Review: A real adventure
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2013
I received this book as part of a Read 4 Review opportunity on Goodreads.This was actually my first R4R and at first I wasn't sure if I should join in or not, but after finishing these three books, I'm very happy that I signed up for the R4R. I wouldn't have come across this book otherwise!As you could probably guess, I really enjoyed this book, and props to the author for writing it in her second language - something I personally would be terrified of. I did spot a couple of typos, but since they were only a couple, they didn't bother me and I could keep on reading as if they were never there.Relating back to languages, one of the things I liked about this book was how there were some words which the characters said that weren't translated into English. Like "Inschallah". Coming across words like that not only constantly reminded me that I was reading about a foreign place, but also made the place seem more real and natural. Well, that's the impression I got from that, anyway.As for the actual story, it was filled with things I had never heard of or seen before, and it really did take me on an adventure. It wasn't very predictable, so I was getting surprised every so often. An example being the story behind Amadi's ring.The characters were enjoyable and I found Amadi easier to relate to than I first thought I would. And thank you author for not having any love triangles! I found the magical creatures interesting to read, especially as - with the excepting of Djinni - they were all relatively unfamiliar to me. Like another reviewer said, it was great that less well-known magical creatures were used, like the Peris and the Manticore.One of my favourite parts were the prologues and the epilogues, since they made the story feel a bit more personal to the reader; through the use of first person and the fact that the "I" character heard this story from a story-teller, and then decided to write it down and share it with the rest of us. There was even a hint of more stories to come which, I'm not going to deny, has me excited.Something I found a bit odd at first was that hardly any magical creature appeared during the first book, until towards the end when Amadi has to complete a task, and in the second book we're introduced to at least two or three different magical creatures early on. Looking back, it didn't really bother me, but it did take some adjusting.All in all, this book was a (surprisingly short) enjoyable read that did feel like an adventure and I would definitely recommend this book to others, as well as keep an eye out for the author's other books. And definitely believe her when she says this story is "For readers of fantasy from 9-99 years."