Review: An excellent serial
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 21, 2011
At two hundred fifty years old, who expects a drastic change in lifestyles?  Captain Vinyanel Ecleriast has confidence in his ability and certainty of purpose.  That changes when he meets up with a half-elven prophetess and a massive silver dragon.  A man of action, he's now constrained to listen to lectures on old teachings in between lessons of how to stay astride a dragon in flight.  Vinyanel has a lot to learn and many of the lessons are brutally unpleasant.Windrider Part I: Divine Summons is a fascinating tale of a military man called to a higher purpose he does not understand and does not want.The only downside of Divine Summons was the switch from the first person perspective of Vinyanel to the third person perspective of other characters.  These perspective shifts always happened at scene or chapter changes, and I was never at a loss to figure out who was in charge of the storytelling at any given point, but the perspective changes are disorienting to me.  Since Vinyanel couldn't be in all the right places to tell the tale at all the right times, I would've rather seen this whole thing told in third person.Nevertheless, that was a rather puny hindrance, and more personal preference than a true weakness in the story.  There's a great deal to recommend Divine Summons.The characters in this story are well-balanced and have emotional depth.  Each has strengths,  weaknesses, and personality quirks. They grow without ever becoming perfect and pristine.  Vinyanel's snarky wit fits the story well and made a pleasant departure from the ridiculously stiff, prim, and proper portrayal Elves often get in fantasy.The plot is engaging, and the chapters are arranged like a serial, each ending with a cliffhanger to draw the reader into the next one.  Tension grows throughout to the climactic battle.Descriptions of characters and settings are detailed but expertly handled so they don't drag the story down with excess baggage.  Information the reader needs to understand the storyline is conveyed without huge downloads of character and setting data.  Events are so well-portrayed, they feel real.Windrider Part I: Divine Summons is an excellent tale.  I look forward to checking out Part II.