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Victor and the Sun Orb

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Sun fairies both good and evil, monstrous creatures, adventure, magic, a talking strawberry bush, ant royalty, and an epic battle for the freedom of an entire world are in store in the wonderful young adult fantasy Victor and the Sun Orb by Amy Nielsen.

The book captivates from the Prologue. On Solandia, another dimension of Earth, a mythical sphere called the Sun Orb gives the fairies their magical powers. Without the Orb the entire world will become dark and magic-less. The book opens at the trial of Thorkel, the brother of King Godfred, a short time after Thorkel's capture for stealing the Sun Orb. Under Solandian law, Thorkel is sentenced by Queen Magenta to life imprisonment for his crime.

Some 500 years later, Queen Magenta has given birth to a son, Prince Victor. Not long after his birth it is learned that he has been cursed to become human on his 13th birthday. Humans cannot survive in the fairy world of Solandia and so upon turning the fateful age, Victor must leave his family to live with humans. The King and Queen search the entire Kingdom for the person responsible for Victor's mortality curse.

Victor's parents take the curse very seriously and decide to prepare Victor for life with the humans. Victor begins training with a fairy Master Tyrus. For three hours a day, Victor is trained in magic, history, geography, self-defense, and human lifestyles. Victor doesn't take to his studies right away, but in time he becomes a proficient student.

Despite an intense, decade-long search, the curse is not broken. Victor leaves home to live on Earth as a human after his thirteenth birthday. Meanwhile, the Sun Orb is stolen and the fairies' magic instantly begins to weaken. It is believed that Narcissa, a once banished terrorist fairy, or even Thorkel, may be responsible for the theft. Magenta and Godfred assemble an army and travel to a place called Fallen Island to find the Sun Orb. On Earth, Victor's human friend, Annika, has been kidnapped and evidence is found of evil fairy magic. Victor must use all he has learned from Master Tyrus to travel to Fallen Island to save her.

Amy Nielsen has created a universe with loveable creatures, horrible monsters, and mythical magic, effectively keeping readers of all ages entertained from cover to cover. Nielsen steadily builds the momentum over the first 100 pages. Then she throws us onto a thrill ride of twists and turns in the closing chapters, as the armies of Magenta/Godfred and Narcissa/Thorkel's evil Croogs meet in a heroic battle to save or enslave all Solandia.

Highly recommended for readers 8-13, with a caution of some mild course language.

Reviewed by William Potter for Reader's Choice Book Reviews.

Victor and the Sun Orb, by Amy Nielson, introduces the story of Prince Victor of Solandia, born to the king and queen of the sun fairies; however, long before the prince is born, a terrible thing happens in Solandia--the sun orb is stolen. The culprit is caught and imprisoned, and the matter is thought to be resolved. Prince Victor is born years later; but on the day of his baptism a spell is put on him that will transform him into a mortal on his thirteenth birthday. At that time, he'll be forced to leave Solandia and join the human world.

Not long after Victor becomes human, the sun orb is stolen again. War begins in the fairy world. Mysterious events take place. Victor must embark on a quest to get back the sun orb, his mortality, and his human friend, Annika. On this quest, he finds himself up against enemies and mythical creatures, but with the help of friends and others he meets along the way, he defeats them all.

Written specifically for older children, they should enjoy this story quite a bit. There's some lessons in it, as Victor goes through his education and his quest, that Nielson's young audience may benefit from, along with briefly touching on some bigger questions that older children will just be starting to discover. On the other hand, the story seemed a little detached from its characters, even Victor. It was a little difficult to try and care for the cast and whether or not they completed their goals and saved their people. The story does have elements of slightly more traditional fairytales and has some of that style and tone, and is overall a good story of courage and strength.

Victor and the Sun Orb is intended for children ages 8-12 but those somewhat older than this might enjoy it as well, and any child that enjoys fantasy should enjoy this book.

In reading "Victor and the Sun Orb" by Amy Nielsen, I was immediately hooked by the intriguing prologue and knew that young readers would keep turning the pages until they reached the climatic ending. Also, they will be watching for the sequel to this book which entertains with an imaginative and magical storyline.

Although "Victor and the Sun Orb" is appropriate for children who are 8 to 13 years of age, I believe older children will also be captivated by Prince Victor, the son of Queen Magenta and King Godfred. These royal parents are the highly admired leaders of Solandia, a place inhabited by sun fairies with supernatural powers that enable them to fly, use magic wands, and become invisible to those living outside of their dominion.

The author, obviously very gifted, has crafted a dramatic adventure with a magical storyline that brings the characters to life with vivid description and appropriate dialogue. I enjoyed the personality of Prince Victor who definitely has no problem in expressing his likes and dislikes as a prince growing up in a castle where everything seems to be perfect. Of course, he has no knowledge or concern about the Sun Orb which powers all of Solandia. Without it, there would be no supernatural powers, and he, his parents, and the other sun fairies would not survive.

