4 stars As a native New Yorker, I was looking forward to looking at this pictorial guide. I suppose what I really wanted to see were early photographs of NYC, but the pastoral images were also appealing. The illustrations are vivid and realistic, so much so that I could swear I was looking at photographs. My only complaint would be that the people in the depictions appear to have been photographed and superimposed on the illustrations. I think the mental disconnect for me is that I know that there were no photographs of New Amsterdam so when I see what looks like a photograph (the images are that good) and it shows people, my brain tells me it’s not possible and I start imagining that these people dressed in costumes to pose for the pictures. I don’t feel like the artwork is impossible, even though the quality is comparable to a photograph. It’s the addition of people that doesn’t work for me. I suspect that if the people had been presented as illustrations (realistic, yet not photographically so), my brain would have more readily accepted the images. It would be impossible to overstate just how impressive the images in this book are. It is clear that a lot of imagination and care was invested in the creation of this book and the result is truly breathtaking. The captions are informative and remind me of the type of things I read in school textbooks. Of course, with these pictures, the captions are much more interesting. Based on what I saw, I think this book would be a fun gift for a student learning about the early settlers to New Amsterdam. The pictures help to bring history to life and make it more memorable. Although I saw this book in ebook format, I can imagine that it would make a great coffee table book, one to be shared with lovers of early New York history. December 18, 2020
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5 stars If you’re expecting a dry read, this isn’t it. I’ve enjoyed Frank Figliuzzi’s appearances on TV and podcasts so when I saw this offered on Netgalley, I decided to give it a try. It never dragged or got bogged down in technical details. Instead, the author uses storytelling to illustrate the points, namely, the seven essential traits to the success of the FBI, and by extension, any business or organization: code, conservancy, clarity, consequences, compassion, credibility, and consistency. It’s a great concept and I wish more organizations took this approach. Some of my favorite quotes/words of wisdom included: “...we perform at our best when we’re accountable for something beyond ourselves.” “Trust comes from transparency, and transparency breeds accountability.” “Restoring damaged credibility can take years, even decades, if it happens at all.” I learned a few things too. For example, the trigger pull on the Wesson .357 Magnum revolver requires about nine pounds of pressure. “If you want to get a feel for the trigger-pull test, find a full bottle of wine, grasp it with both hands, and fully extend your arms out in front of you. Hold that position for thirty seconds,” to comprehend the weight of the gun. The trigger portion is even more demanding, best likened to picking up a full one-gallon jug of milk with only your index finger, repeatedly, over thirty seconds. It’s safe to say I won’t be applying for the FBI. I also learned something that might be common knowledge, but I found it appalling nonetheless. “According to FBI statistics, the average age a child prostitute fell prey to a pimp was thirteen. The average life expectancy for that child after becoming a prostitute was just seven years.” This means, on average, these children are barely making it to adulthood. There’s a fascinating story told about a covert car chase from Colorado to New York as various FBI agents surveilled a suspected terrorist by the name of Najibullah Zazi. “FBI surveillance units in state after state had been handing off Zazi like a toxic baton in a deadly relay race.” The wording of this was clever enough to capture my attention. There’s also the story of the anthrax outbreak at AMI in Florida. The details were riveting, and I found myself having a whole new appreciation for the work done by those agents. In fact, I have a whole new appreciation for everything that they do and the underlying principles that drive them: Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity. This timing of this book could not be better. Having just endured the endless denigration of their organization over the course of the past 4 years, now more than ever, the FBI needs to rebuild its image and revive the trust that many have always had in them. I believe those who read this book will be pleasantly surprised to discover the caliber of people consistently chosen for the US’s elite police force. I know I am. January 22, 2021 3 stars Interesting story of Seamus, a vampire, and Sadie, a fox shifter (vixen) and their unlikely mating. Scenes were described in detail