Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker's Fire), by B Throwsnaill

Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker's Fire) is a story of a girl who grows into womanhood fighting against the injustices of a magical kingdom.

I liked how magic was described in the book.  It was a refreshing look at a topic which is usually brushed aside as a strange king of power.  The story did a good job of telling how magic was formed and how it was fueled in this universe.  The story has a couple twists and turns that built to its climax.  The difficulties faced by the protagonist were physical, mental, and emotional.  I really enjoyed the inner turmoil felt by the protagonist when her world view was questioned by a more experienced character.  It is reminiscent of arguments in our society where issues are presented as black or white without grey areas.  Because of this Hemlock was forced to see that the world she thought she understood was more complicated than she believed.  It was also refreshing to read a story where the outcome for the protagonist was in doubt.  Usually when I read a story, I can tell that the protagonists story will end in a certain way.  With Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker's Fire), I knew that Hemlock's story would continue to the end of the book, I just didn't know how that story would end.  I also liked the range of characters and how they were developed.  The supporting cast made the story more intricate and enjoyable.

Hemlock and the Wizard Tower had minor grammatical errors.  These errors were insignificant and well within my personal margin of error.  Like all stories the main characters had special powers.  I enjoy the story a character tells by learning how they develop special powers.  This story was short on this development, with special powers coming to the characters in their time of need.  The author also used somewhat obscure words on occasion.  The most prevalent was the word inchoate to describe a newly formed entity or thought.  I didn't see the need to use this so often.  The characters didn't use a special form of english that would make this word use so important.

I found the book both enjoyable and easy to read.  I would recommend this book and I intend to read the next book in the series, Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy (The Maker's Fire).

I purchased Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker's Fire) from Amazon.com.  It was a free book advertised for $0.00.  It was recommended by Jeffrey Poole at the end of his book: Bakkian Chronicles, Book III - Amulet of Aria.