Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.
I have a very important question. Do you think February will feel like the longest month of the year again? It happens every year despite being the shortest month. My money’s on yes. Though January certainly gave February a run for its money.
Now I hope you are all ready for another great review. Today’s review is a special one as it’s brought to you by Collective Ink and Our Street Books; they aren’t paying me for my review, they just sent me the book for free. Thank you very much for reaching out and offering me today’s read. It means a lot to me that someone out there wants to send me books. Thank you so very much.
And what book was I oh so kindly sent? Please give a warm welcome to Vanisher: Chronicles of the Warren by Tom Grimwood. Vanisher: Chronicles of the Warren released a few days ago on February 1, 2025.
As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other review on this site then you know I simply love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. This is your one and only warning.
In the land of Bryvania there lives a man by the name of Baron Kaveshvill. Here he built a labyrinthian style dungeon which he filled with monsters of all shapes and sizes, and treasures beyond everyone’s wildest dreams. As the surrounding lands had too few monsters, adventures, and treasures, Baron Kaveshvill’s dungeon thrived and became the only place for adventurers to gain fame and fortune. There’s only one rule: you must work alone.
Naturally there is someone who wants to destroy Baron Kaveshvill’s adventure monopoly. This someone, known to readers simply as Vane, builds a team and plans a heist that will take down the dungeon from the inside. This team has two of the best adventurers in all the land, Marsali Quil and Master Sekobi, a young elf named Sylvindor Fennan who’s skilled with a sword and speed, and finally, young Azra Mujkic who appears to be the odd one out in this little group. Though as it turns out, she’s actually the strongest one of the four.
Azra is blessed with magic, the rarest magic of all: the ability to vanish and appear at will. Of course she doesn’t really know how to use her magic in the beginning. In this universe, magic is lowkey shunned. Most who wield it keep it a secret out of fear of being ostracized or worse. Thankfully Master Sekobi helps Azra build her magic skills, and Quil teaches her some sword fighting before it’s time to take down Baron Kaveshvill’s dungeon. But once inside said dungeon, can Azra really trust the rest of her crew? Or will everyone turn on one another? Or will the monsters and other adventurers in the dungeon get to the crew before the four can even think to turn on each other? Find out in Vanisher: Chronicles of the Warren.
First things first, this book is intended for children. When I review children’s literature, I attempt to view the book in question as I would have in my childhood. With that little note, let’s get to the review proper.
Overall this book seems like a draft of a book. Vanisher is very much a high fantasy adventure novel. There is a magical world with all the dangers, creatures, and world building that comes with it. Wait. Save for the world building. There’s not really any world building. Vanisher includes a two page prologue that discusses the creation of the dungeon I mentioned in the synopsis, but there’s no lore when it comes to the world. There’s not much on the politics, if there is any conflict between humans and other species, how magic works, why magic is kinda frowned upon; basically all the standard stuff you expect from high fantasy. Now while I mourn the lack of world building, I do appreciate the fact the story throws readers right into the main plot, adventure, and action. I do wish the world was expanded upon though. World building is integral to high fantasy and the lack of it is why I say Vanisher feels like a draft of a book and not a fully finished one.
I do think the plot is fun. Is it fairly standard fare? Yes. But who cares! I want adventure and magic and that’s what Vanisher offers. It gives readers said magic and adventure on each page. Though I do have to say this is definitely a children’s book made for children; specifically a child who wants to read a fantasy book on their own. This is not a read that transcends ages like other notable high fantasy books. Vanisher is best read by a child whose parents read them the likes of Narnia and other fantasy novels and now wants to read a story on their own but isn’t to the level of reading a 600-page tome by themselves.
I, as a nearly 30-year-old lady, am not the target audience for this read. I recognize that and am okay with that. I could sit here and nit-pick Vanisher, but as I’m not the target audience I don’t feel I should. This review began by me saying I attempt to view children’s literature as I would have when I was a child. And childhood me would have enjoyed Vanisher enough.
Truthfully, this read is nothing more than ok. It’s serviceable. World building and character development could have been worked on way more, but for a quick fantasy read, the book works just fine. Nothing in Vanisher is groundbreaking, nor is there anything to write home about, but it’s also not the worst thing I’ve ever read. There was never a point in time where I wanted to throw the book down in anger nor did it make me fall asleep.
With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you once again to Collective Ink and Our Street Books for sending me a copy of Vanisher: Chronicles of the Warren. It truly means the world to me that someone out there wants to send me books. Thank you so, so much. And thank you, dear reader, for joining me today. I will see you again next week with another new review. If you can’t wait that long then you can always check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. Me and two of my dearest friends talks everything from Broadway scandals to haunted houses, Disney and Scooby-Doo, and weirdos of history to awesome people of history; there’s bound to be something that strikes your fancy.
Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.
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