The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Worldcaller

Series: The Hundred Isles #1

Author: Luke Beckstrand

Genre: Young Adult, Adventure, Fantasy

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Jerus Saltier only wants to live a quiet life as a fisherman, but his brother Devith yearns to run off and join the Navy.

Neither of them get what they want.

What begins as a simple fishing venture unwittingly becomes entangled with a complex political coup and a lethal quest for ancient magical artifacts. Jerus and Devith struggle and bond as brothers while making unexpected friends with pirates and kings, fighting sea monsters, and following a mysterious and possibly untrustworthy stranger on a dangerous quest to a haunted island. Their simple goals in life expand as they fight to save not only themselves, but the entire world. – summary from Amazon

*I received an ARC from the author and all opinions are my own.

Worldcaller is an adventurous, pirate story full of magic, friends, and family!

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started this book, but I loved it!

One of the things that really drew me to this book was that it followed brothers! I loved this storyline so, so much! Solid sibling relationships are something that I look for, and I was extremely pleased to find it. Jerus and Devith are wonderful, and they worked through and discussed issues they had. They were both older, in their twenties, so that added something to their dynamic that I don’t often see. They had their issues, but they worked through it in a rational way and were still there for each other. Also, the issues that they had were valid, at least in my mind.

It was also super cool to see siblings who loved each other but also wanted very different things in life. One wanted a life of adventure while the other wanted a simple life. It was nice to see how these characters balanced this with each other.

There was a nice backstory in this book. The magic and political system were interesting and unique. I think it was weaved very nicely into the story. The magic gave me Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes. I do hope that there is a greater exploration of the lore surrounding this world in future installments.

I really loved all the other characters, too! They were super interesting and unique. I really enjoyed Sephra, Kira, and Canaan specifically. The pirate crew was also amazing! I loved their banter and their loyalty. They were a lovely team, that had a lot of fun with each other and genuinely cared.

Canaan was so interesting! He had a unique magic, and I loved the explorations of the struggles he had with this. The inclusion of this other side of magic was appreciated. Kira was also amazing! She was so sweet, and her relationship with Canaan was adorable. It also felt more mature. Not with inappropriate content, but that they could have conversations and handle things in a calm manner.

Sephra was wonderful! She was a strong character, and she had an amazing storyline. She dealt with some heavy things in this book, and there was some excellent grief exploration. There was also a little hint at romance between her and Jerus. I loved the slow progression of this and how respectful Jerus was of her.

Jerus had an interesting story. I related to him quite a bit because I am also the person that wants a simpler life. But he was thrown into an adventure to save the world. He had a nice character arc and came more into his own.

The antagonists of this book were interesting. I thought they were unique and truly the bad guys. There was a little twist for one of the bad guys, which I liked.

This book was written in multi-POV! I loved all the different perspectives and storylines we were shown throughout the book.

One of my favorite things about this book was the vibes of this book. This was a fun, adventurous book, but it also had strong, mature characters that really added to the book in my mind.

I will say I had one big issue with the book. It left off so wonderfully, and I have to wait for the next book! I also feel like this may be a longer series, and I really want to know what’s going to happen. The ending was truly amazing, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Worldcaller was a fun pirate adventure with siblings, multi-POV, and siblings! Truly a wonderful read!

This book is releasing on May 27, 2026.

Quotes:

“‘When the world gives you no hope, you must give hope to the world.”

“‘The right thing is still the right thing. And it’s worth fighting for even if we might fail.’”