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
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her...
Another middle-aged mom in a muddle.
After years of false starts and big hopes, Elizabeth’s ruggedly handsome husband Jack, a former football star, just landed a spot as a sportscaster on national news. He still loves her, even though much younger women are giving him come-hither looks. Heck, he doesn’t want to betray the love of his life after she helped him kick drugs and stuck by him even when he was a struggling has-been. And won’t it seem hypocritical if he fools around with his sexy assistant while he does in-depth reporting on a rape case involving a famous basketball center? Well, he fools around anyway. Elizabeth, nicknamed Birdie, knows nothing of this, but she withdraws from Jack when her hard-drinking, salt-of-the-earth father has a stroke and dies. Now no one will call her “sugar beet” ever again. Time to return home to Tennessee and contend with Anita, the sort-of-evil stepmother so trashy she wears pink puffy slippers all day long. Naturally, it turns out that Anita actually has a heart of gold and knows a few things about Birdie’s dead mother that were hushed up for years. Mom was an artist, just like Birdie, and an old scandal comes to light as Anita unrolls a vibrant canvas that portrays her secret lover. Perhaps, Birdie muses, her mother died of heartbreak, never having followed her true love or developed her talent. Has she, too, compromised everything she holds dear? Hoping to find out, Birdie joins a support group that promises to reconnect confused women with their passion. She and Jack separate, prompting a how-dare-you fit from their grown daughters. Will Birdie fly her empty nest? Will she go back to college for a degree in art? Will her brooding watercolors ever sell?
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her previous tales (Summer Island, 2001, etc.).Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-345-45071-X
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
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