REVIEW: "Qi" by Elizabeth A. Svigar

Sam is the best archer in all of Salem. With her latest win, she and her sister, Abby, herself a gifted fencer, have the chance to train for the Olympics at magical Xenith. Prestigious and affluent, this training camp in Fletching provides an opportunity of a lifetime. As an added bonus, Sam and her sister will get to spend a lot more time with their mother, who lives in the area, and Eli, an old friend with whom Sam is excited to rekindle a friendship. It's a dream come true. But dreams don't always turn out the way we expect. Sometimes our dreams turn into nightmares. How will this one end?

Written for a young adult audience, "Qi" is fanciful and engaging. I found Sam's character to be realistic, with real flaws and strengths, and I liked her. The rest of the characters were a little less developed, and not quite as engaging. The adults, in particular, were less complex and compelling than the children in the story. The adults are, in fact, secondary characters, which really serves to highlight the strength of the younger characters in the story. Nicely written, in fluid prose for this age level, this novel is quite appropriate for the middle grade or younger young adult set. The author sets the scenes with descriptive language that allows the reader to picture the events and characters.

The storyline is immediately engaging, and I was eager to find out more about Fletching and the Liffey family. A mysterious stranger is introduced right in the first few pages, and this infuses a nugget of expectation, which pulled me in further. Although the book is titled "Qi," I felt like not quite enough was done with this concept, and I would have loved for it to have come up a bit more than it did. When the magic doll, Will, was presented in the story, it became more clear what type of a fantasy story this was. Although this doll played a major role, I feel like I didn't really get a good sense of him. He seemed to be such an integral part of what goes on in Fletching, but, in his introduction, we find that he's been locked up for years. I wondered if he was the only creation of his sort, and how he might have come to be.

I found the ending of the book to be a little less engaging than the first half of the book had been. The ending seemed a little less relatable and almost like a different type of story than I had been expecting. It's hard to define exactly what I felt, but I found myself thinking "what??" on several occasions during the climatic scenes of the book. I like the way the ending wasn't completely tied into a neat package with a pretty little bow, but I was confused by just how much was left open to the imagination. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the book is titled "Book One of the Baba Yaga," so it seems there is much more to come in later installments. I hope that's the case, because one of the things I wanted most probed was the triangle between Dr. Dante and Sam's parents. I also wanted more about Jonah and his experiences, and what was in store for both Abby and Sam. There is a lot left to discover, and I look forward to seeing where this story leads.

Engaging and fun, this was a really nice start to a series that has the potential to be an exciting fantasy adventure for younger readers.

3.5 /5 stars

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REVIEW: "The Hawk and His Boy" by C. H. Bunn

Hidden away in a tower, there is a wooden box, engraved with an ugly carving of a hawk. Sealed shut by magical forces, its owner has no idea what's inside, but is determined to open it. Equally determined to get his hands on this box, a mysterious stranger hires a group of thieves to steal the box. Jute is the right boy for the job, bypassing magical wards and making his way through the house to retrieve the box. But things don't go quite as planned when he unexpectedly opens the lid and touches the object inside. Now he's on the run and has to decide who he can trust...can he trust the voice he now hears in his head, or is that another trick?

The first book in the "Tormay Trilogy" by Christopher Bunn, this intriguing story is full of magical spells, wizards, and evil darkness. With a fluid, engaging writing style that matches the genre of book nicely, this story takes us on an adventure through this magical kingdom. The ending nicely sets up the second book in the trilogy, tying up only the most general of threads so we are compelled to look to the next book to find out more.

With a bevy of unique and interesting characters, you really become interested in the backstories of each character. You get the feeling they are all connected in some way, but very few of those connections are made clear in this installment. I would have liked a little more closure and a little more direction as to the connections between all these characters. At times, it seemed there were too many to keep up with, and without those connections it's sometimes hard to keep track of them. You just get into one character's story when you are introduced to another, and another, and another. Jute seems to be the main character, but I wanted more information on his connection to the hawk. I also wanted more backstory on Levoreth; much is hinted, and it's enough to make you really wonder who she is, exactly, and what she can do. Although I think the set up for the second book is good, I just wanted more satisfaction in this first book with regards to the information gained. It's definitely piqued my interest!

Overall, a really good first installment, one that prepares you for the second in the series from this talented author.

