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December 2003
Reviews
I liked this book! Well at least once they got out of earth, that bored me to tears, and made me think the rest of the
book would suck. However once they reached 'the other world' Eldh it became really intersting. The characters
on the other side of the story rocked. I was hooked into Durge the moment he graced the page, GREAT GREAT GREAT character!!!
Grace was definitely one cool chick, even ending up in a world where she knew nothing she took it all in stride
and came out Radiant on the other side. Travis was a different story entirely, prehaps he was meant to be weak
and pathetic, but his character was like rubbing salt in a wound or drinking brine. He didn't sit well with me.
The author also does a fabulous job of ending each segment on a up note that makes you want to continue reading. Since
he does this about every five pages I am in awe, that takes extreme talent. Brava. But enough praise, I have few gripes
about this book, one main one really and that was the OVER USE of simile, without it, this book may well have been
a four or better, if the earth part had been a bit more refined. The simile really weighed this story down and was
hard on my nerves therefore knocking a good star off the final rating.
This was a very entertaining first book. Although the author transported us to an Other World, he did not overload me with a
lot of detail. The writer introduced me to a lot of concepts without trying to shove them down my throat. The various
magical styles, structured nobility, and theological pantheon flowed off the pages well. I feel the two main characters worked
well together but they don't meet until half way through the story. The supporting characters were also well developed and
believable. Grace is a refreshing character that carried a significant chunk of the story. To me, her encounter with the
first Ironheart emanated more fear than any other book reviewed on this site. Travis has some personality problems that make
him hard to read (insecurity and avoidism), but I could get past them because I felt like they were intentional. I enjoyed
the internal struggle he went through to overcome those limitations and it kept him from becoming a gripe. Unfortunately, I
did have a couple of Gripes.
| Gripe #1: Constant Attitude | I grew tired of Melia. She rubbed me the wrong way (side-to-side not up-and-down). In particular were her comments toward Travis. I feel Travis would not have come across as pathetic if she had not complained about him every time they were together. Her condescension towards everyone was completely unexplained and unsupported. I would classify her as USELESS CHARACTER #1 but her magic saved their butts several times. |
| Gripe #2: Tell not Show | This author's writing style is a bit hard on a more refined reader. Most of it is due to how he presented his imagery. He seems to prescribe to the older school of thought where imagery is best done with similes. Modern writers learned that while similes are colorful and powerful, they actually limit the imagination of the reader. They also assume the reader knows the data necessary to complete the comparison. Similes are good for a rare moment but not when used for 95% of the book |
| Praise #1: Leave'em Hanging | I was impressed by the writer's ability to end each chapter with a hook. It draws the reader in and refuses to give him a place to put the book down. |
