With the final book of my favorite series “The Wheel of Time” published several years ago and no new book expected to be written, I’m on the lookout for a new sci-fi/fantasy series that has magic, compelling characters and great storyline.
So, when I picked up Kevin Hoffman’s “The Fifth Vertex 
I immediately fell in love with Urus Noellor, a boy who was born deaf to a very powerful warrior family but failed his tests to become one. On the other hand, there is Goodwyn, Urus’ best friend who is graduating on top of his class, named as the best warrior.
That these two are best friends is already hard to imagine, but Kevin Hoffman, with his finely honed story telling mojo made the friendship not only very possible but also emotional.
The other lead character is Cailix, a mysterious orphan. Cast as a strong female who survives because of her cunning and wit, Cailix joins Urus and Goodwyn in a fight that threatens the very existence of the world they live on.
Great characters, great plot related in a very fast-paced story telling style, “The Fifth Vertex
The Fifth Vertex
Urus Noellor– a boy born deaf who is about to be publicly branded as a burden, incapable of being the warrior his people demand–stands upon a rooftop, poised to throw himself over the edge. His failed attempt at suicide unlocks within him a long-dormant form of magic thought to have died out thousands of years before, a power that may be the key to saving the world from an equally ancient enemy.
Urus and his companions–Goodwyn, the greatest warrior in Kest, and Cailix, a mysterious orphan–must find a way to stop a powerful group of sorcerers from destroying the five long-hidden vertices that ward the world against threats from beyond, while fighting off threats from within. They soon learn that the scope of the coming danger may be more dire than any of them could have imagined. As the battle for the vertices spreads to the neighboring realms, Goodwyn must face the realities of war and death; Cailix discovers a devastating truth that could change everything; and Urus discovers his uncanny gifts and courage as he peels away clues to his true identity. But even as Urus gains the power he has always craved, he experiences it all in profound, lonely silence.
