Rating: 
Summary: I found it interesting!
Review: I do not agree with the previous comments. I myself enjoyed the book. While I would not in any way compare this book to Harry Potter, it is still a good read, and I found it hard to put the book down in parts.
Rating:
Summary: Not What I Was Hoping For
Review: This book was no Harry Potter. The story line was ok, but confusing at parts. The book had too many ideas for the amount of pages. All the ideas seemed jumbled together. The author should have spent the time making the book flow better. I would not recommend this book unless you are a big fantasy fan. Otherwise, you will probably be bored to tears. This was an average book that is not very special at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I had heard that this was supposed to be a Christian alternative to Harry Potter and that it had gone global because it was so good. I must have been reading the wrong newspapers. Sorry, this one doesn't work for me. If you want to read a good Christian fantasy, try Forrest Tales: The Secret of the Labyrinth. No witchcraft or occult. They get their supernatural powers from the brains we are born with. G.P.Taylor must have forgotten how to use his.
Rating:
Summary: Shadowmancer disappointment
Review: As a youth fiction author I try to read books in the genre I am writing. I eagerly picked up Shadowmancer after hearing it was outselling Harry Potter. What a disppointment! The writing was not professional, stilted and dis-jointed. The characters continually changed personalities, the story choppy and had very bumpy chapter transitions. Most of the story was told in passive voice and point of view changed per sentence. It was incredibly dark considering it was supposed to be "Christian." The few Bible verses thrown in were not labeled as such and if you are not familiar with them, you would not have known you were reading Scripture. The ending was totally unsatisfying and left you wondering what happened. Don't waste your money on this book. If you want a well-written, exciting book with both good and bad characters and is a breath of fresh air, buy Eragon.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so shadowy.....
Review: I am struggling to finish this book. I'm a school librarian who reads lots of different kinds of books, especially Fantasy titles. Maybe I've read too many lately...with two boys, one girl who have to save the world as we know it. I just don't see the spark in this one.
Rating:
Summary: Save your Money
Review: Wow, did I buy into the hype. I read over a book a week and this has to be the worst book I have read in a long time. The writing is redundant and scattered. Get ready to see the same words and expressions over and over, ie "tufts" of grass and like a "mustard seed." This was like a bad cross of the Dark Materials series and a Clive Barker fantasy - except both of which are light years in head of this slop. My question is, what 8 by 10 glossy photos does this guy have as blackmail to get the press this book got? Harry Potter? Are you kidding me? This was horrible. Every book in this genre I've read was better than this, ie Harry Potter, Samarkand - Barteumus, Artimus Fowl, The City of Ember, Dark Materials, Inkheart, Eragon .... (...)
Rating:
Summary: A Game First Try, But Harry Potter It Ain't!
Review: From what I read of it...actually I didn't finish it due to lack of interest. I read the press kit for the book and was hooked by what appeared to be an engrossing storyline and the background of the author himself. Sadly, the book failed to deliver as promised. Try it if you like darker, gothic, evil attempts to take over the world type of books, but I don't know how the press thought this would be the "next Harry Potter". J.K. Rowling is in no danger of losing her laurels.
Rating:
Summary: Not a JK Rowling
Review: I bought this book with the expectation that it would be as entertaining as the Harry Potter series but it doesn't come close. I can't see why the Newsweek reviews were so good because it's prose was difficult to read. The novel was written in old English using uncommon diction. I have never written a book review in my life but my disappointment with this book has compelled me to do so. If you live within the UK, you may enjoy this book. But if you live outside the UK, it will be a disappointment for you. If you want Harry Potter entertainment, this is not the book for you. GP Taylor is no JK Rowling.
Rating:
Summary: The Cure for Insomnia
Review: That was probably the worst fantasy book I have ever read. Nevermind the fantasy part, the whole time reading it I felt like I was being sucked into the Bible. Don't get me wrong, I totally respect Christianity and Christians, but it should at least have SOME warning on the cover for the agnostics/atheists. As for the actual storyline, the whole thing was lagging and the events that occured didn't seem to flow together, altogether much too choppy for me. Additionally, the [horrible] word arrangement and choice not only made reading it unpleasant but confused the heck out of me. All in all, this definitely will not be going on my favorite books list unless I suddenly decide to become Christian and like bad writing. And also, for the person who said Taylor was even better than Tolkien, there is no comparison. How can you even say that? Tolkien is THE master of fantasy, saying Taylor's writing exceeds his is like saying the ocean is dryer than a desert.
Rating:
Summary: FAR BELOW the level of Harry Potter
Review: Shadowmancer cannot be compared to the works of J.K. Rowling, and should never be mentioned in the same breath as J.R.R. Tolkein. Taylor's writing is sub-par: the text is jumpy and heavy-handed, and the dialogue is stilted and unrealistic. There is really no character development, or indeed any reason to care what happens to the characters at all. Because the characters are never fully fleshed out, many times their actions, and even Taylor's long-winded explanations for their actions, don't make sense. The quasi-mystical world Taylor attempts to create is more mystifying than mystical. In the Potter books, the "wizarding world" is described in great detail because Harry, like the reader, is a novice to that world, and so the reader is introduced to it through Harry's eyes. Tolkein's detailed descriptions of Middle-Earth and poetic accounts of its history paint a vivid and memorable picture in the reader's mind. In Shadowmancer, the reader is just dropped smack into the middle of this dark world with no explanation, and remains in a confusing muddle throughout. While some may be willing to set aside the book's weaknesses because they find it more in keeping with Christian "values," for anyone who values excellence, this book will surely disappoint.
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