Publishing information: Paperback (proof copy) 324 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace; 27 Sept 2010
ISBN 10: 145384435X
ISBN 13: 978-1453844359
Series: book 2 of 2
Copy: Provided by author version was a proof addition
Reviewer: Tyson
Back of the Book "Armies gather on the horizon. A world on the edge of destruction A hero faces the ultimate choice.
Driven onward by his quest for revenge, Macsen has come the Kingdom of Audran, There he joins with the Order of the Skywatchers to bring down Goren, the mage responsible for the destruction of his village.
Armies gather in the wilds of the Upper Airs, as Goren readies the final step of his plan to destroy the world and then remake it in his image.
Battle rages in the killing skies, swords and magic clash. And the fate of the world lies in the hands of one man.
SKYWATCHER: the thrilling conclusion of The Storm at the Center of the World!"
Not long ago Speculative Book Review was approached by Jon Connington to review his first novel Field of Fire, the majority of us really enjoyed what we read and were dying to see the conclusion to his series. Luckily Connington approached us again to review his second and final book in the series, Skywatcher.
When I read Field of Fire there were a lot of unanswered questions such as what keeps the world afloat and how do the flying ships stay in the air. I was delighted to find out how both were possible but they were also a little bit of a let down and the reasons for both were a little too quickly explained without further information. While it may have slowed down the pacing of the book, I still would have liked to have learned more about how these things were possible. In truth, aside from learning these two facts there was little world building in the book. Considering the potential that Connington presented in the first book I had hoped that he would take advantage of the massive world, but unfortunately he did not.
As Skywatcher opens up I was a little disoriented and lost as you are swept up in events. Not a lot of what occurs in the opening scene makes a lot of sense in the beginning but as the book unfolds it becomes more apparent as to what has happened and why it occurred. The problem that I had with Skywatcher is the pacing. The book seems disjointed at times, as I read it it felt rushed, as if the author was hurrying to complete the novel without filling us in on some vitally important things. There were a few holes that I hope are made clear when the final version is released.
We also return to the life of Macsen, our hero and even he did not seem to be the good guy he appeared to be from the first novel. There was also a major love sub-plot that just never seemed to get off the ground and was a little confusing. It seemed very forced as there was no chemistry before the actual encounter where the two "fall in love." Again, I felt as if it was due to the fact that the story felt rushed. Had Skywatcher taken its time and let things develop more naturally, I think it not have been so muddled. It is not that the characters were so bad, just that it did not feel natural.
When compared to Field of Fire, Skywatcher is not as good. The pacing and characters did not flow as well as they did in the debut novel. The end was also a little disappointing. However, the end was fitting. Skywatcher is a decent novel and while I had a proof copy, the final version should prove to be a decent end to the series.
Plot 6
Characters 7
Style 5
Overall 6/10
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar