A somewhat predictable story of an elf hero but one that may be a welcome addition to any fantasy lover’s bookshelf.
This debut fantasy novel treads on familiar ground with its tale of an elf who’s prophesied to free her people from the clutches of an evil despot.
As with many other entries in the fantasy genre, the hero of this novel grew up without any knowledge of her destiny. In fact, at the story’s beginning, Beryl isn’t even aware that she’s an elf, much less an elf who’s expected to free the land of Fayen from the clutches of Aegra, who’s nearly reached her goal of wiping out Fayen’s elves. Bell makes her elves distinct: Instead of being born in the traditional sense, they’re spawned and raised by mentors. Each elf is gifted with a particular “blessing,” a linkage with an animal that imbues him or her with a specific power. Aegra has the blessing of the canine, and she twists her power of loyalty to ensure that her thralls are perfectly dutiful. Beryl has the rarest blessing—that of the unicorn, which gives her the ability to heal even the most severe injuries. Readers may find it exciting to watch Beryl’s skills develop as she prepares to come up against the elves’ greatest enemy, but unfortunately, the story drags quite a bit in the middle. The novel often relies on repetitive descriptions; for example, nearly every article of clothing is described as “sturdy.” The dialogue usually sounds appropriately formal and slightly exotic—the slang term for drunkenness, for example, is getting “as quinced as a fish-hand”—but the occasional contemporary colloquialism, such as “one classy woman” or “you ok?” sneaks in, to somewhat jarring effect. Somewhat more disconcerting is the characterization of Fayen’s major religion: The Creator is a direct analogue of the Judeo-Christian God, and Beryl’s questioning of her faith, particularly regarding how to reconcile the Creator’s almighty power with his apparent refusal to prevent the slaughter of elf-kind, uses nearly the precise rhetoric of Christianity. Some readers may find this aspect distracting and unnecessary.
A somewhat predictable story of an elf hero but one that may be a welcome addition to any fantasy lover’s bookshelf.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0989699204
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Atthis Arts, LLC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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