Review: Blend of modern-day and fantasy elements
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 30, 2010
I really enjoyed the style of scene breaks in this dark fantasy novel. I thought the "scene settings" stated in bold (to mark a change of setting), added to the excitement and pace of the story. This technique enables the story to cover a lot of ground (quickly--personally, I've never been a fan of extremely long, rambling detailed descriptions of "the setting"), and creates a more `expansive' feel to the geographical scope of the story. On a side note, these scene breaks remind me of certain scene break sections in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, heh.Back to Celtic Evil. For example (re: the scene breaks):Fitzgaren, County Kerry, Ireland, four days later: (Chapter 2)Trinity University, Ian Fitzgerald's dorm: Dublin, Ireland: (Chapter 7)Avebury, Great Britain: (Chapter 24)There's a skillful blend of modern-day and fantasy elements too, without a sense of the author "trying too hard" with the creation/execution of the story. The characters are relatable, and the relationship of the brothers showcases the strength of family ties (something which might be in short supply, the more technologically advanced the human species gets). I also enjoyed the ease and comfort the author has with writing about subjects/content that are related to magic/witchcraft--these vivid scenes enliven the interactions between the characters. I look forward to trying some of this author's other books (like S.E.A.L. Team Omega, that falls into the adventure genre!).