Book Review: The Hunter’s Apprentice: A Keltin Moore Adventure by Lindsay Schopfer

Today I am reviewing The Hunter’s Apprentice: A Keltin Moore Adventure by Lindsay Schopfer. As my longtime friends will tell you, I never review a book I didn’t honestly like.

magic I have been following the adventures of Keltin Moore and his friends since the first novel, The Beast Hunter: A Keltin Moore Adventure came out. It is a compelling series, and I have become quite fond of one particular character, Jaylocke.

But First, the Blurb:

Can the beast hunter’s apprentice prove his worth?

Professional monster hunter Keltin Moore has worked hard to teach his trade to Jaylocke, his good friend and apprentice. But the time for teaching is over when Jaylocke receives word that the woman of his dreams may marry someone else if he cannot prove to his people that he has mastered his trade.

Together, master and apprentice must assemble their friends and travel the fabled Salt Road to the annual Gathering of the Weycliff wayfarers. But there’s more than a simple test of skill awaiting them among the mysterious, nomadic people. Bitter rivalries and titanic beasts will put Keltin’s talents as hunter, teacher, and friend to the test as Jaylocke struggles to prepare for the most important trial of his life.

This is the fourth installment of the award-winning Adventures of Keltin Moore, a series of steampunk-flavored fantasy novels. If you love compelling characters, fantastic creatures, and intense action then you will love these stories!

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My Review:

BookCover Final Beasts and weaponry abound in this installment of Keltin Moore’s adventures. The story opens with Keltin trying to keep his fledgling business afloat and pay the bill it incurs. It details the journey of his apprentice, Jaylocke. Jaylocke is a Weycliffe Wayfarer, a young man seeking to regain his status within his clan, by participating in a ritual called the Proving.

Elaine Destov, one of my favorite characters, is Keltin’s romantic interest. She becomes his office manager.

Jaylocke’s storyline shows his growth into true Weycliffe adulthood. I like that Schopfer did not take the apprentice’s story in an expected direction. The character arcs of both Keltin and Jaylocke are fully developed, and the conclusion of this novel thoughtful and realistic.

Each of the sentient races have personalities and societies that are unique. Prejudice, racial discrimination, the way the different peoples interact with each other when living in another race’s community is shown with compassion.

One aspect of Schopfer’s writing that appeals to me is his ability to show the world his characters inhabit by having them interact with it as a matter of course – it just is, and it’s all they know.

All in all, if you like action adventure with an old west flair, I highly recommend this installment in the Beast Hunter series.

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Lindsay Schopfer is the award-winning author of The Adventures of Keltin Moore, a series of steampunk-flavored fantasy novels about a professional monster hunter. He also wrote the sci-fi survivalist novel Lost Under Two Moons and the fantasy short story collection Magic, Mystery and Mirth. Lindsay’s workshops and seminars on the craft of writing have been featured in a variety of Cons and writing conferences across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.