Review for "The Choosing"

"The Choosing" is book one in Jeremy Laszlo's Blood and Brotherhood Saga.
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The cover is rich in warm brown tones, reminding me of leather. A man stands in the foreground close enough to the frame that pieces of him are cut off. His eyes, his hair, one side, his lower body all hidden from sight. What we can see of him is full, almost pouting lips framed by stubble, thick corded neck muscles that disappear beneath a dark metal breastplate. In one gauntlet hand he holds a sword, its blade disappearing somewhere off the page. Smoke or mist or something more sinister curls up around the weapon. In the background a tribal design reigns supreme, looking like an enraged dragon curling into the air.
Seth lives with his father and twin brother, Garret, in a small country town much like many others scattered across the world of Thurr. Together the family runs the town's only inn. But with the approach of their eighteenth year the brothers must leave their home and everything they've ever known to participate in a country wide ceremony known as the Choosing. It is at the Choosing that their lives will be mapped out by the kingdom, for the kingdom. Garret dreams of valor and glory on the battlefield, but Seth simply wants to run out his years of service to the kingdom as quickly and quietly as possible so that he can return home. Together with a young man named Ashton, they set out to Valdadore, the Choosing, and their destinies unaware of the weaving manipulations of unseen war-torn deities.

What I liked:

• Tumultuous relationship of the gods with their believers, blessings, and each other sets the scene for an epic sprawling battle where the humans are but mere pawns in an everlasting struggle for power.
• The vision/dream sequences are by far and away the best parts of the book. They are vivid, exciting, and well-fleshed out, it's a pity there aren't more of them.

What I disliked:

• We are told in the very first chapter that Seth and Garret are not actually twins, that Seth isn't actually related to them at all. Given the prologue it makes it fairly obvious that Ishanya is Seth's real mother. But throughout the rest of the book Seth knowing the truth still refers to and thinks of Garret as not only his brother but his twin, never revealing the truth, not even in confidence to the woman he loves.
• The dialogue is stiff at best and plain clunky at its worst, with frequent additions of 'bro', which come off forced and unnatural. Who talks like that?
• The love affair between Seth and Sara becomes too much of a focus. The author spends a great deal of time fleshing out their desires and temptations even down to the ahem 'nightie' that Sara wears in Valdadore. It begins at several times to sound suspiciously like a bodice-ripper romance novel though doesn't quite veer into that territory completely. The only commendable part of this is Seth's moral fortitude in insisting to wait on marriage to complete their relationship though even this manages to cast Sara into the light of moral-less hussy.
• The actual Choosing ceremony is barbaric to an extreme. Why would a kingdom call all of its young people together and risk their lives in such a way when the need for bodies in the field is at an all-time high?

I tried very much to like "The Choosing" especially with the nice cover that drew me in so completely. I was expecting so much more and was repeatedly let down the further the book progressed. By the end of it, I was happy it was over and had no desire to read the next book in the series. In preparation for this review I've noticed it has a new cover, featuring a sword turned into a scale and red boiling mists. I kinda like the first cover better, to be honest. "The Choosing" is currently available for the kindle for $2.99. Several of the following books in this saga are also available and are as follows: The Chosen, $5.99; The Changing, $5.99; The Contention, $5.99; and The Champions, $5.99. The author has also released an omnibus version of the first three books in the series for $8.99. So if you are interested in this series it would behoove you to get the omnibus and save a few dollars in the process.  Jeremy Laszlo has several other books available. You can find out more about him and his books at http://jeremylaszlo.wix.com/author
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3 out of 5 smilies
Recommended for adult weekend readers, hard core fantasy readers need not apply.

Synopsis: "Seth is a young man torn by fear and indecision. His life no longer in his hands, he fears an uncertain future where the only certainty is a life of servitude to the kingdom. Fortunately for Seth, he is not alone. His brother Garret too attends the choosing ceremony where their fates will be decided. Together the twins make their way to the castle city of Valdadore for the choosing ceremony but along the way Seth notices a strange new trend in his life. Time after time strange circumstances befall him in what others might call a coincidence, but Seth knows something else is amiss and begins mentally cataloging each new and strange event. Learning his past is all a lie, Seth begins to fear more for his future as a dark goddess vies for his service to her cause. Seths loyalties and responsibilities begin to stack up as he makes friends and allies and even falls in love, but with the choosing ceremony growing ever nearer will he be forced to flee the kingdom into a life of exile, or choose to serve the goddess who swears that only through her will he find peace."