When you think that nothing will surprise you… – a review of the book “The gift of anomaly. Book 1”

Fantasy is a very broad literary genre, which often presents worlds completely different from everyday life. Something innovative is rarely encountered, and if it is, it is often an overcomplicated picture of reality, where the reader gets lost in who is who and what they do in a given book, or the world is vast, but so poorly described that it is not known where who is found. However, there are stories in which the author finds a balance between his imagination and known schemes, and we get something really good – then reading becomes pure pleasure. Is The Gift of Anomalies such a position?

 

But who with whom and why?

The plot is based on the fate of two heroes. Leba is a winged boy who wants to show what he is worth at all costs. He wants to explore other worlds, and the opportunity to undergo specific trials is to help him in this. Desires cause fate to intertwine him with someone with completely different views. Bren didn’t think that a lie could put him on a very dangerous path, which is also followed by a dubious organization. He thought he had gotten lucky in the lottery, but everything could turn against him. Through a certain anomaly and a series of events, the paths of the heroes merge, and they will have to cooperate with each other.

A debut, but what a one!

Paweł Zbroszczyk has created something well-known, well-chosen by readers, but with an additional flair, which makes the whole intriguing and does not feel like carbon copy. Magic is mixed with an array of various monsters and different races, and everything is set in medieval-style times, so there is no need to look for technological innovations here. There were also post-apocalyptic climates, where anomalies can be found everywhere, and the known world is declining and there is an opportunity to train as an assassin. The author used several tricks that greatly enrich the plot. One of them is great responsibility that comes with great power. Mages can train and improve, but the stronger they are, the more their health deteriorates. So a moral dilemma arises here: is it better to be cut, or can he choose the path of power and paint a shooting target on his back? After all, in this universe there is a group hunting for magicians.

Interesting heroes

The author reached for the theme of opposites attracting. Leba is an organized individual with clear goals, righteous, strongly believing in his mission and willingness to help, while Bren is a completely different pair of wellingtons. From the beginning, you might think that he is a bit stupid, scheming at every turn, but he is not the dangerous type, rather he fights for survival. Nothing more wrong! With time, his true face emerges, which can most be described as inherently evil. This is caused by the anger that fills him, which even closes him the possibility of development and finding a purpose in life. When such opposites clash, there’s really a lot going on and the reader is left wondering how the two will work together and who will take command of the other.

A big advantage of the novel is the interestingly developed and presented plot of a mysterious organization with murderous tendencies. The author in a very vivid way presents the rules governing it, its code or everyday life and the degrees of membership. I must admit that this is a very interesting topic, which I hope will be further developed in the next volumes.

It got crowded

When it comes to the pace of action and the created reality, both of these elements are very good. I had the impression that Paweł Zbroszczyk gathered all the really good ideas and decided to force them into one book. It can feel overwhelming at times, especially when the characters jump between locations like rabbits. This procedure is intended to show how vast the world has been created, but because of this, not everything is always smooth, and sometimes you can feel the manipulations made forcibly just to grasp the whole.

The item is really affordable. The format of the pages does not dazzle the eye, and the cover fits the content very well. There was also a map, which is partly a must and really makes it easier to navigate the meanders of Gift of anomalies . Let’s not hide, however, that the front charmed me the most.

The gift of anomalies is a really good start, giving hope for an interesting development of the plot, adding interesting threads and enchanting the reader. I am in love with the ideas and writing style of Paweł Zbroszczyk and I am waiting for much more. If this is a debut, I can’t wait to see what happens next.