Review: Sorcerers, Scholars, and Elementals
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 13, 2013
A poisoned, betrayed sorcerer from the distant past is looking for his faithless apprentice, and hooks up with an American scholar in his quest for vengeance and salvation. Most of the book takes place in the present, in England, although there is a mythical, magical touch even there.The first third of the book is much stronger than the rest. I liked the idea, and the protagonists - the female half of the pair more than the male, who was a little bit too old-fashioned for my taste. His antiquated way of speaking made it difficult at times to take him seriously as a romantic interest. There was humour and a light touch in some of those early scenes.The book is quite engaging, and at the start I was sure that it would easily rate 4 stars. However, my enthusiasm waned a bit later on, as there was just too much plot for the length of the text. To do justice to the complicated resolution, the book should have been rather longer. Many scenes could easily be fleshed out more, especially in the last half of the book. As it is, the reader may have trouble following all the convolutions until the ending arrives.For fans of fantasy where the modern world collides with ancient myths, the book is definitely worthwhile.I am convinced, however, based on the first part of the novel, that the author is capable of better than this book.Altogether I would give it a grade of 3.3 out of 5.Mary Moya (The Kindle Book Review)The Kindle Book Review received this book in exchange for an independent, fair and honest review. We are not associated with the author or Amazon in any way.