Review: Exciting space fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 14, 2013
Science fantasy, futuristic fantasy, whatever you want to call it, if you like magic and high tech together, you'll enjoy this. Sorcerers and ancient prophecies, whiz-bang hardware and space battles, and a human story of love, loss, ambition, friendship, and vengeance all come together in this story about Grogaan, a talented young starfighter pilot. We follow Grogaan as he deals with the loss of three of the most important people in his life, including his beloved fiancee Miranda, through his search for vengeance against the raiders who killed them, and then as he begins to realize he has an even greater destiny.After reading the 2nd edition of the book, I was given the opportunity to preview the 3rd edition of this book. A number of issues with the writing in previous editions have been fixed. The writing in the 3rd edition is much more clear, smooth, and self-assured. The style is still a bit formal, and parts are still in the omniscient viewpoint (that is, a distant, all-knowing narrator) rather than the more familiar 3rd-person limited (the story being told from inside the viewpoint of one character at a time). These are legitimate stylistic choices, but this new edition, I found, is much more accessible than the earlier edition. Characters' thoughts, actions, and motivations, as well as Mr. Cann's fascinating and well-developed world, are expressed and described in clean, clear, smooth language; also, the unnecessary over-explanation in the earlier editions has been trimmed out. The story moves forward at a good pace, and the space battles are particularly well-written; I was able to clearly visualize the action, and found myself reading quickly to find out if Grogaan and his friends made it through safely.Overall, this is a fun, exciting book, and I understand that the next books in the series are even better, so I look forward to reading them.