Review: A very enjoyable read, despite some problems.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 1, 2012
First, this ebook shares the same technical problems as many other self-published ebooks: distracting typographical errors and the "unrefined" feeling of a book that hasn't been cleaned up by a competent editor. (My reviews and blog posts share the same problems.)I'm personally very sensitive to the misuse of apostrophes (its very annoying when writer's make these mistake's), which I find quite distracting; I'm aware that other folks don't share my discomfort.The plot unfolds intelligently, but the characters are shallow and important information about characters is withheld in a way which telegraphed the key secrets of the mystery. There is a confusing inconsistency in writing style, partly of necessity to avoid revealing some keys that would expose the mystery, and in one case actually helping to "slowly unfold" the unusual usage/dialect of a supporting character -- but unfortunately there was a "disjointedness," with some passages and chapters seeming a poor fit, and others seeming gratuitous (as if someone recommended to the author that the plot needed more of a particular element, leading the author to insert a scene or chapter without adapting the rest of the book to make the right "fit" or "flow").Of course, it's hard for me to explain most of these problems without turning this review into a "spoiler," which I won't do, because the author has crafted and developed a very good story that deserves to be read without spoilers.A skilled editor would probably need only a few days to nudge this book enough to eliminate nearly all my criticisms above.To answer a question posed by the first reviewer here on Amazon: no, this isn't great literature, but while reading this book, I did experience occasional "sparks" which I recognize as "very good writing" (inspiration, promise).I found this book to be a very enjoyable read, and it's certainly one of the best books I've found free through Amazon. I would certainly look for other works by this author (I assume it's a pen name).