Armen Pogharian asked me to read their novel "Misaligned". I previously reviewed his story "Poisoned Princess" but this is a different beast entirely. I will examine Plot, Character and Polish and then assign a grade.
PLOT
From a very high level view, this is an Alien Invasion plot, but the nuts and bolts are not that at all. The experience of the story is much closer to Slice of Life. I didn't place a premise in the introduction like I usually do because I can't decide upon this book's genre. Rather, I don't know if it can decide because it includes a lot.
On one hand, it is very much a Fantasy style book. The protagonist has special powers because her parents conceived her When The Stars Align (basically) and she is trained in how to use these powers by an old wise man and his raven familiar to fight supernatural monsters in defense of her town and world.
On the other hand, it is a Science Fiction book. The old wise man makes clear that these are not magical creatures but aliens from another dimension or misunderstandings between time-displaced humans. The magic powers are just application of physics that she happens to be able to personally manipulate. He even compares them to the research that the protagonist's parents do at the local science institution.
On a third hand, it is Slice of Life. Both the Fantasy/ Science Fiction/Scientifically-Understandable-Sorcery/etc. are concentrated into a small number of scenes. The bulk of the story is ordinary school life, such as Penny training for and then competing in a school swim race, or preparing for a class presentation about Babylonian law codes, or a holiday dinner. None of these are related to the plot. I think of them as filler.
There is a fourth genre here, cat-and-mouse style Crime fiction. See, the story takes a digression to focus on one of the story's two villains, who basically becomes a villain protagonist, complete with their own hero antagonist in a detective. This lasts several chapters and doesn't include any of the previous story elements.
There's even a little Urban Fantasy when Penny and Duncan go to a magician's performance and they realize that this magician has all the same powers and knowledge as Penny, and he uses them in his act.
The villain can only try to make their evil plan a success at certain times of the year, so the gaps between major action make sense. However, the heroes don't do much that is plot relevant between these times. Penny even takes a break from training after one of them. There is little sense of long-term urgency that can connect the scenes together. That is what leads to, in my personal opinion, a feeling of disjunction.
Aside from the plot, I like this setting's world building. There is much lore about the druids of this verse and their history with the powers and aliens that the main characters deal with in the present day. There's also a brief overview of how the extra-dimensional beings became the gods and monsters of folklore and pagan religions, and why they disappeared.
Personally, Mr. Myrdin's backstory sounds like a more exciting story than what he is doing now with Penny.
Its ending has a good rising action and climax, leading to a satisfying ending.
CHARACTERS
Penny is our story's protagonist. She is "misaligned", which means she is slightly out of synch with her home dimension and thus capable of accessing higher and lower dimensions. Basically, this means she has such stock super powers as Teleportation, Thinking Up Portals and (in a sense) Super Speed.
She is a nice girl who can adapt quickly. After the plot triggering event, she had just enough skepticism to sound mature and rational but then she was on board with the supernatural conflict stuff. It is with a grounded and moderate attitude that she accepts her role as protector of Piper Falls against dimensional monsters. It is a remarkable attitude, I think.
She is neither overly enthusiastic (Jumped at the Call) nor does she bury her head in the ground and let the problem get worse (Refused the Call). She doesn't even complain or angst about her new duty and the new constraints on her time (Resigned to the Call). Her pair of mentors discuss how the news neither made her feel special nor cursed, just lonely.
Mr. Myrdin is an interesting case. He is definitely the wise old mentor in how he looks, acts etc. but he also still a student under Master Poe (who is a raven, by the way; yes, the joke is intentional). The double dynamic is what I find interesting. When it is time for Mentor Occupational Hazard, he is more devastated than Penny. I also like his sense of humor.
Simon is adorable, clever, and brave. After all, he is Cat Sith.
Duncan is a smaller and more monolithic presence. I don't see much to him other than "Penny's friend and self-appointed protector". Although, he does have this Big Eater tthing hat comes up a couple times.
Of the book's two villains, the human side one is better developed. She gets this minor digression to herself where the reader can see her thoughts and motivations. Her Evil Plan is quite sympathetic, or rather, it would be if didn't lack empathy for its aftermath.
POLISH
There is a glossary that the start of the book that translates the Welsh used in the book, as well as information for some things like Cat Sith.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "Misaligned" a C+
This has been a free review request. The author asked for an honest one so I provided it.
