Ilien Woodhill has lived the sheltered life of a normal boy from a small nowhere town. His biggest worry is the pair of bullies who wage a relentless battle to break his spirit. All that changes when the old wizard, Gallund, comes to stay at the house. Ilien's wise-cracking, enchanted pencil may get him A's in math, but it's little consolation for the extra beatings from Stan and Peaty.For now, Ilien is perfectly content conjuring fang-filled jaws and sword-wielding arms for his own amusement, but he'll soon learn more than Gallund will teach him. A shadow touches his peaceful land of Nadae. An ancient evil is stirring. A NiDemon has crossed from the Land of the Dead. It has stolen the book that holds the Necromancer's imprisoned soul, and it seeks the Prophesied child who can open it. Now Ilien must run - from a monster of unimaginable cunning and power toward a fate far more frightening than that which hunts him. But he cannot run forever. Eventually he will have to make a stand. Soon or later he will have to face what the legendary Nomadin fear most . . . himself.
I absolutely loved this book! I am an avid reader of both adult and children's books and I could not put it down. I nearly missed my stop on the tube(metro) several times because I was so engrossed!! And all my friends who have read it really enjoyed it too. Mr Cormier does brilliantly for a first time writer and I still find it hard to believe that he is. The characters are well rounded and not so perfect that one cannot connect with them. In addition he never complicates the story to the extent that younger children (or some of us older ones!) get confused and can't follow it. The ending also leaves you intrigued and desperate to read the next one.(which is also really good!!) I hardly noticed any similarities between this and other writers and if there are a few: WHO CARES???!!! All fantasy writers have a lot in commmon: Terry Brooks, David Eddings, David Gemmell etc all follow the same pattern, which is basically taken from Tolkien anyway. I mean look at Stan Nicholls: he wrote a whole trilogy on Orcs?! Plus I feel this is aimed at slightly younger authors than the possibly referenced books(and I emphasise the 'possibly' here) so it really doesn't matter at the end of the day. Overall this is a fantastic book, well written, easy to understand and would be appropriate for any age range. I would highly reccommend it to parents wanting to give their child a fun book for Christmas, to a child to put on their list for Santa Claus, or even us big kids who need some escapism every now and again. I'm 22 and I loved it! Enjoy!!!!!!!
Great first book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Nomadin is Mr Cormier's first published novel, which I could not quite believe when reading the book. The prose flows with an expert's hand and the pacing is excellent throughout. The characters are well rounded and not typical stereotypes of the genre, which would be an easy trap to fall into in a tome that sits comfortably with its peers in the YA market upwards. Mr Cormier scatters similes throughout his work to good effect, painting vivid pictures in the reader's mind, making the read thoroughly engrossing. A liberal amount of humour is written into the book which serves to entertain the reader in this 'young boy coming to power' novel. It is this and the storytelling ability of the writer that keeps the reader wanting to read on. And, when the end is reached, wanting to read book two, which the author informs us is on its way. The book ends with a few tangled webs still left to resolve. Usually, this would disappoint me, but Mr Cormier manages to end on a feel good note with all the major plot lines addressed while opening new ones for book two. Nomadin is well worth a read and I would recommend it to all those that enjoy feel-good books. It is well written, holds a good plot and has enough hooks and twists to keep the most critical reader happy. Shawn Cormier is a welcome new talent in fantasy.
A Teen's Review
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I loved this book! The first review said it copied this author, and that story, and yada yada yada. But I'm not one to sit around tearing a book to shreads over who copied who, therefore I enjoyed it very much! It was a great book and I can't wait for the next! If you like fantasy, then you simply must read this book!
My 16 yr old loved the book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
While the first review was very negative, I wanted to write that I bought this book for my son for Christmas. When it was done, he complained that I had bought him another book that he had to wait for the sequel. And he's waiting. He loved the book, the magic, the adventure and the humor.
A Promising Trilogy
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
After reading a chapter sampler, I was hooked and knew I had to buy the book to see what became of llien. A book of mystery and magic which I could not put down until I had reached it's end, eager for the next in the triology. The signs of a good book, maybe even a cult classic in the making
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