Review: "War of the Moonstone"... the Pros and Cons... 3 1/2 Stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2014
"The War of the Moonstone: an Epic Fantasy" is a stand alone fantasy adventure by author Jack Conner. This Kindle e-book was approximately 499 printed pages and sold for $2.99 at the time of writing this review.Please Note: the author provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.General theme (minor spoilers)An immensely powerful dark lord, Vrulug, has decided the time in ripe to finally attack the northern realms. He sends his right hand man, Raugst, to infiltrate the enemy forces and learn as much as he can to facilitate the upcoming invasion. Opposing him will be Giorn, eldest son of Lord Harin Wesrain and High Priestess of the light, Niara. Thus we have a fairly straight forward plot (a territorial grab by the forces of evil) that has many convoluted twist and turns because of the weaknesses, flaws and shortcomings seen in the personalities traits of the main characters.Some thoughts on "War of the Moonstone"...The Pros:1.) truly 'adult' epic fantasy.2.) well written with easy to read prose.3.) well edited, with few if any grammar, spelling or syntax errors.4.a) encounters are graphically described and disturbingly gory. Not images for the squeamish.4.b) lots of action and travel... intense battles and quests involving journeys through a variety of terrains, caverns, tunnels and dungeons.5.) important characters can be seriously injured or even die... adding a degree of realism to a story where being in harms way was a common occurrence.6.) several explicit sexual encounters. (not sure this is a Pro, but... )The Cons: < spoilers >1.) a major concern was the how a heroic figure (Giorn), when faced with a choice or decision to make, could seemingly pick the wrong way every time. His decision making, whether by luck or his own poor judgement, was abysmal.2.) Niara, High Priestess just couldn't seem to control her romantic urges, (lust might be a more accurate description) and ended up so confused (and confusing), she became essentially ineffective in her ability to assist either of the two men she was involved with.3.) no map. This was a fantasy adventure made for having a map. It would have lent a sense of direction, distance and topography.4.a) many decisions were made as a result of misunderstandings between individuals... where someone would barge in on a scene, misinterpret the scenario and then react in such a way as to influence the unfolding of the rest of the tale. These were 'encounters' that might have been explained had someone had just taken the time to listen to the facts.4.b) many times points were reached where someone had the perfect moment to 'kill' the opponent but hesitated for a split second and lost the opportunity forever...  and as a reader you could see this coming.5.) while there was some character development, this was basically an action driven plot that while initially exciting, started to wear thin and became mind numbing after a while... just one encounter after another.6.)  <spoilers> there were a number situations of that just didn't make sense to me (nor did they seem particularly believable)... like they were inserted into the plot but not really well thought out. e.g. Giorn's going back to Vrulug's lair on his own; or Raugst's suggested alternative battle plan for the battle of Thiersgald, or Raugst treasonous conspiracy with the nobles. All events that just felt forced or contrived. I didn't come away feeling any of these scenarios would remotely succeed... but they did!Impression:A good basic plot with which I started out very enthused, but somehow an increasing number of events that felt improbable, started to have me doubting its overall quality.Where the author may have succumbed to the temptation of maybe trying to do too much... where a little less might have been much better. Especially in instances where circumstances and situations stretched one's sense of believability (believability within the context of the setting). I find when I read a tale that has lots of unlikely and shocker twists and turns, that while entertaining, I start to lose my concentration and more importantly my interest... and such was the case here. Towards the end I was glad to be finished.A point can be made for saying, that while a lot of the explicit content excluded this from being a Young Adult tale, it read like one on several occasions.This author can write a good tale, however a good story editor and/or honest beta readers might help considerably with some of its shortcomings.As it is... 3 1/2 Stars.Ray Nicholsonraynicholsonsreviews@hotmail.com@ralannicholson