4 /5 stars

Available on Amazon

REVIEW: "The Quest for Nobility" by Debra L. Martin and David W. Small

Darius and Dyla Telkur are royal twins from the duchy of Telkur. They are imbued with psychic gifts (as all royals are) and live a charmed life... until tragedy strikes. When their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Telkur, are implicated in a dastardly smuggling ring and presumed dead, the twins' uncle, Avikar, takes over the royal duties until the twins are of age. What the twins don't know is that Avikar has his sights set on the Dukedom, and will stop at nothing to get it. A mistimed attempt on the twins' lives results in yet another tragedy, and the blame falls to the twins. Their attempts to win back their duchy and clear their family's name takes them on an exciting adventure to places they never imagined. Time is running short; will they be able to prove their innocence and that of their parents in time to regain control of the royal title and their duchy?

Written by the collaborative team of  Debra L. Martin and David W. Small, this fantasy tale is highly imaginative and quite engaging. The authors transitioned to new settings and events by beginning each chapter with a "quote" from the "Chronicles of Otharia." It is in this way the readers are introduced to the rules and customs of the Otharian people. Each quote is paired well with a chapter that demonstrates the quoted information.  I found this to be a really effective way to prepare us for what was to happen in the chapter, and supply us with information without having to spell it out in the narrative. It helped tie together a story that was somewhat lacking a smooth flow in events and storyline. The writing, overall, seemed somewhat inconsistent to me, almost as if different parts were written by different authors.

Of the three main characters, Darius, Dyla and Eclair, I felt Eclair was actually the most developed and the most interesting. I got a better sense of his motivations, as well as his strengths and his flaws, than I did of any other character. All of the characters in the story proved interesting, but they were not all developed as well as I would have liked. The dialogue between characters proved a bit flat and stilted in many places, which made it some of the reading occasionally awkward.

The storyline itself is actually quite interesting. I especially liked the way Earth was tied into the Otharian adventure, and I was really interested in how those two planets were related in the past and, perhaps, would be again in the future. I was really able to get into the adventure, although I did wonder to myself several times where the adventure was actually going. It was engaging and moved along at a nice pace, but it almost seemed like several parts of the story were written separately and then stuck together. In addition, there were a few timeline jumps that caught me by surprise- sometimes the storyline picked up where it left off in a previous chapter, and sometimes it jumped time. It felt inconsistent. Although there was a common thread- the battle for the royal throne- sometimes I lost track of where we were headed and why. The ending does a good job in setting up a sequel, and it is a sequel I'm interested in reading.

With regards to the mechanics, I felt the book could use one more editing pass. There were several typos (e.g., you for your, certainty for certainly) and I felt it was lacking commas in some key places. There were several times I had to reread a sentence to understand the meaning because of the lack of commas. At one point, for example, I was confused as to why a woman waitress was checking herself out, until I added a comma in my head and realized a patron was actually doing the ogling.

With a half star boost for the sheer creativity and cleverness in tying Earth together with Otharia (which I thought was the most interesting concept introduced in this story), and the fact that it was engaging and fun to read,  I give this:

4 /5 stars

Available at Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

Currently FREE on Smashwords- for a limited time, perhaps!

REVIEW: "Hemlock and the Wizard Tower" by B. Throwsnaill

Within the Prologue of this story, you are immediately drawn into a magical world where practitioners can heal or harm with the use of magic. But the magic is fading in the Warrens, and Hemlock is impelled to find out why. With a bravery known only to a few, she sets out on an epic adventure to infiltrate the Wizard Tower in the City. There, she plans to destroy the machine she believes is sucking all the magic out of the Warrens. This adventure takes on unexpected turns, as Hemlock finds herself joining forces with a series of magical beings, in a variety of unexpected places.

This book is truly an epic, following Hemlock through many adventures to accomplish her main goal. It is set up to be a serial, and there is plenty of room for the adventure to continue. Hemlock's story is not over yet. While reading, I was reminded of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, although I must admit I haven't read them for many, many years. The worlds created in this book are rich with detail, and this initial story could easily be divided into two stories. After such detailed adventure throughout the story, the ending seemed quite rushed to me. It felt like the pivotal scene with Falignus would actually be better served in a second story. There are seven Wands, perhaps seven stories would be realistic?  

