Answering Review Request: "Blood for Gold book 1 Fatal Tome".

Damien Coll asked me to read his short story "Blood for Gold book 1 Fatal Tome". It's about criminals exiled to an orc infested island to mine for gold and stars a thief.  I will examine plot, characters and polish and then assign a grade.

PLOT

It is difficult to weigh the plot because of the nature of this story. It is 37 pages long and cuts off shortly after the protagonist arrives on the island. It feels like an extended prologue. The main character is introduced and developed. She's sent to this island and meets other people. Then the orcs attack and the book cuts off.

The tome in question is one that the protagonist's father was killed trying to obtain. It starts off as critically important but then it fades from significance. Because Mr.Coll's book is so short and incomplete, I can't say if this is bad writing or not.
 

I liked the development and where the plot was going but there's so little here I can't call it an ending.
This book feels less like a book and more like the pilot episode of some show. It's just a beginning without a middle or an end.

 

CHARACTERS

As short as it is, the two main characters are well developed. There's backstory, personality and motive for the leading lady, Uliane. Srevtiur likewise. Furthermore, they make great foils for each other.  Uliane is this devious thief given to talking poetically and Srevtiur is a plain speaking former military officer.

As an organization, the Vultures are made distinct from garden variety mooks with their uniforms and by comments from others. There's a sense that they are more than convenient objects for heroes to beat up on. They have more meat on them than that.

POLISH

I found 1 spelling error.

When I finished reading, I wasn't sure what kind of a grade to give this book. It's not a finished work. The ending doesn't even count as a cliffhanger because the conflict has barely been set up. On the final page, the author presents several options as if this were a "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel. It could ultimately be really good or it could be really bad depending on where Mr.Coll went from here. I don't know because this book is truly more like 1/3 of a book.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Blood for Gold book 1: The Fatal Tome" an X (if the rest of the book is as good as what's here, a B+ is likely and A+ possible but so is an F).
 

Click here for the next review request: Dawn of Steam: First Light

Click here for the previous review request: Past, Present and Nowhere

Answering Review Request: "Past, Present and Nowhere"

Glen Sheerwood asked me to review his book "Past, Present and Nowhere". It's about this pop star who writes a song saying that history is pointless and the problems this causes. I will examine plot, characters and polish and then assign a grade.

If you see a term That's Written In Caps within this review and wish to read about it, go to Tvtropes.

PLOT

The conflict here is basically three people trying to convince the Protagonist, Jack Davril, to renounce his history bashing song.

I'm a history buff. I have a bachelor's degree in World History. I like the idea of basing a plot on a History Is Cool aesop and I think using a pop star as its messenger is a better idea than using some other profession, like a teacher. It's more relevant to kids. So I have some good things to say about this book.
Mr. Sheerwood has certainly done his research. That is something I appreciate.
 1. The Tolpuddle Martyrs
-A proto labor union in 19th Dorest England.
-Banished for such a grouping (technically for swearing oaths to each other for the purpose of the grouping. See, I'm learning more stuff already!)
-Inspired one of the first successful political marches in the UK

I didn't know any of this and I now I can look into them further.

2.  Steam Engine Controversy.
-Three people were involved with developing the steam engine and its applications.
-There's a "discussion" about whether or not one of them stole the idea from another.
-I looked this up and I found it interesting as well.

3. John, King of England, and other names
- "Softsword" and "Lackland".
- demonization (intentional and otherwise) of people in history by reporters and historians.
-The damage this can cause to people and family lines

There are others but those are the ones that stand out for me. All of the above are thoroughly integrated into the fabric of the story. It never feels like an Info Dump or a job for Mr.Exposition. It's like teaching through a novel instead of a textbook. It's an appealing and successful technique but it's diluted by trying to drag in other demographics.
-There's a romance between Jack and Jane that feels like Strangled By The Red String.
-There's a battle scene that feels awkward and pointless.
-There's lots of running around and avoiding a villain.


 It's a good plot but my problem is how Mr.Sheerwood goes about it. 

Considering that proving History to be relevant is the core of the story, you'd think there would be a big focus on history. Instead, it's only snippets, fun facts, sprinkles on ice cream. The biggest attraction here is a heavy-handed guilt trip.

