Indie Book Corner: Bookminder by MK Wiseman

A well written book about a klepto wannabe mage and her reluctant guardian mage.

The Quick and Dirty

+Well written. Detailed descriptions, good pacing, and dialogue that flows and feels natural.
+Multi-layered, flawed, and sympathetic characters.
+Well thought out magic system with uniqueness to it.
+There is legitimate excitement to be found whenever magic is used. There's such a build up for it thanks to our magic starved protagonist and we get a detailed description of how it works usually making the unreal seem real.
+Magic isn't just some limitless ability. It requires resources, focus, and skill. Liara's learning is tempered with great realism.
+Wiseman's subtlety and understanding of human nature made Liara a complex and interesting character to read about, despite her frustrating tirades. Very good stuff.
+Takes place in the real world.

-It takes a while for the plot to get moving
-Towards the middle and end Liara's self importance and poor decision making really make many of her chapters detestable to read despite the great writing.
-Nagarath's apologetic nature and unwillingness to put Liara in her place also tended to grate on my nerves because it was repeated so often. I wish he stood up to the foolhardy Liara more. Same can be said of Father Phenlick.

Review

Bookminder, by M.K. Wiseman, is a clever book to read for fans of complex and unique magic systems. As a matter of fact, the whole book is dripping with this sort of magick from start to finish. It's two protagonists are mages, from Liara the wannabe to Nagarath the master mage. One of the coolest aspects about this book is that it takes place in the real world, some time in the past. Great references are even made to historical events, fairy tales, and even that famous wizard Merlin.

The book is also very well written. I had no problems slipping into the Croatian locales of Dvigrad, Parentino, and Vrsar. All the dialogue between the characters felt natural and nothing of note took me out of the story. I mostly enjoyed the multi-layered and flawed characters such as Father Phenlick, Nagarath, and even the impetuous Liara (though she frustrated me to no end). I felt great sympathy for them as they tried to succeed in their various goals and lamented past mistakes as we all do. Their flaws, failures, and desires to fix them resonated deeply with me.

One of the cooler and funner aspects about the book is its magick system, which is based in real life lore. I had fun learning about some of the origins of the magick here as well as the rules to its use such as the Laws of Magick Creatio and Transferre. Very unique stuff that also happened to have a huge impact on the story. With the way that the magick was explained and implemented, there was excitement each time that it was used. There was a weight and consequences to using this world's magick. Magick isn't just some limitless resource in Bookminder. It requires resources all its own, great focus, and great skill. I thought Liara's learning of it had a nice grounded realism to it, which I always enjoy when I read fantasy. I like touches of reality that add consequences and weight to the story.

I loved this book in every possible way except for one. The only thing that annoyed me about the book at many turns was Liara's own selfishness and the way that the other characters seemed to get wrapped up in trying to help her but be made the villain by her and their own guilt-ridden consciences. It wasn't pleasant to read, I must admit. I hate seeing brats get their way and this happened more often than not. But...it was handled very well at the end of the day. One scene comes to mind as Liara makes horrible decision after horrible decision and comes to lament past mistakes about trust right as she is making the exact same mistake. She can't see that she is making a series of the worst mistakes in her life even while continuously making them because she is young, foolish, and way too wrapped up in her current existential crisis. That's good writing in my book (ugh, no pun intended).

Though this portrayal makes the characters involved unlikable at many turns in the story, it is also true to character and true to circumstances. The circumstances that each of the characters find themselves in along with the reasons they are connected to Liara properly setup their motivations. Though annoyed with Liara's self importance and stubbornness and the other character's lack of willingness to simply tell her to shut up, by the end I found her to be someone that I could root for.

The overall plot was not really anything too special, but it was a nice setup to motivate these characters and see them in action. The ending mostly wraps up everything, but leaves some possibilities open for a sequel. I'm not sure if one is planned or not but I would certainly get read it as I found Bookminder to be highly enjoyable.


