Review: The Callenlas Chronicles
What if, so many of the best fantasy books wonder, the world were otherwise? What if one could stumble through a wardrobe into a whole other realm? What if witches and wizards lived hidden among us? What if our world held dragons? Or talking animals? Or theoretical magicians?
But there are other books, the great-great-great grandchildren of The Lord of the Rings, that offer us not an altered version of our own world, but a passport to a new place—somewhere textured with its own origin story and shaped by its own geography. The best of these give the impression that a multitude of things are happening just offstage, things we almost catch in our peripheral vision. When characters leave a scene, we feel confident they pass into another scene, perhaps equally as interesting as the one we’re reading.
Authors of stories like this must, I imagine, attend to a host of details. They cannot take for granted the familiar objects and events of our own world, but must give thought to even the smallest things—the customs and flora and such that work together to make a world feel believable. Real. And these things must relate to one another: just as the World Wars continue to shape our world (as well as books like The Lord of the Rings!), so the events of these invented realms must interlock and build upon one another. Nothing happens in isolation, not in life or in fiction—and certainly not in world-building.
H.R. Hess’s Callenlas Chronicles is a stellar example of this genre. Hess has skillfully built a world that feels as though things are happening outside the scenes and between the books. The first book, The Dark Star, introduces readers to Callenlas in its later years, while the last book, The Poet of the Leawold, tells of one of the earliest events in Callenlas lore. The rest of the series zigzags between and around these two points, as each one drops readers into a new moment and lets us find our way.
Perhaps because of that very Chronicles-of-Narnia-like structure, the main thread of the series is hard to summarize. But there are dragons, and there is something called The Gift, which is like magic but somehow better and sweeter. There are stars living in the midst of the mortals. And there is King Elior.
The books vary in tone as well as chronology, and I loved this. The First Skyrider is a blast—a school days story filled with adventure and shenanigans. The Water Maiden of Lealos is a sort of scholastic mystery featuring forgotten letters and hidden rooms. And The Poet of the Leowold? That one is beautiful. And heart-breaking.
It’s hard to choose a favorite title, but I will say that the ones I loved best were scattered throughout the series, so don’t you dare read the first book and think you’ve taken a fair sample.
Callenlas is a world filled with treasure, and these books give us just a taste of a place striated with stories. Though at five books the series feels complete, I wouldn’t be sad (or surprised) to learn that H.R. Hess is at work on two or three more. This is a realm with stories to spare, and I’m so grateful we get to enjoy them.
One last note: Because of some romantic themes and some of the depictions of violence, these books are probably best for older teens. Please consider prereading them yourself—I wouldn’t be surprised to find that you love them just as much as your growing readers do!
- Review: The Callenlas Chronicles - January 26, 2026
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