that pulled me into the story and made the action visible. Characters were adequately developed, with Dracen (the omega wolf shifter) of particular note (foreshadowing). As it turned out, his story is introduced at the end of this one. The big problem I had with that is that he meets a woman in a parking lot as she attempts to put the keys in her car and she is attacked by another man. Dracen attacks the man and chases him off, and then realizes that the woman is practically blind. So why was she getting into a car?! Overall, the story is an enjoyable one without being outstanding. It’s memorable because it’s unusual, but not because the characters were especially relatable. They didn’t make me feel anything. It’s good and I would be interested in reading other books in the series, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find them. January 18, 2021 5 stars I received a free copy of this book from the author to prepare me for the release of the next books of the Tainted Fae series. I knew I enjoyed her books because I read the Born of Water series several years ago. I am reminded of why I enjoyed that series as much as I did. This book was amazing, pulling me into the dying world of the fae, touching upon the issue of our poisoned world destroying magic. Told entirely from the POV of Raisg, the drug-addled fae outcast and hero, the reader can feel the struggles he endures. Early on, the narrator describes “Raisg felt as if he were part of the fixed things that people swirled by and that he watched the human world with a tree’s eyes.” Since he sees himself as part of a dying world, he wants nothing more than to die and end his misery. The drug to which he is addicted, ola, is a double-edged sword, like most drugs. The temporary feeling of elation is quickly replaced by endless despair. He struggles with the desire to no longer desire this drug that controls him. Not too surprisingly, the cure seems to be worse than the disease, but Raisg has suffered enough to realize he cannot continue down the same path. “Raisg tried to stand, but his legs felt like they’d been reconfigured with extra joints.” The cure “tasted like ambrosia mixed with rancid garbage.” The descriptions of the high associated with ola as well as the descriptions of the cure are vivid and relatable. “If ola brought the feeling of magic and belonging, Gavin’s cure made him (Raisg) feel like his insides were being sucked out through his belly button while he was powerless.” Sgleo, the ancient fae, is described using words that make him sound like a human tree. “...his thin arm appeared like a denuded branch drifting in the wind.” “His face looked like a mask made from an ancient oak.” He has “twiggy fingers” and “A mouth like a cut in a tree chewed as if Sgleo were a goat working on a mouthful of leather.” Meanwhile, another character, a brownie called Bramble, is described very cleverly, like a plant or a weed, taking on whatever horticultural form is required to camouflage himself. He’s small enough to fit in a pocket, just slightly larger than Raisg’s hand, covered with spines, has beetle-like eyes, and sharp thorn-like teeth.I chuckled when “Bramble ran with the grace of a drunk tumbleweed through the ferns.” Raisg’s quest is to transport Sgleo from Scotland to Boston. Though very powerful magically, Sgleo is unable to protect himself because he is so easily poisoned by everything in his environment (toxic fumes, pesticides, metals, and so forth—all the things that are inherent to modern-day life). Raisg needs to overcome his addiction, then outsmart Efflyn (the fae queen who seeks Sgleo). Although there are sure to be additional obstacles, the only goal in this installment is to make the trip to Boston. Once they reach the relative safety of Wind River, this episode ends and we’ll need to wait for the next book. I am so looking forward to it. January 17, 2021 5 stars This is a seriously funny book, and once you get past the Britishisms, easy to read. Unfortunately, there were quite a few phrases that I was forced to look up because I didn’t understand them. For example, there’s a character to whom Nick Spalding keeps referring at the beginning with varying names (Hugh Burnley Fishingstool, Hugh Wormley Fittingshawl, Hugh Turnley Wobblingschool) which I can only assume are a play on words of some famous British person, but I don’t know for sure. It was funny, but I felt like I was missing something. Nick Spalding has a gift for turning a phrase into something hysterical (like “a pair of pants that feel like they’re garrotting your undercarriage” or “Seeing him all twitchy and out of sorts is like watching a sloth breakdancing”), and as if that weren’t enough, he also creates the most ridiculous and hilarious situations, which are described in excruciating detail for maximum effect The writing is from the POV of Ellie, told in first-person present-tense. There’s a certain self-awareness