Aged-up wizarding school story but without the added transphobia that so appalls and offends me, though with forced heteronormativity...just let Bryn be a kid without a love interest!

That series wasn't the first iteration of the story, so no talk of "ripping off," please. In that case everyone owes the Mauschwitz people royalties for that revolting rodent's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" bit in 1940's <i>Fantasia</i>. Or the composer, Paul Dukas, of that bit owes at least a nod to Goethe for the poem from 1797; which is a nod to Classical sources that likely derive from ancient Egyptian sources. This idea, laddies and gentlewomen, does not belong to, nor was it originated by, the transphobic Scottish woman.

Thank all those useless gods.


Okay, well, that's one hobbyhorse ridden. Now why did I give the read three stars? Simple. I'm tired of this story. Let this field lie fallow a few generations. The translator from the original German, Patrick Moffatt, did an okay job. I don't know what he had to work with, but it's pretty much all "low, green armchair"s and "dust dancing in golden light beam"s level stuff. It works; it's not <i>clunky</i>; but I remember no specific line at all.

So a serviceable read? Yep. I resent not one minute of those five hours. I don't think I'd say yes to a DRC of #2 in the series...just not that excited. The folks who love the special-orphan-learns-magical-truth books will eat it up with a spoon. On current evidence, that's a whole huge heap of y'all. PLUS there's seven of 'em and the series is completed!

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a massive fan of this plot. Earthsea thrilled me as a ten-year-old; the transphobic woman's book had to be read due to FOMO; other than that I'm a resolute take it or leave it guy fatigued into resistance by ubiquity. YMMV, and most likely will, so give it a whirl. It's low risk for these prices, and free on KU means you're really not risking anything except time.

Typical plot for a magical/fantasy novel. Mysterious orphan boy is adopted by a plain woodsman who has secret magic powers. Evil creatures discover the boy's whereabouts and try to kill him. Guardian and the boy flee to a magical school/castle where the boy will learn how to use his own extraordinary magical powers. Boy and his multi-creature friends are sent on a quest to destroy the source of the evil creatures and in the process lose the girl of the boy's dreams to the evil sorcerer. Now we have the set up for book two in the series.

I wasn't sure which age reader for which this was intended. Adults? Young Adults, middle graders? This is mostly action and very little world-building or description. Stick to the David Eddings series or those by Raymond Feist for more satisfying adventure/fantasy novels.

A cross between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. It is an immersive read that drops you into a magical medieval world with creatures, friend and foe. A magical school that trains gifted youngsters to defend the land, with a side competition among class houses/dorms. The book has so much so catch your attention. The characters are well developed while still leaving enough mystery to pique your curiosity. Although some creatures are borrowed from legend, there are enough new creatures to make this story a stand-out. And the storyline is exciting. Bryn is a great central character - of unknown origin, life at risk but willing to learn to defend those he loves. His new friends are a motley bunch that have a lot of interesting and fun interplay. Overall, this is a great new series starter that shares some elements to common tropes, yet is original enough to stand apart from others. I have to thank Book Whisperer for allowing me to read a courtesy copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed the origin of Bryn's tale and look forward to seeing where the story leads next!

Epic adventure in an almost midevil setting that really has it all - evil monsters, epic journey, orcs, dwarves, friends, and a bit of young love! The underdog and his fellows make the grade, but the journey isn't quite over yet, more to come ...

The start of an epic fantasy adventure!

The Secrets of Alaburg is a highly satisfying fantasy adventure novel that hooks readers at the start and never lets down.

16-year old Bryn has been raised in relatively obscurity apprenticing as a hunter with his foster father. That changed when Bryn was attacked returning home from selling furs at market by a horrifying creature. His foster father, Gerald, sensed his fear and distress and raced through the snow to help. When he arrived at the scene there was a smoking pile of ash, and Bryn was unconscious. Gerald knew they had to leave in a hurry—and he knew just where to go.

The Alaburg University is an exclusive school that accepts only the magically gifted. To his surprise, Bryn was granted entry, even though he did not fit any of the normal classifications. He was put in a house for misfit students and made important connections that would ultimately be crucial to his survival and, potentially, to the survival of the world.

The pace of this book was excellent and the characters were unique and charismatic—making it easy to care about their success or failure. This is the first book in a series of seven. I cannot wait to download the rest of the series!

