“Secret orders and brotherhoods, wizened sages and mages, stealthy assassins and spies …” Shared misery forges an unlikely friendship between three young adventurers… Frankie the daughter of Bhaelor’s Ruler and her father’s servant. Only it gets worse. He’s going to trade her into slavery. Twig, kidnapped after his mother’s death, is used and abused by Bhaelor’s ruler. Since Twig is believed to … Twig is believed to be dead, there’s no one looking for him.
Conny, a young mage, is tricked into coming to Bhaelor. His magic may give his master the true power he desires.
Rescued by an underground spynetwork, Frankie and Twig realize they have a chance to right some wrongs. Frankie is optimistic and believes in a good future. Twig is bitter and ruled by his past. He wants revenge. Conny is left behind to learn the full extent of his magic but he will not be easily tricked again. Each must play a part in pretending to be something they are not. They share a destiny, a converging path but can they overcome the horrors they’ve lived to discover their true abilities? Who can they trust? Appearances can be deceiving and no one is who they first appear to be.
more
A true coming of age
The three main characters are coming of age as we follow them through an adventure full of obstacles and challenges. In this fantastic world, they are linked as they overcome incredible difficulties and conspiracies. I enjoyed the story although at some point there are so many twists, I was almost lost. However, we bond with the characters and want them to succeed. I enjoyed it very much!
The author has done a good job of building a world and filling it with diverse and interesting characters. What stands out for me about this book is the little things, the attention to detail, like when one of the younger main characters picks their nose so the guards don’t pay them much attention.
If you like this genre but don’t want anything too heavy, you will enjoy this one.
This story has many of the traditional things we all love about fantasy novels: castles, nobility fighting for their realms, some dwarfs and elves, magic. But it’s the magic that adds something new. “Stitch” magic that comes from the giants. I liked the concept of what it did, and it’s a key element to the story.
There’s a lot of tragedy to the story: rape, assassination, murder. But there are funny moments as well. Plenty of emotional events to keep you turning the pages.
I liked the characters. They had a varied range of strengths and weaknesses–both the men and women. I think Wager was my favorite because he seemed the most human with his faults and feelings.
This is a nice beginning to the series. There’s enough history of the land woven throughout the story at appropriate moments to get readers oriented without it all being lumped together at the beginning.
Can’t quite believe how this author has delt with such harsh, adult themes within such a wonderful, almost young adult adventure.
So many twists to the tale that it’s hard to know where to begin. The characters grow within every chapter. I particularly liked how all the intrigue is woven through the tale, the people who appear to be on one side, but are in reality on the other. Almost everything is a deception to begin with, not even Frankie, Twig, or Conny know who is a friend or an enemy. Frankie only knows that her mother told her to trust one man only.
Great scenery descriptions and fabulous tension throughout kept me turning the pages of this super book.
A good start to an epic fantasy series!
Absence of Color: Spectrum of Color Book 1 is an engaging fantasy novel about a world where kingdoms are ruled by corrupt leaders, slaves are commonplace and danger is around every corner.
This novel had many of the elements of a good fantasy novel including wizards, magic, kingdoms, wars, giants, dwarves and so on. I rather enjoyed the journey’s of the main characters, particularly Twig, Conny and Frankie, but was intrigued by Darby and Wagner as well.
This book has lots of different story lines, but the author does a good job weaving them together in a way that keeps the reader from getting confused. I am looking forward to reading book 2.
There is a plethora of characters in this dark YA fantasy. At first, they were a bit confusing, but eventually the personalities fell into place and I got better at following the three storylines. The dialogue is a bit strange now and then, but that’s not completely out of place in a fantasy novel. I loved the interesting names. They were intriguing without being punishing, avoiding the gratuitous punctuation and unpronounceable bits some other fantasy novelists love. Lots of violence and intrigue, as well as good magic and back-stabbing politics. I enjoyed the read and look forward to the others.
‘Absence of Colour’ is an engaging and intriguing tale of escaping the past and searching for identity and justice.
The band of characters in this book are quite well developed, and the reader is drawn into a strong feeling of empathy with Conny, Frankie and Twig in particular. The villain is well-drawn and distinctly odious: there are times when his actions do make the reader uncomfortable and quite angry. This sets the action of the story in motion: each of the main characters and a number of the minor characters must work together to achieve justice and to reclaim that which has been taken from them.
The book brings some resolution to the conflicts faced by Twig and Conny, along with a sense of relief in the immediate circumstances, but the reader is also very aware that there are still questions and problems that remain unsolved. In this way, the reader is strongly motivated to read the second book in the series – ‘The Colour of Evil’. The title itself is both enticing and ominous, leaving the reader intrigued and eager to know more.