Review for "Sword From the Sky"

"Sword From the Sky" is the first book in R. Janvier Del Valle's series which in some places seems to be of the same name as the first book and in some places it is listed as "The Blade School of Davi".
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The cover is beautiful and readily draws in the eye. The sky is twilight small streamers of clouds floating across its blue and yellow canvas. The shadow of rough dark mountains juts upward, like broken teeth in a gaping maw. At the foot of the mountains a body of water moves its glistening currents across dark green muddy landscape. High in the sky silhouetted against a bright spot of sun a sword hangs suspended in the night sky ready at any moment to come hurtling to the earth below.
The story follows Luca a child of shadowed origin and those closest to him in a time of darkness and war. Luca is unique, both blessed and tortured, by the loss of his leg as an infant. He struggles on a regular basis to prove himself in a world ruled by the power of the sword. His dream of becoming of becoming a Davinian warrior and wield a Rasplendur blade of his own drives him against all odds. But his own futile wishes will soon seem petty and empty as unknown and fearsome forces plunge his world into shadow.

What I liked:

• Luca is an easily likeable character. His strength and determination in face of his disability are laudable as is his devotion to his father and friends. And with a moral compass set to true north he steps readily into his role as a hero.
• The hound. I enjoyed the creature's shadowy presence throughout the novel.
• The Flowers are a nice addition proving in what would seem to be a male dominated world the strength of the feminine.

What I disliked:

• The writing style itself was hard to enjoy. It was verbose and dry, and having been eager to start this 'epic fairytale' I was more than a little disappointed. I was expecting Tolkien-esque writing and that's what I got but not the enjoyable style of 'The Hobbit' but more along the lines of 'The Silmarillion'. I found myself wanting to quit reading after a few chapters at a time, bored and tired of trying to sift through the words. My imagination was stifled heavily by the textbooky feel.
• Coincidences. There are entirely too many of them to be comfortable with. In one chapter alone there were so many it boggled the mind and as a reader I felt like I was been forced along a predetermined path instead of the natural meandering of a good plot. "Don't open the door Luca no matter what you hear" ...so of course naturally just a few hours later he hears someone begging him to open the door. The rope conveniently placed by his window before he goes to sleep turns out to be his necessary means of escape a short few hours later. And that's not all the dark man's arrival on the lakeshore and the subsequent swooping rescue of the Davinian masters, really the list goes on.
• The Umbrador- I originally liked the Umbrador and its usage in the plot and storyline. But that ended with the last chapter. What good is a magical all powerful savior if he drops you right beside the most dangerous threat in the whole story?

Overall I couldn't help but feel like the writer was trying too hard and I had to force myself to finish the book. Underneath all the extra trappings I also couldn't help but feel however there was a good storyline and plot hiding just waiting to be unearthed. At the time of this review you can find "Sword from the Sky" on amazon for $3.99. The second book in the series "Onward unto a Endless Night"is expected to be out sometime this year. You can also find more novellas of the Davinan masters in the author's first series "The Deaf Swordsman" which is focused mainly on the intriguing character of Vohro. You can find out more about the author and his books at his website http://www.rjanvierdelvalle.com/ . The website is amazingly beautiful with a haunting score echoing out of the front page.
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3 out of 5 smilies
Recommended for well-read adults who prefer their fantasy to be dry.

Synopsis:"It has been twelve years since the guardian star came down from the sky, hunting the elusive child destined to save the ailing sun. The end of the land is nigh, while darkness slowly rolls over the looming horizon. The creeping fog harvests an army of beastly children, and the sun will set one last time over the kingdom of Bune.
But there is hope. And it comes in the form of a twelve-year-old boy with a wooden leg, chosen to save the sun from its untimely death. Unfortunately, young Luca has no idea that he's the one.
And so the heart-pulsing adventure begins when Luca and his friends Vehru and Pabru are thrown into a frightening world of creatures both deadly and beautiful, caught in the middle of a cosmic war between gallant stars and darkly shadows. Follow Luca as he comes of age, struggling to advance in mastery at the prestigious Blade School of Daví while pining for the heart of his affectionate crush, Lereh of Heatheranla, all before being confronted by a mysterious woman, claiming Luca as her own and bringing with her an army of shadowed warriors bred solely for one purpose--to bring about the death of the setting sun.
In Book I of his debut series, R. Janvier del Valle plummets the reader into a long lost history of myth and legend, forming a rich and complex cosmic tragedy sure to resonate with both the hardcore and casual reader of heroic fantasy literature. Discover an epic war between the earthly and heavenly, enjoying great feats of valor and courage with edge-of-your-seat duels and engrossing action as the author brings together the worlds of the natural and supernatural in this fast-paced, epic fantasy thriller!"

