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Seregil of Rhiminee

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THE READER’S VOICE

Book Reviews

Seregil of Rhiminee’s own thoughts on books they have read. These are reader-written book reviews, separate from Risingshadow’s editorial reviews.

260 book reviews
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The Born Queen

BOOK REVIEW

The Born Queen

Greg Keyes

8/10Written Mar 28, 2008

I just finished reading The Born Queen. Before I write anything about this book, I must say that I like Greg Keyes' writing style and original fantasy stories very much.

In my opinion The Born Queen is a great fantasy book for readers, who enjoy good and entertaining fantasy stories. This book is compelling and worth reading (especially if you like Greg Keyes as much as I do). The characters are interesting and there's enough depth to them.

The Born Queen is one of the most enjoyable fantasy books I've read this year. I can recommend this book to all Keyes fans and fantasy lovers.

Wrath of a Mad God

BOOK REVIEW

Wrath of a Mad God

Raymond E. Feist

6/10Written Mar 16, 2008Edited Mar 16, 2008

I finished reading Wrath of a Mad God last night, so here's a small review about it.

Wrath of a Mad God is a readable (and sometimes even enjoyable) fantasy book, but unfortunately it's not as good as Raymond E. Feist's earlier books (the first Midkemia books and The Empire Trilogy, which was co-written by Janny Wurts). Feist's writing style is "nice", but this book could've been a lot better.

I can recommend Wrath of a Mad God to all Feist fans, because this book contains everything you can expect from Feist. I'm not sure if other readers will like this book or not, but if you don't have anything else to do, you might consider reading this book.

The Plague Dogs

BOOK REVIEW

The Plague Dogs

Richard Adams

8/10Written Feb 18, 2008Edited Feb 18, 2008

I liked The Plague Dogs very much. The story was touching and interesting.

In my opinion The Plague Dogs is an excellent animal fantasy book for adults. It isn't a children's book, because there are many things which can only be understood by adult readers. The Plagues Dogs isn't an easy book and the reader must think about things to fully understand what's going on.

The Plague Dogs is different kind of animal fantasy than Watership Down. That's why I must say that if you're expecting to read a similar book, you'll be disappointed.

If you have an open mind and you enjoy reading good stories, The Plague Dogs will impress you. The story is fascinating and the reader comes to care about the dogs and wants to know what happens to them.

I can highly recommend this book to everybody, who wants to read different kind of animal fantasy.

Watership Down

BOOK REVIEW

Watership Down

Richard Adams

10/10Written Feb 18, 2008

Watership Down is one of my favourite fantasy books. I like it very much.

Watership Down is a story about rabbits. In other words, it's animal fantasy. That's why many people think that it's a children's book, but they're wrong. In my opinion Watership Down is a book for adults.

Richard Adams writes amazingly well about the rabbits and their lives. The reader comes to care about the rabbits and wants to know what happens to them.

If you haven't read this classic book yet, you should read it. It's one of the best animal fantasy books ever written.

The Art of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire

BOOK REVIEW

The Art of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire

Brian Wood

10/10Written Feb 17, 2008Edited Feb 17, 2008

The Art of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is a "must have" book for everybody who loves George R.R. Martin's fantasy series.

This nonfiction book contains many illustrations from several fantasy artists and quotes from the books. Some of the illustrations are stunningly beautiful.

I enjoyed looking at the illustrations and I'm sure that if you're a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, you'll probably enjoy them too.

The Darkness That Comes Before

BOOK REVIEW

The Darkness That Comes Before

R. Scott Bakker

10/10Written Feb 17, 2008

The Darkness That Comes Before impressed me very much. I have to say that this book is definitely one of the best fantasy books I've read during the last couple of years.

The story was fascinating, the characters were interesting and the writing was fantastic. When I read this book, I knew that I was reading something special, because everything was almost perfect.

If you like epic fantasy (e.g. George R.R. Martin and Steven Erikson), you should read The Darkness That Comes Before. You won't be disappointed with the quality of this book.

The Brothers Lionheart

BOOK REVIEW

The Brothers Lionheart

Astrid Lindgren

10/10Written Feb 3, 2008Edited Feb 3, 2008

The Brothers Lionheart is one of the best children's fantasy books I've ever read. Although this book is a children's book, adults can enjoy it too - I've read this book a couple of times and I'll probably read it again in the near future, because it's a good book.

In my opinion difficult things are handled exceptionally well in this book. It's a fascinating and moving book about brotherly love and death. The story is scary, but it's also comforting. This book makes its reader think about these things and that's a good thing, because there can never be too many challenging books.

If you haven't read The Brothers Lionheart, you should read it, because it's a beautifully written book. I can highly recommend this book to all fantasy fans.

