Rival Gates' "Mandrean Revenge"

Title:  A Thrilling Journey

“Mandrean Revenge” by Rival Gates

Reviewed by M. Windholtz

9/12/16

9:36 pm

Half-elf, Linvin Grithinshield, has seen much in his life as he journeyed across the world of Lavacia to claim the Red Sapphire, a powerful magic stone. However, the nefarious Lord Mandrean carries out a search to fully empower the Red Sapphire’s parallel Blue Sapphire, with the intentions of using its power to destroy Linvin. With a string of assassins set on hunting Linvin down, the main character finds himself journeying across nations to free his kidnapped uncle and to put an end to Lord Mandrean’s plots, once and for all.

Despite the massive amounts of success and wealth Linvin has gained in his past adventures, he is a likable character who does not allow his accomplishments to identity him. He is prone to helping the less fortunate and is weary towards the burden of his name and fame, something unseen in many other novels where characters are well-known. This makes Linvin a much more compelling hero than is often found in fantasy, and a hero readers are sure to become attached to.

The downside to this read, the novel dragged with in-depth discussions of politics and business that at times seemed unnecessary to help carry the plot forward. The plot was also liable to employ clichés, but author Rival Gates navigates through it with her stellar characterizations. Readers come to understand the many relevant characters’ motivations and schemes, giving a more full appreciation of the mechanizations of the novel. While Lord Mandrean is framed as the villain, readers still have the opportunity to appreciate and sympathize with him.

Gates has an ability to make characters that surpass their archetypes and become characters that entrance and enthrall readers. This, paired with the adventure and action of the narration, make this novel an excellent, must read.

I give “Mandrean Revenge” 4 out of 5 stars.

Enjoy,

M. Windholtz

Jack Alriksson's "The Call of Gelduur"

Title: Adventure for the Ages

“The Call of Gelduur” by Jack Alriksson

Reviewed by M. Windholtz

9/5/16

6:09 pm

Each year, Norrlanders set out to sea from their homeland in search of plunder and glory. Ivar Skullcleaver is a skilled warrior with a fondness for reading, seizes leadership aboard one of the ships in a Norrlander fleet. All seems well for the sailors until they sail into a massive storm and are shipwrecked on the foreign coast of Ingorle. Captured as slaves and forced to fight mysterious creatures of the forest, the Norrlanders rally behind Ivar in their pursuit of freedom and defeat of their Ingorlian captors.

Part adventure, part fantasy, “The Call of Gelduur” is a lively, humorous romp that will have readers laughing and turning the page with equal measure. The characters’ comical banter and fights are extremely amusing and the fast pace of the plot keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The histories of the many peoples that populate the fantasy land are told in stories as recollected to the characters, enriching both their minds and the reader’s as well as further immersing book lovers in the world.

Ivar and his companions are compelling characters, who exhibit their grey morals both thinly and proudly as they fight both friend and foe. No matter how readers feel about some of the greyer moments, they cannot help but cheer for the Norrlanders as they win their fights and hope their situation improves when it is a negative one.

Author Jack Alriksson puts his readers directly in the action with his descriptions of the intense fights, boisterous conversations, and colorful settings. And while the story telling favors telling over showing a few times too many, Alriksson still uses a fresh narrative voice. At times, it is nearly as if the narrator is in the room speaking directly to the reader.

Anyone who enjoys fantasy novels will surely take pleasure in following Ivar’s journey.

I give “The Call of Gelduur” 4 out of 5 stars.

Enjoy!

M. Windholtz

Lisa Wylie's "Burning Suns"

Title: Lights Spark

“Burning Suns Book One: Conflagration” by Lisa Wylie

Reviewed by Shelby Jo

6/27/16

5:00 p.m.

Burning Suns Book One: Conflagration by Lisa Wylie tosses tough, back-talking space captain Jennifer Bronwen and her unlikely companion, straight-laced politician Keera Naraymis, into an intergalactic adventure of political intrigue. The story alternates primarily between the two women’s perspectives as they team up in order to maintain peace as they know it.

The largest pitfall of the fantasy and science fiction genres is “plot for plot’s sake,” and Conflagration provides no relief from this trope. The inciting incidents are delicately arranged like a stack of dominoes to throw the main characters into the action of the book, rather than the incidents occurring naturally out of character-conscious decisions.

The characters of Conflagration may make this difficult, however, because they are not especially dynamic or well defined. The powerful female duo that leads the story is refreshing and entertaining, but unfortunately inconsistent. Jen and Keera have great potential to contrast and complement each other, once their characters are more thoroughly developed.