Jack's first impression to this group is Wat scaring with sarcastic clapping and threatening him. Thus, he is predisposed to disbelieve anything they say. After that they make a poor attempt at making history personally relevant to him (This guy invented electricity which is why you can use a microphone.) and quickly transition into a guilt trip. (All these people died so you can live a better life!) Guilt doesn't work on self-absorbed teenagers who consider themselves victims.

All this time they're talking about being "on the edge of government" and that his song is "treason". They don't show him badges, paperwork, uniforms or even tell him which branch of government they supposedly work for. It's so bare-boned and pathetic that it's no wonder Jack gives them shit for it. The truth, while more improbable, at least has some meat on it.

I have several problems with the truth of this "treason" accusation. They are spoilery but for the sake of complete analysis I will go into this in full.


Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
1. Hypocrisy
-The Other Place claims to have a higher appreciation for life because they've all died, yet they condemn an entire Line (a string of reincarnations numbering in millions) because one of them was a murderer, a suicide, or committed a vaguely defined "treason".
-Jack claims that the past doesn't matter and one should live in the present but he's lived in the past ever since his dad died of a heart attack. Also, he reaches for the memory of his dad in hard times and often flashes back to points in his memory.
-The three historical figures trying to convince Jack that History matters aren't truly interested in the past either. They're concerned about the present (people in Jack's Line, people they know and live with, dying because of him) and about the future (the people in Jack's Line that will never be born because of him).
-John's motivation for all his actions is that he is remembered as a villain when he claims he ruled as a "true king". Yet he kidnaps people, tortures them, kills them and takes great pleasure in all of this. If he wasn't evil in his previous life then he certainly is now.
2. Space Whale Aesop
Instead of saying that "history is cool" the message is undermined by several things
-Don't trash history because you're trashing your previous incarnations, i.e. yourself.
-Don't trash history because you will kill your precious incarnations, i.e. yourself.
-History is cool because your previous incarnations can give you Instant Expert status in the things they worked for.
3. Bogus Nature of the Trial
-It's a Kangaroo Court because the defendant is not present nor aware of the trial that could lead to his Cessation of Existence. I feel like the verdict was made before the court began.
-I also get the feeling that they don't care about his song. This whole "Condemnation of Lines" thing began as a solution to overcrowding. Everyone that dies goes to The Other Place and it is the same size as Earth. Thus, they condemn Lines as a means of population control. They started with murderers, then moved into suicides, and finally into "treason". I feel that eventually they will reach jaywalking.

While the book's conflict is resolved the ending is a cliffhanger. John appears at Jack's home and puts a knife to his throat. That has nothing to do with the premise. It feels like a lame The End Or Is It? A goading cliffhanger.

Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
Spoiler!


 CHARACTERS

Jack is thoroughly unlikable. He is a self-absorbed and pretentious teenager (even if he's older than that, he sounds like it) who considers himself a victim.
-He bemoans how alone he is and how no one understands him despite legions of adoring fans and a tight friendship with his band. One member of the band is practically his brother because they've been friends since childhood and his family took Jack in after he ran away from home. They disappear from the narration once the plot proper starts.
-He likes bringing up the two months he lived on the street because he ran away from home. This leads into his mother blaming him for his father/her husband's heart attack. This is why he doesn't like history; his own history is painful.
-Also, for someone that doesn't like history he knows a good chunk about it, such as Henry VIII establishing the Church of England to annual his divorce, the basics of the British Empire, and a little bit about the Gunpower Treason. Instead of saying "History doesn't matter" he should be saying "historical people are assholes".
-When the Three Historical Figures finally come clean and tell him that they want him to renounce his song to spare the people in his Line, he can't rely on his "the past doesn't matter" excuse anymore. Instead, he says he doesn't want to look stupid. Here's the direct quote from the book. In my PDF, it's page 56

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<I looked at him. "There's no way I'm standing in front of millions of people and saying, 'sorry, made a mistake'. How stupid will I look? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That's right. The lives of millions of people are less important than his desire to avoid looking stupid.

Jane is alright. She's the most sympathetic person here, and certainly the most honest and straightforward. I feel like there was supposed to be a Defrosting Ice Queen thing with her, but it's so minor that I feel like I'm imagining it. I enjoy the times she puts Jack in his place.

I get the sense that she's playing Good Cop Bad Cop with Wat, because he's an aggressive jerk. I can only assume friendship is the reason they're helping Cal because neither of them seem passionate about history. In the end, she's basically eye candy for Jack and he's a brute.

