Review for "Everflame"

"Everflame" is the first novel in Dylan Lee Peters 's series by the same name. With this review I'm introducing a new rating scale/method. This book is one of several where I wanted to give it a half smiley rating which I couldn't do using my old methods. So I've created these little crowns to replace the smilies with.

The cover is a traditional watercolor wash of green brown and blue. A stylized symbol of  a flame is burned into the color.
Evercloud is your average young teenage boy. He has a best friend, goes fishing, and plays sports with the other kids. Except for one thing. Evercloud lives on Gray Mountain and his friends and family are all talking bears. When news of an ancient mythological being reaches the stronghold, Evercloud sets out on a quest to return The Ancients and best The Great Tyrant once and for all.

What I liked:

•  I tend to like stories that revolve around an elemental based Deity system, which the Ancients are. This story in particular goes just a little bit further and paints The Holy (which for arguments sake seems to be a portrayal of the Judeo-Christian God) as the villain of the story. Some people will find this twist inflammatory at best and should probably avoid this series altogether.
• Evercloud, Riverpaw, and the other bears are mostly good 'people' with a high degree of moral character.
• For once I actually didn't mind the abrupt cliffhanger style ending. It came as a complete shock, which I loved, and set up the next book nicely.

What I disliked:

• The flow and pacing throughout the book was a little off.
• The dialogue was stiff most of the time as was the emotional plays.
• The Messenger's beginning was so tragic that I have a hard time hating him for being the villain.
• Sometimes it seems like the author forgets that the bears are well bears and probably can't do things that human characters could with ease.

Overall I enjoyed "Everflame" enough to consider giving it four crowns but it just didn't quite measure up. I think young readers and teens will probably enjoy this one a little bit more than the adults in the room. I also think that maybe readers who already have a slant towards nature based religions might enjoy it even more. "Everflame" is currently available for free on the Kindle. The next two books in the series 'The Burning Man" and "Warcry" are also available at $2.99 and $3.99 respectively.  You can find out more about the author and his books at www.everflamebook.com


3.5 out of 5 crowns

Recommended for mature young readers(mature due to a little bit of gore) and adults alike. Serious Christians may be sensitive to the portrayal of the 'Great Tyrant', and should probably avoid this one.





Synopsis: "Long ago, when the earth was young. . . Four ancient beings created man to be the bastion of the earth and its creatures. But when The Great Tyrant came and chased The Ancients away, the world was transformed into a place of fear and isolation. Over time humans lost the connection they had with a world they had been created to protect. Now, deep in the forests that surround Gray Mountain, two bears find a small child that is abandoned and left for dead. They name him Evercloud, and raise him as a member of their kingdom. Teaching him the secrets of the elders, they tell him of the ancient beings that created man and the rumors of their return. Evercloud must now go on a quest to return The Ancients to power. However, in another corner of the land, a man known only as The Messenger travels the land under a white hood, on a mission to prevent the return of The Ancients. We follow the paths each of these men take until their stories collide in an epic battle of good versus evil"