Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A very promising debut, 22 Aug 2008
The Wizard of Rainbows is story about a journey, both physical and spiritual, and of a pilgrimage for knowledge. The Wizard/Pilgrim meets many companions along his way that help him to frame a better idea of who and what he is, indeed, many of his companions know his destiny better than he does himself. There is the passing of many years during the telling of the tale as the Pilgrim moves from childhood into adulthood. The Wizard of Rainbows is an epic fantasy, good and evil are clearly defined and the central figure is the Wizard/Pilgrim. Companions join, leave and rejoin throughout the tale - there are is mixture of humans, elves, dwarves and goblins that will please fantasy readers.
The Wizard of Rainbows is subtle and clever and there are numerous glimpses of the excellence that Mark A. Cropper is capable of. I look forward to reading his next offering and would recommend The Wizard of Rainbows to epic fantasy lovers. I especially liked the goblins, if you've read the Stan Nicholls book, Orcs, and enjoyed it then you will love Icicle the Goblin, a great character.
FantasyBookReview.co.uk
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5.0 out of 5 stars
thought provoking intelligent read, 14 May 2008
An Interesting tale; at first it would seem to follow a simple plot wherein the Wizard pursues his quest to rediscover and regain his magic with the help or hindrance from various other entities. However the more enquiring mind soon realises there are interweaving, underlying themes which merit deeper thought.
A story to ponder over and perhaps read again, but an enjoyable fantasy which should find favour with anyone who truly enjoys this genre.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
not great., 18 April 2008
As a child, he lost his rainbow. As a youth, he went on a pilgrimage to discover who he really was. As an adult, he rediscovered his former magic and, after some mishaps, uses it to help rid the world of the evil that was banished thousands of years ago, but has slowly been returning.
This was a stereotypical fantasy adventure. It had the usual formula of a hero going on a quest, finding some companions along the way, learning about a prophesy and at the end, banishing some form of evil. Unfortunately, it wasn't written well enough to be able to carry it off. I found the writing style pretentious and difficult to read, and there were time when it seemed like a school essay. Generally the writing was very over the top and affected, but suddenly you would come across a few sentences that were downright childish and his excessive use of swearing seemed totally out of place in the story.
It's obvious that the author, Mark A. Cropper, is a big fan of Tolkein. His work is heavily influenced by Lord of the Rings. He includes a number of songs and poems that try to be moving but are actually just boring and seemed to use LotR as a template for this story.
Having said all that, there is potential here. There were some original ideas in the story which could be developed, and the overall writing has improved by the end. However I didn't think this was a good book and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
(written on behalf of TBD magazine)
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