Review for "Dralin"

"Dralin" is the first book in John H. Carroll's trilogy by the same name.
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Windswept golden letters race across the cover. Underneath the title what appears to be a young woman leans away from the viewer, her hand splayed on a wooden doorway. She is cloaked in beautiful rich red and black velvet. You can't help but wonder if she is waiting for someone, hiding from pursuers, or simply being cautious in her explorations.
"Dralin" follows the story of Fraith Joren and his young daughter Pelya as they attempt to find happiness and safety in the massive dark and dangerous city of Dralin for which the trilogy and book are named after. The two lives center around the city guard and its moral compass in an otherwise lawless and hopeless city. Threats come from every direction and those that can save might also bring about your downfall.

What I liked:

• Fraith is a classic moral hero, attempting to right the wrongs and injustices of a world soaked in them. 
• Pelya is plucky if perhaps a little spoiled but deep down shares her father's moral convictions and the desire to right by the world whenever possible. 
• Distra is an interesting goddess. It is hard to truly know whose side she is on and whether she will be a force for good in the future or will work evil in the shadows.
• I especially liked the introduction of the helpful shadows. I find myself wondering if they are a product of Distra or something even deeper and more powerful, especially as Fraith mentions having seen them when he was a kid. 
• I have conflicted feelings about Ebudae. I could see her turning to the dark side of things. Her fascination with blood and death seems to set the stage for her to eventual become the villian. 

What I disliked:

• The characters and writing seem to be flat and one dimensional. There's no real difference in the tones of the characters of even their behaviors
• Alot of the characters seem to continuously put themselves in dangerous situations even when they know full well the danger and what to expect from the encounter.  It seems silly and makes little sense for characters that should have their proverbial heads screwed on straight.
• The same plot devices are used multiple times over but in different scenarios that should rightly not be related like the girls inability to talk about the dragon runes and Fraith's inability to talk about Distra. 

Even with its faults I still found "Dralin" to be an entertaining and easily digestible read. At the time of this review "Dralin" is available for free for the Kindle. "Ebudae" and "Pelya", the second and third books in the series respectively, are both available for $4.99 each. Though I did find a pull to finish the series after "Dralin" it wasn't strong enough for me to warrant the purchase of these particular books given the massive amount of well written fiction for less. I will however be keeping a lookout to see if they are ever discounted. You can find more info about John H Carroll and his many other works at his blog  http://ryallon.blogspot.com/ .
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Four out of Five smilies
Recommended for young fantasy readers and adults looking for an easy read.

Synopsis: "There are many cities in the world of Ryallon that know the touch of despair and evil, but none like Dralin. Towers of wizards rise high into the air, shrouded in the mists of magical smog. Poor sleep in the alleyways, becoming deformed by pollution. Life is short for many.
Throughout all of it, the cunning and dangerous members of the City Guard do their best to keep evil and crime from destroying the citizens of Dralin. Trained to fight in streets that make no sense, they keep wickedness from taking over completely.
A young woman fleeing her past makes Dralin her destination. A young Guardsman with his own dark history hopes to make a difference in a city that is without hope. Are sorrow and despair their only destiny, or can love redeem them? Two young girls raised in this city learn life's hard lessons early. Will they be defeated by its evil?
Underneath the city lie hidden dangers even more terrible than those that lurk in its dark streets. Ancient ruins of civilizations past still hold onto the memories of how grand they once were, while menacing creatures hope for a tasty meal to venture into their domain.
The Dralin Trilogy is a swords-and-sorcery fantasy series following the lives of a few unusual individuals as they desperately try to survive in the sinister city of Dralin."

