The Druid (The Dawning of Muirwood Book 1)

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The Druid, Mordaunt, is a crotchety old man, but Eilean can't help but warm up to him, b/c he is so wise and begins teaching her things she wants know, like how to improve herself so that one day, she can hopefully become a lady's maid, working her way up in the world. How did Mordaunt know what she wanted? How does he know about her attraction to a fellow wretched from the previous abbey? And, who exactly performed a miracle in Eilean's circle of friends: the Aldermaston who supposedly has the gift of the Medium, or... the Druid? Which side in this struggle of religions will Eilean choose? Never one to be short on ideas, Jeff Wheeler further perfected his craft through storytelling during games of Dungeons and Dragons during high school. Inventing stories to bring these games alive, Jeff would engross his friends and family members as they played the fantasy game. I can not wait to see what happens between these new MC's. Unfortunately, I know what eventually happens in this story (remember, this IS a prequel), but that does not take away from what I want to know about these characters that I have come to know and have become invested in.

I was given a free copy of The Druid by Jeff Wheeler (author), 47North (publisher) and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The Druid is the first book in the the Dawning of Muirwood Series. The Druid was published on May 1, 2022. A few years ago I was obsessed with everything Wheeler wrote, I consumed the Kingsfountain series and the Muirwood series in just a couple of months. And then I tried to read some of the rest of his other series and I was never able to really get into the rest of his books. So when I heard about a prequel to Muirwood I figured this would be perfect. And while I did read it in just a few hours I still didn't feel that connection I did with the earlier books. I still enjoyed it but I didn't get that OMG I'm in for a treat, feeling I did with some of his other books.For many readers, such a choice of style would be welcome and perhaps even expected. My familiarity with Jeff's prior works trained me not to expect such words to be written out, except in the activation of certain rare magical items. Magic, most of the time, in the world of Muirwood is performative, not merely vocalized. The change here, common in more traditional fantasy novels, is not a style I am as enamoured of and largely accounts (together with early pacing) for my four star review.

It was Goodreads that provoked me to give this book a try. I saw the opinion of a reader who I've agreed with about a few books in the past give it high marks so I thought I'd give it a chance. Indeed, I’m wondering if Wheeler actually spoke about Eilean in an earlier series (not by name), but I guess I’ll have to wait for “The Betrayed” to find out. Other than that, it had and interesting magic system that felt religious but wasn't at the first glance. There's still a lot we don't know that will likely be covered in the next books. Also the Captain! Keeping my eye on him.There are some religious undertones of the story that people may not like, but the story is based around a certain time period that had a lot of religious conflict, so the story reflects that same feeling. Wheeler’s stories are a great palate cleanser and an excellent light read that will draw you in further and further into the story until you realize you’ve read 20+ books in the series and wish there were more. Technology once again became a huge part of Jeff’s life as after two years spent on a church mission he returned to the Bay Area to work as a temp at computer giant Intel. Despite his day job Jeff continued his writing and wrote and rewrote Landmoor, a book he would later go on to publish, six times during these early years. Landmoor is a fantasy journey novel about Shae from Avisahn who needs to protect his homeland. The story was inspired by the tales he told during those early games of Dungeons and Dragons. It was during the writing of this novel that he really began to develop his skills as a writer.

Wheeler also rewards longtime readers of his books by sprinkling Easter eggs throughout that touch on places, people and things from his earlier series. For instance, at the end of “The Druid,” Eilean finds a sword and a scabbard engraved with a raven that would be familiar to anyone who has read the first “Kingfountain” trilogy or the later “First Argentine” series. I did want to mention that I listened to this on audio (well, I alternated between listening and reading) but the narrator was Kate Rudd who has been a consistent voice throughout the series and I was completely okay with that. Mr. Wheeler does a great job of building a strong female lead in Eilean, who is intelligent and resourceful. The one thing I know I can always count on is good character development from his stories. His characters always take major growth during each book and the series as a whole. There are many other characters that are introduced that will also play a big role in this and previous books, some of those didn’t really get the same treatment of development that Eilean did, but the ground work is there for it to happen later in the series. Anyway anyway, I like the new characters although Eilean seems flatter than some of the others. I love Mordaunt and Nostradamus provides an interesting interlude character. The threads are already being laid for the time in the future when women and wretcheds aren't allowed to learn. It would be interesting to read all of these chronologically again at some point. I also really liked how platonic relationships were depicted! The main character (literally don't know how to spell her name since I listen to the audiobook) and her best friend had a great bond. Neither gave up or neglected each other in pursuit of crushes, as one might see in some fantasy books with a seventeen year old protagonist.As someone who is not religious, it's a testament to the story that my heart still feels happy that the Aldermaston reconnected with the Medium. Watching that mini character arc through the interludes was one of the best parts of the story. July 9, 2022: Started reading The Druid – Wheeler’s 2022 publication – a part of his Muirwood series – OK, good world building, good character development, nothing special but I like his writing, a good solid 3 star book. There's a fair amount of world-building with lore & vocabulary to process - it does make it feel a little tedious at times because it requires more focus, but by 15% I was pretty solidly engaged for the duration. Jeff’s third series on 47North is called Kingfountain. It is set in a completely new world and follows the young protagonist throughout the three books as he grows up from a boy into a man. The continued popularity of Jeff and his books was proven as he entered the Wall Street Journal book charts and the second book in the series gained his highest reader rating of any books published at that point. In a sense as her learning increases & her understanding of her world grows, she correspondingly develops in power - with a little help from her friends, so to speak.

At every step, Eilean, Celyn and Stright are hunted by Captain Hoel Evnissyen, and others, seeking to thwart Eilean and snatch the ancient tome she carries. This read like a not super traditional trad gorl fantasy... but written by a man. I was honestly impressed by how Wheeler managed to write a female protagonist that felt authentic and true. Not one of those women who serve the male gaze. Her growth is very obvious by the end, if compared to where her character started at the beginning. That's not to say she's always doing what we as the reader would agree with. But the growth! This is the second book in the new trilogy (that is a prequel) to the entire Muirwood series...and actually everything that follows that. At this point, all we know is that Eilean has been tasked with making friends with the prisoner Mourdant and she has done that. The information that she has learned, and the fact that she no longer believes what she had previously been told are extremely important as we move forward. I’ll admit, there is little I enjoy more than losing myself in a fantasy story of Jeff Wheeler’s making. They are just lovely to read, flow easily and ultimately uplift, even when the plot lines are dark and dangerous. This book has a strong start, it keeps the reader interested and pushes through, in the middle and then it ends without an ellipsis instead of an ending. Wheeler doesn't respect the reader enough to give them the satisfaction of an ending. Instead, the third act includes a minor quest, a minor victory and sets the stage for the next book.A young woman’s burgeoning powers make her Muirwood’s most wanted in a breathtaking novel by Jeff Wheeler, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Druid.