Reading this turned me into Gandalf the White. And yes, I listened to this book, beginning to end. Or I fought a Balrog and fell into a deep pit for eternity. Can’t remember which.
What gets me is this book has a lot going for it. The writing mechanics are perfect. Layout, dialog, exposition, narration by Travis Baldree: all strengths. But then why was my soul screaming for it to end?
1) Who the $#&! is this supposed to be for?
Trying to come up with an answer that sounds less judgmental and failing. Furries.
I read across genres. Good writing is what I like. And this author is a good writer! A storyteller? In time. She needs to read “Story” by Robert McKee, and then with her writing talent, would become one hell of a writer.
2) Story needs conflict. There is zero.
Girl meets boy. In a good story, girl expects boy to say A, he says B. They want to come together, or don’t. Then conflict, rising action, resolution, and voila: they are together.
In this book, someone says “Do you trust me?” “Yes.” “Okay.” And the character was right to. Because everything works out. No one is at cross purposes.
3) Tending. The magic mechanic in this fantasy setting is a euphemism for First Base.
There were… so many tending scenes. I feel like a victim of a war crime painfully but dutifully reliving my experience, so the next generation of reader can live a better life.
These scenes just wouldn’t end. Then, the next scene had tending! Which is describing a transfer of soul energy through touching. Surely, the book is going to end in the next five minutes? *Checks Audible player* “Two more hours…” More tending. I know. At this point it’s more my fault than the author’s. Audible lets us return books. I didn’t. I will carry this burden with me for a long time.
Guantanamo Bay guards read these scenes to prisoners ever since waterboarding was outlawed.
Overall, just… What was the author hoping to get across? When writing this book, was there an idea, or — I guess I want to know what made the writer get up in the morning and type out a word count? NaNoWriMo? Because nothing happened! Nothing, I’m not exaggerating!
Whyyyyyy