Review: Had potential... but several concerns... 2 Stars
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2013
"The Scars of Ambition" is the first book of 'The Cumerian Unraveling' by author Jason Letts. This Kindle e-book was a 719 Kb download (approx. 281 printed pages) and sold for $2.99 at the time of writing this review.Please Note: the author provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Spoilers (general theme)Lowell Bracken and his company, Bracken Energy, have provided most of the gas needs to fuel Cumera's requirements for generations. Everything seems to be running smoothly, but some smoldering unrest Is beginning to appear and Lowell, his family and the Company are about to experience some turbulent times.End SpoilersSome thoughts on "Scars of Ambition"...The Pros:1.)  a story with a premise that had potential. A modern day adventure set in another world and that has some fantasy components.2.) two maps... one of each hemisphere showing major centers, directions and topographical features.3.) appendix... found at the end giving a brief description of the players involved in this tale.Concerns:1.) a writing style and quality that was suspect, as evidenced by...a.) most conversations felt forced and at best artificial.b.) characters... all very one dimensional so that it was almost impossible to really care for or become attached to anyone in this story. The one exception might have been Nemi.c) instances of the improbable... a few examples of many1.) Lowell walking into the board room meeting with Bolt and Keize...unannounced!!! (and overhears a private conversation)2.) Lowell and Bolt's (Corporate enemies), texting each other behind everyone's back3.) West's reading his 'sex' note (out loud) to Sierra at work (so stupidly unbelievable that it boggles the mind)2.) there were instances (for example, the P.O.C investigation of Lowell Bracken) where I, as the reader, never really understood why this investigation would ever be tolerated, given that there appeared to be so little evidence to support it. With the results that the whole scenario appeared unrealistic and contrived. In general, this technique when repeated, made for a generally unbelievable story.3.) there were several sexual situations or themes that suggested to me, a male viewpoint... in this case a male author discussing a sexual issue, but from his female character's perspective. I've often felt that one of writings great difficulties is an author of one sex trying to write convincingly or interpret feelings of his or her character of the opposite sex. Men and women think differently, especially about sex related topics and this difference sometimes in shows up in written dialogue. Obviously a personal and subjective opinion.Conclusion:A book that I have difficulty defining an intended audience... some of the sexually related material excludes Young Adult, but I can't see this appealing to any mature or sophisticated reader. It might interest a reader looking for a light diversion between serious reading material... a summertime or beach read.As it is... 2 StarsRay Nicholsonraynicholsonsreviews@hotmail.com@ralannicholson