Purchase at Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Bookminder-M-K-Wiseman-ebook/dp/B0198HKWSU

Indie Book Corner: Wick: The Spark Form Chronicles book 1 by Matt Doyle

Highly original, well written fusion of disparate ideas. Ties for the most creative book I’ve read this year along with Exurbia, by Alex McKechnie. 

Wick is what happens when you take wrestling...

...esports... 

...cyberpunk... 

...and of all things, Yugioh... 

And mix it in a blender on the highest setting. You’d think you’d get a mess with such a mix, but instead you get something quite rare and even a tad beautiful.

Wick starts in a very confusing way as we’re dropped right into the action with no explanations given. And the action we’re dropped into is...a beauty pageant...no it’s a setup for a wrestling match or something? Oh, it’s...a card game?

Though not clear at first, it’s soon revealed that all the POV characters are a part of some vast and very popular tournament style eSport called Spark Forming. This futuristic eSport uses digital cards as a medium to summon impressively dangerous and beautiful looking beasts and humanoids that do battle in digital arenas. Each of the tournament combatants has his or her own POV, with the exception of two or three characters. And there are certainly some memorable POVs and other characters in the book.

The Plot 

Here’s hoping that I succeed in not ruining or spoiling anything here. The plot revolves around several different mysteries as each character has his or her own reasons for participating in the tournament. Though what each character presents on the surface is not always their true intentions. On the surface everyone is in the tournament for fame, glory, and prize money. Though most of their goals seem to be for things outside the arena. It’s revealed that there is much more going on behind the scenes and Spark Forming may not be as innocent and fun as the world thinks it is. I think that’s all I can say without spoiling too much. It’s vague, I know, but each reveal in the plot was major to me so I reeeeeallly don’t want to spoil anything for anyone else. I’ll just add that there’s some really good character drama that heats up from the middle to the end and the plot comes together nicely as each character’s earlier behaviors are given more light.

The Arena Battles 

The futuristic eSport known as Spark Forming has several unique components to it that made it very unique to me. The first has to be the player entrances. Some of my favorite scenes in the book came from these entrances, which were reminiscent of professional wrestling to me. Each player would have their own music that was presented in this way:

“Song: Came Out Bruised (But Still Breathing) 

Band: Addicted to my Rut 

Genre: Grunge” 

And then once the player is out and ready to start the match you have EPIC summoning descriptions for the Spark Forms like:

“His scales, rippling gently as he breathes, glow a deep, fiery red, Punctuated only by the curious black markings adorning his back and tail. Dark as a starless night, they run the length of his body, forming a line of symmetry for the scimitar-like patterns that trace paths out from the spine.”

Then there are the battles themselves which are far faster, more ferocious, and bloodier than I imagined they’d be. The players themselves experienced some sort of fatigue from the battles along with their Spark Form creatures as each battle required them to be “plugged in” and to use much of their own fortitude along with physical and mental dexterity.

I liked the strategies formed for these matches and thought that the play-by-play by the announcers was a clever way to teach the reader how the game is played. I will say that this is where the book’s lack of exposition hurts it the most. These battles would be much more enjoyable if the ground rules were laid before many of these battles took place. Since I didn’t know how the game was really even played, I never had any sense as to who would win or lose until the very end, so I was never on the edge of my seat for any of the battles. It was more like watching a laser light show until the end and finally going “that was neat,” at the end of it. So I hope more is explained about the card game itself in future books. Maybe even a card list so that we can take note of potential strategies ahead of time. Even with that said, the creativeness of the battles was enough to enthrall me and those were some of the chapters I read through the quickest.

The Characters. 

Going hand in hand with the book’s uniqueness is the strength of each of Wick’s characters. As I said before there are many POVs in Wick, about five or seven if my memory serves and each character brings a unique perspective and rationale to the story. There were a few that I thought I’d dread reading in the beginning, but by the middle I must say that everyone had chapters that I looked forward to. It was mostly to unlock further mysteries in the story which everyone had fragments of, but I was surprised that a book with this many POVs didn’t really offer any weak links for me. Even A Song of Ice and Fire had those Sansa chapters that I freaking HATED, and many of the POVs in A Feast for Crows felt dry and pointless to me, but here, even with so many characters, I had a good time. If you’re anything like me you’ll really become a fan of John Forrester who’s just a fun character in every sense of the word. I kind of want to say more, but I prefer to leave some surprises.