that is very endearing and makes her relatable. After having introduced most of her coworkers during various parts of the narrative, Ellie mentions a nondescript young man named Adrian: “If Young Adrian was a character in a novel, he most certainly would only ever be one of the bit players, and probably wouldn’t even get mentioned until at least chapter five.” It was chapter five. After referring to “passionate kissing by the ficus,” Ellie says, “If I ever write a fictionalized account of my office romance with Nolan, that will probably be the title of the book,” in a statement dripping with irony. Ellie is not an environmentalist at the beginning of the novel. Her description of a new vegan food (crispy tofu) that she tries made me laugh: “This isn’t food. This is the negation of food. The repudiation of everything food stands for. It is the anti-food. If I just ate this every day, I’d be dead of starvation in a week.” This is followed up by her experience tasting beetroot, spelt, and lentil chili, which, not surprisingly, is so spicy her “FACE EXPLODES.” She continues: “If crispy tofu is the negation of food, then this chili is the unequivocal reinforcement of food as a concept. This the most food I have ever had in my mouth. My entire being is instantly consumed by it. There is now only the vegan chili and my poor, poor taste buds in this universe, locked in a dance of death.” It should go without saying that Elie is a bit histrionic and prone to exaggeration. Characters in this book are unique, memorable, and amusing, from the nominally determined Kevin Flounder to Mordred, a man with a beard of such consequence, “a beard of such overwhelming beardness that I’m surprised there aren’t other smaller beards, currently circling in its gravitational influence…. Watching Mordred get nearer is what it must feel like to be stalked by an enraged, ambulatory hedge.” Overall, I really enjoyed the book and found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. I particularly enjoyed the ending—a true hero’s journey with a resilient character who emerges from difficulties stronger than ever and inspires the reader to do the same. I highly recommend it. January 16, 2021 3 stars When I first started reading the story, I was pulled into the drama of it and found myself eagerly turning pages. Starting off with an impending plane crash is always a good way to draw the reader into a story. The scene is described very well and the potential heartache is portrayed in frightening shades of realism. I tend to not want to know too much about a story before reading it, so I allowed myself to imagine that Robbie had already died, even though I knew he would be a major character in the rest of the book. After all, I reasoned, maybe the entire thing would be told from the past tense. The story was moving along at a decent pace until Jess and Robbie left the first hotel. At that point, I found myself easily distracted and not wanting to pick up my Kindle to continue reading. I wawa confused whenever Jess referred to the time-travel aspects of their relationship and then when she started going through the family ancestry of the people in Ireland, it became too much. I wanted to skip those parts, but felt they were important. Of course, they were. I took a look at reviews to see if other readers had encountered this kind of problem and most people seemed to like the book, so I endeavored to continue. Unfortunately, it just dragged for me until Part Two, at which point the story shifted to the distant past and Robbie’s family/friends in Ireland. I found this part much more interesting. When the book switched back to Robbie and Jess again, the story was more engrossing to me and I found my desire to figure out the mystery had been piqued. Now, I had to discover whether my suspicions were correct. Some of the writing was really good, with great imagery. I’m always a sucker for a good metaphor or just a vivid description. I loved this one: “Robbie pointed out the corrugated cliffs to our left as far as the eye could see, each one absorbing flashes of sunset and pounding surf that broke into bubbles of glass and foam slithering down the massive rock.” And this one: “A shower of sunlight from a mullioned window in the library spilled over Treasa, turning her thinning white hair into strands of crystal fiber optic. There were some funny bits too. Like when Robbie’s boyhood friend Lewy wondered “if the adoption process wasn’t similar to choosing a healthy head of cabbage at the market. Can ye support this cabbage, and raise it Catholic?” And there were a couple of sayings thrown in that made me laugh, like, “Robbie always said fast healing was a gift to a slow runner.” I think this was my favorite: “First babies come anytime, me da always says. The rest take nine months.” Overall, the book was pretty good, but I just didn’t love it. I would have to say that the pacing was probably the biggest