Review: Brilliant YA Fantasy - good for all ages
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 18, 2012
Epic fantasy, high fantasy, dark fantasy: I love everything about this genre. And I love everything about this book.Guardians of the Grimoire is deserved of space on my bookshelf next to the tomes of Robert Jordan and David Eddings. If you're looking for a rehash of the plot, go elsewhere. This review is to tell you WHY you need to read this book.Ms. Slight contacted me via my blog and requested a review of her work. I took a look at her website, peeked a little at Guardians on Amazon and decided instantly that this was a must read. Best. Decision. Ever. FYI, I don't do paid reviews, and a copy was furnished to me by the author. This is a keeper that I want my daughter to read when she's old enough. It's targeted for YA, but any reader of fantasy will enjoy this. Reading this took me back to the first time I picked up a copy of Pawn of Prophecy by Eddings. I was hooked. Utterly. Completely. Pawn of Prophecy still sits on my shelf today. I'm dusting off a spot next to it for Guardians.The world-building is just amazing. Everything is drawn out in rich detail with vivid imagery, making it so easy for my mind's eye to conjure. Complex, yet not complicated, there are layers here: everyday life, magic, sorcery, politics. And all of them woven together intricately and seamlessly. There is a lot of information; there has to be in a story this size. It is inevitable. However, at no time did I feel like there was information just being dumped on me for the sake of plot exposition. There is a story to be told, not facts to be given.From the beginning it was Kerani that caught my attention, and even though there are multiple points of view throughout the book, it was Kerani's that spoke to me the most. In a book this size with this much plot, multiple points of view can become bulky and unwieldy for the reader, as there isn't enough for them to really get to know each character. Not here. Ms. Slight does an amazing job at characterization through dialogue and exposition. At the end, I felt I knew these people and had a personal investment in their stories.Speaking of characterization: *insert slow 80's clap here* Brilliant. Marvelous. Archetypal, but not hackneyed. They are good, solid fantasy incarnations. Even the villains (Kael, Merazar, and Nox) are fleshed out in detail. And as the saying goes, "Character builds plot." The characters and their wants and needs drive this story, so much so that as the journey unfolds, you find yourself alongside them. You know it's a good book when you want to crawl inside and tag along. I was ready to take up arms to protect the Grimoire and kick some serious butt.The dialogue is easy. I don't mean simple, I mean effortless, natural. The interactions between the characters flow like water. There is nothing awkward or stilted. It's a difficult pace to maintain in a book this long, but Ms. Slight does it with a deft hand.I mention the length, because if you are not familiar with the genre, books here tend to be longer. It's the scale of the story that requires it. Fantasy novels tend to work several angles and plot threads, all the while introducing new characters, places, creatures, and concepts. Guardians of the Grimoire is no exception. This is a sweeping story that pulls you in from the very beginning and keeps you at a breakneck pace until the end. And when you get there you realize with a clench of the heart that the end of this story is only the beginning. That is a hallmark of good fantasy. I eagerly await the next book in this series.Five out of five stars, all of them epic.