Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good effort but..., 10 Mar 2008
Bought this book on the strength of the back cover blurb. Not the most original of tales, but appealing concepts nevertheless. Modern fantasy doesn't have to be completely original for me to enjoy it, but it does need to be well written, with believable characterisation; it needs to bring about that elusive combination that enables the suspension of disbelief! And, most importantly of all, it needs to be entertaining.
There is a lot to like about this book,- those age old emotions of revenge, justice, love and loyalty but, overall, it does not seem to pull the job off. It feels a little like fantasy-by-numbers, with all of the cliches that we have come to know (and sometimes love) but it does not manage to achieve any real sense of tension. In regards to the "good guys," you never doubt, although the characters are placed in the most dangerous of scenarios, that they will survive. All of them. There is no sense of danger or the unexpected. The "bad guys" are very flat, with no real explanation of motive; a power-mad brother and a sorceror accomplice. They are just Evil.
I feel no great compulsion to rush out and buy the next installment, which, for me, is always the best means of judging a book. There are a number of sequels due out this year that i cannot wait to read. Just didn't get that sense of involvement.
On the whole a failed effort, very predictable with poor execution of an interesting premise.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Average at best., 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book, like many others, on the strength of its blurb and the fact the cover was beautifully done and catches the eye. I was pretty disappointed by the actual content. There is virtually no character build up, so that they appear shallow and lacking personality. There are also questions about why the hell some of them are there in the first place... Harrtuck and Carroway, take a bow.
The plot is unoriginal as already said, but the fact the 'hero' is a Necromancer is a nice idea. Necromancer's usually appear only on the 'dark side' and to have one on the side of good would have been interesting... if it wasn't so boring. How can you take an idea like that and manage to make it boring?! Its a wonderful achievement on the part of the author.
The plot is poorly constructed, the coincidences that spatter the pages are embarrassing at best and the cliche's that seem to bind this book together just made me want to cringe.
All that being said, I read the whole thing. It may seem strange to slate a book like I just did, but to be honest I found it strangely compelling. Whether its clever writing (which i highly doubt), the urge to seek something mildly original among the pages, the desire to see if Harrtuck and Carroway have a purpose other than to flesh out the fight scenes, or the hope that Gail Z Martin may, somehow, manage to rescue the most boring necromancer ever to grace a book, i really don't know.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good first for Martin, war, magic, assassination and intrigue, the second promises to be even better., 15 Jul 2008
Despite the bad reviews about this book has got I must admit that I really enjoyed it, now if your are expecting a masterpiece of fantasy fiction then you'll be sorely disappointed, this isn't an Erikson or a G RR Martin, what is is a decent but very enjoyable first book from a novice author, the book has likable characters, plenty of magic and some good battles, overall well worth reading
The books starts with the brutal murder of Prince Martris "Tris" Drayke's whole family by his evil and power hungry brother Jared, who with the aid of the dark sorcerer Foor Arontala rests control of the throne, with luck and skill Tris and a couple of his friends manage to escape his brothers clutches. Tris heads to the country of the Principality to buy himself and army to help him destroy his brother and the evil that Foor Arontala is trying to awaken, but first he has to reach the Principality, while traveling he will fight bandits, kill assassins and escape the forces of the beast men.
I hope the review was of some help to you.
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