issue, but I found the references to the previous book confusing and that took away from my enjoyment as well. I don’t feel a burning need to read more from the series. January 10, 2021 4 stars I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. With a name like Madame President, you might expect it to be overtly political, but it is not. In fact, the author goes to the effort of describing President Anna Elizabeth Fitzpatrick as an Independent candidate who, unbelievably, receives over 50% of the popular vote. She is, naturally, the exact kind of leader we need because she is intelligent, compassionate, thoughtful, confident, and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, she is also the kind of leader we will rebuff, and I don’t think I’m saying anything too controversial when I blame it on misogyny. Although, the fact that she was single may have been a point in her favor, since she didn’t have to deal with her opponents and the media blaming her for her husband’s behavior. This is a second-chance love story and the President’s love interest is Navin Hazar, the “one who got away” while they were in law school at Harvard. From the outset, it’s unlikely the two of them can find a workaround for a relationship because he works for a major news network. That automatically makes him a potential enemy and undermines trust. On top of that, there’s a mole in the administration, who is never actually identified (which I found disappointing). Navin has the utmost respect for Anna and cautions (in his thoughts): “But never forget that she is dangerous and can cut you into shreds while being so charming, you won’t know you’re bleeding until she’s gone.” Anna’ best friend is very concerned about how Anna will be able to date, asking her, “How are you going to have sex while in office?” When Anna says she wasn’t planning on having any, her friend is aghast, asking, “For four years?” Anna’s response is priceless, “Eight if I’m lucky.” One of my favorite scenes from the book is the one in which Navin is preparing to interview Anna before the camera crew. When he asks if she’s ready, she says, “As much as I could be prepared to be drilled by you.” She is unaware of the double-entendre until he responds by sucking in a breath, shifting uncomfortable in his chair, and muttering, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Not to be outdone, he responds in kind during the interview, thanking her for taking the time for the interview and telling her, “I know it’s hard for you,” placing emphasis on the last three words. One of the things that made Anna so relatable from the beginning was her admission that she never intended to run for office and said “no sane person ever ran for political office.” Never say never, as they say. After stewing on it for a while, she realized that she could never make the kinds of changes she desired without expanding her platform. It’s one thing to fight for clients and their rights under the law; it’s another to have a direct effect on the law, to actually shape it. Her philosophy is an admirable one: “There’s a place for each of us at the table, but we must all move a bit closer to the middle to ensure everyone gets a seat.” I liked the book, which, in addition to being a contemporary romance, might alternately be classified as a fantasy. There are many reasons I say that. For one, it’s hard for me to imagine a reality in which Americans set aside their differences and overwhelmingly vote for a woman, especially one who is strong, confident, and doesn’t hesitate to point out corruption where she sees it. Once she’s in office, she manages to convince “both sides” to work together for the American people. Ha. The other part that’s inspiring, while at the same time barely believable, is the idea that anyone would set aside their own personal happiness for the greater good. Lately, I’ve become a bit cynical. I want to believe in this kind of a scenario, but for now, I’ll have to rely on fiction to paint the picture. January 4, 2021 2 stars I read the synopsis of the plot on Netgalley and thought it sounded worth reading so I requested an ARC. I’ll need to remember to avoid this author in the future because I really don’t like her writing.This is the second time I’ve read one of her books and my complaints this time are similar. Basically, it’s innocuous drivel. I did enjoy the plot, but that was about it and I had to force myself to read the second half of the book. The writing is clumsy and unimaginative, rife with cliches (“I wouldna want it any other way.”) and unexceptional comparisons (“Her throat was so parched it felt like it was on fire.”). I won’t call them metaphors because they do not rise to that level. Editing was sub-par. For example, defiantly was used at least two times when the intended word was definitely. There was way too much telling instead of showing. This was probably my biggest complaint, to be honest. In