Book Blurb:
Tilda Lanai has trained for years to
take her place among the Guilders, but now the House she is to serve is
imperiled by the sudden death of the House Lord. Scenting blood in the water,
rival Houses begin to circle. The desperate search for an exiled heir takes Tilda
across a war-torn continent and to the gates of the Sable City, where centuries
ago dark magic almost destroyed the world. Along with a sinister sorceress, a
broken-hearted samurai, and a miscreant mercenary long on charm but lousy with
a crossbow, Tilda must brave the demon-infested ruins to find the heir who may
yet save her House.
Cover Page: 15/20
This is a good cover, especially for the genre.
What I particularly like is the sense of the map gives. What I
would say is that the cover does not excel in such a way that it would catch my
attention on the shelf amongst others, which is a shame considering the content.
Character (and their development): 20/20
I think it is very rare for an author to come up
with a list of characters which are not only interesting but varied. Each one
has their own strengths and weaknesses which truly makes the cast a believable
and lovable group. Tilda and the Captain, both characters introduced very early on, were of
a lot interest to me and I could certainly imagine what sitting down to have a cup
of tea with them would be like.
Storyline: 20/20
Story lines in fantasy books, such as this one, can
often be complicated and you are often checking back to see what you have missed. I've had more than one fantasy book where I’ve had to read it twice just to get
the story. But on this book, the author has done a wonderful job of making the
story not only flow perfectly but also simple enough that any reader can read
it just once and get what is going on. There are excellent twists throughout
the story and the action is evenly placed throughout the book so you are not hanging
around if you look for a lot of high drama.
Style: 15/20
The one thing that sometimes turns me off books
such as this is the description. It is often in excess. In my opinion this book
has not overcome that. Although it is nice to fully immerse yourself inside a
world; this book just had too much. For instance there were times where you
were reading paragraphs of description, but nothing in there was moving the
story forward. The one area where the description did excel was in the battle
scenes where I thought they were beautifully written and seemed to portray not
only the chaos but also the speed of which battles happen.
Spelling and Grammar: 19/20
Spelling and grammar were excellent. There were
literally no spelling mistakes or grammar errors that I could see. With one
exception this whole book would have got 20/20, but one of my pet hates in military
ranking is the use of Leftenant. In most countries (Canada, Britain, etc), even
though this is how it is pronounced, it is spelt Lieutenant.
Conclusion: 89/100
A good fantasy adventure that may be heavy on
description but is brilliant on storyline and character that will give the reader
an enjoyable time. If you are a lover of fantasy such as lord of the rings
then this book is a must on your shelf.
Buy at Amazon.co.uk
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