words are like magic spells!). Since she is my favourite, I enjoyed the way the narration was set up, with most from Gem's perspective and a small wrap-up from each other character at the end of the chapters.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read with some exciting twists to the story and a very intriguing ending. I will definitely have to take the time to read the next two books in the series to see what happens to the teens and to Anachronia!

3.5 stars!

Special thanks to Kathy at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer for organizing this tour!