addition, there were plot inconsistencies and actions that just didn’t make sense. There were even a few instances of verb tenses changing from past-tense to present-tense, then back. It was primarily told in third-person past-tense. The final part of the book was the most difficult to read. Whether this was because of my impatience with the story-telling or it got worse over time, I’m not sure. When Siena met Roderick’s brothers, at their wedding, she made a comment about people needing to be judged by their actions rather than their origins (because she was English and they were Scottish). Based on that simple comment, the brother told Roderick, “I see the lass has a mind of her own.” Roderick agreed and laughed. Really? So based on one sentence, he could judge that she had a mind of her own? I considered listing all of the plot inconsistencies, but I’m not getting paid to do that, and I don’t see the point. There is one, however, that I feel needs to be pointed out. Siena’s childhood bedroom at her father’s castle had a secret passageway hidden behind a chest. “Agatha (her maid) had told her that Siena’s mother had had the passageway made without telling her father in case she needed to escape. Evidently, her mother had had doubts about her father, too.” There are a few issues I have with this. First of all, Siena’s mother died during childbirth, while giving birth to Siena’s twin. She had no way of anticipating that the father might treat Siena poorly. Okay, so maybe the “she” in the sentence referred to Siena’s mother and the expectation that she might need to escape. If that were the case, the passageway would have been connected to her room, not the daughters, and it’s unlikely it would have been the same room. Finally, how did Siena’s mother have a secret passageway constructed without the father noticing? The whole concept was ridiculous. Also, when Siena first entered the passageway, the torches were there but the flint was missing. This was mentioned as if it were important, but it was never explained. There was the obligatory, heavy-handed wise old character telling Roderick and Siena, “True love is always worth working for because in the end ‘tis the only thing that counts.” Blah, blah, blah. Close to the end, there was this passage: “A flash of lightning illuminated the glistening bodies of the two lovers as they came to know each other. Caressing, touching, sharing themselves as they never had with anyone else. Siena and Roderick were caught in their own whirlwind, seeing a release that only they could provide.” Gag me. I literally grimaced as I read this and almost stopped entirely, but I was so close to finishing. I dragged myself over the finish line and commenced writing this review. Maybe it will save someone else from reading it. January 2, 2021 5 stars I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Enough time had passed since I read To Catch an Earl for me to forget some of the names of the characters. However, I quickly remembered Alex and Emmy’s story and how much I enjoyed that one. As I read this, I thought I liked it better, but rereading my review of the other, I’m hard-pressed to say which I like better. Both are engrossing, engaging, and unexpectedly sweet love stories. If I’m smart (which is somewhat debatable), I’ll read This Earl of Mine, the story of Benedict and Georgie. I’ve added it to my TBR list, which seems to multiply daily. Anyway, back to Sebastien (Sebastien Wolff, Earl of Mowbray) and Anya (Princess Anastasia Denisova). Their meeting is certainly unusual—he comes to the brothel where she is tutoring some of the women, mistakes her for one of the women who works there, and is baffled when she turns down a large sum of money in exchange for a few hours with him. After a scorching kiss, she leaves, wondering whether she made a mistake saying no and he leaves, newly obsessed with her and discovering why she (or anyone) would say no to him. As fate would have it, Anya, having adopted the name of Anna Brown to avoid detection in England, works for Sebastien’s aunt, the “Dread Dowager Duchess.” The Duchess turns out to be surprisingly adept at engineering the eventual collision between Anya and Seb. Though both suspect her, neither is capable of denying the logic of her suggestion they spend time together. After spending time together, “Seb felt as if he’d been taken apart and put back together in a completely different configuration.” When Seb attempts to deny his feelings for Anya, the Dowager is not fooled for a minute, especially when he presents Anya with a gift for her “coming out” that goes beyond anything that could be reasonably expected. Suddenly, Seb realizes “He wasn’t wearing his heart upon his sleeve—he’d put it in a bloody jeweler’s box and handed it to her with a roomful of witnesses.” Nevertheless, he continues to insist it means nothing; he seems to be the only who believes that. Naturally, his friends