The Ellyrian Code | A Magical, Mischeivious And Wonderous New Epic Fantasy Book | Book Review

One genre I will never tire of reading is fantasy. A fantastic way to escape our world, to go on adventures and experience things one can only dream of. Epic fantasy in particular is a genre I love – whole new worlds, magic and who knows what magical creatures or folk can be encountered within the pages of an epic fantasy book? 

The Ellyrian Code by B.F. Peterson is a new book that ticked all the boxes for what I love in an epic fantasy. A magical and transportive story, this book serves as a reminder of just how epic fantasy can be —and for me personally, why I love reading in the first place.

Book: The Ellyrian Code
Author: B.F. Peterson
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Angry Robot Books
Release Date: Out Now
Rating: ★★★★★

Disclaimer: I was kindly sent a copy of this book from Angry Robot Books in exchange for an honest review. This has not impacted my review, and all opinions are my own.

As usual with my reviews, here is the synopsis to bring you all up to speed. Synopsis taken from Goodreads:

Fourth Wing meets The Atlas Six in this epic fantasy set in an elite university, where four students test their mettle to become part of an elite order of dragon riders.

Eshtem University has long stood as a pillar of equal opportunity, a place that any youth of Ellyrian can apply to to become part of the Edrei, an elite order of dragon-riding, magic-wielding peacekeepers. 

High Prince Jadon seeks an escape from his father’s political machinations. Though his recklessness attracts respect from several classmates, it also nurtures the ire of others, including Jenne, a common born student who seeks to recall memories that she purposely wiped before the start of term.

Smitten with Jenne, Diar finds himself increasingly torn between allegiances to his heart, his religion and the house Noraani. And as the first Noraani royal to attend Eshtem in a century, Princess Christina is determined to not let anyone – or anything – stand in her way.

But as evidence of corruption surfaces within the order, the students will have to re-examine their future and the roles they wish to play as an Edrei… if they aren’t expelled first.

This book is dense. It’s not one you can read as you fall asleep, but one that commands attention.  Having said this, I found this to be far from a problem. Once I started reading, I became so engrossed in the story that I found it hard to drag my attention away and put the book down!

As is the case with epic fantasy, there’s a whole other world to learn about and B.F. Peterson’s writing in The Ellyrian Code masters the art of world-building. Thrown into the heart of the story and world, there’s a mixture of details coming together gradually and also learning as you go, until at some point within the book, everything has just clicked, and it all makes sense. I’d say the world-building is somewhat similar in style to that of Jade City. Whilst readers may not be spoon-fed every detail from the first page, this made the book no less enjoyable or easy to understand. The details from setting to magic to political systems and more are so intricate, vivid and incredibly well thought out and beautifully written. The world within this book has remarkable depth and is rich with detail. It is this incredible creativity and attention to detail that brings The Ellyrian Code and all within it to life so brilliantly, providing a book that is easy to get immersed in and lose yourself in.

Host to a large cast of characters, The Ellyrian Code is told through the point of view of five of them. Five points of view may sound confusing, but the way B.F. Peterson writes ensures this is far from the case. Each character has their own distinct voice, so it is easy to distinguish one from another. The exploration of the characters provides readers with a chance to follow people from a range of backgrounds and expertise, which only makes the book that much more interesting and exciting.

The development of the characters throughout the book is stark and feels like a natural progression of everyone’s character. Not only do we meet five main characters, but an equally interesting cast of side characters. Despite being introduced to many people, everyone has equal time and depth dedicated to them. No character feels like they are there just superficially, but rather everyone is individually fleshed out and adds something to the world and story. With such a diverse cast within the book, this ensures there is someone for everyone; someone who may capture your interest in particular, someone you may see elements of yourself within, or if you’re like me, you may end up interested and invested in everyone, and want to learn everything about all of them! By the end of the book, every character was so familiar to me, and there wasn’t one person I didn’t like reading about.

Despite The Ellyrian Code being a fairly chunky read, it is easy to fly through as there’s a really addictive feel to the writing. As said before, portions of the plots are dedicated to world-building, but largely this is a dark academia book about students learning how to prepare for a life of politics, military strategy, swords, magic…and dragons. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t one of the fastest-paced books ever, but in my opinion, it is no less exciting despite this.

There are many familiar elements of lots of fantasy books within this book – magic, politics, learning how to fight, mischievous students learning this at a prestigious university that is very cutthroat. Whilst these themes are present in many other fantasy books, in The Ellyrian Code, these themes come together to be part of a book that feels new, exciting, and full of imagination, wonder and creativity. With there being countless fantasy books with these elements within, it is hard to find a book that is unique now, but B.F. Peterson’s writing makes this book exactly that. There’s a perfect balance of characterisation, plot and world building. Furthermore, there’s also a good balance of the lessons, the emotional themes and the tense, action scenes. All combined, they lead to one brilliant book.

It is clear that The Ellyrian Code is the first in a series. The book has been written in a way where it is still hugely enjoyable, but it is also obvious that the plot of this first book is leading to more. The Ellyrian Code is such a fantastic start to a new series that I was never left frustrated it’s lacking or only leading up to more books, but only wanting more when the book is finished.

The one thing I will say is to not expect too much dragon content. There’s just enough dragons within these pages to tease readers, but it feels like a warm-up, preparing readers for the dragons to become much more significant in books to come. The dragons I did get to read about, I hugely enjoyed, and I can’t wait to see what the next book(s) have in store and how they build on this one. 

I’ve seen a few people critiquing this book online; there’s been a lot of marketing for this book, calling it ‘the new Fourth Wing’, and therefore, people have picked up the book and been left disappointed. I would say Fourth Wing is very much a fast-paced romantasy. The Ellyrian Code is not a book I personally would have marketed as similar to Fourth Wing, as The Ellyrian Code is definitively an epic fantasy. There may not be romance and only a smidgen of dragons, but one thing that is guaranteed is escapism, mischief and a fantastically captivating read.

By the end of The Ellyrian Code, Eshtem University felt like home. I had become so fond of the characters, and all I wanted was more. I didn’t want to leave everyone, nor leave the magic, and I instantly started googling to see if there was any news of book two yet (there isn’t). Not only that, this is already a very strong contender of being my favourite book of 2025 so far. Now, if that’s not a sign of how much I loved the book, I don’t know what is. As it is, I’m resisting the urge to go back to the beginning and reread the book already!

The Ellyrian Code is an epic fantasy that lives up to the name of that very genre. adventurous, intriguing and immersive, this is a book one can easily lose oneself in. So, if you’re looking for a magical, mischievous and wonderous new epic fantasy book to read…this may well be one for you!

The Ellyrian Code is out now!