After the disaster that was my last read, this book was a delight! It wasn't perfect and if it had followed something like Doug Hurlick's Among Thieves it might not have been such a success but such as it is, this book is well worth a read.
The storyline is pretty simple, telling of a young convicted thief's son, who's working as a shepherd to escape his father's crimes, is found by a wizard and offered power he has not really dreamt about. Couple that with his more than decent knowledge of sword-play you'd think he'd have an easy ride to the status he has never had... Nothing could be more wrong. The author has no qualms about making things difficult for his character, he spends more time injured, shunned or being tortured than getting where he needs to be, it makes a welcome change from reading about characters that are good at everything or learn everything easily.
The book has a good mix of politics, magic and dragons and the plot twists in good ways during the first two thirds of the book. It got a little predictable at the end and I felt as though the ending had been rushed a bit. We all like our hero's to win the day and get the girl but in this book, the girl turned out to be someone he'd had a two minute conversation with at the start of the book and not seen since until right at the end. She seemed more of a plot point than a real character.
There are other characters in the novel that could be a bit more developed as well. The wizard who finds our hero plays a major part at the start of the novel, gets injured and then is never seen again. Why did he go to all the effort of fetching the young shepherd if you're going to ignore him... Even after you recover?
The world is well thought out and the magic system the author has used is different to what I have read before which is a welcome change. It is a step away from your traditional fire throwing cliche and a step towards something else, this alone makes the book worth a peruse.
Despite these flaws, this novel is well worth a read. I enjoyed it and will be reading the follow up sometime soon.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Approaching the Dark Age - Resonace: Matthew Chivers
I didn't expect to be posting this so quickly, but at 36% I had to call it quits. This novel was so appallingly written I just couldn't finish it. I'm not even sure where to start but I shall give it a go.
The technical aspects of writing have been ignored by the author of this book. I can forgive over use of adverbs and even pardon the contradiction of adjectives but the double negative sentence, 'It could not take no more' was a bit of a slap in the face. The children in my primary class (age 7-9) know not to use language like this, how a grown man doesn't I cannot fathom. Chivers also tends to overwrite things, using four words where one would suffice. This makes some scenes rather dull.
I tried to look passed all the technicalities though and focused on the characters instead. I found them flat, one dimensional and predictable. The priestess did a wonderful job of explaining how magic worked in their world using good scientific terms. This was immediately contradicted by labelling it 'magic' and shrugging off the previous explanation. The Tribal character is a moody, rude adolescent boy who has forgotten half his past. Problem with him is he's so rude, I didn't care what happened to him. These two pair up with a gang of Packers, consisting of about seventeen people, only four of which are important enough to have names. Might as well just stick them in red shirts and shoot them now.
The pacing of the novel seems to be one fight scene after another with a bit of travelling between locations. It became predictable after the second fight. The writing of these scenes was OK but weakened by the author putting the shouting in a bold type face. I can see they're yelling, no need to patronise me in this manner.
There are loads of other things wrong with this novel; irrelevant quotes at the start of chapters; wooden dialogue; contradictory attitudes. So many in fact that I could be here all day and I'll get comments like TLDR. It's frustrating because with a bit of refining and three more rounds of editing, it would make a decent story. Needless to say, I won't be reading the sequel!
The technical aspects of writing have been ignored by the author of this book. I can forgive over use of adverbs and even pardon the contradiction of adjectives but the double negative sentence, 'It could not take no more' was a bit of a slap in the face. The children in my primary class (age 7-9) know not to use language like this, how a grown man doesn't I cannot fathom. Chivers also tends to overwrite things, using four words where one would suffice. This makes some scenes rather dull.
I tried to look passed all the technicalities though and focused on the characters instead. I found them flat, one dimensional and predictable. The priestess did a wonderful job of explaining how magic worked in their world using good scientific terms. This was immediately contradicted by labelling it 'magic' and shrugging off the previous explanation. The Tribal character is a moody, rude adolescent boy who has forgotten half his past. Problem with him is he's so rude, I didn't care what happened to him. These two pair up with a gang of Packers, consisting of about seventeen people, only four of which are important enough to have names. Might as well just stick them in red shirts and shoot them now.
The pacing of the novel seems to be one fight scene after another with a bit of travelling between locations. It became predictable after the second fight. The writing of these scenes was OK but weakened by the author putting the shouting in a bold type face. I can see they're yelling, no need to patronise me in this manner.
There are loads of other things wrong with this novel; irrelevant quotes at the start of chapters; wooden dialogue; contradictory attitudes. So many in fact that I could be here all day and I'll get comments like TLDR. It's frustrating because with a bit of refining and three more rounds of editing, it would make a decent story. Needless to say, I won't be reading the sequel!
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Mageborn: The Blacksmith's Son - Michael G Manning
This is the first book by Michael G Manning and while there are some crucial pitfalls in the novel it makes a good read. Lets start with the positive; I read it in 3 days and although I am off work (school holidays) it usually takes me a good week to read a book. The characters were interesting enough for me to care about, there was enough action for it to be a gripping read and all in all I wanted to know what the outcome of the novel would be. The world Manning has built is well thought out and immersion is not an issue throughout
The plot was reasonably well thought out although there are some issues I had with placing in the overall structure. There is the notion in writing that one plus one equals a half and this novel certainly falls down here. The author tends to overstate a point somewhat which gets a bit annoying. I don't need beating around the head with an issue, trust me, I understood the first time. The author has interesting starts to his chapters where one of the characters explains the magic system in his world - this is fine, but I then don't need the protagonist re-explaining this later in the same chapter. My memory is better than your average goldfish.