Alex and Ben tease him mercilessly. Because Anya is Russian, there are quite a few traditional Russian practices thrown into the story, but what I liked most was the use of fairy tales. For one, Seb’s last name is Wolff, and there is reference to “Little Red Riding Hood’s encounter with the wicked, predatory beast,” with Anya musing to herself about the story. “She’d always had a soft spot for the wolf in that tale. What if he were really a man trapped in the body of a beast? What if he fell under the spell of the beautiful girl? What if she tamed him? He’d be the very best protector. She let out a soft laugh at her own foolishness. Wasn’t that what every woman dreamed? That she’d be the one to gentle the beast? No doubt they believed it right up to the moment they were eaten up for dinner. She wasn’t such a fool.” Clever foreshadowing. The Dowager presents Anya with a book of Russian fairy tales and asks Anya to translate them into English. When Seb asks her about her favorite, she relates the story of the ice maiden Snegurochka, a beauty made of snow, the daughter of Spring the Beauty and Ded Moroz, old Father Frost. She does not reveal that she had been dubbed the Ice Princess by the people of Russia because she had been unwilling to accept the marriage proposals of many suitors. Her hesitancy had been due to her position and her fear that it was only that power which attracted them. Immortal, but loney, the fairy tale “ice princess” falls in love with a shepherd boy named Lel. In one version of the story, the act of falling in love causes her to melt and disappear in a puff of water vapor. In another, she marries the shepherd and they have a long and happy life together. Anya admits that although she prefers the second ending, the first is more likely. Seb agrees it’s unlikely any woman would give up her privileged position for love. Again, some clever foreshadowing. When Seb discovers that Anya is, in fact, a princess, he is furious that she tricked him. He calls her “princess,” drawling “the title like an insult, a deliberate bastardization of the term of endearment.” Crushed, she longs for him to use it as an endearment instead. Unfortunately, Seb is not as confident as he had appeared and does not consider himself worthy of her. He pushes down how he feels, certain no woman would ever give up her privileged position for love. Anya is a strong, independent, free-thinking woman, friends with a notorious madam and happy to live like a commoner if it means she is free. She finds an unlikely ally and someone of the same mindset in the Dowager. When the Dowager brings up the issue of a woman being “ruined,” Anya loses her temper. “This is what I hate about ‘polite society.’ If a woman is taken against her will, she’s ruined. If she gives herself to a man willingly, before marriage, she’s ruined. Yet no one expects a man to go to his marriage bed untouched. It’s such a double standard!” When the Dowager immediately agrees with her, it encourages her to finally share her secret. It is likely at this point that the Dowager initially hatches her plan. This is a fun story, with a bit of danger in the form of Vasili Petrov, a Russian traitor determined to find Anya and force her to marry him so she won’t be able to testify against him, and lots of tension between Anya and Sebastien. Anya, determined to never again be a victim, is resolute in protecting herself, but she welcomes the assistance of Seb. The ancillary characters of the story add depth to the plot, but it is really Anya and Seb who carry the story. I really enjoyed it and I recommend it. January 1, 2021 3 stars I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Despite mixed reviews, I was pretty sure I was going to give this book 4 or 5 stars. I found it to be well-written, with a compelling plot that had me anxiously turning pages to find out what would happen next. Characters were multidimensional, the plot was intriguing and full of surprises, and I found the book to be easy to read and follow. I didn’t quite understand the author’s choice to ** the “bad” words, but it was easily overlooked. Scenes were described in explicit detail, painting a clear picture of each setting. I enjoyed the sense of humor conveyed through the internal conversations of Nythan and Bane. This author definitely has some talent, and his sense of humor was apparent as well. Early on in the story, Nythan reflected on the cartoon-villain-like voice he kept hearing in his head: “He almost hoped the other voice came from a real demon. He could at least blame a demon for spewing cliched omens of doom.” Describing human souls as “single-serve snack packs” was savage. Later, the author described a character “who resembled a chiseled balloon animal.” I couldn’t quite figure out what to visualize, but it definitely made me laugh. There were some wonderful philosophical discussions between Nythan and Bane, the kinds of things a