I don't buy that Cal is King Arthur but I'm willing to give Mr.Sheerwood a pass on this. I don't buy it because he doesn't have the trappings of King Arthur, and the difference between his "real" life and his myth is a key sticking point in his character.

Likewise for the minor historical characters like Robin Hood and Cu Culian. After being dead for hundreds or thousands of years, and living up through history to the modern era, Character Development is inevitable. However, I still find it odd that they would commit suicide because King Arthur says so.

POLISH

There are no spelling or grammar errors.

This story is written in first person narration. At first I like this because Jack has a strong and distinctive personality. In fact, when I was on the fence about reviewing this book, reading his narration in the amazon preview pushed over into the "review it" side. However, the more I read the more I came to dislike his narration. There's so much whining, and bitching, and hypocrisy, that the story itself became difficult to finish.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Past, Present and Nowhere" a D-

Click here for the next review Request: Blood for Gold: The Fatal Tome

Click here for the previous review request: "From Fairies and Creatures of the Night, Guard Me"

Answering Review Request: "From Fairies and Creatures of the Night, Guard Me"

Daphne du Bois, writing as Emily de Courcy, (pename) asked me to read her book "From Fairies and Creatures of the Night, Guard Me". It's an anthology of seventeen fairy tale style stories. I will examine plot, character and polish and then assign a grade. I will not examine each one because that would make this review too long.

PLOT

This anthology is like a Shared Universe in one volume. All the stories take place in the same verse, either explicitly by sharing characters or implicitly, by sharing setting or mechanics. (The exception is the Beowulf Prequel, but I'll get to that in a minute). It's interesting to compare and contrast.
Many stories have this low energy humor. She refers to it as "witty repartee". In the story, "Something Rich and Strange", for instance, there's a human woman bantering with the Erlking (I.e. King of the Fairy Realm) over coffee in a café. "The Bridge" has this same woman talking with a traditionalist troll. The narration has him ranting about troll politeness and how rude humans have become over the ages, while she responds to him like he's her human classmate.

These stories revel in a lack of awe and wonder at the supernatural. "Of Ice Pixies and Wine Casks" sees the Erlking dealing with a infestation of Ice Pixies in his castle. Penny snarks at him and is roped into helping. Despite the fantasy setting, characters, and magic, it's quite mundane. That's where all the humor comes from. I would call it "Comical Low Fantasy".

Even "The Barely Seen World" where a wizard describes at length the many marvels of the Hinterland Market, the physical location (more accurately, what it appears to be) is a flea market. This same story also mocks the grandiose; the real thing doesn't have to make noise. In fact, the flashier a thing is, the more likely it is to be fake.

There's a running theme of Living Forever Is Awesome. The long lived races of the Hinterland go about business as usual for centuries on end. The humans who become immortal generally don't mind. It's just day-to-day life. When a vampire starts Wangsting about eternity, Death herself tells him to cheer up. I find this refreshing. It also adds to the humor. Wulf (the troll from the Bridge) dislikes how impolite the modern era is because he was in the previous eras. It sounds like someone's grandfather reminiscing about the Good Old Ways.

Because this is an anthology of short stories, there is no "ending" so to speak. Some stories are self-contained, some look like the beginnings of larger tales, and some are a mixture of both.

I have two complaints about this anthology

1. Odd Friendship template
Many stories have as their basis an Odd Friendship between a human and a supernatural creature (or as in "Pumpkins", an earthly supernatural creature and a deity) that engage in witty banter and mundane activities. Near the end of the volume, it gets stale.

2. Beowulf Prequel
This story claims to take place in Heorot before Beowulf arrives. The time period is the same but everyone has been replaced with immature teenagers from the late 20th century. The silly humor becomes stupid, there's not the slightest sense of supernatural at all (mundane or not), and the wit from other stories is replaced with whining. It's so distinct that I feel like someone else wrote it.

CHARACTERS

Being an anthology, there are few consistent characters. Some of them have more meat on them than others, fully fleshed out, engaging etc. Others are more like walking plot props that enable the story to function.

An example of the former is Penny. She is a human college student and is present in three stories. What I like about her is her wit combined with her sense of "do not care". She's what you call an Unfazed Everyman. She's more impressed with the Erlking's (otherwise mundane) violin than the Erlking himself, a being of magic that rules the supernatural Hinterland. When a troll (living under a campus bridge) tries to steal her lunch, she smacks his clawed hand and goes back to reading. She's always interacting in this nonchalant style that's fun to read.

