-
SETTING: In and around Austin, Texas.
-
SUMMARY: Colby Steven's childhood wish to see the world, real and "imaginary," puts him in the middle of a battle between reality and dreams, right and wrong, and forces him to realize the difference between doing good and doing for the greater good.
-
FAVORITE QUOTE: "'No one is born damned; you have to damn yourself. Hell's fires are fueled by the stuff of dreams and stoked with man's attempts to grasp them. Few men set out to damn their fellow man; those that do have a special place carved out in the brimstone of the underworld. The Devil loves a self-made man.'"
-
This book was a random pick from the local library near my parents' home, at first picked up because I liked the cover, title, and font size. I wanted a quick and easy read of pure fiction. This book promised to deliver faeries, angels, monsters, and changelings, so, along with the three favorable aesthetic points mentioned above, it seemed like a fantastic choice.
-
Things I liked about this book:
- Fantasy! It wasn't as far from reality as high-fantasy novels are, but it delivered on its promise of providing the reader with a plethora of fantastical creatures.
- The friendship between Colby, the protagonist, and Ewan, the secondary protagonist.
- Mallaidh's love for Ewan. (Her name is pronounced "Molly" according to the author. If you ask me, I'd say it should be pronounced "Mallay.")
- The story had soooooo many great ideas but they were all half-baked.
- The author created a number of different characters and types of creatures, but there were too many and only a few of them were presented fully and well.
- There were many characters in the fantasy world whose name and societal rank were briefly mentioned. The author would then bring these characters back, giving them such importance as if I, as the reader, should have had a working knowledge of that character's background and personality. In reality, the author had never provided such information.
- The author's writing style. It didn't flow well.
- The lack of description in much of the book. It was like the author was rushed for a deadline so he neglected to cultivate and nurture his ideas.
This book could have been great, but instead it ended up being a mess of words. There were too many themes and not enough emphasis on any one. I was left with nothing after finishing the book, and it was clear from the beginning that the author wanted it to be the type of story that had the reader walking away with a great life lesson learned. I think the author was trying to get at the difference between doing something because you believe it is good and sacrificing for the greater good, but this concept was briefly mentioned, and near the end at that. Also, there were no concrete events that led up to that being the crux of the story. If I'm trying to push a square peg into a round hole, then I can say that some of the events in the beginning perhaps foreshadowed this central theme. This book was a big disappointment, and I only kept reading it because I thought it had to get better. There were so many great ideas and so much potential! This is the author's first novel, and I think he is capable of creating great works of fiction, so I hope he keeps at it, but this first piece was not good.
-
Recommend? No. There are plenty of other books to read that are a better use of your time.
No comments:
Post a Comment