Rating: 
Summary: Awesome book
Review: My mom got this for me for my birthday-- i thought it was going to be boring but i couldn't put it down! I finished it in four days. It was very well written and I guess I just liked everything about the book! Elizabeth Hayden did an excellant job bringing you into the story. I can't wait for the next one!
Rating:
Summary: Great new saga
Review: I just finished Rhapsody: Child of Blood, and I wholeheartedly agree with the rest of the reviewers here - this is a great beginning to a very promising fantasy trilogy. Haydon is certainly a talent to watch! Her first book is both original and engaging, and it leaves you wanting to know more about her fascinating characters. I was hooked in by her powerful "Overture", a mysterious love story. The reader gradually comes to understand what this seemingly unconnected prelude has to do with the rest of the story, through Haydon's masterful unfolding of plot. I can only say that I am eager to find out what happens to Rhapsody, Achmed, Grunthor, Jo, and the mysterious Ashe! Haydon's work could probably best be compared with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, although, as one of the reviews said, her story may actually have a foreseable ending (a definite problem with Jordan's series, no matter how good it is)! Rhapsody: Child of Blood is the start of something good...
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful book
Review: I finished reading the book 3 days ago and I still cannot get the characters out of my head. I am just dieing to see what happens next! What a terrific story teller Elizabeth Haydon is! If you like Fantasy you have to read this book!
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful work of art
Review: With all due respect to Mr. Ullrich (whose review is also contained on this site under the hardcover version) this book is a beautifully written, satisfying novel. The characters are, in fact, deeply crafted and the dialogue is witty. The heroine of the novel becomes more defined as the reader moves through the book and begins to put the pieces together. Applying a bit of intelligence to one's reading makes it clear that we do, in fact, know quite a bit about her and her motivations. The Bolg characters are more mysterious, although we learn about them as the story progesses. In a way, the mystery surrounding them makes the story all the more intriguing as the reader begins to recognize the parts of the puzzle piece by piece. It is a wonderful book...suspenseful, exciting, and with characters that the reader can certainly come to know and understand. Any impression that the characterization is superficial is not, in my opinion, the fault of the story, but more likely the result of poor reading comprehension. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful work of art
Review: With all due respect to Mr. Ullrich (whose review is also contained on this site) this book is a beautifully written, satisfying novel. The characters are, in fact, deeply crafted and the dialogue is witty. The heroine of the novel becomes more defined as the reader moves through the book and begins to put the pieces together. Applying a bit of intelligence to one's reading makes it clear that we do, in fact, know quite a bit about her and her motivations. The Bolg characters are more mysterious, although we learn about them as the story progesses. In a way, the mystery surrounding them makes the story all the more intriguing as the reader begins to recognize the parts of the puzzle piece by piece. It is a wonderful book...suspenseful, exciting, and with characters that the reader can certainly come to know and understand. Any impression that the characterization is superficial is not, in my opinion, the fault of the story, but more likely the result of poor reading comprehension. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Reading
Review: This is a very entertaining book, fast-paced and well written. The characters are gritty and very likable. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: This is a marvel of a book. It has a coherent and fluid storyline told in the writer's voice, which is by turns humorous, exciting and lulling; I found myself looking up occasionally to find that hours had passed while I was reading and I hadn't even noticed.The characters in this book are among the best ever to appear in epic fantasy. The history and cosmology was impeccably drawn, and the story great fun. I was sorry to see it end. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Writing, Impoverished Story and Characters
Review: I found myself enjoying the book for the good descriptions of settings and action. But after a while (mid-book) I couldn't ignore the fact that it wasn't clear to me who these characters were beyond their flashy supernatural abilities and goofy limited "backgrounds", e.g., we know she's an ex-hooker with a heart and face of gold, but we know less about her training or even what the heck she does, or why she does it. Ditto the other main characters, a superhuman assassin and some sort of superhuman soldier creature, but that's as much as you know. Ditto their adversaries. Moreover, it wasn't clear why they were trampsing across or under the countryside, or even what this countryside was all about. In short, set-up to the story neglected entirely. This is nothing new, this isn't the first book with these shortcomings. Seems most fantasy authors do it this way these days: limited explanation of the world or who or what populates it, just launch into a sketchy good versus evil tale involving swords and sorcery, then get a few nice maps and a fancy cover. People will rave, give 5 stars and compare the book to the Lord of the Rings. Sheesh.
Rating:
Summary: The best fantasy read since Tolkien's Lord of the Rings!
Review: Elizabeth Haydon has evidently done her homework as is evidenced in her first literary work. This is a story full of obviously researched tales of folklore as well as settings in a newly created fantasy world in peril. I love that the heroine is a strong personality but with admitted flaws and that she unwittingly rescues her male companions from certain destruction by evil powers. The dialogue and interaction of the three main characters is so realistic you can easily visualize it on the big screen. They are incredibly believable and you find yourself anticipating their next moves. Ms. Haydon, however, throws in enough surprise situations to keep your interest piqued and she definitely leaves room for the sequels in an utterly Tolkienesque way! I so can't wait for the next volume and in fact have it on order already! Be prepared to be absorbed and taken away to a new and exciting world when you read Ms. Haydon's works!
Rating:
Summary: A great writer...
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Elizabeth Haydon is a WRITER! There is a not a single wasted word in her writing. The characters that she has created are very interesting ones. The plot itself, while not quite as fast paced as Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, is carefully planned and always manages to keep the readers' attention. Usually I read a book to find out how the plot unfolds, in this particular book, I found myself drawn more to what was going to happen to the characters. It is very interesting to see that Haydon manages to maintain a balance between the good-natured humor and a wide range of other emotions. Her characters aren't the cliched heroes, magnificent warriors who are able to survive anything. While Achmed and Grunthor ARE ferocious warriors, that side of them is not the most interesting, rather their personalities and idiosyncrasies are, as well as their relationship to each other and Rhapsody. Rhapsody, Grunthor, and Achmed are such complete characters in the readers' minds that the humorous exchanges between them are very funny. And even though I found myself laughing out loud at night when reading the book, there is also a sadness to Rhapsody's situation in the second half of the book that makes you respect her for being able to find a humorous moment despite of the sadness that is inside of her. The ending leaves you craving to find out what happens next. You feel as if you can guess what will come next, but this book itself didn't turn out quite the way I imagined it might have so I am looking forward to being wrong in my anticipation of reading the next book. A highly recommended read!
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