Review of The Stolen Heir

[Afroza Aktar]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Stolen Heir" by Tayma Tameem.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Tayma Tameem’s fiction fantasy The Stolen Heir Book One is a story of two kingdoms, Thumeria and Paleria, breaking into a long war on account of a cause only concerning the royals just like it happens in our real world, millions are slaughtered in which most of them are innocent.

The intriguing story deals with a street child with immense magical power, named Erik, brought up by humble parents who get killed in the war and his taking an oath to avenge his parents through killing the royal families and his journey towards achieving his goal. After going through some chapters it can be learnt that the spirits create a continent, Krasoria, having four kingdoms, Thumeria, Paleria, Bellataria and Vetiria. They bless some with magical power and the blessed ones are supposed to rule the two main kingdoms, Thumeria and Paleria whereas the Bellatrian people are to work as warriors and the Vetirians as servants to the royals. According to the rules of Krasoria, only the royals having magical power can become the rulers. Jumen, the crown prince of Thumeria with magical power weds Auralia, the eldest princess of Paleria. Auralia gives birth to a boy and the heir of Paleria who gets abducted after only few hours of his birth by the two head mages of Thumeria and Paleria, Jeofrn and Mal, only because of a prophecy. Conspired by his brother, Caligon, Jumen and Auralia along with their families blame each other thereby starting a war and thus losing thousands of soldiers of both two armies and taking millions of innocent lives of all four kingdoms.

This captivating story revolves around the war, Erik’s miserable childhood and Caligon’s conspiracy to become the king of both the kingdoms. When the stolen heir has been found, the story abruptly ends, leaving the reader with unquenchable thirst to know what happens next which is only possible through reading the second book.

This fantasy has magic, power, beautiful and fascinating characters not to mention having a captivating plot with numbers of unpredicted twists and turns. The thing that I liked most is the writer’s simple and picturesque description of each and every event or incident. A reader can see everything in his/her own eyes using his/her own vivid imagination power. Though after the prologue, I felt a little lost, after next few chapters, it became very difficult for me putting it down. The cruelty of the royals and the misery of their subjects appalled me and I felt disgusted towards the royals. Their fight for their own cause, Jumen and Auralia’s decisions in engaging into a war without verifying the accusations and the mages’ immature doings, all will evoke anger in the reader towards them.

Violence and chaos is not my cup of tea, not even in books. So, I didn’t like the bloodshed and brutality in the story. Those who are like me should think before deciding to read the book. Though the story develops surrounding a child becoming an adult and I found no profanity, because of the contents having violence and aggression, my recommendation is that parents should read the book before deciding whether to let their child/children read it or not.

I would rate the book 4 out of 4 because I found only one typo and I assume the credit goes to the editor. I enjoyed the book and looking forward to reading the Book Two and would recommend the book to those who feel enthralled reading fantasy fictions.

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The Stolen Heir
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[Soraya Bayah]

I am an avid fan of fantasy, so I will give this a read. But I found it a bit difficult to get a grasp of the characters' names. Additionally, I do not enjoy bluntly cut-off endings. Nonetheless, as I do not despise fights, I will have fun reading through this book. Thank you for the insightful review!