The Quick and Dirty 

Dislikes: 

-Confusing beginning. A lot is being said without much context. You don’t know if you’re reading about a pageant, a card game, or wrestling.

-The extra POVs in the beginning only added to the confusion.

-Could use some better explanations on the cards and the game mechanics to get you more invested in the card game. -The game isn't explained clearly enough in the first few matches forcing you to pay close attention to each match to understand how its played.

Likes: 

+Cool mix of wrestling and Yugioh or whatever combat card game you like. I really liked the on-camera dramatic “promos.” It felt like the 80’s all over again.

+Highly imaginative.

+Cool characters.

+Loaded with intelligence at every turn including characters, dialogue, plot, and much more. +The wrestling references are too good.

+Brilliant creature design and fight choreography.

+eSports taken to the next level.

+Solid characterization.

+The announcers are a clever source of exposition.

+Spark form action is bloody brutal fast and intense. +In depth ideas and concepts, very well thought out, with great execution.

+John Forrester is a brilliant character. So are many others, but he is by far my favorite.

All in all, I have to say that I absolutely loved this book.  It was one that I had received by the author for review, but I have to say that it's a series that I look forward to reading more of.  My interest has been piqued with the mysteries, I have come to like the characters very much, and it's a unique world that I am interested in seeing more of.  I'll definitely be reading the sequels.  Don't just take my word for it.  Check out the book for yourselves with the links below.

Author's website: http://mattdoylemedia.com/
eBook: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011SG7TYO
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Wick-Spark-Form-Chronicles-1/dp/1517128714/

Indie Book Corner: Bluebeard's Children (Eyes of the Sun #2), by Christina McMullen

Want to read an indie book review by an indie author?  Well you're in the right place.  Today I'll be reviewing the sequel to Eyes of the Sun, Bluebeard's Children.

If you haven't already, check out my review of book one or just go straight to the purchase page to buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Eyes-Sun-Book-ebook/dp/B00A7L7GJ0.

Bluebeard's Children picks up where the first one left off and a lot has changed in Lucy's life.  The changes are somewhat expected if you've read the first book, but one change comes as a surprise and affects Lucy greatly.  Some time has passed and we see how the events of the first book have affected Lucy and those around her.  We also meet some new people in Lucy's life.  As before, the story is filled with action and high drama, but this time right from the start.  It's all top notch and really gets you emotionally involved in the story.  It's a really good payoff for those who've read the first book and gotten to know these characters.

Right off the bat there is a huge shift in perspective for the book, which changes the feeling of it in a really good way.  Now we're in Lucy's head in a first person POV and from her perspective the emotions are stronger and the action is more vivid.  I was intrigued by this change because I planned to do the same except in reverse with a book I have sitting and completed and it's direct sequel (shameless plug for Hell Warriors).  This change made this particular part of Lucy's story a lot more enjoyable.

This book was filled with just about everything I like about books in general.  It's unfortunate, but I can't completely fanboy out like I want to right now, but you better believe there will be a list of it all at the end. I'll try to be succinct and describe some of it at least.

The dialogue was super smooth and relateable with characters offering wit, humor, and wisdom in a very simple way.  Joss Whedon would probably find this to be an enjoyable read in the vein of his own work.  You can't really have good dialogue without good characters (or can you???) and I found all of these characters to be exceptional and well rounded.  Each character felt real and you could see them living in this type of world the way they do and it all seemed so grounded.  And I loved the way everyone got a nice amount of spotlight and awesome character moments.  Towards the end there are several parts where we see just how skilled the main cast and extended cast are and just how compassionate and clever they can be.  I also like how a group of ass kickers like this can actually instead opt too use their brains to solve problems.  The characters were probably the biggest highlight of this book for me and that's saying a lot because the rest was top notch too.  With all that said, I haven't even commented on Lucy's growth as a character.  She really becomes someone that you can believe in, a truly upstanding person, a real hero.  For me, Lucy was the coolest hero I've read about in a while, and she didn't even try to be.

