Review: A fascinating mythology
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 2, 2012
The PlotEzra Hawkins is a member of a Legacy family in high-tech Sanctuary, which means, among other things, that he is the only person with the knowledge of how to make the wormholes that make travel possible. But Ezra doesn't want to be just another rich kid who makes it big off the inventions of his parents. He wants to make discoveries of his own about the world outside of Sanctuary. But what he finds out there isn't what he was expecting. Because it turns out there are people out there with powers he could not possibly imagine.The GoodOverall, Wind-Scarred was a really enjoyable read. The mythology, though a bit strange, was unique and engaging. Like Ezra, I was interested in learning more about the world around him as he became more involved with the different elements. I liked the way we got to see exemplars of the various possessors of elemental power, and I was particularly excited that we got information about the source of the powers. It brought up some interesting ideas about belief vs. reality.I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of technological with the magical in a setting where it was believable that the two would be equal and opposite in the conflict. Any fantasy fan knows that a magic system can basically approximate all the achievements of technology, but Wind-Scarred actually put some thought into the ways that technology and magic are fundamentally different.The BadFor a time in the middle, I considered giving this book five stars, but in the end, two things made me hold back that elusive final star, and those things are the beginning and the end. I was looking at another review of Wind-Scarred that said the book started out "slow." I have concluded that this is a euphemism for what the beginning actually was, which was bad. The book opens with an incomprehensible dream that I think is supposed to have some kind of recurring symbolic meaning but is mostly just confusing. And then as I was reading chapter 1, I actually texted some lines to my friend saying, "Kevin, you would tell me if my book were this bad, right?" (He promised me that he would.) But then a few chapters later, I was laughing at what was going on and was glad I stuck with it.Wind-Scarred read episodically rather than as a single plot arc. This is fine and works for the premise, but it makes a cliffhanger ending particularly problematic. In general I think it's a little gauche to end the first novel in a series with a massive cliffhanger anyway. It's like you're trying to trick readers into having to read the next installment, rather than having them come back because they really liked the story. And with an episodic book, it feels especially off to stop in the middle of an episode. So, this wasn't making or breaking the book, but it's worth me being a little stingy with stars.The RomanceEzra's secretary wasn't really a love interest, but this is as good a place as any to say that I hated her as a character. We establish fairly early on that Ezra is afraid of Kirsten, which just seems absurd. I mean, she works for him. If he dislikes her that much, why doesn't he just fire her? I think the whole thing was supposed to be funny, but it really just wasn't.Another question I found myself asking throughout the book was "WHY do all the women use sexual wiles to manipulate the men around them?" Then I paused and reconsidered and realized that only half the women did this. But they did so with enough frequency to have me questioning the portrayal of my gender.Will I read more?Sci-fi/fantasy cross-genre fiction is not usually my genre. (I mostly read books about five hundred year old vampires who fall in love with ordinary teen girls. Shut up. They are awesome.) But if I am feeling like I need a break from teen angst, I might be motivated to pick up the next book in this series when it's available. There are some interesting sociopolitical developments that crop up at the end of Wind-Scarred that could lead to an engaging second installment.