Review: Beware the Dire Rats!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2014
Ok, this line alone makes this worth reading:"One of the little buggers shoved it's head in his mouth and he felt them pushing into every opening his armor would allow them...."I actually jumped in my seat like WTH?? Like oh crap, that was intense! I could only imagine going through that.So, let me go back and introduce you to General Foxwise Penny-Thorn. He's the leader of Queen Corydalis's honor guard and General of defenses in the Lurr Forest fae. Thorn along with, Bristle, and Barb have been charged with the retrieval of the Falriggin's Shard. "You need not know why, other than this: the Heart Tree and the future of the Lurr Forest fae is at stake..."What I like is that the development of the characters moves at the pace of the action, Barb is to me like Natasha Romanov, a.k.a. Black Widow of The Avengers. Tough, smart, beautiful, and deadly. Foxwise is great because he is not the typical Captain America, Jason Bourne type, rarely hurt, and without any fear. Fear keeps you on your toes. Not that he is a wimp by any means, just not stoic. Bristle the elf reminds me of Gimli the dwarf warrior from LOTR, a fun, loveable, onery character.(Minor Spoiler)I like that Author M.R. Mathias is not afraid to introduce the reality of loss in battles and quests. And though this story was short it never lacked movement. In contrast, I read Mathias's Sword & The Dragon preview, which I felt lacked the approach of "Foxwise"; being too wordy for my taste, although "Points of Purchase" has left my mouth at least a couple times a day since. :) I just expected it to move a bit faster. Mathias has a voice of his own and seems to have a never ending supply of stories. He has created a vivid world, that lives and breathes in a digital space. I am starting the next one...now.