There are also some great concepts in the book, you know, stuff that you see in a book that makes you go "I can't believe someone thought of that!"  I had plenty of those moments especially on Bluebeard's estate.

The ultimate payoff in this book will be for those who loved the first one.  There are a ton of reveals here about Lucy and her family that'll make your head spin.  And there's a dilemma here that's usually handled very tritely in other books and media (especially comics books).  When it was used here my first response was to shake my head, but ultimately it was handled really really well here and added a lot to the story.  If you want to know what I'm referring to then check out my hidden spoiler on the shortened Goodreads version of this review.

So all in all, this book was as perfect as a book can get.  It's funny cuz it's not my 'type' of book, but the way it was written highly appealed to me.  It's a book that I'll gladly read again because it's fast paced, fun, and hits all the right emotions.  So check it out.  You won't be disappointed...unless your tastes are completely different from mine :-D.

The Quick and Dirty

The Likes

+Smooth dialogue
+Lovable characters
+Easy to follow action
+Interesting locations
+Great concepts
+Smooth read
+Lucy's likable and compassionate as ever
+Lucy's progression from the first book is tragic and believable, the mark of a person who sacrifices for others
+Amazing cast of ass kickers
+New Characters are all a blast
+More major revelations about Lucy and her family
+Smart cast, doesn't just solve problems with brute force
+Chars besides main get a chance to step up and be useful
+Every character matters and is utilized
the good guys are true humanitarians

The Only Thing I Disliked

-I'd like to think Lucy would be more rational about Andre's extraordinary circumstances early on and not hold it against him.

Check out Christina McMullen and her other works at http://mcmullenwrites.blogspot.com/p/the-books-i.html and link to the rest of her awesome blog from there too.

You can read Bluebeard's Children on Kindle by downloading it here: http://www.amazon.com/Bluebeards-Children-Eyes-Sun-Book-ebook/dp/B00COG3NJI.

Thanks for your time and now back to blogging baby!

Indie Book Corner: Sky Ghosts: All For One by Alexandra Engellmann

The cover of the book perfectly sets the tone for what to expect in the book.  It's dark and gritty and bloody.

Plot

Sky Ghosts is a book about two sisters that work for a shadowy organization composed of beings called Sky Ghosts.  These are individuals who've separated from humans long ago and gained access to powers buried deep inside of them.  They stick under the radar to avoid human contact mostly but a few influential humans know about them and pay them lots of money to complete tasks like bodyguard services and the like.  One night the two sisters stumble across rogue Sky Ghosts, called Sky Beasts, about to kill or capture two helpless human boys.  The sisters intervene and save the boys and take them with them to their HQ.  From here they are tasked with protecting the boys and everyone involved wants to figure out just why the Sky Beasts wanted these two so badly.

That's the bigger mystery for most of the book.  And there are some nice twists and turns in it to keep you guessing for a while.  Along the way you'll find out some history behind the organization and the Sky Ghosts themselves and get some background on Pain and Jane and some of the other characters as well.

Quick Rating: The plot isn't the strongest aspect of the book but it is solid and gives a nice backdrop to some awesome character action and drama.  It takes three chapters for it all to build up but by chapter three I was immersed.

Ideas

All For One is filled with babes and blades, studs and swords, and beyond all that a lot of heart.  What I mainly liked about this book was its fusion of eastern ideas and western style.  That fusion can be seen most clearly in the way that the character's powers work and the way they fight.  The powers of the characters all come from inside.  There's some genetic factors at play but mainly the power functions essentially like Ki or Qi as it is understood in eastern philosophy.  Characters here are stronger, faster, and can fly!  And what's better than that is the fact that with practice a person can hone these powers to an even greater degree.  I dug the powers immensely and the way each character applied such abilities was distinct.  It reminded me of the anime Claymore where everyone has access to the same abilities but some specialize in certain aspects over others like speed or power or healing.

Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, Published by Shueisha and Viz Media, Animation by Madhouse, and Licensed by Funimation

Quick Rating: There's so many cool ideas and great execution here that it's clearly one of the books strengths.

Characters

The strongest aspect of this book was the way the characters interacted and played off of each other and the dialogue they had with one another.  There was an abundance of humor anytime this young cast did anything together.  Pain and Marco were hilarious early on.  Their banter, bullying of each other, and combined bloodlust made me laugh so hard and wince a little bit too (these two rarely pull their punches).  Beyond the humor there's a lot of sincerity and heart in the dialogue and emotions between everyone.  You end up feeling for all the characters even ones you might not like.  By the end one of the characters I disliked for most of the book became my favorite.

Quick Rating: The characterization, character interaction and banter between the characters is by far the strongest aspect behind this book and--more often than not--is what will keep you turning the pages.

Action

The fight scenes are particularly awesome and bloody!  There's a lot of blood.  Be warned!  The violence is stylistic and each character fights how you'd imagine him or her to do so in stunning aerial sequences of steel, blood, flesh, and bone.  Being the action junkie that I am I could picture every scene perfectly as if it were an action movie.

Sky Ghost art from Engellmann's Tumblr page

Quick Rating: A great splattering of blood and clanging of steel is found in many pages of this book.  I found it to be very enjoyable.  I only wish there was a little more variety to be found here.  Regardless, all of these scenes were hugely entertaining.

Romance

Now as a guy--no that's a bit of a copout--I'll just say that I'm not that inclined to like drawn out romances.  All the back and forth kills me every time.  So romance isn't my genre.  There's a lot of romance here and there's a nice amount of back and forth to it.  It's not my cup of tea but fans of the genre will no doubt like it.  That said I still like how it played out, it was just a little over suspenseful for me.  I guess I didn't mind it so much because I did want these two characters to succeed with each other.

Quick Rating: My previous words don't give enough credit to the romance subplots in the book.  There is actually a lot of suspense here, not just in the main coupling but in several others as well and it's all portrayed very realistically.  So while not my genre I still enjoyed it.

Indie Plug (FREE STUFF)

I really liked the high manic energy of Sky Ghosts and all of its crazy characters so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you check this one out.  Right now it's for FREE on Amazon.com until the 20th of this month.  So check it out and let me know what you think of it.

Updates

There has been a major update to the book since I last read it at the beginning of January.  The contents have been cleaned and tightened and the plot more focused.  If you have an older version of the book just contact Amazon Support (https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us) and ask them to update your copy.  They're really quick about it too.  For all new buyers you'll automatically have the new updates.

Author

Alexandra Engellmann is a truly fascinating person.  Just take a look at her profile by clicking the picture to the left to get an understanding of what I mean.  In summary; she's Russian, she taught herself English by learning the lyrics of songs she liked and reading books that caught her attention, and she's crafted a book that wouldn't make you think any of that.  I've known her for over a month now.  We've been corresponding about the hardships of being newly released Indies in a broad sea of books.  She's given me some great tips about the 'biz' and I have done the same for her.  What I can add to her profile is that she works tirelessly, has a hugely creative mind, a great sense of humor, and is very supportive of other Indies.  And she's a digital artist to top all of that off.  She's quite the modern day renaissance woman.

Artwork

Sky Ghost art from Engellmann's Tumblr page

The world of Sky Ghosts and its characters have a certain darkness about them.  This is evident in the descriptions.  The action takes place under the veil of night and the characters are all garbed in black.  It’s a very visual world and the author has taken this a step further and drawn some damn good digital art for the characters and some of the settings.  It can be found on her personal Tumblr page and a page made by a fan of hers.  Its extra content that keeps you immersed into the book while you're reading or after you're done.  I just find it cool to have art on characters that I've come to really like.

Awesomesauce

+Powers

+Fights Scenes

+Humor

+Dialogue

+Realism

+Cool and Badass Characters

+Sexiness

+Believable Romance

Not so Awesome

-Long Book

-Slow Start

Links

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QQABR5U

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00QQABR5U

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24916560-sky-ghosts

Tumblr: http://engellmann.tumblr.com/

Fan Page: http://sky-ghosts.tumblr.com/

My Secret?