nineteen-year-old would find revelatory. For example, once Nythan accepted that Bane was a part of him and decided to help him achieve his goal, believing this would result in less human suffering, he made a speech in front of Bane’s believers, then wondered if he sounded as full of crap as he felt. Bane responded, “It’s like dancing or singing karaoke; you feel every mistake. You think everyone else knows, but most of the audience is so transfixed that the mistakes aren’t noticed. They probably thought it was intentional. On the outside, you look calm and ready, as Eminem would put it.” Or as the popular saying goes, “We wouldn’t care so much about what people thought of us if we realized how seldom they did.” When Nythan accused Bane of being an apocalyptic monster, Bane countered by saying he was a survivor. Nythan responded, “Survivor, apocalyptic monster. Tomayto, tomahto.” At one point, as Bane tried to convince Nythan to do something he had suggested, he reasoned, “Well, one, I’ll be satisfied. Two, you’ll get to know more about your new infatuation. And three…, hmmm, I really thought I’d have thought of three by now, but, oh well. Just those two.” It was this sort of nonsensical musing by a creature who had been around for millenia that really made me laugh. And Bane’s snarkiness almost made him endearing. Like when Nythan said to his followers, “I’ve done a great deal of thinking,” and Bane thought, “If they only knew how painful it was for you.” Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, I guess, Bane had gleaned some wisdom from his many lives and this was conveyed to Nythan through statements like: “What if I told you that good and bad is merely an opinion, subject to wherever you’re born?” He went further, explaining, “...each side has to classify the other as evil in order to motivate themselves to accomplish their goal, often at the other side’s expense. Otherwise, each side would have to face the fact that they are hurting good people who do the same bad things to them.” What he failed to mention is that sometimes, and some might even argue often, each side knowingly argues their case, portraying themselves as good and the other side as evil, highlighting the faults of the other and ignoring their own. In many ways, Nythan really didn’t stand a chance against Bane’s superior knowledge and wisdom and was destined to be manipulated by it. At times, they seemed to be on equal footing. At the same time, you had to wonder whether this was just something that Bane allowed Nythan to believe. It was also fairly obvious that Nythan would die by the end of the story, but the hope was that he would, at least, ensure that Bane would not return. Sometimes I wondered whether Nythan realized his fate. Really, though, it was irrelevant. Keeping all of this in mind, it may be my knowledge of what had to happen that made the ending that much more disappointing. I endeavor not to spoil stories, and I’m trying hard not to do that here, but how can I do that when the ending is my biggest disappointment with the book? There was an utter and complete lack of epiphany or any kind of understanding for ANYONE at the end. Nothing changed. No one changed. The reader is left wondering whether anything served any purpose. And that left me wondering whether there was any reason to read the book. I think this book could earn 5 stars if the ending were to be reimagined and rewritten. I mean, I understand why it ended the way that it did, but I still didn’t care for it. And I don’t think it was the plot, per se, but rather, the way it was presented. Maybe if I approach my analysis from the concept of the hero’s journey, a strong basis for any story, but especially this type of story, my critique will make more sense. In this case, the hero was never fully identified and didn’t grow in any discernible way. That leaves the reader feeling abandoned and unfulfilled. The only thing this ending accomplished was to set the stage for a sequel. I hate to criticize a book that has so much good about it, and it really does, but the fact remains that if you write a masterpiece and then fail to finish it properly, it’s a fail. Instead of worrying about whether a sequel can follow a book, it would be better to focus on providing the best ending possible. If a sequel logically follows, great. If not, consider the story done. Move on to something new. For this story, I’d have to classify it as not quite done, but not sequel-ready either. As mentioned earlier, the best thing the writer could do for this story would be to rewrite the end. The beginning and middle are outstanding. Define the hero(es), show some kind of growth or change, and have a conclusion. Give the reader something to take away from the experience—something beside a mild sense of annoyance and regret. December 31, 2020 |
Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
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