What could be edited?
Already with some previous volumes of the Book of the Whole one could complain about excessive prolixity. It seems that the editor either didn’t want to cut out unnecessary things, or he assumed that they might be important in later parts of the series. I cannot say what the situation was, but certainly some of the novels in The Book of the Whole are excessively long. Sherni Shield definitely falls into this category. This is partly forgivable due to the good writing style, but it could still be improved.
For an unknown reason, in Tarcza Szernia, the author once again dazzles with unnecessary descriptions, whether it’s the degeneration of the “Rotten Corpse” crew or the perversions that Ridareta indulges in. Both the character of the crewmen and the achievements of their captains have been discussed many times by the author in previous volumes. It is simply unnecessary to devote whole pages to them once again. In addition, some of the descriptions are simply disgusting, and while introducing this originally could be justified by the need to explain the nature of Ridareta and her struggles, repetition is not very defensible.
Power over the world
In this volume of the series, we learn more facts about Szernia hanging over the world and what is happening to her. For everyone who is interested in world-building, it will be an undoubted treat. I followed all the information with great interest. It was also interesting to see to what extent the Accepted can use the power of the Sheer Bands and what price they have to pay for it.
The story is also pretty good in terms of story. As I mentioned, it could easily be shortened, but the main plot line is very interesting. A few of the plot twists add a lot of flavor to everything and at times it was hard to tear yourself away from reading. In this regard, the novel is above the average for the entire series.
Mixed feelings
It is difficult to unequivocally evaluate the Szernia Shield . On the one hand, we received a book that was too long and unnecessarily dazzling with detailed descriptions of violence, degeneration and perverse sexuality. On the other hand, it is an interesting novel in which both world-building and an intriguing story deserve attention. On the plus side, as usual in the case of this series , the writing style of Feliks W. Kres should also be included. The author’s skill with words cannot be denied.
