Review: Strong start, two dimensional middle.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2011
I couldn't finish it. I made it about 80% through and found myself skipping forward page after page looking for something that would hold my interest.I'm sorry about that because there is much to love about this book. I like the structure of the plot. I like the way the author revealed the antagonist. Much of the world in which the story takes place is engaging.  The dialogue and interaction between Marjan and his romantic lead are fresh.This is a story about good and evil. Good is good and destined to triumph and evil is evil and destined to fail. No matter how much purple prose is laid on to demonstrate the magnitude of evil's threats, good will always have enough power to defeat evil in the end.  There is no ambiguity, and consequently no drama.Although the main character is described in other reviews as "flawed hero", I don't think he is.  He isn't human; he's goodness personified.  He made a mistake in the past and has learned lessons from it.  He is good and will make moral, good choices at all times.  There is little or no moral ambiguity  to challenge him.  Because he is so good, I can't identify with him.  The author has the skill to do more; his treatment of Marjan's social skills demonstrate that he can write better than this.I said that much of the world is engaging, but the language used to describe the world is excessive.  For example, the author is far better than most at creating a very real sense of place for the story. The wizard lives in a cozy cottage, which is described in specific, loving detail. I get that the cottage is cozy.  Another dozen descriptions of oil rubbed wooden floors won't make it any more cozy.  The elves, dryads and other races are different from humans, and even more important they're different from elves in other books.  (Alas, they also lack any moral complexity).There is much to love in this book. If the author writes again, I'd certainly give it a try.  But this book needed to be edited; about half the length removed and some moral complexity added.