An example of the later is the wizard in "Market". One can only assume things about his personality because little time is spent developing it. He's just there to explain how the Hinterland Market works to Olympia. Ironically, she has more of a personality than him despite being a soul-less automata whose individuality her creators deliberately hobbled to make a bigger profit.

POLISH

I caught perhaps 2 or 3 spelling/grammar errors. Nothing major.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "From Fairies and Creatures of the Night, Guard Me" a B+


Click here for the next review request: "Past, Present and Nowhere"

Click here for the previous review request: "Angeions"

Blog Tour: Final Ragnarok part 1 She Returns (Draconica Book 3)

There's a second post this week for Dan Wright's blog tour. "She Returns", the latest book in his Draconica Series. Today, I'll share an interview I did with him concerning this story.

1. "She Returns" is the start of the "Final Ragnarok" storyline, tell us about it.

Final Ragnarok is something that was foreshadowed at the end of Legacy of the Dragonkin, and also mentioned in some of my other Draconica prequel/spin off novels. Without giving too much away, Final Ragnarok is an event that will impact massively on the world of Draconica and our heroes. It’s quite possibly the most epic of all the stories I’ve written so far.

2. Your website talks about the manga influence on your writing style. Is there any author or story in particular that influenced your newest saga? 

The manga inspired Blazblue video game series was actually a huge inspiration for most of the storylines and new characters that are to be introduced. But I’d actually say that the biggest inspiration, believe it or not, was Doctor Who, as every series would foreshadow a big event that the Doctor would have to face and that would be something that kept the fans guessing as to what happens. This was something that I was trying to do – but also setting up for what I hope to be an explosive ending to the series. Oh yeah, I should mention that Final Ragnarok will be the one that ends the Draconica series after this.

3. Promotional teasers (https://www.facebook.com/groups/662548250494148/678038482278458/?notif_t=group_activity) state "even heroes can die". Can readers expect a higher death toll in this next arc? Will it be Darkier and Edgier than your previous work? 

Most definitely. I won’t say too much as I don’t want to give spoilers – but let’s just say that a few people I gave the ARC to for reviews have threatened to kill me for what I do to some of their favourite characters. J

4. Have you planned this three part saga since "Trapped On Draconica?" If so, would you recommend starting from the beginning?

I try to make my novels standalone as best I can, so that you don’t need to read anything beforehand to understand what’s going on. Certainly, elements from Trapped on Draconica and Legacy of the Dragonkin will come back in this book – but I think new readers will be able to pick it up pretty quickly and understand what’s going on.

As to how long I’ve been planning this, it’s actually an idea that I had whilst writing Trapped on Draconica, but I originally scrapped it for being too dark. But since Game of Thrones became popular, I decided to go for a darker tone for this one. That’s not to say that it’s totally reliant on shock value – more like this book is my The Empire Strikes Back.

Also, in regards to it being three part, it will now be a two part saga. I had originally envisioned it as three parts, but I think it will do just as well with two parts to it.

5. In the previous story, Man In Shadow was a Hidden Agenda Villain. Will he step out of the shadows in She Returns?

The Man in Shadow will definitely have more of a central role to the story. He’s what I consider the centrepiece of the whole saga. This book delves a little deeper into his psychology and you get a slightly better understanding as to why he does what he does. I say slightly better – the next book will reveal the truth about him. And I am really looking forward to the twist I put at the end.

6. The last two books state that Dronor, a major dragon god, wishes to create a race of dragon-human hybrids. So far, only Daniar has succeeded in giving birth to a new Dragonkin. Will these two plot threads play a role in Final Ragnarok?  

Again, I don’t want to say too much for spoilers, but certainly at least two of the Dragonkin will play a vital role in this story. How vital you’ll have to read to find out. However, what I will tell you is that Daniar and Zarracka Dragonkin go through the toughest changes in this story. Previously we have had Daniar as the pure and good girl whilst Zarracka has been the pretty nasty, scheming witch. This time round, you’ll see sides of them you never expected. What I have planned for Zarracka is something I’m especially proud off.

7. There's now a Draconica wiki. Tell us about that.

Wiki’s have been something that has always interested me. I follow a lot of wikis for shows I like and it’s helped me create this one. Originally, I had this whole history for Draconica and the countries, races, etc – but could only fit so much in one book. This wiki was created to create more backstory for the world of Draconica and let me put in stuff that I couldn’t put into the main novel – at least not without padding it out. It’s kinda like my version of The Silmarillion and something that people can read if they want to know more about my world.

