I'm hugely excited today to be a part of the World of Weir Blog Tour, a five week long event celebrating Cinda Williams Chima's The Heir Chronicles as we count down the days until the fifth and final installment releases on October 21st. For those of you who have yet to experience this series, the Weir are those with magical gifts and abilities, and each week of this tour focuses on one of the five magical guilds into which they fit. You don't want to miss out on all the amazing posts and giveaways, so be sure and check the bottom of the post for all the tour details!
For years I avoided the fantasy genre at all costs, thinking, for reasons I can’t fully explain, that it wasn’t going to be one that worked for me. Last year though I began hesitantly picking up a few YA fantasy books, and what happened you ask? Well, I fell madly in love. Deeply in love. Obsessively in love. So it was with great pleasure that I dove into The Heir Chronicles, and quite unsurprisingly, found a new series to fangirl over.
I thought it might be fun to highlight for all of you a few of the reasons this series is so successful for me, that way those of you who enjoy the same things can feel confident in picking these books up and giving them a try!
1. Male protagonists – Male protagonists are a bit like the unicorn of YA fiction: Rare, fabled and elusive, with rumors and sightings popping up every now and then before they're swallowed up by a female-dominated genre. (This is in no way a slam on female protagonists, I love them and never tire of them, it’s just fun to experience something different!) Each book in the Heir Chronicles follows a young man as he either discovers or explores his supernatural abilities, and Ms. Chima delights with each and every one of them.
2. Familiar Fantasy – This is what I’m calling fantasy books that are grounded in the reality of our world – books like The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas or Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling that introduce us to our protagonists in a world that makes complete sense before dazzling us with the fantastical elements. For those readers like me who sometimes shy away from high fantasy for fear of being overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of the worlds and all the creatures and beings that inhabit them, this type of fantasy is a comfort; a way for us to experience sorcery, magic and epic battles without wandering in a haze of confusion until we can fully acclimate ourselves.
3. Friends and Family – Apparently I’m on a bit of an alliteration kick today, but let’s just go with it okay? I’m someone who loves stories rich with secondary characters; siblings, friends, parents and extended family who surround the protagonist and either provide them with emotional support or act as a foil for their character. Ms. Chima surrounds her young men with a number of close friends and family, ensuring that while they have moments of isolation where they must rely on themselves to solve their problems, they also have people to turn to when a burden is too great to bear on their own.
I feel fairly confident in saying that if you like the above, you’ll enjoy what Cinda Williams Chima brings to the YA fantasy table, so I hope you add the Heir Chronicles to your to-be read lists!
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THE HEIR CHRONICLES
The Heir Chronicles series will keep readers glued to their seats through riveting fight scenes, deadly political machinations, burgeoning romance, and the unfolding intrigues of a contemporary magical world.
The Sorcerer Heir is a self-contained story accessible to readers just discovering the Heir series, but loyal fans will be rewarded by visits from beloved (and lovingly reviled) characters.
Series order:
The Warrior Heir
The Wizard Heir
The Dragon Heir
The Enchanter Heir
The Sorcerer Heir
Praise for the series:
"Chima offers a pitch-perfect blend of high fantasy and small-town reality..." –The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)
"Chima uses her pen like a wand and crafts a wonderfully rich web of magic, while thankfully leaving some dangling threads for subsequent tales." –VOYA (starred review)
"A smoldering story soaked in tears, sweat and blood, constantly threatening to blaze into an inferno. Spellbinding." –Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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THE SORCERER HEIR
The can’t-miss finale to the beloved and bestselling Heir Chronicles series.
The delicate peace between Wizards and the underguilds (Warriors, Seers, Enchanters, and Sorcerers) still holds by the thinnest of threads, but powerful forces inside and outside the guilds threaten to sever it completely. Old friends and foes return as new threats arise in this stunning and revelatory conclusion to the beloved and bestselling Heir Chronicles series.
The Sorcerer Heir is a self-contained story, accessible to readers just discovering the Heir series, but loyal fans will be rewarded by visits from characters they love (and love to hate) from the earlier installments. Readers will be glued to their seats through riveting fight scenes, deadly political machinations, burgeoning romance, and the unfolding intrigues of a contemporary magical world.
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CINDA WILLIAMS CHIMA
Cinda Williams Chima is the New York Times bestselling author of The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir, The Dragon Heir, The Enchanter Heir, and the four books of the Seven Realms series: The Demon King, The Exiled Queen, The Gray Wolf Throne, and The Crimson Crown. Cinda is a graduate of The University of Akron and Case Western Reserve University. She lives in Ohio with her family.
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BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY
Thanks to the amazingly generous team at Disney Hyperion, I have a complete set of The Heir Chronicles to give away today! To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US addresses only.
WEEK 1: THE WARRIORS September 14 – September 20
WEEK 2: THE WIZARDS September 21 – September 27
WEEK 3: THE SEERS September 28 – October 4
WEEK 4: THE ENCHANTERS October 5 – October 11
WEEK 5: THE SORCERERS October 12 – October 18
