Review: Great Characters, Interesting World, But Clarity Needed
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 12, 2014
Deep Echoes follows the adventures of Maya, Snow and Chain, among a few lesser characters, in their struggles against almost indestructible machines, The Disciples. Though the characters have a similar enemy, they find themselves in conflict with one another as well, vying for a position and purpose in their society. Each character is unique, flawed, and well crafted in their individuality. Wallace's language is raw and detailed, his plot is intricate, and his world is unlike any other. He is clearly a well practiced writer who only needs an editor to help him to become successful.The above positive aspects of Wallace's book made it a fairly enjoyable read. However, I there are a few aspects the author could work on to perfect his story and make it more widely read and enjoyable. Firstly, I found several small grammatical errors throughout. My own work is self-published, so I know that those happen, and can be rectified. More importantly, for me, was that there was too much left to the imagination, and, since the world and its intricacies are not of my mind, those holes left me confused at times. I was specifically hoping to understand better the religion of Solarism, the rules of the Contagons in the religion of Solarism, and the origin of the Chaotic Force, a magical element that left me completely baffled. Lastly, I think that this book might actually benefit from being two books, so that more time and detail can be spend expounding upon those things that took me out of the story.Overall, the book was enjoyable, the characters are unique and fun to follow, and the plot is well paced, but the author would do well to create a picture of his world and the intricacies of it in his reader's minds, leaving them to follow the characters fully and without reservation. I would give the book 3.5 stars, but felt it would be unfair to round down, as it was a very enjoyable read, so I rated it four stars on this site.