Review: Good and interesting fantasy for adults
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 2, 2013
This is a joint review about Children of Naor and Evil Children of Naor.Before I write anything else, I'll mention that Justyna Plichta-Jendzio's Dark Children of Naor and Evil Children of Naor were originally published in Polish (Aleksandra Kateusz has translated both books to English). The third Naor book, Cursed Children of Naor, will be published soon.It took a while for me to read these books, but I'm glad that I had a chance to read them, because I enjoyed reading them. A lot has already been written about them and several reviewers have praised them, so I'll try not to repeat what has been said before. I'll try to write a spoiler-free review, because I don't want to reveal what happens in the stories.Dark Children of Naor consists of three novellas:- The Hunter- The Burden of Inheritance- Second WifeEvil Children of Naor also consists of three novellas:- Darkness of the Soul- The Blade of Hate- The Silence of KurgansDark Children of Naor is an introduction to the world of Naor and in Evil Children of Naor the author continues to explore the different places of the world through the characters and their actions, and she does it well. Although Evil Children of Naor is the second book, it can easily be easily read as a standalone book, because it doesn't really matter in which order you read the stories.The world of Naor is filled with different races, creatures, places and magic. Justyna Plichta-Jendzio has plenty of imagination and she has created a fascinating and diverse fantasy world, which is inhabited by elves, dragons, demons, vampires and other creatures and beings.Dark Children of Naor and Evil Children of Naor can be categorized as traditional and epic fantasy. Both books contain strong fantasy elements and also dark fantasy elements. It's nice that there's darkness in the world of Naor, because it adds a lot of style and depth to the stories.The author approaches fantasy and magic in a mythical and a bit mysterious way, which is very nice, because it adds lots of style to her stories. I think that she has been inspired quite a lot by folklore and different legends and myths, and she has decided to use them in her stories.The stories in these books are loosely connected to each other, but they all take place in the world of Naor. They reveal bits and pieces of the world to the readers. This kind of an approach to building a fantasy world is interesting, because it allows the author to develop the world gradually and add new things to the world when necessary. I've liked this kind of approach to building a fantasy world ever since I read Robert E. Howard's Conan and Solomon Kane stories, so I found myself enthralled by these stories (in my opinion there's something a bit similar in these books as there is in Robert E. Howard's stories, but on the whole they're different from Howard's stories).Justyna Plichta-Jendzio is a talented author, because her writing style is wonderfully descriptive and she knows how to tell stories and deliver surprises. She writes about different themes and explores them in a surpringly fluent and entertaining way. She easily creates tension and excitement, and hooks the reader with the happenings.It's great that the author is capable of writing different kind of stories that are located in the same world. For example, when you compare the first two stories in Dark Children of Naor to the last story, you'll easily notice the difference between them. In my opinion the second book contains more mature stories than the first book, but I can't say anything bad about the first book, because the stories are good.It takes talent to create good characters in short stories and novellas. After reading these books I can say that Justyna Plichta-Jendzio has managed to create interesting characters. I was surprised by how vividly the author writes about them and their lives etc.The character interaction works well and it's interesting to read what the characters say to one another and how they react to different things and actions. The dialogues between the characters are handled well - they're surprisingly realistic and intriguing dialogues.I enjoyed reading about how the author wrote about the deeds of the good and evil characters, because it was interesting to read what they do and what happens to them. The author writes fluently about duty, revelations and other similar things, and shows how the characters feel about them.There's a bit of roughness around the edges in certain places in these stories, but on the whole everything works well. I don't know how many books the author intends to write about Naor, but I hope that she'll continue to write more stories, because she has lots of imagination. I'm sure that there are plenty of things to explore and reveal, because the world of Naor is an intriguing place.Before I write the final paragraphs of this review, I'll mention that the cover art images by Richard Jalowy are beautiful and detailed images. They remind me slightly of the fantasy paintings by Boris Vallejo.These books were positive and pleasant reading experiences for me, because they were entertaining fantasy books for adult readers and offered good entertainment for a few hours. I have to admit that I liked them a lot, because the world of Naor invites the reader on an intriguing journey to a different world that is inhabited by fascinating characters and creatures.If you're looking for something new to read and are interested in fantasy stories, Dark Children of Naor and Evil Children of Naor are good and enjoyable fantasy books. They're a welcome addition to the fantasy genre, because they're satistyingly dark and epic fantasy books. In my honest opinion both books are fascinating fantasy books that are worth reading.Good and interesting fantasy for adults!