Review: Not perfect but very entertaining!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 10, 2012
A very well-written book about a man called Tandor who is looking to avenge what was taken from him and take over the City of Ice. Dragged along for the ride are Ruko, Isandor, and Jeviathe. The story is told in the third person point of view of many characters so we get to see both sides of the conflict. The question of "who is right?" is completely up in the air and left for the reader to decide.It's not my proudest trait but I'm not a big fan of slow beginnings. I love it when we start off in the midst of the action. Luckily, Jansen does just that. In the first few pages, you are given so much information and even more questions. I don't like Tandor personally (although he does somewhat redeems himself) but I do like how human his character is. He's no messiah or even really a hero but he's trying to do what's best. Or what he thinks is best. Thee magic system used is very cool and unique enough so that I'm curious to learn more about it.As much as I enjoyed the book, there were some things that I didn't like. For one thing, the descriptions were very lacking. I didn't have any idea what Ruko or what Legless Lions look like until two-thirds through the book. Normally, I would be fine with it but it just bothers me how some feature would seemingly appear. For example, the Legless Lion was cornered and tied down. Then it suddenly struck and smacked someone with a flipper. A flipper?! Or better yet, someone who I thought was a boy was suddenly called "a blue giant". That confused me for a bit before I realized they were the same person.Overall, the book was enjoyable though not perfect (but what books are?). Jansen did an amazing job keeping the reader engaged and interested in what happens to the characters. There is quite a lot of violence (rape, removal of certain parts, etc) so definitely not suitable as a bedtime story. Although there is a lot of magic being thrown around, there aren't too many fantasy elements beyond that. I'd say anyone looking for a good fast-paced novel and not too picky about descriptions should definitely give this book a shot!Won a giveaway in return for an honest review