Hi guys and gals!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
So, remember that whole "two post sorta day" I mentioned yesterday? Yeah. SO didn't happen. What can I say? I got caught up in the "day off" of it all, and instead had a pizza/movie night with the family. We watched INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3. Verdict? It was alright; nothing to write home about but not something I regret renting either. (Thank you Redbox!) Anywho, reading was accomplished and so a review you will have!
With the spotlight on seasonal reads, today's title fits right in. It's a SPOOKY, CREEPY, sometimes SCARY novel that I'd recommend tackling in PRINT though I managed it in ebook...won't be doing that again. Oh, I'm not grumbling because of the story, I'm grumbling because of the length. You know I'm not afraid of BIG BOOKS, but big ebooks are a whole nother ballpark. I mean this guy comes in at 554 pages...calculate that in screen images. *-* Yeah. My point exactly, but I digress. Let this not take away from the tale within because it definitely warrants your attention. Ladies and gents, monsters of all ages, please join me as we look between the epages of today's title of choice...
by
N.R. Allen
About the book...
Witness the fight to save magic. For countless centuries monsters, men, and things in between have fought hidden battles over the fate of magic. Now their skirmishes threaten to explode into open war, with the entire world held in the balance.
Dylan Caid, a troubled misfit, finds himself thrust into the center of this ancient conflict. With both sides urging him to join with them and threatening death or worse should he not, Dylan must learn the history of the conflict while coming to terms with his own personal demons.
Witness the fight to save magic. For countless centuries monsters, men, and things in between have fought hidden battles over the fate of magic. Now their skirmishes threaten to explode into open war, with the entire world held in the balance.
Dylan Caid, a troubled misfit, finds himself thrust into the center of this ancient conflict. With both sides urging him to join with them and threatening death or worse should he not, Dylan must learn the history of the conflict while coming to terms with his own personal demons.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That synopsis doesn't even begin to give you a clue to what you're about to discover within these pages and seeing as I tend to ramble on enough myself, I do believe I'll break this one down into a more tidy package with a Pro/Con post.
~ Pros ~
~The story!
You know the potato chip ad that says once you pop, you just can't stop? Yeah, that's EXACTLY how this story is. We open with young Dylan Caid standing outside 210 Carver St. An ordinary house in an ordinary town until a horrible tragedy sucked out all the good and replaced it with stagnant evil. Now it just sits there as a reminder of all that he lost, all that he couldn't save. Flash forward and our leading man is caught up in the middle of an all out war and the opposing sides are playing tug with his allegiance. Oh, don't worry. Neither side plays fair but one way or another Dylan is determined to make the decision his own, after all, if he's going to potentially die for a cause, should he not get a choice?
From the start, the action never ends. The time line is forever marching forward leaving little time to catch one's breath so be prepared. It's going to be intense! You've got to navigate family troubles, magical fates, monsters of all varieties, and those determined to bring it all to a bone crushing end. The magic, myths, and illusions used range from curious to mind boggling; loved Grim's orbs while those glass waves I could TOTALLY do without. Everything presented felt real whether it was life or death at Belle Lake or merely surviving another day of cheer girl's nonstop chatter (*ugh*)...not to mention the author gave me yet another fab reason to despise white long sleeved collared dress shirts.
~ The characters!
Dylan, Jen, Grim, South, Kon, the Old Bone Woman, the Mourner, the Huntsman, the curs, the women of the lake, the Stone Men, the Glass Man, the cemetery hounds...shall I continue? Whether good, evil, or something somewhere in-between, they all leave their mark. ALL of them. That's quite the task when faced with a cast as large as this one gets, and trust me, it's BIG. My favorites aside from our lead (Mr. loser-finder himself!) would have to be Grim (the little scamp), the Old Bone Woman (she stuck to her guns or rather bones and would never be swayed "just because"), and Kon (though we don't learn as much about this fox of six tails as I would like). Those that fall into the "love to hate" category would be Esther (crazy woman, nuff said), the Glass Man (because honestly, his preachy ways weren't fooling anyone), and Shard (the dirty rotten dog). Curious to know YOUR favorites once you've explored the story...
- - - - - - -
~ Cons ~
~ The cover.
You already know that I'm a fan of cover art as are many of you. Again with this one, I'm not just impressed. I admit, when I first saw it...I honestly didn't notice the little girl's face being all swirly. Does it make sense for the story? Indeed, it does...you'll understand why when you read it. Does that make me like it any better? Nope. Sorry. I just think that for those that know nothing about the author, or title, the cover can do a lot to represent/advertise the book. This one isn't doing all it should because the story is REALLY good!
~ The latter fourth or fifth of the book.
When reading a book that's more on the hefty side, it can sometimes fall victim to the oh-my-goodness-why-didn't-I-write-a-short-novel-or-break-it-into-two-or-more-books syndrome. When it happens, it creates plot holes, disconnects in the story's time line that may have you back pedaling to former paragraphs or even pages to see if you missed something that should have brought you to the place you are at, and even a few grammar/spelling errors manage to sneak their way in. Sadly, this one does just that. It wasn't enough to ruin the story for me...I mean I was pretty darn invested in seeing what would have to Dylan Caid and the crew after THAT many pages...but it did manage to turn some of my sheer awe and wonder into little crystals of glass.
