Alaris is a kingdom separated from the rest of the world by a magical barrier. But the barrier is failing. Not to mention that there are rebellious factions within Alaris determined to undermine the ruling structure, traitors even at the highest levels of wizardry, and rumours of new powerful wizards appearing.
Stepping into this crucible we have three young wizards: Roland, Bakari, and Alli. Each of them is powerful in their own way, and each will have a part to play(ish) in the conflict to come.
Dragon Orb is very much Young Adult fantasy. Our three main characters are all fairly standard YA protagonists. They're different to everyone else around them, hiding huge magical powers, held back by restrictive authority figures, rebellious, awkward in social situations, and (in the case of both Roland and Alli) arrogant to the point of madness. As the story progresses, the three characters are thrust together to form strained friendships, as they attempt to both stop a rebellion and investigate the collapsing barrier.
I struggled with this book. I'm not a big fan of traditional YA characters or story structure, and that's exactly what Dragon Orb gave me. I found it predictable, not very interesting, and filled with characters who talked more like computer game NPCs who had information to deliver, than real people. To top it off, the female characters (including one of the protagonists) felt like they were only there to give the male characters romantic interests.
I'm pretty sure if you like YA and fantasy, this book could be a big hit for you. But it was not my taste.
