Dawn of Wonder | The Wakening #1

The tall rider’s green military coat whipped and snapped around him as he leaned forward in the stirrups, head close to the horse’s plunging neck. In his fist, crushed against the reins, was a rolled sheet of paper. Anyone he passed by would have instantly read the look on his face. Please, let me not be too late!

Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw begins The Wakening series in a most spectacular fashion. Tragedy, betrayal, harrowing battles, and deep characters await the reader throughout the pages. Christian themes are woven throughout the story. And those ancient legends might be more real than people think…

Plot

There are some rare occasions when the plot of a book is so complex that the author-written blurb summarizes it far better than I ever could. This is one of those times.

When a high-ranking officer gallops into the quiet Mistyvales, he brings a warning that shakes the countryfolk to their roots. But for Aedan, a scruffy young adventurer with veins full of fire and a head full of ideas, this officer is not what he seems.
The events that follow propel Aedan on a journey that only the foolhardy or desperate would risk, leading him to the gates of the nation’s royal academy – a whole world of secrets in itself.
But this is only the beginning of his discoveries. Something is stirring in the land, something more ominous than the rising threat of hostile nations. Fearful travellers whisper of an ancient power breathing over Thirna, changing it, waking it. In the very heart of these stirrings, Aedan encounters that which defies belief, leaving him speechless with terror – and wonder.

Dawn of Wonder is long. Incredibly long. I can confidently guesstimate the word count at over 200,000. If you can’t visualize that, well, it’s over 700 pages.

And that’s really the only critique I have of this book; around the middle, the story slows far down from its breakneck opening and closing paces and spends much time developing the characters and world.

To clarify, at no point did it drag or get boring. But it is, as I said, incredibly long.

Characters

Aedan is an adventurer at heart with a mind for military tactics and feet for late-night incognito outings. He’s the star of this story. Fueled by a broken home and a tragic loss, his natural determined fire is bent on bringing justice to those taken advantage of.

But a crippling fear holds him back from real conflicts, one buried deep inside him that will not easily be overcome. And a cauldron of hate brews inside him, filled with thoughts of revenge against those that have wronged him, poisoning his countenance. It will take more than mortal help to deal with these.

The cast of Dawn of Wonder is so large that many a time I had to go back and remember who a certain minor character was. (But that is no criticism of the book; I did take a couple-week break about halfway through reading.)

Renshaw pulls a brave move by having many important, named characters die. While it does have its share of what I call “throwaway knights,” the author also includes the deaths of several prominent characters. Prepare to be quite depressed when reading this book.

Theme & Content Warnings

The theme of Aedan’s fear and hatred is not mentioned often, at least not until the end, but plays a crucial role in the story. He has obvious growth and change by the end, all rooted in a Biblical basis.

To my pleasant surprise, Renshaw is a Christian and includes strong Christian themes in this book. While only subtly hinted at first, the Ancient later takes center stage in influencing the theme. I suspect following books in the series will expand on this further.

Dawn of Wonder includes two rude words used a handful of times. It’s not profanity, and I have a suspicion they’re less offensive in the UK (the author’s homeland), but they are still there.

Natural to a fantasy novel, there are fights and violence, but it’s not gory. A burn wound is described in a medical class. Aedan and his group find human skeletons in the lair of a monster. The mentioned monster eats a few characters, but again, there is no gratuitous description.

The magic incorporated is more of a whimsical, natural magic, and not witchcraft. Some superpowers granted to a character come up at the very end, but are not expanded upon in this installment of the series.

Overall

Dawn of Wonder has become one of my favorite books, and I expect subsequent books in The Wakening series will only get better. Unfortunately, the second book is still in development after five years and does not show signs of soon completion. So I’ll have to sit over here in agonizing suspense as to what happens to Aedan next.

This story may not be for everyone, but if it sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend it. Your only regret will be that the series isn’t done yet.