As I was reading this book, I faced the fact that I have a dark secret buried deep inside of me.  It's been there for a while but it's only now just surfacing.  I feel that it's finally time that I share it with you all.  You see.  I am....

I am a Sky Ghost!!!

 Or a nerd with a little extra time on my hands on this particular day.  I'll let you be the judge of that.

As always, thanks for the browse!

Average Joe and the Extraordinaires Released TODAY

Today is the day.  My novel, Average Joe and the Extraordinaires is now available on the Amazon Kindle Store.  You can find it at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R7EMRXA.  I'm super excited and ecstatic that the release went smoothly.

Character Profiles: Average Joe and the Extraordinaires: Team Badd Azz

Fleez
Government Name: Bartholomew Taluni
Other Nicknames: The Gamesmaster, Grease Monkey, Bart
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 193 lbs
Hair: Short Black
Eye Color: Brown
Race: Polynesian
Birth Place: Orangetown, Florida
Age: 16
Hobbies: Pranking People, Lifting Weights, Working on Cars, Watching 70's and 80's Action Movies
Talents: Very Skilled at Automotive Repairs From Years of Working with His Father, Clever Prankster Whose Years of Watching TV and Movies Have Given Him Loads of Ideas, Athletic and Strong for His Age

Dozz
Government Name: Michael Phillips
Other Nicknames: McPrankerson, Tech-head, Mick
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 208 lbs
Hair: Shaggy Brown and Long
Eye Color: Brown
Race: Caucasian
Birth Place: Louisiana
Age: 16
Hobbies: Pranking People, Backyard Wrestling, Browsing Forbidden Message Boards, Building CPU's Out of Junk Parts, Watching 70's and 80's Action Movies
Talents: Very Skilled at Building and Fixing Old and New Computers Thanks to Learning from an Older Cousin and Continuing in a Votech Class, Older Cousin Showed Dozz the Ropes of Backyard Wrestling Which Dozz Still Participates in and Announces For With Fleez, Athletic and Strong for his Age

...and sometimes...

Byron
Government Name: Byron McCoy
Other Nicknames: Byron Rox-Your-Sox, B-man, Big Guy
Height: 5'9''
Weight: 273 lbs
Hair: Dark Brown, short, and unkempt
Eye Color: Black
Race: Caucasian
Birth Place:Orangetown, Florida
Age: 16
Hobbies: Watching TV, Complaining, Snacking
Talents: Is Really Big...Like Really Really Big, Insults Bounce Off of Him Like Bullets Off of Superman (He's Pretty Dense), Extreme Lack of Caring About The World Around Him, Did I Mention That He's Big?...

Team Badd Azz came about from the boys watching too many seventies and eighties action movies and wanting to start a gang of strong "men" to live life in the most Badd Azz way possible.  Fleez and Dozz had actually met years ago when Dozz had first moved to Orangetown from his home state of Louisiana.  The boys were very similar as both had grown up in large impoverished families and shared similar interests.  Surprisingly enough, both boys are quite smart despite their propensity for using their physicality to solve problems and get what they want.  They both typically get high marks in class quite casually and are both skilled at a useful trade thanks to years of helping their various family members.  Despite their brutish behavior both boys are actually on track to very bright futures...if they don't blow up something first.

Fleez and Dozz only use Byron as free muscle and labor.  He was never a real member of the group because neither Fleez nor Dozz can stand his constant downer attitude and complaining.  He is, however, a great enforcer.

Average Joe and the Extraordinaires is available now!

Indie Book Corner: The Kingmaker by James G. Pearson

The Kingmaker by James G. Pearson

(Slight spoilers)

Kingmaker Cover 2

Do you like high fantasy?  Do you like epic sword battles and medieval speak, lords, ladies, lasses, lads, and the like?  Do you like magic, revenge, and murder?  Well then you will find a lot to enjoy in James G. Pearson’s the Kingmaker.  Below is my pseudo review.  I only briefly mention a numbered score because Amazon makes you do that sort of thing.  Usually I don’t bother.  Like here for instance.

