Review: Better than the first one! Looking forward to #3!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 25, 2014
After reading The Legends of Amun-Ra: The Emerald Tablet a few months ago, I was curious about the next book, but not excessively so. I enjoyed the story well enough, but I had a few issues with the writing. I'm thrilled to say that the second book in the series is both better written and better edited. (How's that for an awkward sentence?) And after reading the second book, I am anxiously awaiting book number 3.The series is a fantasy story depicting - what else? - the battle between good and evil. In The Emerald Tablet, it was hard to know who was good and who was evil, but in The Soul of the World, lines have been drawn, and it's very obvious who is on which side. This series is pretty violent, as it is about a war. I pretty much skipped over the sex scenes in this one, too, but they didn't seem as gratuitous as they did in the first book.This series definitely needs to be read in order, so if you haven't yet read The Emerald Tablet, you'll want to read it before you read the rest of the review. These aren't spoilers for the second book, but they will give away some things from the first.So you've already read Book 1, or you're one of those strange people who don't mind knowing how a book ends before you read it.Are you sure?Just kidding. ;-) Here's the rest of the review.As I said, this book was much easier to read than the first. There were a couple of issues that bugged me, such as someone saying they "would endeavor to try". The repetition that drove me crazy before is mostly absent in this book, although I'm well aware that Atlantia has a knife with "a nickle-wound" handle.I had a WTH moment when Leukos tells Atlantia how much depends on her, and he says, "I'm sorry for such a burden to be on you, such a young pretty girl, but it is so." What does being pretty have to do with anything? Pulled me right out of the story until I calmed down.I will throw something in because it bothered me for almost the whole story, and while it isn't explained until almost the end of the book, it's not critical, and I don't think it's a spoiler to post this. I couldn't figure out how those looking for the rebels couldn't find them when everything is paid for by handprint on electronic tablets. Then there is a one-line mention about living under false names. That makes a lot of things make sense. Shirin is an absolute psycho, but even she can follow electronic signatures. Now you don't have to wonder about that part. ;-)Other than a couple of nit-picky things that I mentioned above, I really liked this book, and I am eagerly awaiting the third installment.I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.