As I began reading this book, I immediately noticed that the writing, though fluid and obviously well thought out, was quite dense with description. In trying to decide if I liked the extremely detailed and descriptive writing, I soon realized that it left nothing to the imagination. I think one of the wonderful things about reading is the ability to let the reader infer some of the storyline. When the reader is inferring, the reader is engaged in the story, and it becomes that much more enjoyable. We all want to lose ourselves in great books, this is why we read. In this story, there was nothing to infer, as it was all spelled out quite clearly. Although I think the writing was well-constructed, I really wanted a bit less, so I could engage more. I wasn't able to truly immerse myself in the story; I felt as if I were reading a clinical reporting on an historic adventure. This detached feeling I got from reading was disappointing, as the storyline was ultimately one in which I could have truly engaged. The rich details were engaging, the extensive explanation so there was nothing to infer was not.

In addition to the very detailed writing, there were a few inconsistencies that were confusing. The author used flashbacks to give us much of the backstory, which I think is a helpful writing technique. The flashbacks were used inconsistently, however. In the beginning, there were many flashbacks in a short amount of time, and then none for quite a while. I think spacing the flashbacks out more evenly would be a more effective way to use them. Allowing us to become part of the Hemlock's journey on the way to the Wizard Tower would eliminate the need for some of those initial flashbacks, and engage the reader. Flashbacks were written in italics, which was helpful for distinguishing what was happening now versus what had already happened, but at one point in the story, we are given a "side flash" to see what Falignus was up to. Because the side flash was also written into italics, it was difficult at first to see that this was happening in present times rather than in the past. Other "side flashes" were written without italics, so I wasn't sure why this one was in italics.

Another technique that really threw me off was the use of quote marks to mark what characters were thinking. It was very distracting, as quotes to me say that someone is speaking, and it wasn't immediately clear the the character was only thinking inside her (or his) head.  In one part of the story, it is clear that the writing is referring to Hemlock's thoughts, and then suddenly one of her thoughts is in quotes. I wondered why use quotes at all if her thoughts could have continued to be given without them.

There were several small typos throughout the story (e.g., Coty for City, "it's" instead of "its," a missing letter here or there); enough that I noticed, but not enough to really detract from the story. The use of commas, or lack of commas, in places was distracting, however. There were many commas missing in direct addresses, such as "It is fine Hemlock, we can wait for a time" he replied (p. 357).  Are we speaking here of "fine Hemlock," or telling Hemlock it is fine? Also in that example, there is no comma at the end of his quote (inside the quote marks). It's always been my understanding that punctuation is necessary at the end of quotes, and it comes within the quotation marks. In this case, a comma would be appropriate after the word "time."

I really think that revising would take this really interesting storyline to the next step and become the epic adventure the author intended. If you like detailed epic fantasy, this book is right up your alley. Either way, I do think this is a story with great potential, and I was glad to be on Hemlock's adventure.

3 /5 stars

Edited on 9/29/10 to add the following:


This review has been on my mind lately. I know that I wrote the review shortly after finishing the story, while it was fresh in my mind. I edited the review several times before hitting the "publish post" button. I really thought about what I wanted to say and how I wanted to rate the book. It's one of my most detailed reviews. Yet, for some reason, I am still pondering what I've written.


There is such substance to this story, such rich detail, such an intricate, well-thought out storyline. There are symbolic parallels that can be drawn to modern-day issues (e.g., energy crisis/magic crisis, for one). There are characters that are interesting and deep, sometimes leaving you guessing what "side" they are really on. The writing in this story is fluid and descriptive. And yet I felt (and still feel) that the finished product, for me, falls within that 3 star range.


Is it that there was so much in there that it was hard for me to focus on the main idea? Is it that the excessive explaining prevented me from really fully engaging, as I indicated in my original review? Is it that the inconsistencies and/or typos I noted were enough to deter me from fully enjoying the book?


I'm honestly not sure. I think, to me, it feels like a work with so much potential that somehow didn't hit the mark I was expecting. I was drawn in from the beginning, and I loved the path I saw the book initially taking, but somewhere along the way I became a bit lost in the details. I really think my main issue was with the excessive explanations, and the fact that it made me feel more like I was reading an accounting of an adventure, and not totally invited to share in the adventure. I suspect some people really enjoy that type of detailed writing, and, to be honest, I did enjoy the book (a 3 star rating for me is a book I'd recommend to others). I really wanted to see how it ended, I really was interested in the characters and the plot. I just think perhaps, in the end, I didn't feel a part of the story. Am I the only one who feels that's an essential part of reading? To lose oneself in the story? I'd love to hear your comments!