Seeker

Seeker (Nobel Warriors book 1) by William Nicholson; 2007, (pages) 413, Fantasy/YA.

This first novel in the Noble Warriors sequence begins when sixteen-year-old Seeker's older brother is publicly humiliated and--with no explanation--exiled from the Nomana, a revered order of warrior monks. Seeker refuses to believe that his beloved older brother is capable of committing a betrayal that would warrant such severe consequences, so he sets off alone on a journey to rescue his brother and find out at last what really happened. Along the way he meets two other young people who are on quests of their own, and in a shocking turn of events, the three are soon caught up in a harrowing and bloody race to save the Nomana--and themselves--from destruction. An epic coming-of-age story about courage, friendship, desire, and faith, Seeker marks the beginning of a riveting new series.

The Nobel Warriors is only the second series written by William Nicholson that I have read, and the story, writing, and characters just completely blew me away.

While at times I was reminded of his Wind on Fire series, Seeker was completely different in that the big “power” in the book was an elite order of warrior monks, the Nomana, and that the main characters were trying to prove their worth in joining them.
   Character-wise: One of the things that helped to make the story so good were that while the MCs all had the same basic goal (to join the Nomana), they each had very different reasons for doing so; Seeker felt called to become one of the Nomana, Wildman wanted ultimate power, and Morning Star was searching for her mother who left to become a member of the Nomana.
   Story-wise: I really enjoyed how the story was told from the perspective of the different factions within the book; you had Seeker, Morning Star, and Wildman’s side, then there was the narration from the adversary. The different perspectives added to the flow of the story without giving away any plot twists.
My favorite part of the book would have to have been when Seeker finds out why his brother, Blaze, was exiled from the order near the end of the book. It made for an interesting end of book twist.

Seeker is a great adventure/friendship fantasy read. I’ll definitely be checking out the sequel (Jango) in the future.
Would I recommend it? Yes, yes I would definitely recommend Seeker to readers who enjoy a thoroughly engrossing fantasy read.

Seeker earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.