 

The link for it is here: http://trappedondraconica.wikia.com/wiki/Trapped_On_Draconica_Wiki

 

Final Ragnarok: She Returns (Draconica Book 3) is available for purchase on Amazon for 99 cents.

 http://www.amazon.com/Final-Ragnarok-Returns-Draconica-Book-ebook/dp/B00MGWFLYA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1407620704&sr=1-1&keywords=She+Returns+Dan+Wright

For other books in the Draconica series, see "Trapped On Draconica" (reviewed here and given an A+ and "Legacy of the Dragokin" (reviewed here and given an A)

Answering Review Request: Angeions

Inspirius Mwanake asked me to review his novel "Angeions". It's about a group of holy super soldiers preventing their treacherous comrade from releasing a group of fallen angels. I will examine plot, character, and polish and then assign a grade.

Starting with this review, I'm going to add a disclaimer that states "If you see a term That's Written In Caps within this review and wish to read about it, go to Tvtropes".

PLOT
The book starts out boring and cliché. Nixion sees the Girl Of My Dreams and then moves into Good Morning Crono for a brief school thing. When he meets the girl in person, he gushes about her beauty for the rest of the scene. Personally, I think it was a poor attempt at Audience Surrogate, and fortunately, it does not last.

Nixion disapears and Aella, the girl in question, takes over as the protagonist. Thus, the next hundred pages or so are fun, engaging, and interesting. There's time for fighting without Nixion's commentary, exposition about the main characters and world building for the setting.

Aella is an "angeion" which could be called a holy Trans-Human or Super Soldier. She has been empowered by Theos (God) to wield holy power and fight "the Dark" which is basically demons and devils and such. This book is more focused on fighting other angeion who have fallen from grace and their nephilim (half angel) mooks.

Aquarius and the Aurel family want to release a group of fallen angels called "The Forsakers". This group betrayed Theos by stylizing themselves as gods (the Greek gods specifically) and tainting their aura with the power of Diablos (Satan). Because of this, Theos Sealed their Evil In A Can a thousand years ago and the plot's conflict is Aella and her family preventing anyone from opening this can.
As long as Aella is the viewpoint character, the plot makes sense and I enjoy reading the story. This highlights the flaws in the other viewpoints.

Nixion has no personality to speak of. It's basically "Aella is amazing" over and over again. Aquarius has a pity party going on mixed with a temper tantrum. There's this big stretch in the first half of the book where only Aella is the view point character and that is my favorite part for that reason.

My other favorite part of the book is the mechanics of magic in this verse. To be an angeion is two have two basic abilities: release one's aura/spirit and absorb energy from natural and supernatural sources. Faithful Angeion like Aella can draw directly on Theos' power by reciting scripture. I like how this works because instead of a "send a Bolt of Divine Retribution upon my enemies" sort of thing, it's a "give me the strength to overcome this challenge" Super Empowering sort of thing. It's a balance between godly omnipotence and human determination. It also reminds me of Luke 17:5-6: "If you have faith as great as a mustard seed, you can tell this mulberry bush 'uproot yourself and move into the sea' and it will obey you." It's like that but crossed with shonen anime style fighting.

The final battle is long. It's about half the book. Lots of stuff happens and it is mostly interesting but Arc Fatigue sets in eventually. Aella's fight with Nixion drags on and on, also like some shonen anime style fighting. Other problems I have with the final battle include a incomplete Messianic Archetype for Aella (unusual given the setting) and many cases of What Happened To The Mouse for both the heroic and villainous sides. It feels like Mr.Mwanake forgot about them and/or was in a rush to finish the story.

The ending is a Ganiax Ending. It is confusing. I suspect Mr.Mwanke is going for an "artsy" tragic or ambivalent ending. The other possibility is a Goading Cliffhanger, which I despise even more.