Click here for my next book review (for fun): Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual 3.5E
Click here for my previous book review (for fun): The Sword and the Mind
Brian Wilkerson is a freelance book reviewer, writing advice blogger and independent novelist. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).
PLOT
From a very high level view, this is an Alien Invasion plot, but the nuts and bolts are not that at all. The experience of the story is much closer to Slice of Life. I didn't place a premise in the introduction like I usually do because I can't decide upon this book's genre. Rather, I don't know if it can decide because it includes a lot.
On one hand, it is very much a Fantasy style book. The protagonist has special powers because her parents conceived her When The Stars Align (basically) and she is trained in how to use these powers by an old wise man and his raven familiar to fight supernatural monsters in defense of her town and world.
On the other hand, it is a Science Fiction book. The old wise man makes clear that these are not magical creatures but aliens from another dimension or misunderstandings between time-displaced humans. The magic powers are just application of physics that she happens to be able to personally manipulate. He even compares them to the research that the protagonist's parents do at the local science institution.
On a third hand, it is Slice of Life. Both the Fantasy/ Science Fiction/Scientifically-Understandable-Sorcery/etc. are concentrated into a small number of scenes. The bulk of the story is ordinary school life, such as Penny training for and then competing in a school swim race, or preparing for a class presentation about Babylonian law codes, or a holiday dinner. None of these are related to the plot. I think of them as filler.
There is a fourth genre here, cat-and-mouse style Crime fiction. See, the story takes a digression to focus on one of the story's two villains, who basically becomes a villain protagonist, complete with their own hero antagonist in a detective. This lasts several chapters and doesn't include any of the previous story elements.
There's even a little Urban Fantasy when Penny and Duncan go to a magician's performance and they realize that this magician has all the same powers and knowledge as Penny, and he uses them in his act.
The villain can only try to make their evil plan a success at certain times of the year, so the gaps between major action make sense. However, the heroes don't do much that is plot relevant between these times. Penny even takes a break from training after one of them. There is little sense of long-term urgency that can connect the scenes together. That is what leads to, in my personal opinion, a feeling of disjunction.
Aside from the plot, I like this setting's world building. There is much lore about the druids of this verse and their history with the powers and aliens that the main characters deal with in the present day. There's also a brief overview of how the extra-dimensional beings became the gods and monsters of folklore and pagan religions, and why they disappeared.
Personally, Mr. Myrdin's backstory sounds like a more exciting story than what he is doing now with Penny.
Its ending has a good rising action and climax, leading to a satisfying ending.
CHARACTERS
Penny is our story's protagonist. She is "misaligned", which means she is slightly out of synch with her home dimension and thus capable of accessing higher and lower dimensions. Basically, this means she has such stock super powers as Teleportation, Thinking Up Portals and (in a sense) Super Speed.
She is a nice girl who can adapt quickly. After the plot triggering event, she had just enough skepticism to sound mature and rational but then she was on board with the supernatural conflict stuff. It is with a grounded and moderate attitude that she accepts her role as protector of Piper Falls against dimensional monsters. It is a remarkable attitude, I think.
She is neither overly enthusiastic (Jumped at the Call) nor does she bury her head in the ground and let the problem get worse (Refused the Call). She doesn't even complain or angst about her new duty and the new constraints on her time (Resigned to the Call). Her pair of mentors discuss how the news neither made her feel special nor cursed, just lonely.
Mr. Myrdin is an interesting case. He is definitely the wise old mentor in how he looks, acts etc. but he also still a student under Master Poe (who is a raven, by the way; yes, the joke is intentional). The double dynamic is what I find interesting. When it is time for Mentor Occupational Hazard, he is more devastated than Penny. I also like his sense of humor.
Simon is adorable, clever, and brave. After all, he is Cat Sith.
Duncan is a smaller and more monolithic presence. I don't see much to him other than "Penny's friend and self-appointed protector". Although, he does have this Big Eater tthing hat comes up a couple times.
Of the book's two villains, the human side one is better developed. She gets this minor digression to herself where the reader can see her thoughts and motivations. Her Evil Plan is quite sympathetic, or rather, it would be if didn't lack empathy for its aftermath.
POLISH
There is a glossary that the start of the book that translates the Welsh used in the book, as well as information for some things like Cat Sith.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "Misaligned" a C+
This has been a free review request. The author asked for an honest one so I provided it.
Click here for my next book review (for fun): Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual 3.5E
Click here for my previous book review (for fun): The Sword and the Mind
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