The Caller

Juliet Marillier

Neryn still has another guardian to meet before she can undertake her task as a Caller. Little does she know that magic has been weakening under the Tyrant’s rule, and it may be more difficult than she imagines. When it comes to the final battle, will she be able to succeed against the other forces moving against her?

The Caller is everything I wanted from Marillier. Action packed, strong friendship ties, and a bit of drama that doesn’t allow you to hope that the main characters will turn out ok.

I liked that we heard more from Flint’s perspective in this novel. Something from the other rebels would have been good too (such as Tali), but this lack meant that you felt like you were truly in Neryn’s shoes.

Hint, don’t read the back of this novel’s cover, or any summaries online. I accidentally read one, and then spent the whole book wondering when the thing was going to happen. It didn’t, and I didn’t feel cheated, I just wished I could have appreciated the bits more.

The conclusion isn’t surprising. Or rather it is, but then you realise you should have guessed from all the pointers in the beginning. You feel satisfied, but not too satisfied. And there’s still some tension lurking right to the very end.

I’m sort of sad that I didn’t feel enough connection to any of the secondary characters to be sad when they died. There was one exception, but I can’t tell you about that, obviously.

I’d love to know what happens next. Who will be king? Who will be the regents?