Review: A great start!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 16, 2013
First, I love Athmane and Faria. I really like that they, Mary and Bayoud have known each other basically all their lives. It gives their bonds to each other a very lived in feel and the reader is able to focus more on the story unraveling than on the building of the characters relationships.With a larger cast of characters like this it's easy for an author to loose a someone's place in the plot. To not mention them for too long and suddenly they're back in the story and we're all left scratching our heads trying to remember who this person is and what they mean to us. Michael didn't do that. He did a great job of giving us glimpses of the characters, creating tension around them and leaving us wanting more when he moved on to the next one. It creates that feel of a story within a story. My only complaint would be that the characters are a little bit flat. They're dialogue is stunted sometimes which leaves it feeling a little unnatural. I think Michael was more focused on the story unfolding and it's unique and exciting enough that one can forgive slightly flat characters.If you're a fan of epic fantasy, this is a book you need to read.