Vesper Rowan will face the shadow dragon, just as her grandfatherâs magic book foretold. The problem is she knows nothing about her familyâs secret history or that they are from Noominiaâa place of beauty and danger, full of fairies, giants, wizards, elves and kobalins.
When Vesper reads the forbidden magic book, she opens a portal into Noominia and becomes swept up in her own magical adventureâchased by kobalins, and hunted by a shadow dragon.
Can she really be the unicorn in their prophecy? The one who will trade her life to rid Noominia of the shadow dragon?
Vesper Rowan will face the shadow dragon, just as her grandfatherâs magic book foretold. The problem is she knows nothing about her familyâs secret history or that they are from Noominiaâa place of beauty and danger, full of fairies, giants, wizards, elves and kobalins.
When Vesper reads the forbidden magic book, she opens a portal into Noominia and becomes swept up in her own magical adventureâchased by kobalins, and hunted by a shadow dragon.
Can she really be the unicorn in their prophecy? The one who will trade her life to rid Noominia of the shadow dragon?
Vesper Rowan darted through the magical Noominian forest. Close beside her ran Kaija, a young elven wizard she had only known for a single day, yet to whom she owed her life. They followed in the wake of a golden bumblebee which cast behind it a magical light. The beeâs mission was to lead them to the fairy circleâa hidden circle of trees which protected the home of the fairy queenâcalled the forever tree. The forest was lush with shades of green and blue. Many of the trees were in blossom and their fragrance was ripe with sweetness. Flowers the size of Vesper bloomed in clearings open to the sun, many of them glowing and changing colours each momentâthe forest was alive and breathing.
The bumblebee flew ahead, the girls behind it. They trampled beautiful flowers and ignored magnificent trees as they ran headlong through the forest. Vesper and Kaija flew behind the bee, at the edge of life and death because close behind them, chasing themâhunting themâwas a horde of blood-thirsty kobalins. The kobalins were born from shadow magic in Night Mountain to the north. They should never have been in this forest chasing Vesper. Yet they pursued her, weapons in hand, hunting the unicorn princessâand ready to kill.
âKaija, I canât run anymore! Iâve got to stop and catch my breath,â Vesper called out, her chest heaving.
âKeep running or weâll be torn to pieces!â Kaija said.
âHow far is the fairy circle?â Vesper asked.
âNot sure. Just keep running. Stay in the bee's lighted path and its magic will double our speed,â replied Kaija as she ran.
The wings of the bumblebee carved looping trails through the air, around the trunks of trees, and under thorny bushes. The kobalins, each holding a jagged blade, clamoured forward. A spell of shadow magic cast by a dark wizard, quickened the kobalinsâ hunt. Some came so close they salivated with anticipation.
âThey see my horn,â said Vesper, worried that the unicorn horn on her forehead was glowing. She was just a girl, but to the kobalins she was dangerousâa unicorn, a bringer of light and destruction sent to kill the shadow dragon and the creatures of Night Mountain. The kobalins were commanded to catch herâthey dreamed of tearing her to pieces and feeding her to the shadow dragon. They were promised by the kobalin king that riches awaited them, that they would be promoted to knights. Each one dreamed of becoming a lord of Noominia.
âDonât worry that your hornâs glowing! They can see the golden bee, too,â Kaija said.
Vesper called out in pain, âAhâthat bush scratched me! Those thorns are huge!â Vesper looked at the gash on her shin just below her knee, which dripped with red blood.
âItâll be fineâthatâs nothing compared to a kobalin blade,â Kaija said. âRight now, we need to run for our lives. We canât worry about a scratch or two.â
âYouâre right,â said Vesper. She pulled her cloak tighter and focussed on her footing as she ran through a patch of soft moss.
The chase continuedâa unicorn and a wizard running for their lives away from the vile shadow creatures.
But we should start at the beginning.
Vesper was a human girl, or so she thought. She was born and lived in the human realm, in an ordinary town by the sea. Not long before being chased by kobalins, she had never set foot in Noominia. Vesper didn't even believe fairies were real. Little did she know, her parents and grandfather werenât from the human realm.
Called by her destiny, Vesperâs story began with a prophecy.
As shadow magic strangled Noominia, the light of the realm flickered desperately. An army of kobalins led by their king, Mordred, grew in strength and viciousness. They marched from Night Mountain through the villages of fairy folk, leaving destruction in their wake. Mordred knew the prophecyâthat a unicorn would come to banish shadow magic, and that it would face the shadow dragon. And so, Mordred and the kobalins set out to wake the shadow dragon before its time, to take the unicorn by surprise. When the dragon rose from the depths of Night Mountain, it wanted only one thingâto hunt all creatures of light in Noominia and destroy them. Mordred schemed to undermine the fairy queen, destroy her lineage, and rule over all Noominia as its king.
The kobalin king, with his newfound power, led a secret group of shadow wizardsâthe Umbloodsâto infiltrate the Silence Keepers. The Silence Keepers were an ancient guild of wizards who vowed to protect the light of the Noominian fairies. With the fairy queen in hiding, the shadow dragon loose, and the Silence Keepers weakened, only the soldiers of the elven Guard and the noc owls protected Noominia from the dark intruders. They struggled to resist the increasing onslaught of kobalin raids, hoping a mighty unicorn would soon join them in their fight. They knew only a unicorn could stop the shadow dragon, extinguish the flames of shadow magic lit by the kobalin king, and overthrow the Umbloods. Only a unicorn could return power to the fairy queen, and save Noominia.
Vesper Rowan has lived her entire life in the human world, never realizing that she was different.
But finding a mysterious unicorn book in her grandfather's collection, followed by a note from an anonymous tipster that her mother (whom she has believed to be dead for years) is still alive changes everything.
A simple masquerade dance turns into a portal adventure in which Vesper must face and overcome her fears about who she is, her past, and most of all her future.
Vesper Rowan and the Shadow Dragon is a wonderful introduction to portal/epic adventure fantasy novels for younger readers. Though it was not classified as Middle-Grade/YA, the writing style (and young, grade-school character) definitely read as though it was geared toward children in the 10+ year-old range.
Wilson brings a vivid world with its own set of fantasy creatures, myths, and prophecies to life in a way reminiscent of classic The Magician's Nephew (C.S. Lewis) and Eragon.
There is a lot of character growth in a very brief span of time within the story. Watching Vesper grow into a strong, self-aware character who is self-sacrificial and bold is truly satisfying. Romance is only minutely hinted at in the peace, which I appreciated as well, since it allows Vesper to grow into her own via her own strength.
This tale is one of friendships, loss, and hope despite the darkness of the world.
Only one point drove me to give the book four stars instead of five, and that may (in full disclosure) may vary by the reader's preference. While there is always a great deal more 'explaining' in books aimed at younger readers than in fantasy books for adults, the early chapters and prologue had places that felt (to me) a little too summarized.
A portion of the prologue read like an extended back cover blurb, for example, and earlier portions of the book have some set-up details that slowed down the intro.
Both of those examples could be positives to some readers, though, so this book is definitely still worth reading. Once you get a few chapters in, those explanatory scenes spread out a bit more and we can focus solely on enjoying the story.
If you enjoy Epic Fantasy tales where good versus evil (and the uncomfortable gray area in between) are the key focus of the story, where chosen ones and destiny play a major role, and portals take characters into alternate worlds where fairies, unicorns, wizards, and more abound, Vesper Rowan and the Shadow Dragon is definitely one to add to your reading list.
**Trigger Warnings: War, death, injury/attempted murder of minor children under age 18, missing children, death of a loved one (parent) discussed but not shown on the page**