Finnikin of the Rock (The Lumatere Chronicles)

A CURSED KINGDOM, A PRINCE WHO MAY STILL BE ALIVE, A NOT-SO-ORDINARY GIRL, and then there is FINNIKIN- what more could you ask for!‘Finnikin of the Rock’ is a great introductory novel to the Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta, with the next books in the series being, ‘Froi of the Exiles’ and ‘Quintana of Charyn’. It is classified as fantasy, but feels more than real (like, such a land can actually exist). It is a story about hope and love of the people for their lost land and has one of the perfect love stories you will come across.Lumatere, a kingdom in the Land of Skuldenore, was attacked and cursed ten years ago, the royal family was slaughtered and Finnikin, along with many others, had to flee from it to save himself. In this first book we follow Finnikin, an exile, who rather than waiting and hoping hopelessly to one day get back to his kingdom, takes a more practical approach to the situation in hand. All he wants is a land for his people in exile where they can live the rest of their lives. But then he stumbles upon an enigmatic girl named Evanjalin who believes that the prince of Lumatere is still alive who can break the curse and get back their lost kingdom. But Evanjalin is not an ordinary girl, definitely more than what she shows herself on the surface and in spite of his doubts, Finnikin has no choice but to trust her. Together with her, Finnikin goes on a quest to free his kingdom and the people trapped inside it from the brutal curse, and to take the exiles who roam the land to their home.The story brings to light a number of other characters as well, all linked to one another, each having their own background story. Every character is very beautifully portrayed, in a way that you can closely link to. Certainly all these characters are further explored in the next books as well, but they form a good base in this first novel. This book, though fantasy, slows us the range of various people in our real world and how they treat others. In it there are some who have great trust, respect and love for one another; on the other hand there are also some who have lost the tiniest drop of humanity in them. They treat other humans worse than animals, nothing more than a commodity. This aspect of the human world has also been wonderfully shown by the author.Along with the characters, the backdrop of the story is also very vivid. We know for sure that proper research was done while developing them all. We get to explore other kingdoms in the Land of Skuldenore and various places within it, not only in terms of their natural terrain, but also in terms of their administrative scenario- some being wonderful while others being hell of a place.It is a book you will not be able to put done. It only gets more and more amazing with the further novels.

Finnigan of the Rock, Fro of the Exiles, Quintana of Chryn.The Lumatere Chronicles. I quite often buy the first 2 books in a series so that if the first one is good I don’t have to wait too long for the second to arrive by post to my home in the Western Isles of Scotland. I couldn’t get into Finnigan of the Rock, the characters seem to be too thin and more than anything they were inconsistent, flipping from almost nebulious to solid in their charactisationSo I nearly didn’t start Fro of the Exiles. But oh my! how glad I am that I persevered,because it is a brilliant book. The author really got into her stride with this book and she evolved and elaborated the story in such a deep and meaningful way. The characters solidified and became rounded out and acquired shape and emotions.Then came Quintana of Charyn.This is definitely the best of the three books and had me laughing and in tears by turn.Your heart gets wrenched about by this beautiful beautiful story and the protagonists becomes so dear to you.it is very exciting, very moving, you almost don’t want to finish it, because then there are no more.I can highly recommend this book if you want a story that is deeply emotive,and will keep you on tenterhooks. Be aware that these wonderful stories will leave you feeling bereft once it is finished. Can I dare to ask for more, or would that be too much and impossible?Thank you Melina Marchetta

This book was sighted by the author of a really great kick ass heroine, as one of her inspirations. The character Evangeline which runs like a thread of opposing hope and despair throughout this story from the very start, is a conundrum for our hero Finnikin of the Rock, to solve.Initially I found Melina Marchetta's writing style for this novel to be less engaging and more like reading a Wikipedia history. However, I stuck with it and without realizing when, either it changed or I did. The story opens up into a profoundly touching and ultimately rewarding experience. Evangeline's character seems taciturn and at times confrontational at others she seems remote and sulking and yet this author is in fact remaining incredibly true to her creation. I refuse to blurt out spoilers, but although there were some lapses of recognition regarding the main characters, (Sorry that sounds odd if you haven't yet read this book). By and large I found it an immensely satisfying read. Only four stars because so many of the major characters and we the readers seemed to be one step ahead of the Hero in matters of his major relationship and as he was such a wonderfully written and cleaver individual, that jumped the shark for me.

I loved this story - I loved the world, the characters, the storyline, the element of magic...just everything. Fantasy was my very first love way back when I was a kid and I think that these kinds of stories bring about some of the old magical feelings to make me love them even more.Its strange as while I was reading it there were things that taken individually I would have thought I wouldn't like, but somehow combined and with Marchetta's knack for creating strong emotion, it really worked.This is up there with my love of Jim Butcher's Codex Alera fantasy series, and Brandon Sanderson's fantasy writing...this story is complete in itself without having to read any further books in the series, although there are two more books in the series so far.While I was reading, the thought passed through my mind that there were quite a few characters and they were not that fleshed out, but somehow, without me noticing, they were written in such a way that I really FELT what they were feeling and felt really strongly for the main characters and cared about what happened to them - its actually quite emotional at points and I love a book that moves me, even if it is with the grief of characters.Despite being slightly predictable, this is a great fantasy/quest with adventure, mystery, magic, murder, politics, intrigue and a touch of romance. We also get strong and likeable main characters, and a nice cast of interesting and necessary/relevant secondary characters. Its a story about strength of character, the love of a nation, growing up and the sad truth that good people very often stand by and let bad things happen...I was sad to finish the book and leave the world behind.

I was drawn in from the beginning. The storyline flowed well. There was enough friction between the characters along with enough twists and surprises to keep it interesting. There was a minimum of violence, sometimes implied but not spelled out in graphic detail, which is much appreciated. I liked the strength of the female characters, especially Evanjeline/Isaboe. Even the most rough and tough male characters had a softer more human side. I'm looking for to more in the series.

I really loved this book! Melina Marchetta has built a really interesting world that I look forward to exploring more in the sequals. Her writing style is beautiful and there were some really lovely moments of expression. The narrative shifts perspectives throughout the text and I had a couple of moments of confusion about whose focus it was, but I really liked getting glimpses into all the different character's minds. On the subject of characters, there are some that I absolutely loved in this. I also particularly enjoyed the ways in which different characters dealt with the idea of 'identity'. The Lumatereans have lost their home and as a result, they all seem to be trying to negotiate their sense of self and identity, so that was an aspect I really enjoyed.Essentially, if you enjoy YA or fantasy then I would highly recommend you give this a try!