THE COOL:

Amazing Opening Chapter

I first read a sample of this on Amazon and that sample was so awesome that I had to buy the book.  I wish this had an animation to it but that's the power of books.  We must use our overactive imagination.  The book opens with a man with a fancy and seemingly important title getting his belongings together as he prepares to run.  He is frantic and because of this his family is scared.  This man is the Kingmaker and we get the sense that he's in major trouble.  Unfortunately for him some royal knights from a country called Dalamar have caught up with him and now he and his young son Rhyn must fight for their lives.  The scene is so hopeless and yet father and son fight on anyway.  Surrounded as they are by countless soldiers, they try their best to survive.  What happens next is pretty sad and sets the stage for the rest of the book.

Enjoyable Plot and Engaging Characters

I liked the plot and characters quite a bit. While I would not call the characterizations in The Kingmaker complex by any means I still found a lot of the characters very enjoyable. I liked the young Kingmaker/Warrior Rhyn and his “bestie” Dirham. I thought Dirham had the best characterization in the entire book with all of the issues he was juggling, his love of his family, and his everyman attitude were highly appealing. I thought Rhyn himself was a really stand-up guy.  He was strong, heroic, and just but ultimately confused about his place in the world.  I felt that his reasons for being confused were justified but also felt that he should’ve been more torn apart and reluctant in dealing with the loss of his father and his adoptive new homeland. The other characters I liked were Carrick the medieval serial killer (though not initially) and the mysterious masked man. The plot had enough twists and turns to keep me interested and turning the page and the big plot changer that happens near the middle of the story really took me by surprise. Magic is definitely touched upon in the book too and used in some neat ways.  And you get to see what's going on from the various villains' point of view too which gives you a 360 degree view of the plot minus a degree or two from one very mysterious character towards the end.

 

THE NOT SO COOL:

What is the Kingmaker?

We’re never really told what the Kingmaker is. We know that the Kingmaker is important and that they are good at fighting but never told exactly what they can do. I think this book, particularly because of its title should inform us more about what a Kingmaker is, what they could do, and maybe even a little history of the Kingmakers but alas it isn’t so. And so at the end of the KINGMAKER: Book 1 of the KINGMAKER Saga I still know very little of what a Kingmaker actually does. Without a way to judge what the Kingmaker is potentially capable of I lost interest in Rhyn a few chapters in and then he finally admits to his true abilities and I saw him get defeated or near defeated in a few one-on-one skirmishes. So the hyping of the Kingmaker’s abilities was quickly lost on me early on.

There are a few examples of what the Kingmaker can do but none are game changing or show how this person can change the tide of a battle and end a war like we’re led to believe. Right off the bat the Kingmaker’s legend and mythos are disparaged when the initial Kingmaker shown is quickly killed by a small force and then right after when the second Kingmaker is easily captured for fuzzy reasons that are never wholly explained. And with that lie the bulk of my issues with the book.

Great Concepts Needed Better Utilization

For one the Leonhardt, a fierce army of half lion half men are described to be a vicious legendary transformation unseen for hundreds of years. It’s a transformation fueled by magic but the only prerequisites seem to be that you have the blood of the Leonhardt and sign a magical waiver. Indeed even newly army joined peasants can become Leonhardt. Titan Goldclaw uses 100,000 of these supposed crazy powerful warriors against an army only 5,000 strong and still loses a considerable amount of his soldiers. With numbers like that the point of a super strong transformation loses its meaning and necessity. It would have been more compelling for the Leonhardt to be only 500-2,000 strong, the underdogs, and have access to this sort of magic. It would make more sense since we’re initially shown the Lion kingdom to be in shambles without a strong military. If the Leonhardt had won that battle it would mean something, as it was though it just made them look weak and the transformation unimportant. Rhyn’s effortless kill of a Leonhardt Enforcer also did the Leonhardt no favors especially since he loses a duel to a mere human right after.

