Visually
In this case, I do not judge a book by its cover, because I do not have it in my hands. Instead, I got a file to read on the computer screen. So I focused on the technical evaluation of the text. I didn’t notice many mistakes, the proofreading is pretty good, which is not often the case in the era of self-publishing. Where there is to be a period, there is a period, which is one of the reasons why the book is easy to read. Each chapter is preceded by a “quote” that introduces the reader to the atmosphere. The black and white cover with a dragon coming out of the portal is quite interesting, although in my opinion it does not fully reflect the richness of threads and characters in the book. I have to mention one more aspect. I’ve never read a book that has five and a half pages of legend. Incredible!
“There is no justice in the universe …” that is, the beginning
Anna, a young adept of the magical arts from the less important planet Denurban, is sent on a responsible mission to find a good dragon who could help the inhabitants. Although he has no experience, he will do what he can to fulfill his duty. In a completely different place, in a galaxy far away, there lives an ordinary, average Mark, an Earthling, who does not have any special talents and does not know what he wants to do in life. What do these two different characters have in common? Yes, you guessed it right, but this is just the beginning of this character-rich novel. Both of them will find themselves in the middle of fights fought by powerful forces.
Not only “two men and a girl”
The novel focuses initially on trying to find the dragon and bring it to Denurban, but then we go on a crazy journey with Anna, Mark, priest Arnuf and others. The action rushes like a roller coaster on spiral tracks, we encounter so many heroes that we start to feel dizzy. It turns out that the Earthling has powers that no one suspected him of, and our heroes fall straight into a war between the Empire, the Allies, and the Trinity, by no means holy. What will come of this? Lots of things and it’s worth following the action carefully. The author has a lot of interesting ideas, the book is quite good to read and with interest, despite the fact that it has a solid thickness. You can see that the story is well thought out and well led. The author has created his own world in which you want to be. Moreover, it looks like this is just the beginning. The ending suggests that he will continue to write novels in this universe. Anyway, it would be a waste of such a carefully crafted and complicated world.
“The question is, is it enough to convince the dragon?” Is a drop of beast’s venom
Some of the sentences are a bit clunky in my opinion, and I could use a little less describing and more showing. Instead of “[…] Mark was left with nothing else but to accept the reality presented in this way”, it would be worth making the reader guess for himself what Marek feels, based on what he does, what his face is, what he says, etc. I would also like to read more in-depth character psychology, because we really know little about Anna, Arnuf and other heroes. The earthling is best described; of course so that we can identify with him. However, it would be nice to like someone more or take an interest in them so that I could cheer them on throughout the book. There are several main forces in the novel that fight with each other, but they are also quite impersonal (unless it’s a deliberate act and then turn up the cards one by one).
Descriptions of numerous discussions and setting tactics remind me a bit of history books, but in this way the adventure of the action is lost. I also admit that at some point I started to feel dizzy with explanations of what works on this or that planet and why. Well, the author has a tight mind and it shows. I accept all his theses on faith. I must add one more question, for it hung over me like a dragon over a disobedient mage. Where did the slogan “turkey sandwiches” come from? Is it possible that something like bread was eaten on other planets apart from Earth, and do turkeys live there?
“It’s not delicate, it’s not,” summed the boy, rubbing his arm, “that’s the summary
The author has no problem filling the pages with words, it’s a thick book. However, it does not bore the reader, there is still something going on. He deserves applause for presenting in simple words sometimes difficult processes that take place on Earth, e.g. dating events from distant history, technology, etc. It is interesting to assume that our planet is subject to cycles in which magic reigns or disappears (similar to many others).
As it turns out, various forces clash in the universe, incl. Trinity, Allied, and Empire. The multitude of worlds and characters, mechanisms of action – it is all interesting and breathes freshness. You can see that the author spent a lot of time reflecting, arranging the course of events, coming up with quotes. It must have taken a lot of effort to write this novel.
Since many characters, names and behaviors are similar to what is happening on Earth, it may seem that the book is really about earthly orders only in a veiled way. The clash of characters from different planets, their behavior, problems with communication due to worldview differences – these are no less than the same problems as people have, despite the fact that we all seem to have common ancestors.
I support the author because this book sounds (and I have read it for many hours) good and is a promise of even better novels from this universe.
- All quotes are from the book in question.
