Review: Nice novella for teens and adults
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 15, 2013
***The author sent me a copy of this novella in exchange for an impartial review***Book of the Dead is a young adult novella. It's a quick, creepy read with nice twists that will surprise many youths and adults who read for the shear joy of a good yarn being spun and don't put a lot of thought into piecing together the literary puzzle.FOR  PARENTS AND UP-TIGHT YOUTHS: I'd say the age range for this story is somewhere around 13+. There is a smattering of profanity, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing here that falls outside the realm of most late night prime-time (South Park being the exception, of course). Similarly, there are somewhat disturbing scenes that account for much of the creepiness mentioned earlier, but it isn't Walking Dead gross or jolting. Both language and imagery are, in my opinion, perfectly suitable and necessary to make the story, if not wholly believable, then credible (it is fantasy after all).I'll refrain from giving a blow-by-blow plot summary. The book synopsis and a few reviews here do that well enough. I'll write about what I like and don't prefer about Book of the Gone.Firstly, this is a step in the right direction for the author. His debut novel, The Beholder, was, I thought, a great story with problems in dialogue, character development and consistency. This story has better character development, but still needs more. The main character is fully "there" in this tale. You know him, can empathize with his feelings and understand his motivations. Some secondary characters are one dimensional or complete mysteries. For instance, there's a woman that fills the stereotype of a possible-witch who turns out to be good and helpful, yet more than a little cryptic. There's no reason given for the cryptic advise or a related bat cave-esque hidden place (doing my best not to give away anything).I've read the other reviews and think I can point to the main problem some people have with Book of the Gone. While Amberlake is very good at managing his grammar (no small feat for an indie author), he has a problem with informal language. This really shows up in the dialogue. Conversations are often stilted and unwieldy because of the formal tone Amberlake often falls into using. The same can often be a problem in the narrative as well. Some of the sentence structuring is perfectly grammatical. Yet, it doesn't always work. Sometimes playing fast and loose with language says as much as the words themselves.Amberlake has no shortage of imagination. He's a great storyteller. It's the finer points of creative writing that  I think need some work. You can tell when Amberlake is in a groove and busts out a scene or conversation. It can be smooth and foreboding. It's as easy to tell when he was fighting with himself over how to phrase or set a scene.Overall, I like this novella. I like it quite a bit. Amberlake does not suffer from a lack of creativity. In fact, I find his ideas and stories very imaginative. I wouldn't have hesitated to purchase the book, and, in fact, will purchase a copy for my stepson. The problems that exist may throw me every few pages, but I'm crazy picky. My stepson isn't nearly as tough an audience and i know he'll enjoy it.