There is also an issue regarding Point of View. Usually in novels, you choose one and stick to it. Not so in this book. We get some first person and some third, nice blend which overall works well. The bits where it falls down is when you get this shift mid paragraph. This gets a bit confusing at times and could be made clearer to the reader. Some of the plot points are not completed but I have since discovered there is a follow up so that explains that.
I'd recommend this book as it is easy to read and overall a good story. I can forgive Manning these pitfalls as it is his first novel and we all get better the more we do something right?
The plot was reasonably well thought out although there are some issues I had with placing in the overall structure. There is the notion in writing that one plus one equals a half and this novel certainly falls down here. The author tends to overstate a point somewhat which gets a bit annoying. I don't need beating around the head with an issue, trust me, I understood the first time. The author has interesting starts to his chapters where one of the characters explains the magic system in his world - this is fine, but I then don't need the protagonist re-explaining this later in the same chapter. My memory is better than your average goldfish.
There is also an issue regarding Point of View. Usually in novels, you choose one and stick to it. Not so in this book. We get some first person and some third, nice blend which overall works well. The bits where it falls down is when you get this shift mid paragraph. This gets a bit confusing at times and could be made clearer to the reader. Some of the plot points are not completed but I have since discovered there is a follow up so that explains that.
I'd recommend this book as it is easy to read and overall a good story. I can forgive Manning these pitfalls as it is his first novel and we all get better the more we do something right?
Saturday, 7 April 2012
Supernatural: The Unholy Cause - Joe Shreiber
And now everyone knows I am a fan of Supernatural. No bad thing, the TV show is well worth a watch and after my last couple of reads I felt it was time for something cheap and easy.
This book is both of those, cheap and easy, I read it in a matter of days and have to admit I was most pleased with it. The author has caught the two characters perfectly. Dean says some very Deanish lines and Sam is his usual moaning self. Castiel is about as deadpan as he is in the show and the three characters manage to work together to save a small Southern American town from disaster while also averting the Apocalypse. Who could ask for more than that?
The pacing of the novel is brilliant as well. The ending has me flicking the buttons on the Kindle as fast as I could. I was even reading while lounging on the sofa - a rarity for me - it had gripped me that much! The language used in the book is good, yet not too complicated and has some decent similes as well. In fact, this book as so many similes in it, they become a bit grating towards the end. However, this is my only complaint about the book and it's a minor one at that!
I'd recommend this book for Supernatural fans without hesitation but if you don't know what the show is about, your just going to get confused so it won't be worth your time.
This book is both of those, cheap and easy, I read it in a matter of days and have to admit I was most pleased with it. The author has caught the two characters perfectly. Dean says some very Deanish lines and Sam is his usual moaning self. Castiel is about as deadpan as he is in the show and the three characters manage to work together to save a small Southern American town from disaster while also averting the Apocalypse. Who could ask for more than that?
The pacing of the novel is brilliant as well. The ending has me flicking the buttons on the Kindle as fast as I could. I was even reading while lounging on the sofa - a rarity for me - it had gripped me that much! The language used in the book is good, yet not too complicated and has some decent similes as well. In fact, this book as so many similes in it, they become a bit grating towards the end. However, this is my only complaint about the book and it's a minor one at that!
I'd recommend this book for Supernatural fans without hesitation but if you don't know what the show is about, your just going to get confused so it won't be worth your time.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
D H Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover
We all like forbidden things right? Speaking for myself, tell me I can't have something and I so want it. The same applied to banned books. Why were they banned? What is all the fuss about? What was so shocking about the book that it was restricted from common view?
This is what prompted me to read this book, written in the 1920's I can see why the material inside could be considered illicit. In fact it still could be, having said that though, by modern standards, it isn't as graphic or sordid as some of the other erotic romances I have read.
The language used when describing body parts is basic, there's no cock splattered across the page and it's ability to shock the reader has passed along with the time when it was written. Having said that, there is some beautifully crafted scenes in this book and they are a wonder to read. Lawrence's ability for the poetic really shows in this book and for this reason, but not only this reason, I would recommend you read it.
After the initial outcry of the sordidity of the book, and once you look past the sex scenes, there is a very pointed comment about the society Lawrence lived in. There are some very good points about the state of economy during the period between the two wars, as well as the changing attitudes of generations. The characters are very real as well, their insecurities and observations of the gender differences is easy to relate to, as is observed, “A woman has to live her life, or live to repent not having lived it.” and what can be more true?
This was a really enjoyable read and I would suggest you add it to your 'to read' list!
This is what prompted me to read this book, written in the 1920's I can see why the material inside could be considered illicit. In fact it still could be, having said that though, by modern standards, it isn't as graphic or sordid as some of the other erotic romances I have read.
The language used when describing body parts is basic, there's no cock splattered across the page and it's ability to shock the reader has passed along with the time when it was written. Having said that, there is some beautifully crafted scenes in this book and they are a wonder to read. Lawrence's ability for the poetic really shows in this book and for this reason, but not only this reason, I would recommend you read it.
After the initial outcry of the sordidity of the book, and once you look past the sex scenes, there is a very pointed comment about the society Lawrence lived in. There are some very good points about the state of economy during the period between the two wars, as well as the changing attitudes of generations. The characters are very real as well, their insecurities and observations of the gender differences is easy to relate to, as is observed, “A woman has to live her life, or live to repent not having lived it.” and what can be more true?
This was a really enjoyable read and I would suggest you add it to your 'to read' list!
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