Review for "The Shadow of Black Wings"

"The Shadow of Black Wings" is the first novel in James Calbraith's 'The Year of the Dragon' saga.
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The cover features a serious darkhaired slightly effeminate boy. His green eyes are piercing underneath full brows. His lips almost look pursed or curled in contempt. Metallic goggles shine from around his neck. A sword hilt modeled after a dragon emerges from his gauntleted hand. The style of the whole image reminds me of the character art from the Final Fantasy rpg video game series. The title shines in silver metallic letters. A small bar accented with a gear separates the title from the author's name.
The boy from the cover is Bran ap Dylan, a young man of Gwynedd. We meet him while he's still at school learning to become a dragon rider like his father. He's not a popular boy prone to being bullied and keeping to himself as much as possible. Some of his problems seem to stem from the intense loyalty Bran has to his dragon Emrys and consequently Emrys low status on dragon totem pole. Bran is all and all a troubled youth unsure of where he wants his future to take him, of his place in the world, and in his relationship with his father. When Bran stumbles across some hidden artifacts of his long disappeared grandfather, he begins a journey that will lead him halfway across the world, far away from everything and everyone he's ever known into the mysterious and ancient land of Yamato.
*vaguely interesting side note there's a Japanese steak house in my town called Yamato. I love their Chicken teriyaki yum!*

What I liked:

• Bran is easy to identify with and like. I was especially proud of his loyalty to his dragon Emerys
• The imagery throughout the entire book was beautiful.
• The infusion of a magical and mechanical alternate history that overlaps almost seamlessly.

What I disliked:

• The author introduced a few too many characters without really taking the time to flesh them out completely and when some of those characters had similar names I found myself having to flip backwards to try and identify them with certainty. 
• The book is based as a fictional historical. I might have appreciated this a little more if the author had just left the original place names alone. As it was Gwynedd, Seaxe, Yamato, and Qin were fairly easy to match with their originals of Wales, Britain, Japan, and China. But without looking at the map I was completely lost as to the Batvarians, Varyaga and Bharata. I would have naturally thought of Midgard as Norse people given their mythology but that was not the case. 
• Sometimes the descriptions of the mechanics and gearworks were a little too technical and I found myself skimming over them if they took a little long.  
• Exactly how many people know that Sato is a girl. Is it a secret, is it not a secret, which is it?
• There were more than few typos in the book. 
• I'm going to make a few guesses as to the finish of this particular series, I could be way off or not but if I am right major spoilers so you might want to skip this bullet. The man who destroyed the Landon, the man in the crimson cloak, and the man in the cave are all hanryu or Yamato's half dragons. Bran will eventually get a Long type dragon. Nagomi is either related to Bran though his grandfather or will become Bran's love interest. I'm also guessing the Black Raven is Bran's grandfather given that Bran itself is a common name for Ravens in mythology. Like I said this are all just guesses but I can't help but feel that this is what's coming.

Overall "The Shadow of Black Wings" was a highly entertaining and surprisingly informative read. I got my copy on Amazon for free but at the time of this review you can get it for $2.99. And as a solid read its worth it. The other books in the saga so far are "The Warrior's Soul" for $3.99 and "The Islands in the Mist" also for $3.99 with "The Rising Tide" expected to be out sometime in April 2013. You can find out more about the author and his series at his website www.jamescalbraith.com
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Four out of Five smilies
Recommended to the more well-read segment of teens as well as adult fans of epic fantasies.

Synopsis:
"It is the sixteenth year of Queen Victoria’s enlightened rule and the world trembles before the might of her ironclad navy and the dreaded Dragon Corps. The largest ship ever built sails from the Brigstow Harbour on a journey to the mysterious lands of Orient. Its load – a regiment of the Royal Marines and one Bran ap Dylan – freshly graduate in Dracology at the Llambed Academy of Mystic Arts.
In the empire of Yamato, sealed from the rest of the world for the last two centuries, a wizard’s daughter Sato witnesses her father joining an anti-government conspiracy. Her friend Nagomi, training to be a priestess, is haunted by dark visions that she must keep secret. Neither of them is aware that a change is coming to Yamato… on the wings of a dragon.
A detailed and fast-paced historical fantasy based around the turbulent opening of Japan to the West in the middle of the 19th century, “The Shadow of the Black Wings” is the first volume in “The Year of the Dragon” saga."

