Review: Eye of the Storm
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 19, 2011
Assigning "Eye of the Storm" a genre was problematic for me.  It might be science fiction.  It mostly takes place on Stritonoly, a technologically advanced planet, at least in most ways.  Among other things, they have a space ship capable of shuttling large numbers of people between planets.However, a small portion of the story takes place on Earth in a contemporary setting.  In addition, some of the technology on the planet Stritonoly is not advanced at all; for example, the sword is their weapon of choice.  The sword as a weapon and much of the world the author has created seem more fitting for a fantasy setting, including a strong mystical or magical element.  The catchall genre for science fiction and fantasy is speculative fiction.  This is the logical genre assignment; however, those who prefer one of these sub-genres, especially fantasy, should still find "Eye of the Storm" a good fit.The basic story is an archetype; overcome by a lust for power a character cuts corners and makes immoral or unethical decisions to gain that power.  The author does a good job integrating the story archetype into the world he has created with appropriate variations to make the story his own.His characters are well formed and drive the story.  He finds a way to make acidels, a race of slave creatures that are unattractive, sweaty, and smelly, still likeable - the reader caring about the acidels is, if not a requirement, definitely helpful for drawing the reader into the story.In the final analysis, what genre a book fits in isn't important.  That the characters and story engage the reader is all that matters.  "The Eye of the Storm" does this and does it well.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog.**