Tag Archives: Science Fantasy

Review

The Last Of The Ageless

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Last_Of_The_AgelessYou know how sometimes a book is long and it feels longer? This one was long, but flew by. Traci Loudin painted pictures in my mind of very different groups and tribes all co-existing in a post-apocalyptic world, some peacefully, some not.

I laughed when I read a conversation she had with someone at a faire, where she said it was a book with a bunch of assholes roaming around killing people. That description is more crude than the story is, but there is certainly one character that comes to mind who fits the bill.

Dalan’s tribe, capable of preserving extinct animals by taking their essences and transforming into the animals, is an interesting concept and well done. The Ancient teachings give the reader hope in dark times, and watching him struggle to apply those teachings to the outside world is both painful and rewarding.

There were plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting. I never found myself guessing where the story was going to go next.

The ending was both satisfying, and left me wanting to read more. I was glad that it wrapped up nicely, and that there were still threads left open for future works.

Well written and engaging, I highly recommend this book, and look forward to more!

About the Reviewer

ToxopeusRyanmedHusband, father, and researcher, Ryan Toxopeus spends his free time working on his epic fantasy trilogy, Empire’s Foundation. He started writing the first book, A Noble’s Quest, in 2010 and fell in love with all aspects of storytelling. He focuses on fast paced, character driven plots. His motto: “If I’m bored writing it, others will be bored reading it.”

Learn more about Ryan and his work at https://prcreative.ca/ryan/

Review

Without Bloodshed

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without_bloodshedThis is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it to anyone. The pace is quick, it’s full of intrigue, the plot is complex, and Claire might just be my favourite female character of all time. I’m not sure if I should characterize her as a major minor character, or a minor major character, because the cast is quite large. There are a lot of heads you’ll be in throughout the course of the story, and that can get a little confusing at points. It’s interesting seeing what everyone’s thinking/doing, but I think some of them might have been better left cut out to further increase tension for the reader (I found Chapter 1 killed what could have been a great surprise at the end). Furthermore, several characters go by more than one name, and they aren’t simple names. I’m still not sure I can tease them all apart.

The one thing that made the reading experience strange was all the references to movies/music from previous decades, considering this story takes place in the 2100’s. At first I thought perhaps it was a character or two who had a weird fixation with the distant past, but as more and more characters appeared to have knowledge of our own past (but apparently not our present), it felt more and more strange. Why would people have knowledge of an obscure bit of metal history, yet there is no mention of more modern day musicians? Perhaps because, ultimately, the repetitive nature of our current music industry is forgettable. Another thought hit me, and that was perhaps more modern movements were lost in Nationfall. But I couldn’t come up with a reasonable answer for why that would have happened. In the end, the question remains. How many people in our current decade have a working memory of art from 100 years ago? Very few, I’d wager. Perhaps this will be answered in future books, or maybe not.

Either way, I eagerly await the next book for the masterful way Matthew Graybosch weaves the lives and plots of the characters together.

About the Reviewer

ToxopeusRyanmedHusband, father, and researcher, Ryan Toxopeus spends his free time working on his epic fantasy trilogy, Empire’s Foundation. He started writing the first book, A Noble’s Quest, in 2010 and fell in love with all aspects of storytelling. He focuses on fast paced, character driven plots. His motto: “If I’m bored writing it, others will be bored reading it.”

Learn more about Ryan and his work at https://prcreative.ca/ryan/

Review

The Fifth House

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Fifth_HouseI loved everything about this book.

Like the first book, the pacing is excellent, but unlike the first book there are two first person points of view. It took a bit of getting used to in the first couple chapters, but once I got into the rhythm, it flowed beautifully. Every section is left on a mini-cliffhanger, making you turn the page to see what happens next.

I was doing a final proof-read for the book, and told Andy I would have it back to him in three weeks. It only took me one.

The way themes re-emerged from the first book to be bigger and badder than before was excellent. The voices of the two main characters were distinct. I found myself liking Allin’s humour more than Tyena’s straight shooting attitude, but both were well written.

The action was well done, with enough description to paint a picture in my mind without it being laborious and slow.

The villains are excellent. At one point I was actually sympathetic to their cause, but I got over it. They do have my new favourite creature on their side, though – the weresquid. I don’t know where Andy gets the ideas for some of his mad creations, but they’re amazing!

This book is a “must read,” and I’m looking forward to the next one!

About the Reviewer

ToxopeusRyanmedHusband, father, and researcher, Ryan Toxopeus spends his free time working on his epic fantasy trilogy, Empire’s Foundation. He started writing the first book, A Noble’s Quest, in 2010 and fell in love with all aspects of storytelling. He focuses on fast paced, character driven plots. His motto: “If I’m bored writing it, others will be bored reading it.”

Learn more about Ryan and his work at https://prcreative.ca/ryan/

Review

The Only City Left

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Only_City_Left

Generally speaking, I don’t like first person point-of-view (POV). I find it constricting in an uncomfortable sort of way because a lot of authors do it poorly. It’s a delicate balance of keeping things interesting around the main character, while also giving the reader the impression that there are still important things going on in the larger world.

That said, Andy Goldman pulled it off beautifully. The only point I had difficulty with was Allin’s ceaseless and unflappable desire to see the Roof of the World. I knew he wanted to, and it was important to him, but it never came across clearly in the book why this one particular goal was such a strong driving force for him that he would put his life in jeopardy. But then, he doesn’t sound like he had much to live for at the start, anyway.

The scenery was described with just enough information to paint a picture in the reader’s mind without going overboard. Some of the places in the City were downright creepy and one left me feeling uncomfortable. I still feel a knot in my stomach thinking about it!

The cast of characters is interesting and different from anything I’ve read before, and I loved the cats. I kind of want to dress up my cat Bob in a poncho and rename him Tumble. Except my lazy beast has little in common with the adventurous cat depicted in this book.

Without getting into spoilers, the ending is satisfying. That’s a big one for me with books lately, because I’ve been finding endings that are either half-assed or just dropped right in the middle of things in an attempt to get me to buy the next book to see how it continues. Those types of tactics don’t work with me. I hate that, and will often refuse to get the second book on principle.

About the Reviewer

ToxopeusRyanmedHusband, father, and researcher, Ryan Toxopeus spends his free time working on his epic fantasy trilogy, Empire’s Foundation. He started writing the first book, A Noble’s Quest, in 2010 and fell in love with all aspects of storytelling. He focuses on fast paced, character driven plots. His motto: “If I’m bored writing it, others will be bored reading it.”

Learn more about Ryan and his work at https://prcreative.ca/ryan/