Review: An author with a lot of promise
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 21, 2011
I actually disagree with the reviewer who struggled with the world building in the early part of the book. This was actually my favorite part - the vivid development of the characters and world. I would have loved for it to remain focused on developing the cultures and warring factions and motives of the characters. I struggled during the 45-55% part of the book, where it became a bit too "wandering monsters" for my tastes. But I think your tastes are really the question here. If you like a book that feels like a Dungeons & Dragons game, there is no shortage of good stuff in The Sable City.I decidedly don't prefer that style of book. If I can see the stat blocks for the various monsters as I read, it is a huge distraction from my enjoyment of the story. There are definitely some monsters that aren't described in enough loving detail to conjure a vivid image unless you happen to own some D&D; books, which is a shame, because the early chapters definitely show that the author can write good descriptions. So the book already had a significant handicap working against it in my entirely subjective opinion.That being said, the author scores on many counts. His dialogue is snappy and fun - fully of witty banter. The plot is much more involved than "adventurers go into a dungeon," and there is never a point where I wondered why each person was involved. Everyone is involved in the plot for his or her own reasons, and those reasons are diverse and interesting. There's certainly a MacGuffin in the Sable City itself, but the plot is otherwise character-driven, and I found the various twists satisfying, if not entirely surprising.In the final analysis, I wish McNally well and hope he writes more books, because he definitely has talent that I'd like to watch him hone. I'd love to see him do more world building along the lines of the Miilarkian culture, the renegade legion, or the duchy in peril in future books. If he must mine D&D; for monster and spell ideas, I'd be happier if their sources were better-obscured than they were, but I am confident he can strike out on his own and imagine a world beyond those roots, and I hope he does in future works.