Review: The Winds of Change by Sam Paisley

Blurb:

Destiny, personal responsibility, what the future holds – common concerns for anyone graduating high school. But usually not because of a cosmic war between timeless beings where you’re the central player.

As the end of school quickly approaches, and Cooper Bailey watches his perfect world slip away, his only concern is savouring every last minute of his high school career. For his best friend, Reid Patterson, graduation is a doorway to the future, where his discipline and focus will finally allow him to meet his true potential.

When a mysterious mirror-masked man begs for their help to stop a dangerous heretic, Cooper and Reid find themselves thrust into unknown worlds, wrestling with a destiny as old as time itself. As the truths about their roles in the universe unfold, and enemies disguise themselves as allies, their only hope is to trust each other - and learn fast!

Far from home and in mortal peril, Cooper and Reid attempt to hone their newfound abilities and come to grips with their purpose for being.

Inspired by classic and modern science fiction and fantasy, and drawing upon timeless themes of destiny and personal responsibility, The Elements of Time is a series written for anyone who loves an escape into a rich and deep world. With references to Star Wars (the Original Trilogy), Avatar: The Last Bender, Stargate SG-1, Supernatural, and much more, The Elements of Time: The Winds of Change is fun action-adventure, with it’s own unique magic system, and themes that touch what it means to grow up and take on the challenges of life

The Elements of Time - Book 1: The Winds of Change

Review:

I had many of my fellow book friends and others in the book community telling me that I needed to get to The Winds of Change by Sam Paisley as it would be one right up my alley. With that in mind, I knew that I should get to it as soon as I could and that time ended up being now. With the idea of an epic sci fi in mind I entered the story that had been weaved focusing on Cooper and Reid. It starts off innocently enough, with typical teenage type worries and ideas. This changes after a bit, leading to an adventure worthy of any of the Greek heroes or anyone else that you can think of. After running into a stranger, the two teenage boys are entered into a series of trials that introduces the readers into a world that is completely different to what could be expected. It is a strong introduction into powers and ideas that will serve as the basis to the overall plot. That being said, it is very much a training type scenario and leads into more training. This is not necessarily a bad thing but will seem like a lot to readers who prefer to have more of an adventure type read rather than a big focus on training. The nice thing about it is how it builds the characters to become more alive.

The strength of the novel is most definitely the characters. Cooper and Reid are definitely the most fleshed out, but all of the side characters are just as equally great. They become very real and it is very easy for a reader to care about each of them. The friendships are not forced in the least, making it very relatable to how it really could happen in life. The focus on the characters and the development of their skills does place a shadow on what could be happening in the overall scheme of the plot. There are a few chapters that give some hints, but this is much more of a slow burn style sci fi or fantasy type book. The author does a great job of making everything become realistic, but the pacing is a little off through times of the book. There are a few of the training chapters where I felt like the brakes were hit compared to the breakneck pace of the trials. There is a lot of explanation that happens but it did feel different compared to the large chunk of the beginning that led to it. This is more than likely very much a personal issue with me as a reader and will probably not be noticed by many. 

Overall, this book is a stellar debut by an author that many readers should keep their eyes on. There is a lot of promise for the series and I have total faith that the series will hit its flow and become a series that many will advance to the front of the never ending TBR lists. I do have to agree with the many people who told me to read it, as I did find it quite enjoyable with many positive aspects that speak to me. It definitely has a feel of the old style fantasy books that I grew up reading and loving. It is a large book with many pages but it is most definitely a book that is worth investing the time to read it. Give it a try and see for yourself how enjoyable it truly is.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!