Review: Stirring and evocative writing!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 22, 2012
This highly entertaining book has just about everything in it but the kitchen sink (pardon the trite expression, please) and is surely a unique piece of writing. Readers expecting a sober, realistic tale need not apply here, since it becomes obvious very early in this novel that some of the events described herein hardly reflect what would probably take place in the real world.And why not? This book is pure escapism, and even though it may not be to everyone's taste, what comes through most vividly for this reader is the apparent joy the author must have experienced in writing it. All of his characters -- even the "non-human" ones -- have something rather charming and striking about them, and I can't imagine anyone not finding something to like in this book, even though much of it is quite obviously "over-the-top."I do need to point out (as other reviewers here have done as well) that there are many instances of awkward phrasing, and some judicious editing would help root out errors such as "severe" instead of "sever" and "I must bath" (instead of "bathe") -- but somehow, these linguistic oddities add a bit of flavor to the whole work, lending it a special character that is totally disarming in its own way.Please note: The author kindly provided me with a copy of this novel.