Legendary Leonhardt Transformation...or Digimon Season 4...

Legendary Leonhardt Transformation...or Digimon Season 4...

Legendary Leonhardt Transformation...or Digimon Season 4...

Fuzzy Logic

There is quite a bit of fuzzy logic to sift through too. Some of the plots made by the characters don’t quite add up. Some of the events that occurred make no sense considering the character’s motives. I found a lot of this but am not so crass as to spoil whole scenes to illustrate it. The one example I’ll share is with the whole raising of the Leonhardt army. The one was raised from next to nothing in a kingdom wide draft to serve a man that they should have hated for all intents and purposes. They were part of an isolationist kingdom that hadn’t seen war for hundreds of years and mostly comprised of peasants. Suddenly they, through custom/ancient law/word of king flock to the army in great numbers and now have access to a powerful transformation. The king has armor made specifically for these larger transformations and marches into a war with 100,000 transforming soldiers in order to fight a group of humans that only numbered 5,000. More fuzzy logic concludes with this group when that battle ends but revealing that would slightly spoil a scene or two. Also towards the end a group rises up to join the fight but I was thinking to myself “where the F where you the whole time? Couldn’t you see all that fire and death before?”

Too many POV’s

While I really liked the POV’s of Rhyn, Dirham, and Carrick and found the POV’s of Alanis and Lyssa to be useful, I felt overall that there were way too many voices telling this one story. The story isn’t complex enough to require anywhere near as many POV’s and even with the ones we do get it often times jumps sporadically to another character mid paragraph. Tiberius’ POV’s do offer an insight into story as well but I would much likely stick closer to Rhyn and learn more about his abilities, and what being a Kingmaker means to him, and just generally what a Kingmaker does. I would like more with Dirham and more with Carrick definitely. What makes Carrick the way he is, what is his ultimate goal? Titan Goldclaw was also a necessary POV but just felt two dimensional to me. If he wasn’t trying to conquer things I would have no interest in him whatsoever. And everyone else that was covered felt completely unnecessary to me. The author may be setting something up but with his subject matter he could do well to set it up in a more established character’s POV or make these characters more interesting.

A Final Round of Professional Editing

The book has a lot of grammar mistakes, I mean a lot! Towards the beginning there are only a few and you can gloss over them easily but towards the end they’re glaring and happen really often which takes you out of the experience. Luckily this is the easiest section to fix since the author can easily update the book here whenever. I’ve noted down the errors I’ve found in the notes but these can easily be rectified with a (competent) copyeditor.

Final Thoughts:

This book is filled with great concepts, interesting characters, and a fast paced plot that keeps you guessing. What it needs more of is POLISH. In every possible way it needs more polish. A brief study of war and war tactics can make those sieges and battles even more epic. Some study of swordplay and fighting can make those conflicts more authentic and engaging. A fleshing out of those great concepts can truly make those ideas shine. My advice? Pull back on servicing the plot and let the characters be themselves and let us in on their world. I’d rather learn more about Rhyn, Dirham, and Carrick than constantly jump around to move the plot forward. Don’t pull back too far on the mystery of the Kingmakers. At least tell us what they can do, what makes them better. That and a healthy dose of final edits by a professional would give this the 4/5 stars from me. Anyways still a good read and I look forward to the next (hopefully improved) adventure.

Update:

According to the author's blog and through a conversation I had with him I learned that he is hard at work on updating the content of The Kingmaker.  He has taken his reviews and other criticisms very seriously and looks to improve his story.  This is great news for me and other fans of this first book who loved the characters, plot, and setting but had some issues with the storytelling.  The author, James Pearson, is also currently hard at work on the sequel to The Kingmaker entitled Kingdomfall.  He's also completed two short stories to compliment his series. You can check out James' blog here at http://kingmakersaga.wordpress.com/.

Old Kingmaker Cover

You can find the book at:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Goodreads

And the companion pieces at:
The Order of Talos: Bear of Yarmir
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Goodreads

The Order of Talos: Iridi's Embrace
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Goodreads