This comes off like one of those books in which you have seen the premise a thousand times before. Basically, a bad guy beats the crap out of everybody and decrees that only the descendant of so and so will be able to break the curse that he leaves on the land.
However, that is just the backstory, and Poore makes it work. For a first time novelist he comes off polished and has a refined storytelling technique. He crafts some very human characters, and has built a wonderful world for us to all come and play in. The book is a bit of a builder. It takes some time to really get things going, and I really respect that. It is important to get to know why things are happening, and to get to carefor the characters before you start killing them. I really appreciated the slow burn aspect of the story, and believe tit is what makes this book work so well. This is not something that you can just jump into like it was a runaway carriage pulled by rabid horses. You have to set the table, you have to wait for the courses to come in order, and when you get to the main course you will appreciate everything that has come before, and see that everything has complimented what has followed.
Diana Croft manages to make a big mark in my book as a narrator. She really pulls the character of Cassia from somewhere within her spirit. That girl is real and genuine. You can feel her emotions, and empathize with her. I love how Croft plays Cassia like a reporter in a war zone who goes from being the one telling the story to the one driving it forward. After all, Cassia just wants to be a storyteller, and you get that from Croft, and when things go pear shaped and Cassia get sucked into the action and intrigue youcan feel her determination as well as her insecurities coming to play. That is a masterful dance. She plays the other characters just as well, but Cassia really stands out.
The only negative thing I can say about this book, is that the cover is really cheesy and does not give you a clue as to what the story is actually about. It almost looks like those covers TSR made back when they were making a line of novels that had nothing to do with D&D, quick and amatuerish. If you want the truth, when I was looking at fantasy novels, the cover to book two caught my eye; I had completely passed up this book because of the art. Remember that art may not be as important as the story, but it is what draws readers in. That is all, I just think that a cover shoukld at least tell a story, and that doesn’t say anything except a fight is going to occur.
anyway, for a first novel this is some top shelf stuff. Don’t hesitate to pick it up as the story will captivate you, the characters will interest you, and the bad guy will disgust you. Don’t wait, get it now!!!! Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.
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