Andrew
Pretty standard fantasy fare that tries a few interesting things but ultimately runs out of steam.
The book deals with Minalan, the resident wizard of a relatively small backwater province who finds him self central to defending against a goblin imvasion. This present day story is interspersed with flashbacks to his wizard training and prior military service in a war against the "Mad Mage of Farise."
It does have a few clever ideas, like acknowledging that the goblins aren't necessarily in the wrong for wanting to reconquer their ancestral lands that humans drove them out of. However, that's outweighed by its shortcomings: it can never decide whether it's a serious, grimdark story, or an irreverent, MCU-style quipfest. Whoever was hired to edit/proofread gave up 2/3rds of the way through. And although some plot elements are carefully set up in the first half where A leads to B leads to C, the concluding chapters just panic and skip straight to somewhere around J out of the blue.
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My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Pretty standard fantasy fare that tries a few interesting things but ultimately runs out of steam.
The book deals with Minalan, the resident wizard of a relatively small backwater province who finds him self central to defending against a goblin imvasion. This present day story is interspersed with flashbacks to his wizard training and prior military service in a war against the "Mad Mage of Farise."
It does have a few clever ideas, like acknowledging that the goblins aren't necessarily in the wrong for wanting to reconquer their ancestral lands that humans drove them out of. However, that's outweighed by its shortcomings: it can never decide whether it's a serious, grimdark story, or an irreverent, MCU-style quipfest. Whoever was hired to edit/proofread gave up 2/3rds of the way through. And although some plot elements are carefully set up in the first half where A leads to B leads to C, the concluding chapters just panic and skip straight to somewhere around J out of the blue.
_____
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.