Disclaimer: I reviewed this as one of the BookNest judges for the first round of SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) 2018 hosted by Mark Lawrence.Disclaimer: I reviewed this as one of the BookNest judges for the first round of SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) 2018 hosted by Mark Lawrence. You can read more for SPFBO here!
One island. Four nations. Only one remains free. So begins Siege of the Northland.
Ruth Rathband’s debut follows the story of a heroine destined to save her land, a young prince struggling to keep his kingdom free, and an unlikely band of warriors set against a greedy, corrupt king. Siege of the Northland delivers exactly what it promises: a fast-paced, intense adventure, featuring spiteful, short-tempered villains, sieges and skirmishes and a fight for freedom. It is a quick, easy read that offers a temporary reprieve from the challenges of real life, without particularly delving into heavy issues. Simply put, it was fun.
However, there were some things that bothered me and tampered with my reading experience, the main of them being the constant head-hopping; the continuous view point shifts, aside from being confusing, prevented me from bonding with the characters, from caring and sympathizing with their misfortunes and their cause. I can’t shake the notion that this particular writing tactic does not leave much space for character development, for fleshing the heroes out, for giving them a solid backround, beliefs, emotions, and a unique voice; everything seemed superficial, their relationships were missing the depth I wanted and, in the end, I felt that I never knew them. All I got were glimpses of the persons they were supposed to be.
In addition, while the fast pace kept my attention, it also became a hindrance to the climax and the scenes intended to be powerful or meaningful; they were a tad unceremonious, they lacked the grandeur they ought to have had, since the book pertains to a desperate battle against an evil foe who has eliminated every opponent. In the same context, the world-building was feeble; even though it had the potential to explore the Tribe of Skea, the other races and cultures mentioned, even the back-story of the nations of the Great Crossland, all those subjects were barely touched.
Ruth Rathband orchestrated an intense race against time, but I believe there are many aspects to the story that could be filled, in order to present a well-rounded, intricate fantasy read. I wish her all the best in the competition and her future endeavors.
Merged review:
Disclaimer: I reviewed this as one of the BookNest judges for the first round of SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) 2018 hosted by Mark Lawrence. You can read more for SPFBO here!
One island. Four nations. Only one remains free. So begins Siege of the Northland.
Ruth Rathband’s debut follows the story of a heroine destined to save her land, a young prince struggling to keep his kingdom free, and an unlikely band of warriors set against a greedy, corrupt king. Siege of the Northland delivers exactly what it promises: a fast-paced, intense adventure, featuring spiteful, short-tempered villains, sieges and skirmishes and a fight for freedom. It is a quick, easy read that offers a temporary reprieve from the challenges of real life, without particularly delving into heavy issues. Simply put, it was fun.
However, there were some things that bothered me and tampered with my reading experience, the main of them being the constant head-hopping; the continuous view point shifts, aside from being confusing, prevented me from bonding with the characters, from caring and sympathizing with their misfortunes and their cause. I can’t shake the notion that this particular writing tactic does not leave much space for character development, for fleshing the heroes out, for giving them a solid backround, beliefs, emotions, and a unique voice; everything seemed superficial, their relationships were missing the depth I wanted and, in the end, I felt that I never knew them. All I got were glimpses of the persons they were supposed to be.
In addition, while the fast pace kept my attention, it also became a hindrance to the climax and the scenes intended to be powerful or meaningful; they were a tad unceremonious, they lacked the grandeur they ought to have had, since the book pertains to a desperate battle against an evil foe who has eliminated every opponent. In the same context, the world-building was feeble; even though it had the potential to explore the Tribe of Skea, the other races and cultures mentioned, even the back-story of the nations of the Great Crossland, all those subjects were barely touched.
Ruth Rathband orchestrated an intense race against time, but I believe there are many aspects to the story that could be filled, in order to present a well-rounded, intricate fantasy read. I wish her all the best in the competition and her future endeavors....more
Disclaimer: I reviewed this as one of the BookNest judges for the first round of SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) 2018 hosted by Mark Lawrence.Disclaimer: I reviewed this as one of the BookNest judges for the first round of SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) 2018 hosted by Mark Lawrence. You can read more for SPFBO here!
He murdered her family. She sentenced him to eternal torture. Now they have to work together to save the world from the coming darkness.
Radcliff Durnhast, the Destroyer, the most powerful Summoner and the Mage Commander of the Caladon army, was found guilty of terrible war crimes. His sentence would be death. Should have been death. But the Seer from Westpire, Amira, had other plans. Led by a vision foretelling that this cruel man would ultimately save the world, she pled for another sentence. And so Radcliff's memory was erased, morning after morning. Centuries of torture came and passed, until an abominable Evil started swallowing life and magic, and Amira came to his rescue in order to help him fulfill his destiny. But the potential savior with memory loss, loathed by the very people he's supposed to save, is a burden and a blessing Amira never expected. In a race against time, with the help of unlikely allies and non-consistent visions, Amira and Radcliff set on a perilous journey that will determine the fate of life itself.