 Wylie cleverly includes planet Earth amidst the other fantastic and fictional galaxies in this space epic, without the planet serving as “home base” for any characters, a decision that significantly advances the world building and easily helps to ground the reader in the story. Wylie’s prose finds a comfortable, and enviable, middle ground; the story reads like fantasy or sci-fi without sounding contrived.

The author’s attempt to tell part of the narrative from the point of view of a cyborg character muddles the story. This was a bold move on Wylie’s part, and it does provide a unique perspective; however, she also attempts to relay intricate political complications in these sections that simply cannot come across to the reader with the stream of consciousness formatting.

I give “Conflagration” 3 out of 5 stars.

Happy Reading!

Shelby Jo

Joan Donaldson - Yarmey's "Gold Fever"

Title: Do You Have Gold Fever

Gold Fever by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

Reviewed by K. Royce

7/28/15

9:00 p.m.

Boni is a city girl through and through. Her mother, Elsie, is quite the opposite. Elsie loves to be camping deep in the brush of Canada’s vast wilderness, while Boni enjoys catching a movie after hitting up the local Starbucks in Vancouver. When Boni reluctantly agrees to go on a camping trip with her mother, 55 years overdue, things certainly get interesting and fast. Elsie’s father, Ben, went to pan for gold one summer and he never returned. Now it is up to Elsie and Boni to try to find out what the police could not. As soon as they get there, their trouble starts, people panning for gold do not take kindly to campers and they certainly do not take kindly to women asking questions. It seems as though someone does not want them to find out the truth about Boni’s grandfather. The women develop romantic relationships with locals but their suspicions and feelings are so intertwined that deciphering their emotions could be the only thing that keeps them safe while camping alone in the deep woods.

Joan Donaldson-Yarmey brings the reader into two conflicting worlds. On one hand, you have the city folk who enjoy all of life’s luxuries and you have the rugged mountain people who use outhouses and hunt their meals. Her mystery plot follows a basic “who done it” archetype throwing in minimal plot twists along the way. While her novel does have a few romances in it, she does not turn to the graphic detail that so many authors utilize, keeping the reader interested in a very highbrow way.

The novel is a good read for anyone looking for something quick and not difficult. The author clearly did their research into the countryside, but lacked the description that pulled the reader into the novel. The characters, while interesting, were only surface level leaving much unanswered about their feelings, perhaps if the novel were longer or even became a series that would be better. Finally, while the author lacks in some descriptions she makes some unnecessarily descriptive. There are points when the novel reads wordy, and it is hard to focus on the plot when that happens.

While the ending is predictable, the adventure keeps the reader turning the page racing to solve the mystery with Boni and Elsie. 

I give Gold Rush 3 out of 5 Stars.

Enjoy!

K. Royce

N.R. Eccles-Smith's "Kin Seeker"

Title: A World to Discover

“Kin Seeker” by N.R. Eccles-Smith

Reviewed by R.E. Views

6/28/15

6:17 p.m.

What if you couldn’t remember who you were? Kin Seeker, a fantasy novel by N.R. Eccles-Smith, creates a plot centered on asking this question. The story begins with a dragon, Laeka’Draeon, waking up outside a cave alone with no recollection of his past. He eventually learns that all the dragons have disappeared except for him, but why? On his quest to find what happened he battles monsters, gains friends, and journeys farther than he ever imagined.

Eccles-Smith creates a world where the creatures and settings expand the imagination, as well as allow the characters to experience relatable emotions. Using a combination of known mythological creatures and ones created by the author, the world feels familiar yet brand new. And though the main characters are all young they learn about friendship, loss, and destiny.

This story clearly distinguishes between good and evil, while offering an enjoyable story to young readers; however, while this is an interesting tale some may find issues with the vocabulary, the unclear character personalities, and the plot. The tone of the book is lighthearted and the writing style lends itself to a younger audience. In contrast, the vocabulary is difficult, especially in regard to descriptions of the settings. Parents be advised, this is not a hindrance because even if the reader does not understand the exact word, the context is clear. As for some of the characters’ personalities, at times they are inconsistent but remain likeable. And lastly, there were moments that didn’t add to the plot nor move the story along.

Despite some of the hang-ups I would recommend this book to children who enjoy fantasy books and who are looking for one with a more challenging vocabulary.

I give Kin Seeker 4 out of 5 stars

Best Wishes,

R.E. Views