The Search for Synergy
The Search for Synergy (The Talisman Series Vol. 1)
By: Brett Salter
“You are not what you think you are. You are not the normal person you see when you look in the mirror. You come from a long blood-line of great power and tremendous bravery.”
This is a middle-grade book. Probably geared more towards boys because the main characters are boys.
It’s a bit hard to review a book in which I’m not the target audience and I’ve never been.
I’m not sure what middle school boys like to read but I would think the premise of the book would capture their attention:
Two boys— Rome and Julian— become blood brothers as they discover their destiny to be dragon and rider and fight against the powers of evil to save their world.
The ‘synergy’ that is being searched for is the mysterious energy that specially bonds dragon to rider uniting them in thought, feeling, and life span. This synergy is required for Rome to become fully dragon and for Julian to gain the special weapons (which he obtains through the throw of a die) he needs to fight properly.
I think boys will be drawn to the action of fighting beasts from ‘The Void’ and the boys having access to special powers. I think boys will also be drawn to the quest of having to make choices for good and for others, not being selfish.
This book is the first in the series. I think Salter set up the ending of this book nicely to prepare for the next book. Even though it’s far-fetched that parents would allow a couple of fifth-grade boys to go study abroad for four weeks in London, it’s a good and exciting setting for the next book to add more adventure.
The things that bothered me about the book may not even register for young boys so these may be inconsequential for potential readers.
For one, the copy I had access to would benefit from another round of editing as there were several grammar and spelling errors.
The biggest annoyance for me, though, was the lack of contractions. It makes the dialogue sound unnatural and weird to read. Especially for that age of boys. For example, Salter wrote ‘I am going to go.’ instead of ‘I’m gonna go.’
[Edit: I am told by the author that this is actually intentional and will become significant in future books.]
Along with that was the inconsistent vocabulary and word choices. The writing voice jumped perspective from character to character. It was all still third person, but the way it was written shifted and disrupted the flow.
There were a lot of bigger words that I’m guessing middle school boys won’t know. It could be a good challenge for them, but I think it could be edited a little better to flow more smoothly and stay consistent from character to character and be more tailored to age-appropriate vocabulary and style of talking. A middle school boy probably wouldn’t say/think: “Sometimes I have just got to add a touch of wicked excitement to my humdrum existence.” Although- to be fair- I’m a woman in my thirties with kids under the age of 6… what do I know about middle school boys?
The concept of a boy and his dragon reminds me of the Eragon series. (Which is phenomenal.) When I think of the world that Christopher Paolini created in his books, I feel like Salter could have expanded more on that here. What is the background of the war between dragons and humans? What are more details of each of the six clans of dragons? What are their powers? It’s quite possible this is all fleshed out more in future books.
I know it’s often better to keep books for this age group shorter so I understand not having space for lots of extra detail. But when writing fantasy type of books, I think readers would be willing to read longer books to immersed in deeper world-building.
The last thing that bothered me as a parent reading this book was the relationships the boys had with their parents. Rome’s parents are not really present in the story. There is no sense of togetherness. They both work and Rome seems to want to avoid them.
Julian’s relationship with his father is not much better. It is stiff and professional. His father doesn’t like dragons but Julian thinks his dad is wrong. Julian has been training from a young age under a different set of principles, hiding them from his dad.
Julian tells Rome:
“At seven years old, I had to make a decision to disobey everything my father had taught me and live by MY principles instead. I can’t imagine what you may be going through, but I want you to know whatever you decide had better be the right choice for YOU.”
and he says:
“It is my duty as a Synergy Knight from the House of Rider to battle the Darkbrand army and drive it back to The Void. I just wish my dad could be more understanding so I wouldn’t have to hide it.”
I highly doubt the author is writing to try to convince readers to hide things from their parents.
But as a parent in a culture right now where parents are too often painted as the ‘bad guys’ and kids don’t respect their parents’ authority or principles, the relationships these boys have with their parents make me cringe.
I couldn’t help but also think of the transgender movement in which kids are told that ‘their true selves’ are different than the way they were born and their parents don’t understand and so therefore they need to hide their ‘transformation’ from them. Because kids have soooo much more wisdom and understanding of how the world works than their parents do…
I’m sure I’m reading into the story about this. I highly doubt the author was thinking of that as he wrote. It’s just supposed to be a fun story where the boys do whatever it takes to make sure ‘good prevails.’
But as a parent, if your sons or daughters are going to read this book, I think it would be a good talking point to discuss with them and let them know that you want them to trust you to tell them the truth about things going on with them even if they go against the parents’ principles. That doing good shouldn’t require you to hide the truth, especially from your parents.
Am I a killjoy yet? Haha. Again, to be clear, these are not the principles of the book and the purpose for the story, but I felt compelled to share where my mind went in case any other parents may have the same concerns.
Recommendation
As I stated before, I think most of my issues with the book would not register with young readers. For that reason, I think it could still be a fun series for middle-schoolers to read. It is full of action, adventure, heroism, and the bond of friendship. There are also elements of humor between the boys as well.
The end of this book sets up great potential for the rest of the series.
Also, other than one use of ‘BS’ it’s a clean book with no swearing or sexual content.
I would just be aware, as a parent, of some of the things your kids may be reading so that you can have open discussions about it!
[Content Advisory: one use of ‘BS’; no sexual content; perhaps some talking points on keeping secrets from your parents]
**Received a digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review**
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