There are numerous story flaws here. All but one of them directly involve Nixion. This is a heavy spoiler section so if you don't want that, skip down to CHARACTERS.
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER

Nixion is the Amaranth, a Macguffin Boy that's needed to unlock the Dramaticus, which is the can that the evil angels are sealed into. He has no idea about this and none of the Angeion do either, initially. My problems with this are many:
1. Someone so important should have some kind of protection.
2. Why didn't anyone notice him before now?
3. If he is also Andreas, Kat's long lost brother from the 18th century New Orleans, than how did he end in Africa as Nixion? What does this mean about his family?
4. If Aella found out instantly, as she claims, then why doesn't she do more to protect him? She goes off to investigate a suspicious noise and that leads to him getting captured
5. If he is so important, why does Gal-el tell Aella not to worry about him? This question becomes more important when Aella considers the possibility that Theos sent her the vision that led to meeting him in the first place.
6. Why doesn't Aella tell him about this stuff during their six month date? Surely she has matured enough in one thousand years that she can put aside frolicking enough to tell Nixion some crucial facts. The nature of the forsakers, the truth about nephilim, her plan to escape and take him with her and then, when she can no longer do so, telepathically explain the situation to him as he leaves so Aquarius can't poison him against her.
7. If Aquarius' plan was to win over this crucial pawn to his side, why did he kidnap the boy and put him in a dungeon? He should gone with the soft sell straight off instead of isolation.
8. After fighting Nixion a couple times (and generally holding the upper hand) Aella decides to give up. She apparently forgets about her plan to subdue and bind Nixion so she can explain things later, and instead decides to let him kill her.  I get the Messianic Archetype thing, but it falls flat in Aella's case because her aura is the third seal on the Dramaticus. She is not being selfish by preserving her own life. I see no reason why she couldn't block/dodge Nixion's dagger and then recite her letter. This leads to the End Of The World As We Know It.

I spoke with the author after writing this review, and many of these come down to In Mysterious Ways, The Evils of Free Will/Helping Would Be Kill Stealing and Poor Communication Kills.

SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER

CHARACTERS

Nixion is a void. The first few pages serve only to paint him as an Everyman rather than as an individual. After meeting Aella, his narration is filled with how beautiful she is; whole paragraphs about her skin or hair etc. He is a passive character all the way through, first Aella pulls him by his heart and then Mirena by his penis. His lack of intelligence is shocking. He swallows Aqaurius' lies easily despite spending six months with Theo's leading superheroine. He doubts that Theos exists after watching Aella use holy power to kill half-angels. One can't blame mind control because he knows how to resist it. Afterwards, one could replace most of his dialogue and much of his narration with "kill Aella because I think she betrayed me" and none of the plot would change.

Aella is a great character. On Tvtropes, we'd call someone like her a "Lady of War" because of her Proper Lady demeanor and graceful fighting style. She has the strong and active will necessary to drive a story of this nature. She quotes scripture and then beats down on demons and thus she's not a stereotypical action girl. She jokes around with her family. She has certain flaws like vanity and being too serious, but these make her a more well rounded character. Her only true flaw is a case of Love Makes You Dumb around Nixion.

Aquarius is the villain here. Releasing the Forsakers is his Evil Plan. The problem is that I don't know why he wants to do this. He hates Zen Aurel, the leader of the Forsakers, because he was raised as an agent of Theos. According to flashback, he was a nice guy before he learned the truth about his heritage. The only information he has about Zen personally is that he is an abusive husband. Yet he wants to release this guy because he's mad at Theos for letting that guy be his father. Even if this is the case (It's stated a couple times that Theos is micro managing the universe), rebelling against Theos turns him into the very thing he hates.

POLISH

The first copy I received was rife with spelling and grammar errors. It also looked like it was fed through an online translator. Also, the prose looked immature and sloppy, like it was written by a teenager. I received a second copy when I was 3/4 finished with the book. That fourth was a significant improvement on the other three so I assume the first 3/4 of the second copy are cleaned up as well.

It's a first person narrative yet it shifts viewpoint frequently. By the end of the story, five people have had their turn at narrating. Since it shifts by chapter and three of these five people only have one turn, it is not jarring. In fact, if it were not for one of these shifts, one of my favorite scenes in this story could not happen. It's Hannora's turn during the final battle. It wouldn't have had the same impact through Aella or Nixion's eyes.

I spent more time than usual thinking about the grade for this one. I hovered between C+ and D+. I enjoyed reading it, that much was certain, thus the +. What I debated was whether this book's virtues outweighed it's flaws. In the end I decided that it was no where near as bad as another book I gave a D to and therefore did not deserve to be put in the same category.


Trickster Eric Novels gives "Angeions" a C+

Click here for the next review request: "From Fairies and Creatures of the Night, Guard Me"

Click here for the previous review Request: "Within Ruin"