A resolute update

It's been over a month since millions of people made resolutions of what they wanted out of 2013. I bet probably half of those resolutions have either fizzled or have already been forgotten. It can be hard to keep up with the resolutions for change that we make, especially when we aren't sure of how to keep those resolutions. Without a game plan for each one, they seem insurmountable.
In case you were keeping up with me, here's how my resolutions are going.
1. My weight loss goal- I've kept up with the close to every day exercise regiment that I set up with. 30 - 45 minutes 5-6 times a week every week since Christmas actually. When I started on Dec 25th I weighed 146.8 with a bmi of 24.46. And since then I've learned that my weight is actually very fluid and fluctuates without much rhyme or reason. So my highest weight was on Jan 11th when I rang in at 148.6 and a bmi of 24.76. My lowest weight was on Jan 26th at 144.4 lbs and a bmi of 24.06. On the 3rd of February, which is when I wrote the stats down for this update, I was 145.7 lbs with a bmi of 24.28. So I could guess that I've lost about 1 lb. While I'm not entirely thrilled with that number its not so bad. But if I look at my highest weight of this period compared to my lowest weight. it would be 4 lbs and that number sounds a lot nicer, doesn't it. It's okay if I cheat a little to stay motivated right? Well at any rate when I noticed the numbers on my wii scale didn't seem to mean jack I started taking my waist measurement too. I started doing that on Jan 8th and I measured in at 30inches for the next several days. By Jan 23rd I'd hit my waist measurement low, 28 inches. And on the 3rd and the end of the measurement period it was 28.4. so It looks like I've lost almost 2 inches off my waistline, which is a heck of a lot more encouraging than any of the other numbers. Oh and when I started Zumba I could barely make it through a single routine. That stuff was kicking my butt. But now I'm up to two routines and in the next week or two I plan on introducing a third. Hopefully it won't be too long til I can finish the full 20 minute class option the game offers.
2. Resolution 50 books. I've read two full novels and 1 short-story. I'm still running a little behind but I don't think it will be too hard to catch up.
3. Dark Divinity- I'm totally bombing this resolution. I haven't written a single page all year. I feel horrible even admitting it. I know where I'm going and to some extent even how I'm getting there but darnit if I can't make myself sit down and actually type. I did however have another excellent story dream a few nights ago. This one might actually make it down on paper one day.
4. Fairytree. In January I had one session. While that doesn't exactly sound promising does it; it's not necessarily a habringer of the year to come. January is always slow. It's cold. It's wet. People are still tapped out from Christmas. I won't get a feel for the year til spring is here.
That's about it so far. Come March you can expect another resolute update. Lets hope it sees me a few pounds lighter, a half a dozen books and photo sessions fuller, and pages upon pages heavier.
So tell me how are your resolutions coming along? Anyone have a wonderful success story they'd like to share? Any words of inspiration?

Review for "Errant"

"Errant" is a short story from Diana Peterfreund's  'killer unicorn' universe.
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A somber stern young woman looks out from the cover, something akin to condemnation in her stormy blue eyes. Her dark brown hair is pulled back in a no-nonsense style that says this woman means business. High cheekbones and full almost pouty lips are the key features of this alabaster face. It may be my imagination but I feel like her jaw is clenched. An etched silver sword pommel lingers on the left hand side of the frame. It is beautiful and no doubt deadly.
I have to say that I don't normally read too many short stories. I have however read Diana Peterfreund's first book 'Rampant'. It was one of those rare finds, before the Kindle, that I discovered while digging through the bargain book bin of a local store. I immediately fell for the unconventional 'killer unicorn' universe. One of my favorite books in the Narnia series was in part my favorite because of the beautiful yet frightfully fearsome unicorn charging into battle. So when I stumbled upon this short story for free I felt compelled to revisit their world once again.
"Errant" takes place in the medieval ages centuries before the events in her first book. She delves deeper into the Order of the Lioness and their complex relationship with the unicorns they are born to hunt.  It speaks a little to the darker desires of man and the unique inner strengths of women from different backgrounds.
Go ahead and get this short story. It's a brief breath of fresh air. If you like it you'll love the full story, "Rampant". There's also another book set in this universe, "Ascendant". I haven't read it yet, but its on my wish list.
I'm giving it 4 smilies instead of 5 simply due to the length of the short story. Had it been longer it would have easily inched up that final smile.
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4 out of 5 smilies
Recommended to older kids who can handle the idea of vicious unicorns and of course adults who enjoy a good fantasy.
Synopsis:
"In 18th century France, a noble family prepares to celebrate their daughter’s arranged marriage by holding a traditional unicorn hunt. But when an unusual nun arrives at the chateau with her beloved pet to help the rich girl train, nothing goes as expected. Starring hunters, fine ladies, fancy frocks, and killer unicorns."