Rachel Reviews - A Chance Beginning by Christopher Patterson

A Chance Beginning by Christopher Patterson

* This book was free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

* 3.5 out of 5 gnomes

Summary:

Erik, his older brother Befel, and their cousin, Bryon, are leaving farm life behind on a quest to find fame and fortune. Along the way they learn, the hard way, that not everyone can be trusted and not everyone is kind.

Review:

This book has a lot of familiar fantasy elements. You have dwarves, giants, magic, treasure and war. The story, itself, is fairly typical as well, young men seeking their fortune for different reasons. What makes this book different, for me, is Erik and the message of cooperation over division. I’m used to wars between the races in fantasy novels so to read about dwarves trying to better human-dwarven relations and groups of gypsies trying to change the negative stereotypes associated with their kind. The spirit of cooperation is strong in this book.

Then, there is Erik, the honest man, also continuously called the naïve boy. His good, honest nature was a welcome contrast to Bryon’s self-centered, judgmental pessimism. I seriously wanted to smack Bryon several times in this book. Fortunately, Erik’s nature kept me from getting overly frustrated while reading. He is the kind of character that you want things to go well for. He inspires good feelings in other characters and gets them to do the right things. As the Messenger of the East says, “Your honesty, young Erik, is a little refreshing I think.”

There were some scenes centered on other characters that I’m not sure why they were put in the book. Possibly for world building, probably to give exposition for the rest of the series. You get a glimpse at the powers behind the war in Golgolthul that was initially the draw for the main characters seeking their fortunes. In this one book, though, I felt the extra scenes were distracting from the main story. I preferred hearing the stories of the Ion Gypsies. Though I do appreciate the scene at the end with the character who put the boys in harm’s way to begin with.

Overall, this is a pretty typical high fantasy adventure, albeit more of an optimistic tale than most I’ve read. There is still blood and death, but the overall theme of changing minds about stereotypes and the rarity of a truly open minded human are pleasant to read.

Kylie Reviews - Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson by Mark Siegel

Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson by Mark Siegel

* Provided  by the publisher for review.

Kylie’s Rating System:

1- Fiery Loathing

2- Boring As Hell

3- Facebook Like

4- Fangirl-level Obsession

5- Idol Worship

3.5 out of 5 stars

"Sailor Twain" tells the tale of Captain Elijah Twain and his adventures aboard the steamship Lorelei, along with the Frenchman Lafayette and the mermaid South.

The story is told in such a way as to remind the reader of a black and white detective film. The novel is presented in the form of a graphic novel, and the drawings, done entirely in charcoal, are absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. Many of the frames lack dialogue, and instead tell a whole other story within the larger narrative. The reader finds oneself studying each frame for every detail that is to be found, and a second perusal of the novel without even reading the dialogue creates just as striking of an impression. Each face and body is drawn in such a way as to convey exactly the feelings the author intended to portray, from a simple line-drawn stick-figure to a nuanced and exquisitely drawn profile.

The plot, which is a fresh application of the mermaid folktale to a nineteenth century steamship setting, carries the reader well all the way up to the third section, in which the depth required to convey the underpinnings of the underwater world, and the mermaid's motivations, are lost in a rush of action. One is left feeling slightly adrift when the last page is done, but the satisfaction of a beautiful graphic novel that also smells wonderful (at least in the First Second Publishing paperback edition) is enough for this reviewer to rate the book a solid 3.5/5 stars. On my scale, that's a "Facebook Like."