The Secrets of Alaburg has been described as the German Harry Potter. The parallels between the two are extremely similar. Bryn, the main character, is unaware of his world's magic/creatures, something big and bad is after him, and the school is where he's safest! The pacing is off and I felt that the writing was a bit disjointed. After doing some further research, I learned this was actually written in German. I am sure that the grammar issues are due to mistranslations. Overall, this was a difficult read for me since the issues I had with the novel kept pushing me off. I will not be reading the books.

Greg Walters has built a community of mixed race fantasy with a plot driven on how the races must work together to survive and prosper. The plot line is set in Alaburg University, a school where the students are safe and learn to defend themselves and their world. Yes, it has a few hints of Harry Potter, but I loved Harry Potter too. There is some confusion in reading since it was translated from German, but I found it easy to follow the story. A great start to the series.

Acknowledgements and grateful thanks to NetGalley and Book Whisperer publishing for the opportunity to read and review this e-ARC: 'The Secrets of Âlaburg by Greg Walters'. All opinions are my own and are not a reflection of the publishers and/or author, of which I have no association with.

Four out of five stars (4/5 stars).

"A monstrous beast with glowing red eyes attacks Bryn in the dead of night, leaving him with no choice but to flee for his life. The sixteen-year-old barely escapes the creature’s clutches, only to uncover a greater truth: his existence is far from ordinary. Forced to leave his home, Bryn and his foster father, Gerald, seek refuge at the legendary Âlaburg University—a haven where humans, dwarves, elves, and orcs study the arcane mysteries of the Colors of Magic." — from the book's information page on NetGalley.

Funny, smart and adventurous! I guess this is my new boyfriend now.

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of school / university books, but I look forward to the next book in this series. I never even finished Harry Potter, but I'd finish this.

Filled to the rim with sassy comments and friendly fire, this book is great for any child, teen or adult. Easy to read and detailed enough that you know what's going on, but simple enough that you get lost in the story. Perfect.

I had trouble focusing this week, but I swallowed this book whole

When is book 2 coming out and can I pre-order?!

I recommend this for any library or shelf (especially your Goodreads shelf) and love the magical system that the author has created. In some ways it is similar to HP, but is done by species not desires. Join 4 heroes as they learn from each other and their experiences during their first year at the University.

This is book one of the magical fantasy series of Alaburg University.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
It is a story of growing up and finding yourself, not just for the main protagonist.

It reminded me of some Harry Potter (a magical school, four houses, a magical sport, etc.) meets the Lord of the Rings (a fellowship of magical beings, some of them dwarves, elves, and humans) story. However, it had its original elements.

The entire premise that the school is for all the different magical creatures, while all of them live separately, and are extremely biased is what rubbed me the wrong way - it is just a matter of time before the animosity tips over. The White House is almost in apartheid. But maybe that is what the author intended.

The story was developing fast enough for me and I enjoyed the writing, although I couldn't always connect to the characters and was sometimes annoyed by them. But that is probably also natural since they are a lot younger than me.

A lot of mysteries are left unsolved by the end and there should be plenty of time to uncover them in future books, which I am looking forward to!

Thank you to NetGalley, author and publisher for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so glad this book has finally been translated to English.
I read this a few years ago, when I bought my first Kindle and saw the original (German) version on Kindle Unlimited.
It was my first book in the YA / coming of age subgenre I read as an adult and I loved everything about it.

The characters are well written and relatable. The magic system the author described was something entirely new to me and I really love the idea of different races using magic in different colors.
The school trope is one of my favorites and so is the one about underdogs. This story has both.

Give this book a try, you won't regret it ☺️

I really enjoyed this book. I love a good fantasy book that can keep me entertained, and Greg Walters delivered! The characters, especially Bryn, were well written, and the story was so well paced that it kept me reading. I admit that with the action and characters that I can't wait to read more in this series. I highly recommend this book to other fantasy lovers.

Thank you Net Galley ARC and Book Whisperer

The secrets of Alaburg, is an enjoyable, and easy to read fantasy book for several reasons.

This safe, coming of age fantasy, where the main protagonist, Bryn, slowly finds himself, builds quick momentum. The pacing and shorter chapters ensures that the tempo builds steadily & action continues the progress at a rate that commands your attention.

Gerald & Bryn are fleshed out and real with easy to understand nomenclature & use great descriptions for the readers, so you can mentally visualize the characters. The vivid wording develops the setting & environment well enough to bring you into the story.

Even after very few chapters I was intrigued by the magic system, discovering the hidden back story that has created the current situations.

Fortunately this story has it all, in terms of fantasy. Action, sword & sorcery, high magic & romance.

I would say Greg starts off with a solid series, that will leave readers thirsty for the next novel in the series.