When Victor reaches the age of 10, he learns that a curse had been placed on his life shortly after his birth. Unless the curse is broken, the prince will become a human at the age of 13, facing mortality. He must live outside of Solandia in order to survive. Though his parents use all their resources to discover who placed this curse upon him, they are unsuccessful. And so, as caring parents, they begin to prepare Prince Victor for life as a human, trusting his training--seven lessons--to Master Tyrus, the retired Minister of Defense of Solandia. One of Victor's lessons concerned the knowledge of the Sun Orb and its magical powers.

On Victor's thirteenth birthday, he leaves home to begin his life as a human where he enjoys the company of a special friend named Annika. When the Sun Orb is stolen, Queen Magenta and King Godfred, with a large presence of warriors, travel to Fallen Island in search of the Sun Orb. However, their magic is growing weaker and weaker without their source of power, and the odds of success are not in their favor. Prince Victor also travels to Fallen Island to rescue Annika who has been kidnapped. What follows is an incredible battle of good versus evil. Although the good fairies receive some surprising help, there is tense fighting and much to overcome if Solandia is to be saved. Surely, readers will want to know the outcome of this battle as well as what happens to Victor. Will he become a fairy again and who is the dark hooded figure who placed the evil curse upon him in the first place? Expect the unexpected!

Readers will be fascinated by the many mythical creatures and will want to read this book over and over again. My eleven-year-old granddaughter was instantly hooked by the storyline and then enjoyed telling the story to her younger brother. "Victor and the Sun Orb" is wonderfully entertaining with important lessons to be learned. I highly recommend it.

When I was approached to read and review this book, I tossed over and over in my mind as to whether I could enjoy this type of book and give it a justifiable review. As I got into the book, it grew on me very quickly to the point that I was looking forward to the next page to find out what could occur next. This book is written for 8 to 12 year old children but after reading this excellent book, I think even older age groups would love it.

Queen Magenta and King Godfred were lord and masters of Solandia of the Amoretto Kingdom. They were strong leaders but ran Solandia in a kind way that made their people think extremely highly of their queen and king. Solandia was powered by the Sun Orb. As long as the Sun Orb was with them, their living was so good. The Sun Orb had to be protected because many outside the immediate area wanted the power that the Sun Orb would give them while ruining those in Solandia. Solandia and the Sun Orb were protected in general by "gallants" who were loyal guards and/or warriors that did all they could to protect all their citizens. Solandia residents had magic wands that were powered by the Sun Orb. Those living in Solandia were fairies that could fly and be invisible to those outside the area.

Some time previously, King Godfred's brother, Prince Thorkel, had tried to steal the Sun Orb, was caught, and sentenced to life imprisonment. It could have been death but for Queen Magenta speaking on his behalf.

Five hundred years later Prince Victor was born to the king and queen. You see, people of Solandia never aged but rather lived forever, unlike the humans who aged and died after a certain time. As Prince Victor was baptized, there lurked some evil from outside the kingdom. This evil or dark spirits, unseen until it was too late, placed a spell on the prince. How could this occur? The only one they could think of that would want to hurt the royal family was Thorkel but he was imprisoned in a distant land. The protection was increased around the entire royal family while the search for the culprit continued. One of the most trusted men, Master Tyrus, was appointed as Prince Victor's instructor. The prince reluctantly took Tyrus as his teacher but insisted that the lessons last no longer than three hours a day. Tyrus, as well as some others, took personal attention to the prince and knew they would be there to protect him.

Prince Victor had seven lessons he had to learn, one each day of the week. These lessons would prove to be invaluable to the prince in days as well as years to come. He was a good student and Tyrus was an exceptional teacher. Included in the lessons were flying to many new places using their own wings or falcons for longer distances. The king and queen had told Bogle to go along out of sight to protect the prince if needed. One of the lessons was to visit the humans. Naturally the humans couldn't see them so they observed the humans with interest and inquisitiveness. They observed the humans in an auto wreck and Prince Victor insisted he go to the scene and try to help. Despite Tyrus's objections, Victor did go to the wreck and couldn't believe the terrible condition the humans were in. One young girl he touched and she seemed to have life restored back into her body but no one could know that Victor did this deed.

Someone did manage to steal the Sun Orb, placing Solandia in trouble with loss of any of the super powers they possessed including a decreased power of their wands. Investigations were held and it was so decided that war would have to occur to get the Sun Orb back. The war against their enemies was hard fought and with lots of casualties on both sides. You will have to read the book to learn the actions and results of the war, who won and who survived. Even many adults would enjoy this story. As I read I couldn't but help think of what a great movie it would make with so many different types of characters, strange and different scenes, flying fairies, wands that performed magical actions, interaction between birds, animals, strange humans, and the many people of Solandia.

Victor and the Sun Orb is an action-packed adventure of sun fairies. It keeps me turning the pages, with a fast pacing plot and simple but effective dialogue, even the story is unique.

It is one of a kind fantasy/science-fiction novel, an extraordinary tale of magic and it depicts life in itself. This is the first time I read a story about sun fairies - it's pure magic. It will bring out the child-like within you.

The cover of the book is quite misleading though because there's more in this book than colorful sunset and rainbow. This is one book to read and I highly recommend it for children & young adults. (Review shared by Marie R.)