Book Review - Secrets of the Elders

Book Synopsis:

After their peaceful village, Riverbell, is raided by the foul monstrous skex, brothers Logan and Corbin Walker find themselves caught in a race against time, desperate to warn the capitol before the dangerous skex arrive to wreak the same havoc upon the unsuspecting people of Fal.

Never could they imagine, that this would only be the very beginning of their unforgettable journey, when Logan is suddenly exiled from the kingdom for a crime he did not commit. On the run, doggedly avoiding his own brother, sent to pursue the wanted criminal, can Logan Walker possibly hope to stay free long enough to unravel the Secrets of the Elders?

And So the Fourth Age of Acadia begins...
  

Author Bio:

David Matthew Almond has been working in the restaurant and IT industry for the last 19 years. Over the last two, he has made time to focus on his true passion, writing stories.

David grew up in the small Upstate NY city, Utica (home to such rare delicacies as Tomato Pie, Utica Greens, Pusties, and Chicken Riggies) and attended "Buff State" in the amazing city Buffalo NY, where he would eventually return to run his bakery café, meet some of the best people in the world, and fall in love with his wife Julie.

David currently lives in beautiful Monkton, Vermont and would love to hear from you...

Social media:

twitter @DavidMAlmond

http://www.facebook.com/davidmatthewalmond

http://www.davidmatthewalmond.com/under-the-almond-tree

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KSFZSU4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KSFZSU4

Review: 

Mr. Almond writes well and has great ideas. Unfortunately, there seems to be too much of a good thing crammed into this book. At times I thought I was reading epic fantasy, at others science fiction, still others dystopian fiction. The idea of living in a vast underground world illuminated by a vaguely defined god-crystal with forests and fantastic beasts is fascinating. However, I got lost in the sometimes tunnels and sometimes underground mountains. There also seems to be a lot of very dangerous animals and monsters, most with tentacles AND stingers; it is a wonder that anything survives! 

IMHO it would be a better story if there were fewer elements. Xenocide and the story of the lost technology OR the political intrigue at court, OR the fascinating environment and societies. But, with everything jumbled together, it was too much for me to keep straight.

Nine Princes in Amber - Classic Fantasy

Nine Princes in Amber was the first book in Roger Zelazny's seminal Chronicles of Amber fantasy series, and was first published in 1970. Zelazny melds several elements in this book - immortality of his god-like protagonists, fantastical creatures, a unique brand of magic, as well as detailed swordplay.

Amber is the True World and all other worlds just Shadows of Amber. Amber is ruled by an immortal family which includes nine living brothers, the Princes. Their sisters are also immortal but do not compete for the vacant throne of their father, Oberon, who is apparently not dead but only missing.

The royals can walk from one Shadow world to another by a process of subtraction where the elements that do not belong are removed one at a time until the royal is fully in the new Shadow. They bring armies from one Shadow to Amber in a contest for the throne.

Another interesting plot element is the Trumps, a series of tarot-like cards depicting the royal family. Any prince or princess can communicate directly and teleport through the use of the Trumps. Their use requires the willingness of both royals and they are used both offensively and cooperatively.

 As classic fantasy Nine Princes in Amber is strongly recommended. It is interesting to compare the themes and elements of this early classic with current fantasy. For example, two dated plot elements are Corwin's constant smoking of ordinary cigarettes and the relatively minor roles of the princesses.

And today's poem:

Myths and Gods

The storm had passed

Leaving loss and waste

And a darkness, black

Against which stand back

The stars in bright relief.

You feel the Greek belief

In their myths and their gods

Without our technical clods.

Closer to the best of nature

Even in the midst of disaster.

From Transitions by Greg Schroeder.

Happy National Poetry Month!!

I'll use the fact that April is National Poetry Month to be inspired to start blogging again. "Life" was a little too busy in March, especially with the never-ending winter, but it IS time to diversify again and get back to at least some writing.

That said, I am going to try to participate in Think Out Loud, Throwback Thursday, and Feature and Follow each week. Then I am going to try and run a feature each week of one Newbery winner (or should have won - young adult book), one romance novel, and one science-fiction/fantasy novel.

Finally, I will try to post a poem a day. This is all very ambitious, please let me know how I'm doing and send me suggestions for any or all of the above!

Today's poem (from my upcoming collection, Moments to be published in multiple eBook formats through Smashwords.com, April 5):

Spring Sky

Spring has come;

There are buds on the lilacs

The sun no longer is its weak

Winter self.

But the sky, the sky

This spring night

Harkens back to the winter.

Cold air gives a sharpness

The scarcity of clouds

An open vista

To thousands, nay, millions

Of tiny twinkling pinpricks.

Throwback Thursday - Thieves' World

 

Thank you Mandi Kaye! I love the Throwback Thursday meme (maybe because I have so much throwback! :-).