- - - - - - -
In the end, I was thoroughly entertained. It's not something I would recommend for readers that like flash pan Fiction (you know, you're in, you're out, you're done!); it takes a lot more dedication than that. But...if you're willing to put in the time, get to know the monsters (human and non) beyond first impressions, and take on the likes of those you've never imagined before with little to no hope of survival? You will gladly call these pages home for the time it takes to see it through. Recommended for older teens through adults due to some suggestive content, a few bouts of language, gore, and overall themes. Those wendigos man... ~shudders~ ...they should carry a warning all their own.
That synopsis doesn't even begin to give you a clue to what you're about to discover within these pages and seeing as I tend to ramble on enough myself, I do believe I'll break this one down into a more tidy package with a Pro/Con post.
~ Pros ~
~The story!
You know the potato chip ad that says once you pop, you just can't stop? Yeah, that's EXACTLY how this story is. We open with young Dylan Caid standing outside 210 Carver St. An ordinary house in an ordinary town until a horrible tragedy sucked out all the good and replaced it with stagnant evil. Now it just sits there as a reminder of all that he lost, all that he couldn't save. Flash forward and our leading man is caught up in the middle of an all out war and the opposing sides are playing tug with his allegiance. Oh, don't worry. Neither side plays fair but one way or another Dylan is determined to make the decision his own, after all, if he's going to potentially die for a cause, should he not get a choice?
From the start, the action never ends. The time line is forever marching forward leaving little time to catch one's breath so be prepared. It's going to be intense! You've got to navigate family troubles, magical fates, monsters of all varieties, and those determined to bring it all to a bone crushing end. The magic, myths, and illusions used range from curious to mind boggling; loved Grim's orbs while those glass waves I could TOTALLY do without. Everything presented felt real whether it was life or death at Belle Lake or merely surviving another day of cheer girl's nonstop chatter (*ugh*)...not to mention the author gave me yet another fab reason to despise white long sleeved collared dress shirts.
~ The characters!
Dylan, Jen, Grim, South, Kon, the Old Bone Woman, the Mourner, the Huntsman, the curs, the women of the lake, the Stone Men, the Glass Man, the cemetery hounds...shall I continue? Whether good, evil, or something somewhere in-between, they all leave their mark. ALL of them. That's quite the task when faced with a cast as large as this one gets, and trust me, it's BIG. My favorites aside from our lead (Mr. loser-finder himself!) would have to be Grim (the little scamp), the Old Bone Woman (she stuck to her guns or rather bones and would never be swayed "just because"), and Kon (though we don't learn as much about this fox of six tails as I would like). Those that fall into the "love to hate" category would be Esther (crazy woman, nuff said), the Glass Man (because honestly, his preachy ways weren't fooling anyone), and Shard (the dirty rotten dog). Curious to know YOUR favorites once you've explored the story...
- - - - - - -
~ Cons ~
~ The cover.
You already know that I'm a fan of cover art as are many of you. Again with this one, I'm not just impressed. I admit, when I first saw it...I honestly didn't notice the little girl's face being all swirly. Does it make sense for the story? Indeed, it does...you'll understand why when you read it. Does that make me like it any better? Nope. Sorry. I just think that for those that know nothing about the author, or title, the cover can do a lot to represent/advertise the book. This one isn't doing all it should because the story is REALLY good!
~ The latter fourth or fifth of the book.
When reading a book that's more on the hefty side, it can sometimes fall victim to the oh-my-goodness-why-didn't-I-write-a-short-novel-or-break-it-into-two-or-more-books syndrome. When it happens, it creates plot holes, disconnects in the story's time line that may have you back pedaling to former paragraphs or even pages to see if you missed something that should have brought you to the place you are at, and even a few grammar/spelling errors manage to sneak their way in. Sadly, this one does just that. It wasn't enough to ruin the story for me...I mean I was pretty darn invested in seeing what would have to Dylan Caid and the crew after THAT many pages...but it did manage to turn some of my sheer awe and wonder into little crystals of glass.
- - - - - - -
In the end, I was thoroughly entertained. It's not something I would recommend for readers that like flash pan Fiction (you know, you're in, you're out, you're done!); it takes a lot more dedication than that. But...if you're willing to put in the time, get to know the monsters (human and non) beyond first impressions, and take on the likes of those you've never imagined before with little to no hope of survival? You will gladly call these pages home for the time it takes to see it through. Recommended for older teens through adults due to some suggestive content, a few bouts of language, gore, and overall themes. Those wendigos man... ~shudders~ ...they should carry a warning all their own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the author...
N.R. Allen grew up in Dooms, VA, and currently lives in Blacksburg, VA, with her husband, family, and menagerie of animals. She has an interest in legends about monsters and ghosts, especially in and around her native Shenandoah Valley.
She has written and published several poems, short stories, flash fiction, and her novel "Blood of the Revenant."
SITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK
About the author...
N.R. Allen grew up in Dooms, VA, and currently lives in Blacksburg, VA, with her husband, family, and menagerie of animals. She has an interest in legends about monsters and ghosts, especially in and around her native Shenandoah Valley.
She has written and published several poems, short stories, flash fiction, and her novel "Blood of the Revenant."
SITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK
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Special thanks to the author for the ebook for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or their full body of works, be sure to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.
Until next time...happy reading!
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