Tracing the Shadow

BOOK REVIEW

Tracing the Shadow

Sarah Ash

8/10Written Jan 27, 2008Edited Mar 9, 2009

When I started reading Tracing the Shadow, I was hoping to read a good book, because I liked Ash's previous books very much. I must say that I wasn't disappointed with the quality of this book. To be honest, I liked this book even more than the previous books.

Tracing the Shadow was a fascinating and entertaining book with enough depth to keep the reader interested in it. The characters were interesting and the story was good. This kind of epic fantasy interests me very much. I can give this book four stars, because it contains all the elements which are needed to make a good fantasy book.

I like Sarah Ash's fantasy books very much and I especially like her writing style. Her books are exciting and well written. Her writing has become more fluent with each new book and this new book demonstrates that she sure knows how to write excellent fantasy. She's without a doubt one of the best fantasy authors at this moment.

If you've read The Tears of Artamon trilogy and liked it, this book is a "must have" book. I'm sure that you won't be disappointed with this book. If you've never read Sarah Ash, you should read her earlier books before this book.

The Wrath of Zar

BOOK REVIEW

The Wrath of Zar

Shayne Easson

8/10Written Jan 13, 2008

I enjoyed reading The Wrath of Zar (Book I of The Demons of Destiny). It was an interesting debut fantasy novel, because Shayne Easson has a unique writing style. He writes his own kind of fantasy. It's great that there still are fantasy authors, who have their own voices. Different kind of fantasy novels are interesting and they bring a breath of fresh air to fantasy literature.

I won't write much about the story, because I don't want to write any spoilers, so I'll mention only this thing: The events take place in a fantasy world called Yannina, which is about be launched into turmoil and chaos.

The Wrath of Zar is a bit difficult to categorize, but if I had to categorize it, I'd say that it's epic action and adventure fantasy. The events move fast forward and the reader doesn't have to wait long for something to happen. This was very nice and it made me want to read the novel as quickly as I could, because I was hooked from the first chapter. I read this novel during the last couple of days, and I'm glad that I read it.

Some fantasy authors tend to describe everything about the environment and other things in full details, which can be a bit boring, if the author doesn't have a talent for storytelling. Fortunately Shayne Easson doesn't spend too much time describing the environment and other things. He concentrates on the plot, the characters and the action. This novel shows that a fantasy novel doesn't have to be thick and full of descriptions about every little thing to be good, exciting and interesting.

The writing is amazingly fluent for a debut fantasy novel, which is a good thing. I've always appreciated fantasy authors, who can write fluent fantasy. In my opinion Shayne Easson has a talent for storytelling and it's easy to see that he loves writing. I think that he's about to become one of the best new fantasy authors.

The Wrath of Zar is an excellent and entertaining debut fantasy novel, which is worth reading. If you like action, adventure and good stories, you should read The Wrath of Zar, because it has plenty of action and adventure, not to mention a good plot. I'm already looking forward to reading The Resurgence of Granaz (Book II of The Demons of Destiny). It'll be interesting to see how the story continues and what happens next.

The Wind in the Willows

BOOK REVIEW

The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame

10/10Written Jan 7, 2008Edited Jan 7, 2008

Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows is a real classic of English literature.

I first read this book, when I was approximately 9-10 years old. I remember how much I liked it then. Although I'm older now, I still like it. I've read it a couple of times and I'll probably read it again soon.

Kenneth Grahame's writing is fluent and charming. He describes the life of the animals in an excellent way - it feels like they're alive. When you read the book, you come to care about the animals.

The Wind in the Willows is often categorized as children's literature, but in my opinion the true beauty and symbolism of this book opens only to adult readers.

Even if you don't normally read this kind of books, you should read The Wind in the Willows. Give it a chance and it will charm you.

The Lies of Locke Lamora

BOOK REVIEW

The Lies of Locke Lamora

Scott Lynch

8/10Written Jan 6, 2008

The Lies of Locke Lamora was a pleasant surprise. It's clearly one of the best new fantasy books I've read during the last months. It's a different kind of fantasy book and it's very entertaining.

Scott Lynch writes fluently, the story flows nicely and the plot is good. The characterization is great and the characters are interesting. What I like most about this book is that Lynch writes original fantasy.

If you want to read something different, Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora is a good choice.

The Blackgod

BOOK REVIEW

The Blackgod

Greg Keyes

8/10Written Jan 6, 2008

I must say that I was very surprised that Greg Keyes managed to write such a good sequel to The Waterborn. The Blackgod offers a nice conclusion to the story.

I enjoyed reading The Blackgod. I think that this book is entertaining adult fantasy at its best just like The Waterborn is.

If you've read The Waterborn, The Blackgod is a "must have" book. If you liked The Waterborn, you probably won't be disappointed with this book. It will charm you.