My Throwback is a delightful series of stories set in the same corner of the same world - the city of Sanctuary in the Rankan Empire. From there the variety is immense. The original series of 12 anthologies were all edited by Robert Asprin (and many by his wife in concert - Lynn Abbey) and included contributions from many authors, including such heavyweights as Marion Zimmer Bradley, C. J. Cherryh, Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Chris Morris, and Janet Morris.

They were published over eleven years from 1978 to 1989 and spun off 7 "official" novels and 6 "unofficial" novels and three more anthologies.

The books can be read independently but I would strongly recommend reading the first anthology first, as it sets the basics of the milieu on which all the stories are set.

Original Anthologies:

  Thieves' World (1979)

  Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn (1980)
  Shadows of Sanctuary (1981)
  Storm Season (1982)
  The Face of Chaos (1983)
  Wings of Omen (1984)
  The Dead of Winter (1985)
  Soul of the City (1986)
  Blood Ties (1986)
  Aftermath (1987)
  Uneasy Alliances (1988)
  Stealers' Sky (1989)

Drop a comment on something that you'd recommend! 

Feature and Follow - One Book for the Rest of Your Life?

As our hostess, Alison, says, this one is exquisite torture. I have to go with The Lord of the Rings, Omnibus Edition. The story has so many layers that rereading it gives you something new every time. (And its very thick so it takes a while to get through each time!)

Blood of Ancient Kings - Review

V. J. O. Gardner has created a generational fantasy based on the growth and development of two intertwined families in the Kingdom of Brinley. She deftly presents her characters with unique challenges and ties the two royal families tightly together through an unusual set of circumstances and plot twists.

Character development, dialogue, and the premise on which the story is built are the strengths of Blood of Ancient Kings. Each character is an individual and fully fleshed; the reader can relate to each, despite their wide differences - the ex-despot, the reformer, the young healer, the simple village minister, the school-age bullies, the private soldiers, the general.

The premise of the story is what, to me, was the most interesting part. An usurping reformer and a reforming despot found two lineages that intertwine for three generations; starting with the first two children who know each other almost from birth but do not know, due to various machinations, who each other IS until well into the book.

Gardner's prose is clean and clear and reads quickly, moving from one scene to another with ease.

The biggest negative I found was that the plot development was sometimes unbelievable. The usurper, King Langward, decides to grant the people some representative government by splitting the kingdom into sections each with an elected governor. Somehow, within mere weeks, and without any opposition, it is all smoothly done.

One other nitpicking complaint is that sometimes the procedures of court got in the way of the story. Each time the king met a new person Gardner retold the scene of the person kneeling and the King bidding them rise.

All in all Blood of Ancient Kings is a quick and interesting read, strong on characterization and plot idea. This is the first in a three book series all of which can be found on her website www.ancient-kings.com.

Disclaimer: I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Throwback Thursday - David Eddings

First apologies for being late to post this week.

I remember, O! so long ago! when David Eddings released the first book in his Belgariad series, promising a new twist on the fantasy series. I devoured each book as soon as it was available in paperback, both of the Belgariad and the follow-on Malloreon series.

I loved the books, the deep twisting characterization and the well-crafted plot. But, I do have to admit, I did not see any significant difference in these series compared to the Shannara series by Brooks, for example.or Barbara Hambly's excellent books featuring Sun Wolf and Starhawk.

Interestingly, much more recently, my son, who is a Raymond Feist aficionado among others, read the two early Eddings series for the first time - he took them off my shelf when he had run out of his own. He confirmed my impressions - very good and well worth the read, but not revolutionary to the genre.

Did you read Eddings? What did you think?

Review - Witch and Wombat

Witch and Wombat is a fanciful little jaunt through the idea of a magical world connected to the mundane world and the further idea that the former derives its energy from the latter. In this case that energy is seriously depleted as the mundane is losing faith in dragons, fairies, and magic in general due to their burgeoning technological marvels.

However, hope is still alive in the form of the fantasy role-playing gamers. Enter Bentwood and his idea of taking fantasy gamers on real adventures in the magical world. So four gamers are chosen to go on an adventure with Hali the witch, their babysitter/guide and her familiar Bernie, normally a crow but for the adventure changed into a wombat because of "marketing analysis".

Of course nothing goes as planned with the monster unions go on strike and the Tooth Fairy leading an actual revolt. But our intrepid gamers, Hali, and Bernie make everything come out right in the end. Bentwood gets rave reviews for his "tour" and Hali gets the ugly hut she's been looking for.

This book is fluffy. It is not a dark swords and sorcery story nor does the plot have much depth. That said, it is easy to read and pleasant to read. It is recommended for someone who is looking for light fantasy but written for the mature reader (i.e. NOT the Jewel Kingdom or Droon).

Witch and Wombat is available in Kindle edition but is out of print currently (it was originally published in 1994 by Warner). There are plenty of second-hand copies available online (we even have ours up on Biblio.com for $3.77, free shipping).