The Summoner and the Seer is a sword & sorcery novel focused on the inner turmoil of the main characters. Amira and Radcliff are wonderfully fleshed out; the war raging in Radcliff's mind, the frustration, hurt and anger arising out of his predicament, as well as the struggles of memory loss are particularly well depicted. At first I was afraid that the story would become repetitive, that with Radcliff being introduced to the same people again and again, but the execution regarding this department was solid and successful. Amira was also an interesting character, facing the conflict deriving from co-operating with the man that murdered her family and later falling for him, while the clock was ticking and the very essence of life was endangered. Speaking of which, I admired the way Evil was portrayed; its foul nature, its miasma, they gave you goosebumps and made your stomach clench with disgust and fear. The sense of urgency and danger, the need to move on, to do something to defeat it, especially towards the end, and the occassional hopelessness that took over the heroes, they were infectious and a powerful incentive to finish the story and read its conlcusion.
While The Summoner and the Seerwas a decent novel (without grammatical errors, and generally well-written, which is fundamental on my agenda), there were some things that prevented me from truly connecting with it. The first was the lack of worldbuilding; I wanted more insight into the land of Caladon, its magic system, its history, its tribes (the Shae were a great opportunity to do so, but they never reached the peak of their potential). The author chose to reveal only the information that was absolutely necessary and vital for the story to move on, and even then there were gaps in my understanding of this world. Moreover, during the first half of the book, the characters were wandering without a specific purpose; there was, of course, the abstract target to defeat an unknown force, but the focus was on the interactions between them and the details of their journey. Plotwise, some incidents and concepts were fairly convenient or irrelevant, e.g. the fact that most of the secondary characters had the same lifespan with the protagonists (more than a thousand years), thus enabling the author to show the hatred towards Radcliff as if it were fresh. In the end, the entire experience felt like a recipe that got the ingredients right, but it was missing salt, pepper, and all those spices that would stimulate the taste; like a body that had its organs intact, but it needed to be infused with spirit.
If you want your fantasy character driven, interwined with romance and a quest to save the world, you will likely enjoy this book. I wish C. Gold all the best in the competition and her future endeavors....more
Disclaimer: I reviewed this as one of the BookNest judges for the first round of SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) 2018 hosted by Mark Lawrence.Disclaimer: I reviewed this as one of the BookNest judges for the first round of SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) 2018 hosted by Mark Lawrence. You can read more for SPFBO here!
What is the price of kingship?
The kingdom of Caledan is in peril.
Prince Zaki murdered his sister, the Queen, and framed her son in order to usurp the throne and surrender Caledan to her enemies.
Prince Soren is on the run, marked as a traitor, seeking allies and facing a dangerous quest, a quest that will determine whether he’ll reclaim the throne, avenge his mother and rule his kingdom free of oppressors: retrieve the crown of dragons, or die trying.
Lady Eve, Soren’s cousin, must choose between her father’s wishes and her own thirst to find her place, to explore her abilities and her kinship with a race that was considered the product of fiction.
Between violence, power bids, cunning enemies and bloodshed, the fate of Caledan depends on the success of a newly orphaned, inexperienced and grief-stricken young prince, and on an ancient pact that will bring to life creatures straight out of legends.
Meg Cowley’s first Caledan book is a typical YA fantasy; it features magic, war, treason, journeys in faraway lands, and – my personal favorite – dragons! Without burdening the reader with info-dump, the author weaves a solid world-building, subtle dynamics between nations and a magic system that has not yet been thoroughly explored, but its basic principles have been set out, thus enabling further elaboration. I had some issues with the narration, it felt rather dry; amidst descriptions and prolonged inner musings (which in a way affected the pacing) I wanted more vivacity, more spirit, but in general it was well-written, there were intriguing secondary characters, and the dragons, their lore and ties to the Caledan throne were definitely the scene-stealers.
The Tainted Crown is an engaging adventure that follows two unlikely heroes on even more unlikely quests. On one hand there is prince Soren, whose birthright is stolen and strives to rally forces in order to overthrow his traitorous uncle, and on the other hand there is his cousin, Eve, who grasps the opportunity to flee from her stifling life, a life controlled by her father, and discover her links to the Eldarkind, elf-like creatures who have lived hidden for so long that the world has forgotten their existence. It is a character driven story, which relies on the development of the two main heroes, and even though I would have preferred a little more focus on the political and magical aspect of the story, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Personally, I found myself more invested in Soren’s chapters. Despite the dire situations, the frustration and the constant feeling of loss, with the help of Sir Edmund (who was a great mentor) he was levelheaded, and really wanted - and tried - his best for his people. He rose to the occasions, understood the price of sacrifices, and I came to like him a lot. Along his way he met some interesting people that added to the story, and made me all too eager to witness his return and ascension. As regards Eve, even though I was not so fond of her overconfidence and impulsiveness, I grudgingly understood her need to claim her place in the world, against everything her father taught her.
All in all, the Tainted Crown could use some polishing; however, it was a rather nice story, with the potential for further development. I wish Meg Cowley all the best in the competition and her future endeavors....more
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